By james art MADISON, Tenn. (WTVF) — When an announcement is made about a so-called mixed-use development, there are usually a lot of expectations about what will be built.
Take the Madison Station Boulevard project for example. The initial plans and construction excited people a few years ago. While we’ve witnessed this part of the city’s transformation since 2020, including the addition of a tree-lined corridor with sidewalks and a roundabout, not much has been done since infrastructure work.
In 2025, the project is expected to move forward. When the affordable housing phase of the project begins, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee will be involved. About 240 affordable homes will be built. The aim is to accommodate residents engaged in the area.
“Those who have lived in Madison for several years but can’t continue to stay there for whatever reason. Or those who have lived in Madison and want to come back,” explained Aaron Thompson, vice president of housing and economic development at ULMT. “How can we impact their ability to stay where they live or move them back to where they knew.”
Eventually, there will be office space, a park, kindergartens and a transit center here. Things Madison really needs. The Urban League will bring the project to the finish line.
“Sometimes you feel like I have to go this far to get my basic needs. In this case, no… You can take public transit… you can park and ride… you can say Hey, I want to go to the library, it’s walking distance from this project,” Thompson said .
The Urban League became an investor in this $631 million project thanks to the other partners involved.
“Having strategic partners makes a lot of sense. Credit to Nancy VanRees who had a vision for this area when she was a councillor, credit to LDG Development for having the foresight to say hey look here’s something we can do that has a good impact on the community and then we should brag with the team here at the Urban League for putting their hand up to say we want to be a partner,” Thompson said.
Construction of the first residential phase is expected to include 242 affordable housing units, including 191 family units and 51 units for people 62 and older.
A trip to see some of our neighbors’ best Halloween decorations
Halloween is just days away. This year, Americans are expected to spend about $12 billion on candy, costumes and decorations. Over the past few years, it seems a lot more people are going all out to decorate their homes. Forrest Sanders had the chance to visit several communities in the middle states to check out some of these Halloween decorations.
– Lelan Statom