CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — The Clarksville redevelopment commission approved a $3.9 million purchase agreement to buy a nearly 24 acre Marathon bulk terminal storage on Center Street.
This is not the first step that Clarksville has taken to redevelop the downtown section, construction is already underway on Woerner Ave. for a new walkway.
The town's redevelopment plan is to transform Clarksville into a modern downtown with new restaurants, store fronts and a hotel.
Dylan Fisher, the Director of the Redevelopment Commission, says cities like Jeffersonville and New Albany have seen a resurgence since adding their downtown areas, but until now, Clarksville hasn’t had the same opportunity.
"There’s nothing to see there right now,” Fisher said. Adding that with this new development, the new downtown area would be home to a new hotel, real estate, restaurants and local shops.
Even with this optimism of what the downtown area could become, not all residents are sold on the idea.
Nicholas Green, a local manager at Savoy, where the construction is on the back end of their business, says, there’s two sides to every coin, adding he’s happy the new foot traffic will add however, fearful of potential new traffic and crime that could come with the new developments.
Also tonight the Clarksville Fraternal Order of Police weighing in on this matter. In a statement from the President Tyler Jackson, "If the Town Council believes money should be spent buying property and other items rather than funding Emergency Services that is the Town Council’s Prerogative. We can disagree with those decisions based upon our beliefs that the safety and security of the citizens of Clarksville outweigh the necessity of acquiring real estate and other non-essential equipment."
The Redevelopment Commission is in a 90 to 120 waiting period before all the paperwork is complete on this new acquisition and the deal will not be approved for 30 to 45 days.
Clarksville Redevelopment Comission
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