This curious fellow has learned Tullahoma is on track for even more exciting housing development around the community over the next several months.

Longtime area developer Allan Howard is developing a 30 acre parcel on Ledford Mill Road adjacent to the Ascend Credit Union Call Center. The development is called Legacy Preserve and will feature 60 townhomes and 60 single family homes. The name comes from Howard’s plan to preserve 15 acres of wetlands on the property.

Building pads for the townhomes along Ledford Mill are being excavated now. Some of the townhomes should be finished by early 2024. The townhomes will feature two and three bedrooms and offer either one or two car garages. Site work including roads and utilities to access the 60 homes should be finished this Fall and construction on the homes will start immediately.

The goal of the developer is to offer both the townhomes and homes in the affordable price range so teachers and new AEDC engineers for example can afford to live in Tullahoma.

Howard has a history of development in Tullahoma including the very popular Emerald Meadows and Pinnacle Point subdivisions in the Riley Creek/Ovoca Road corridor.

Legacy Preserve is exciting enough but this curious fellow has learned Howard has three other housing developments in Tullahoma on the drawing board including Copperas Creek, a higher end subdivision which should be finished by the end of summer.

So what has triggered this flurry of development? According to Howard, the Planning staff and Planning Commission are great to work with he emphasized. There is a big financial risk associated with developing property and the planning staff and commission understand this and try and help but still follow all rules and regulations.

Stay tuned. Details to follow as the developer and builder finalize plans. 

Farrar Frogs to get new habitat 

Jack T. Farrar Elementary School, home of the Farrar Frogs, is getting ready for a building reboot. The school, built in the early 70s, is named for the second longest serving Mayor in Tullahoma’s history, Jack T Farrar, MD. The school is the third oldest of Tullahoma’s seven public school buildings. Both Tullahoma High School and Bel Aire Elementary School were built in the mid-1950s. Approximately 350 students attend Farrar across grades kindergarten thru fifth grade.

The 50-year-old campus is unique in several ways. The overall design is close to an octagon in shape, and there are very few interior walls between classrooms and grades. This open concept was evidently quite popular 50 years ago. Since that time, however, school officials have determined a more contemporary structure with interior walls is needed for overall safety, as well as other educational benefits. 

The new structure features 21 classrooms, resource, and other specialty instruction rooms, a large media center, and a full-scale dining room – something that the current building does not have. The expansion will connect to the hallway of the already existing kindergarten pod. To aid in reducing overall cost, portions of the existing building – the kindergarten pod and kitchen area – are being used, as well as the gymnasium, art, and music rooms. Additionally, the district is hopeful for the remaining space to be utilized for an early childhood center to serve its earliest learners from 6 weeks old through preschool ages.

Although there are several major hurdles to jump over in the next several months, including permits and technical reviews, site work should start in August. Actual building construction should start this December, with completion projected for October 2024.

The overall cost of the project is still under review and should be finalized later this summer. Funding is provided from the unique sales tax sinking fund. This is a fund started in the 1970s where 1/2 cent per dollar of all sales tax collections in the city is set aside specifically for school building construction and renovation.

I know the Farrar Frogs are looking forward to moving in to their new habitat.

If you are curious about something in Tullahoma, send me an email at acuriousfellow@lighttube.net.