The Smyrna Municipal Planning Commission on April 3 approved a preliminary plat for the Bulldog Drive subdivision and, later in the meeting, approved a site plan for a Kroger-anchored shopping center on Lot 1 of that subdivision.

Preliminary plat
Town staff presented a preliminary plat covering roughly 27.67 acres with eight lots fronting Bulldog Drive and Lee Victory Parkway. The commission heard multiple staff comments that remain on record — standard plat housekeeping items, easement labeling, dedicated right-of-way for principal-arterial Lee Victory Parkway, stormwater and utility-profile clarifications. After discussion, the commission voted to approve the preliminary plat with staff comments; the motion carried.

School board option and community concerns
Rutherford County Schools told the commission it has an option (first right of refusal) to accept about 30–35 acres within the larger property. Trey Lee, chief operations officer for Rutherford County Schools, said the school board has voted to accept the option and that the district and town have an informal agreement to collaborate on future use if the school board exercises that option: "The board has voted to take the option on this piece of property," Lee said. Lee also said much of the land is in floodplain and that the board envisions greenway and practice-field connections, but that the district had declined earlier offers to buy the property for a standard elementary school because of other recent purchases and district priorities.

Traffic, access and design
Traffic engineering details were discussed at length. The developer provided a traffic study proposing widening Bulldog Drive, dual turning lanes at the Lee Victory Parkway intersection and other intersection improvements to increase capacity and manage afternoon egress. Richard Phillips, traffic engineer, said the preferred configuration includes dual left turns and dual right-turn lanes and rebuilding the signal to handle the new lane geometry. Phillips confirmed raised crosswalks and sidewalk connections would be shown on the site plan.

Developer and tenant assurances
Representatives of Kroger and the development team said Kroger will be a partner in the acquisition and will impose covenants limiting certain competing or undesirable uses on the center’s outparcels. Road Seager of Southeastern Development, representing the project, said Kroger places restrictions on some tenant categories and the developer has deed restrictions and tenant controls that will be recorded.

Kroger site plan
The store plan shows a grocery store on Lot 1 with parking, a future fuel center on a separate parcel and an additional outbuilding to be submitted under a future site plan. The design-review elevations showed brick, stone, glass and fiber-cement materials and met the town’s design standards as submitted. Staff requested additional evergreen buffering (Type C buffer) along the northern property line abutting R-6 apartments, more trees inside parking islands, utility profiles and documentation of a written confirmation from the school board on agreed property alterations; staff also asked for confirmation of security-camera locations, which applicants said they were coordinating with police.

Votes and next steps
The commission approved the preliminary plat and later approved the Kroger site plan subject to the staff comments noted on the record. The developer will return with additional site plans for the fuel center and the outbuilding; utilities construction plans, detailed landscaping meeting Type C buffer requirements and speed-table details for raised crosswalks remain as conditions before building permits are issued.

What this means locally: The approved plat and Kroger site plan clear the way for near-term commercial development along Bulldog Drive while leaving open the school board’s option to acquire a substantial portion of the larger parcel for public use and greenway connections; traffic and buffering improvements remain conditions of future permits.