Spring Hill board OKs 1-year extension for Spring Hill Commerce Center on first reading amid traffic, water and airport debate

The Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved on first reading a one-year extension of zoning approval for the Spring Hill Commerce Center plan development, a roughly 499.7-acre proposal, after hours of public comment and a lengthy presentation from the developer and consultants.

The extension — Ordinance 25-09 — passed on first reading by voice vote, recorded in the minutes as passing 8-0. The measure extends the developer’s existing plan development approval by one calendar year to Jan. 3, 2027, giving the applicant additional time to secure financing, update traffic studies and finalize utility agreements.

The extension matters because the project ties into large transportation and utility changes across north Spring Hill and could reshape development east of I-65. Supporters say the plan will bring jobs, tax revenue and infrastructure investments; opponents among nearby residents warned the project will overload small country roads if off-site improvements are not completed before major build-out.

Developer and project scope

Phil Paston, representing the applicant, told the board the company pursued federal grant funding for a widened Jim Warren Road overpass and spent consulting money preparing the application. "We wasted, I hate to use that word, but as a developer and a businessman, we wasted over a year trying to accomplish that," Paston said, describing a change in grant criteria that sidelined the application. He said the company plans to privately fund and build the bridge if federal money is not secured and that the bridge design is roughly 30 percent complete.

Paston and Andrew Burick, general counsel for the Richmond Company, described commitments the developer has offered in negotiations with the city, including reserving roughly 284 acres for an airport zoning district within the PD amendment, donating a five-acre parcel for an emergency response facility and negotiating limits on the developer’s ability to assign the development agreement to an unknown third party.

Staff and consultant findings

Planning staff explained…