Resident urges Cookeville council to prioritize affordable housing at old fairground site

Trenton Strode, a Cookeville resident, urged the Cookeville City Council on Oct. 16 to prioritize affordable, mixed-income housing at the 37-acre former fairground site.

Strode said recent developer proposals for retail, hospitality and office space risk displacing working families and called for “a living neighborhood, affordable, mixed income housing, walkable streets, small green spaces” that would allow teachers, first responders and local graduates to live in the city they serve. “That vision doesn’t compete with growth. It sustains that growth,” Strode said.

Strode framed the issue as both economic and moral: he argued that retail-only development can lead to empty storefronts and an economy that “is built on receipts instead of roots,” whereas housing stability returns spending to local businesses and strengthens community institutions.

The remarks occurred during the meeting’s public-comment period after the council concluded its agenda items. No formal council action on the fairground site was recorded in the meeting minutes or transcript; Strode’s comments were presented as a plea for council advocacy and intergovernmental coordination.

Strode urged the council to use its influence with county counterparts and described the property as “a $12,000,000 chance to build the Cookeville that we claim to believe in.” He closed by asking the council to “turn that fairground into a fairground, where every resident, regardless of income, has the right to call Cookeville home.”

The council received the comment; no motion or direction related to the site was recorded in the meeting transcript.