Planning commission approves PUD amendment for Sulphur Springs Road development

The Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission on July 14 approved a planned-unit-development amendment (RAZ 25016) that lets the SpacePark/Stone Lake development on Sulphur Springs Road be built as four separate buildings rather than the two originally authorized, while keeping the previously approved cap of 1,500,000 square feet for the site.

The decision matters to neighbors and county planners because it preserves the overall square-foot cap but alters building layout and circulation, prompting additional traffic mitigation commitments from the developer and a landscaping/berm buffering commitment intended to reduce headlight and noise impacts on adjacent homes.

Doug DeMasi, planning staff, told the commission the property — roughly 157 acres in Commission District 3 — was rezoned as a PUD in 2022 with an approved configuration of two buildings (one about 1,100,000 sq ft and another about 373,000 sq ft) and a combined maximum of 1,500,000 sq ft. He said the applicant asked to amend the pattern book to allow up to four buildings that, in total, would not exceed the 1,500,000-square-foot limit. DeMasi said the amendment process required the same public hearings as the original PUD and that the applicant held a neighborhood meeting on May 27.

Rob Molchan, representing Stone Lake Partners, said the developer prefers smaller building footprints because they are easier to lease than a single 1.1…