MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — Murfreesboro city leaders are envisioning a new downtown. In the coming years, Northwest Broad Street will welcome residents and visitors to a whole different look.
Research conducted by the city found that residents desired a more vibrant downtown, with less of a focus on office spaces and more on retail and living.
One aspect of the renovations is an effort the city has coined the “Keystone Project,” which comes at a cost of $175 million capital investment dollars.
“It will include residential units, retail units, and one of the things that our mayor and council, and many of the folks downtown are excited about would be a hotel. A high-quality hotel,” said Sam Huddleston, assistant city manager.
The boutique hotel will be a private investment, built on a portion of land city leaders have decided to sell behind City Hall, replacing the water resources department.
Another move residents will see is WGNS Radio, which will relocate across Vine Street to make way for new development.
“By adding that additional residential demand into the downtown market, we expand those hours of activation of our downtown space say from maybe six in the morning to nine or 10 at night,” Huddleston said.
The hope is to also drive more tax revenue from downtown.
Tying all of this together will be a brand new pedestrian bridge, adding connectivity and transforming how people move around downtown.
“Broad Street’s a seven-lane roadway throughout downtown, it carries about 40,000 cars per day, so it’s a very significant mover of vehicles,” Huddleston explained. “This gives us an opportunity to eliminate pedestrian and vehicle conflict that you have at urban surface intersections and it also makes it much safer for the pedestrian.”
City leaders hope to see construction on the Keystone Project begin in 2025.
