Council approves first reading for Greenland Drive PUD for mixed-use near MTSU

Murfreesboro City Council on April 17 approved on first reading a planned unit development (PUD) for two properties at 1603 and 1607 Greenland Drive, just north of the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) campus.

The PUD concept preserves an existing north-south pedestrian pathway used by students and proposes a two-story building with a 2,700-square-foot retail/commercial tenant facing Greenland Drive and four two-bedroom residential units at the rear/second story. The project includes additional parallel parking along the west property line, a formal open space at the front of the building, bike racks and a resident-only fitness amenity.

Why it matters: The site is inside the Mixed-Use Center identified by the Murfreesboro 2035 comprehensive plan and aims to support campus-adjacent walkable uses. Approving the PUD on first reading allows the developer to move to site-plan review and to incorporate the specific design commitments recorded in the pattern book.

Details of the council action and conditions - Planning staff (Matthew Bombley) said the future land use map designates the area as the MTSU Student Village mixed-use center and that the Planning Commission recommended approval with two conditions. - The applicant (Brian Grover, SCC) added three parallel parking spaces to satisfy a Planning Commission condition and revised the pattern book to include the requested signage covenants used at another nearby medical-center commercial property. - The council approved two perimeter and setback exceptions requested in the pattern book: a reduction of a 10-foot site setback to 5 feet (with a required fire-rated wall per building code review) and a request to increase the allowed dumpster size in setback from 200 to 300 sq. ft. Additional landscaping perimeter exceptions were requested to maintain a cohesive mixed-use design and to preserve the 8–10 foot pedestrian pathway.

Quotes from the meeting “...this connection is a major thoroughfare for pedestrians. So, we want to make sure we preserve that into the future site design,” said Brian Grover during his presentation.

Next steps: The PUD will return for additional administrative and planning review through the site-plan process. The applicant committed to recording the restrictive covenants related to signage prior to final approvals.

Ending: Council members praised the design concept and encouraged similar walkable development along Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard.