Clarksville, TN – The City of Clarksville has finalized purchasing the site of Clarksville Speedway with funding that had previously been budgeted and is in hand, and will transform it into a vast Recreation Complex for North Clarksville.
The deal will further facilitate – at a cost savings to the City – the completion of Needmore Road widening work and improvements specified in the Mayor’s Transportation 2020+ master plan.
The City has been negotiating amicably, and in good faith, a deal with Speedway owner William Scogin that will give Clarksville the 83 acres suitable for Hazelwood Recreation Complex.
“The time has come to take the first step toward a World-Class Recreation Complex in North Clarksville, while making infrastructure improvements for this fast-growing part of our City,” Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said.
“When William approached me in 2020, we were not ready to discuss the acquisition of this property. The pandemic was in its early stages and the City had not fully developed Transportation 2020+, our infrastructure plan, so the time wasn’t right,” Mayor Pitts said.
“When he came back in early Fall of 2023, we were ready to move forward with discussions,” he said.
City Clerk Lisa Canfield noted that the City Council ordinance to purchase the property was adopted on February 1st, 2024. Later that same year, on December 3rd, the council approved an associated resolution with a lease agreement.
The property at 1600 Needmore Road will address citizens’ requests for a Recreation Center in this area of the City – where there has historically been a void – and could potentially include, among other features, an Indoor Aquatic Center.
The City’s pool dome in New Providence was destroyed by a wind storm in Spring 2023. There is currently no public indoor pool facility in Clarksville.
“This is just one of the elements under consideration for this property,” Mayor Pitts said, “and more-definitive plans reflecting the layout for this site are still to come.
“We will gather public input and develop a Recreation Complex that will truly represent the desires of the neighborhood,” he said.
Other amenities for Hazelwood Recreation Complex could conceivably include:
- Gym space
- Meeting and program rooms
- Fitness center
- Multi-use fields
- Accessible playgrounds
- Walking trail loop
- Alternate canoe access point
“The Clarksville Parks and Recreation team is excited about the future of this site as a Recreational Complex, and all of the programming we can provide for North Clarksville,” said Jennifer Letourneau, Director of the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department.
“We’ve been actively seeking a site for our citizens on this side of town, and 83 acres is more than we dreamed possible.
“Our citizens have told us that they want indoor aquatics and another Recreation Center to serve this area, and this gives us the opportunity to provide both, and much more,” Letourneau said.
Benefits of the Deal
The purchase price for the 83 acres is $7 million, which includes the right-of-way for the road.
In 2019, the City Council created a capital project for the purchase of land for a Regional Recreation Center, with North Clarksville’s need being principally addressed. That capital project is currently funded in the amount of $8.5 million.
The sale is contingent on a one-year lease back to Scogin for $1 a year, to comply with his current contracts.
Along with the recreational component, there are other benefits from this deal for the 83 acres between the City of Clarksville and Scogin, in the form of transportation improvements and related cost savings.
“This purchase gives us the opportunity to consolidate two capital projects, the Needmore Road widening and Hazelwood Recreation Complex,” said David Smith, Director of the Clarksville Street Department.
“The acquisition essentially shifts the property needed for the road widening away from the adjacent residences, eliminating the impact to those owners. Also, the purchase should provide enough land for us to maintain the existing traffic pattern while the roadway is developed in this stretch, minimizing lane closures and other interruptions,” he said.
Smith said the completed roadway will have five traffic lanes, a 10-foot multi-use path and a five-foot sidewalk on the opposite side of the roadway adjacent to this property.
The acquisition of right-of-way is expected to begin later this year.
