Cookeville council approves $3.2 million purchase of HCA property for downtown parking and redevelopment

The Cookeville City Council on May 15 approved a contract to purchase roughly 5.07 acres of property from HCA Health Services of Tennessee at 39 Depot Street for $3,200,000 to provide downtown parking, a park area and space for possible commercial development.

City Manager Mills told the council the property could yield an estimated 100 to 150 off‑street parking spaces on about 1 to 1.5 acres, with the remainder used for green space and potential commercial development. Mills said the contract would purchase the property “as is,” and that the city plans to hire an environmental assessment firm to update previous studies and identify any needed mitigation.

The purchase matter drew praise from council members who described the site as key to downtown revitalization. "This is an amazing project. I think it will be one of the most important things that the council gets to work on in this term for our downtown," Councilman Walker said. Council members also thanked HCA representatives for allowing public parking while negotiations proceeded.

Mills listed recent downtown investments and projects to place this purchase in context, including a $3 million streetscape project on Cedar, a $750,000 24‑space parking lot on Cedar Avenue, a roughly $1.1 million parking project at Cedar and Third, a $2 million renovation and park work tied to Dogwood Park and CPAC, a $443,000 resurfacing on Broad Street and Oak Avenue, a planned 51‑space lease parking lot estimated at $300,000, an overhead‑to‑underground utility conversion of about $925,000, a stormwater and sanitary sewer upgrade at about $1.5 million, and a Northampton streetscape project estimated at $225,000. Mills said those investments and the HCA purchase reflect more than $15 million invested in downtown in recent years. (Figures cited by staff at the meeting were presented as estimates.)

Mills said the city expects to complete the purchase during the current fiscal year, by June 30, 2025, and asked council to authorize execution of the contract and submission of the deposit specified in the contract. A member of the public, Jeff King, identified himself as a new Cookeville resident and said he strongly supported the purchase.

Councilman Walker moved approval; Councilman Baji seconded. The council voted 4–0 to approve the contract.

Officials said environmental remediation, stormwater and utility upgrades will be required and that the city will retain a local architecture/landscape planning firm to prepare development plans that incorporate parking, green space and potential commercial uses. Staff estimated environmental mitigation and utility work to construct the parking and park could cost approximately $1.5 million to $2.0 million, and they said a current environmental assessment will be completed to refine those costs.

The council’s vote followed a separate budget amendment on the agenda that staff said would provide funds to support the purchase; that amendment also passed. The city did not provide a line‑by‑line funding breakdown at the meeting beyond the stated purchase price and the staff estimates for remediation and development costs.

The contract includes use restrictions that generally bar certain competing medical uses but allow specified uses by the Coastal Regional Medical Center. Staff recommended approval and the council authorized the city manager to proceed with the purchase and to execute the contract.