BusinessTN

Like the little engine in the well-known storybook, Clarksville and Montgomery County have proven to be the communities that not only thought they could, they did. They’ve grown and developed, they’ve faced economic downturns and natural adversities, and they’ve changed with the times and prospered again. In March 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau identified Montgomery County as the 96th fastest-growing county in the country.

Clarksville has never been a lazy town, and Montgomery County—once part of Tennessee County along with its neighbor, Robertson—has always been an active and thriving community. From their beginnings as a station where the Cumberland and Red rivers converge, to their positions now as Tennessee’s fifth largest city and third fastest growing county, Clarksville and Montgomery County have provided a wealth of resources to the state through historical, economic and academic contributions.

River traffic, farming and military activity are only a few of the important contributions the county has made to the state of Tennessee over the last 223 years. Montgomery County has furnished two governors to the state, William “Willie” Blount and Austin Peay; a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and a Postmaster General. The oldest bank in the state, the Northern Bank established in 1854, now AmSouth Bank, began in Clarksville. The state’s oldest newspaper, The Leaf-Chronicle, was established in 1808. The first and only bank in the world established and operated entirely by women, the Women’s Bank of Tennessee, opened in 1919 in Clarksville.

Tennessee is unique in that, traditionally, it has been the natural resources that have driven the economic engines of each distinct region, such as the mountains in East Tennessee and the farmlands of West Tennessee. In Clarksville, the primary natural resource has been the rivers and river life. The banks of the Cumberland River provided home sites and a livelihood to the earliest settlers of that region—long before European Americans crossed the mountains into Tennessee—so it isn’t surprising that the river continues to serve as a catalyst for both economic and community growth and development in the region.

“Clarksville was started on the river, and it is the river that got us where we are today,” says Jeff Robinson, chairman of the River District Commission. Almost twenty years ago, city and county leaders established the River District Commission to organize plans for the redevelopment and revival of Clarksville’s river district area. The River District Commission, a quasi-governmental entity created by the city of Clarksville, has nine voting members appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. Its stated purpose is to create a link between the riverfront and the old town area and to plan and maintain an active and vibrant waterfront district.

Robinson is completing his third year as chairman of the RDC, and he points to the successful completion of Phase I of the River District Commission’s plans, and the current implementation of Phase II, as proof of the power of mutual goals. “Everyone in the community is in favor of improving our quality of life and our connections with the river,” he says. “The river is our primary natural resource, and now it can be enjoyed by everyone. The RiverWalk is one of the most used public facilities in our city.”

The Cumberland RiverWalk, a component of Clarksville’s Upland Trails Master Plan, anchors the 13.2-acre McGregor Park at one end, with the Cumberland RiverCenter pavilion, a venue for local events and outdoor festivals, as its showpiece. The lighted RiverWalk follows the river for a third of a mile, with park benches, playgrounds, picnic areas, performance stages, and an amphitheater along its path. “As the River Flows” is a permanent exhibit in the RiverCenter that provides an overview of the history of the river and its significance in the birth and growth of the city of Clarksville. A pedestrian overpass allows citizens and tourists to walk from the river to historic downtown Clarksville. The RiverWalk and RiverCenter project received the International Clearwater Award for riverfront development.

Phase II of the RDC’s Land Use Master Plan is currently in the visioning process. Plans include continuing to develop the RiverWalk trail system, linking and connecting it with Austin Peay State University and downtown Franklin Street; privately developed residential components; and a marina facility adjacent to the Fairgrounds Park.

“The push to revitalize the downtown area of Clarksville began years ago, but was, initially, more closely associated with the development of the riverfront,” says James Chavez, president and CEO of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council. Plans were reevaluated when a devastating tornado swept through Clarksville in the early morning hours of Jan. 22, 1999. “It didn’t so much shift the focus as it did to accelerate activity on plans for the historic downtown district.

The twister cut a five-mile path, damaging more then 500 properties, ripping through the center of Austin Peay State University and leaving $72 million worth of damage to be repaired, renovated or, in some cases, removed entirely. Hardest hit was historic downtown Clarksville. Chavez says that the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council (EDC), formed in 1994 as a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Development Board, the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the ASPIRE Clarksville Foundation, had put into place a program for urban renewal, but the tornadoes launched everything forward about ten years.

“Each of these organizations had—and continues to have—the goal of promoting growth, development and economic prosperity in our community,” Chavez says. “Thirteen years ago, we decided to partner and share and maximize our resources.” The partnership, and the subsequent formation of the Clarksville-Montgomery County EDC, couldn’t have happened at a more auspicious time—right before the overwhelming destruction of the tornadoes.

Chavez says that the results are more than they expected. “Bringing back downtown after the 1999 tornadoes has been an amazing journey. People have reinvested in downtown in a visible and gratifying way.

Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers, a native of Clarksville, sings the praises of her county and its comeback from disaster. “I was born and raised here, and my daughters were born and raised here, and one of my daughters is now raising her family here. We’re happy here. We’re committed to making Clarksville the best place to live,” she says.

Mayor Bowers points to new growth in the industrial sector as a prime example of the vitality of her county. “It is exciting to work with the Industrial Development Board to attract new businesses in the area. In March, we’ll be announcing yet another industry coming into the county. It takes a long time to develop relationships, and now we’re seeing the fruition of that patience.”

In December 2006, the Tennessee Valley Authority and Clarksville-Montgomery County officials announced that a 1,187-acre industrial site is now a certified megasite—a large industrial property suitable for major automotive manufacturing. Commerce Park is the first certified megasite in Middle Tennessee, and the fourth in the state. Commerce Park is located approximately 1.5 miles from I-24, off Exit 4 and just north of the Clarksville-Montgomery Corporate Business Park.

Chavez points out that the megasite certification represents a huge economic development milestone for the city and the county. “TVA hired McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) of Greenville, S.C., to find out what the requirements are for the automotive manufacturing industry when selecting a site, and we went through all the due diligence regarding land, railroads and environmental studies. Once we met all the requirements, we received the certification.” The site meets all the criteria for MSC certification, including size of at least 1,000 contiguous acres, land availability, transportation access and labor capacity.

“Clarksville’s certified, ready-for-development megasite gives the community and the Tennessee Valley a huge advantage in recruiting new automotive manufacturing facilities and other industries,” says John Bradley, TVA’s senior vice president of economic development, in a press release issued shortly after the announcement. “There is a growing demand for certified industrial sites in the automotive industry, and the Commerce Park site allows Clarksville and the state of Tennessee to be fierce competitors for quality jobs.”

By press time, a new industry will be coming into the area. “We recently completed an 800-acre business park expansion that fronts I-24 and the entrance of Exit 8,” Chavez says. “It took $28 million to develop, but it was necessary to ensure that we’re in a position to recruit new companies to our county.”

Talented labor is another positive force at work in Montgomery County. A year ago, Southern Business & Development magazine named Clarksville one of the South’s “Top 10 Places with Plenty of Talented Labor.” Both the proximity of Fort Campbell Army Post, which is partially located in Montgomery County, and Austin Peay State University, the fastest growing university in the state of Tennessee, contribute to the abundance of both educated and job-specific labor available to businesses in the area. A large percentage of the soldiers and their spouses have some type of post-secondary education, including management training, the ability to speak foreign languages, and maintenance-related skills.

One of the primary forces behind Clarksville’s continuing economic development is the relationship it maintains with Fort Campbell, the largest employer in both Tennessee and Kentucky. Over 30,000 soldiers and their 55,000 family members are stationed at Fort Campbell, and these people live, shop and contribute to the vigorous economy of Clarksville.

Austin Peay State University is a vital part of both the economic and cultural engines of the community, says Sherry Hoppe, retiring president of the university and chairman of the industrial development board. “There is a mutual relationship in place in terms of the community and the university, in terms of growth,” Hoppe says. “We bring in folks from outside of the community who directly impact us. We’re one of the largest employers in Montgomery County.

The university is also a rich source of cultural events, and helps the city and county with events as well by sharing its facilities, serving as a convention center with its available ballroom and breakout rooms.

As the centerpiece of what Hoppe calls a “town-gown relationship,” Austin Peay helps make the area more attractive to businesses and industries looking to start up or relocate in the area. “Our graduates are prepared to go out in to the community and serve in so many roles,” she says. “It’s definitely a win-win situation when the university collaborates with businesses and industries. And with our own graduates working within the community as well, they believe in our university and its impact on the area.”

Hoppe, who came to Clarksville seven years ago, says she learned first-hand what a welcoming area Clarksville and Montgomery County is to newcomers. “It is very exciting to be part of a vibrant, progressive community that wants to move forward,” she says.

In addition to Fort Campbell Military Post and Austin Peay State University, the area’s other large employers include the Montgomery County school system and Trane Standard American. Montgomery County ranks in the top 25 counties for manufacturing employment in the state, employing an average of 6,000 people, but both the service and hospitality industries are growing, as well as tourism.

Many large retailers and developers have built in Clarksville, including Wisconsin-based Kohl’s department store and the Seattle-based Starbucks. “We’re now trying to spin retail,” Chavez says, “and we’re in talks about several potential retail projects. At Exit 1, there is a lot of residential growth going on, so new retail and restaurants will be going in there to serve that area.” The boom in the residential sector can be attributed to military personnel and their families living off-base, an influx of retirees into the area, and the expansion of the Nashville region into the Sango area on the south side of Montgomery County. “We offer a short commute time, plenty of house for your money and a strong public school system,” Chavez says.

“There is a push for development that will better service our citizens and bring in tourism dollars as well,” Chavez says. “For a community our size, without the assets of a Nashville or Gatlinburg, we do well.”

Increasing tourism revenue is just one of the many goals of the ASPIRE Clarksville Foundation. ASPIRE is a privately funded economic development and community marketing initiative now in its third four-year phase of attracting significant capital investment by businesses to create better career opportunities and higher paying jobs for the residents of Clarksville and Montgomery County. A number of recent objectives of ASPIRE included recruiting the “Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest,” a sanctioned national championship for professional cat fishing; completing a feasibility study for a proposed multi-use arena and shopping district; and hosting the Kick-It 3v3 Soccer Championships, attracting over 8,000 visitors to Clarksville.

Amateur sporting events have become an integral part of the tourism program in Clarksville and Montgomery County. “We’ve been actively recruiting amateur sports,” Chavez says. “We offer many amenities to attract amateur sports tournaments, including our enthusiastic volunteer force that provides excellent service to our visitors.

For the next three years, Clarksville will host the boys and girls National AAU Championships, bringing teams, their coaches and families, and scouts to the area. The World Dodgeball Championships for both adults and teens will be held at large outdoor soccer complex.

Other tourism initiatives include the Miss Tennessee pageant, which has been held in Clarksville for a number of years, and Fort Campbell’s “Soldier for a Day” program. In 2006, Austin Peay State University hosted the summer camp for the Tennessee Titans professional football team. The “Rivers and Spires” Festival, only in its fourth year, was named a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism Society, a ranking that places the event in the same stratosphere as the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Virginia Gold Cup and Columbia’s Mule Day—events that have been taking place for over 20 years. These efforts, combined with recruitment of business tourism dollars, have increased tourism revenues in the county 35% over the last ten years.

Health care and education are high on the priority lists of community leaders as well. Triad Health Systems purchased the old Gateway Hospital—previously Memorial Hospital. The hospital will relocate to Exit 4 off I-24, with an investment of $225 million. And with population on the rise, the Clarksville-Montgomery County school system is in a massive growth phase. “We have to open a new school almost every year,” Mayor Bowers says. The school system, which has received both statewide and national recognition, meets and exceeds both state and national goals for education. Several private schools in the area offer alternatives to the public school system. In addition to Austin Peay State University, there are a number of vocational, technical and business school choices.

At the announcement that Clarksville had been recognized as the 17th fastest growing city in the United States among cities with populations of more than 100,000, James Chavez expressed his delight, noting that Clarksville was the only city in Tennessee and one of the few in the southeast to have experienced that type of exponential growth. Montgomery County and Clarksville have grown beyond their early dependence on agriculture as an economic engine to become an important center for transportation, industry, retail and tourism, while maintaining its charm as an historic river town.