John Deere heavy machinery dealership clears rezoning hurdle in Clarksville - ClarksvilleNow.com

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Around 20 acres of land off Hornbuckle Road was rezoned by the City Council on Thursday, Nov. 7, making way for a John Deere Construction & Forestry equipment dealer being developed in Clarksville.

Exit 11 Properties applied for the rezoning, and they asked for 19.89 acres on the southwest frontage of Hornbuckle Road to be rezoned from C-4 to C-5. The property is currently under a purchase and sales agreement with the intended use to sell the land to McCoy Construction & Forestry.

Larry Rocconi, who was the agent for the proposal, told the City Council $15 million out of the project budget is supposed to go toward land and improvements, while the other estimated $30 million will go toward inventory at the site. He also referenced the site will offer heavy machinery such as life-size tonka trucks. Rocconi previously said for the deal to go through, it has to be rezoned.

Going into the council meeting, the Regional Planning Commission voted in favor of recommending the rezoning case for approval.

However, RPC staff recommended the proposal be voted down. “Staff recommendation is for disapproval,” previously said RPC Deputy Director John Spainhoward Jr. “This request is not consistent with the overall goals and objectives of the adopted Clarksville-Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan.”

Brad McCoy, a family member and representative for McCoy Construction & Forestry, told the council his company was developed in 1958, and today they operate with 4,000 team members across 30 states. “I believe McCoy Construction & Forestry would be a great neighbor for the City of Clarksville,” McCoy said.

McCoy said his company would have a light traffic footprint for those that live near the development. He said his company will be there for Clarksville as the city and its businesses continue to grow. McCoy also said they would be a great neighbor due to their community involvement.

This property will be used as the McCoy company’s regional headquarters as they look to create jobs and contribute to the local economy, McCoy said. “We plan to base up to 50 employees here, including high-paying corporate roles covering key functions for our regional operations. This plans to be a regional training center for us. This location will train employees helping further develop a skilled local workforce.”

The development is expected to also be a corporate parts warehouse and distribution center as well, McCoy said.

Councilperson Stacey Streetman asked McCoy if he had an estimate on the number of jobs that will be corporate positions. “I would say about 50%,” McCoy said.

Streetman asked what types of individuals they will be looking to hire to work on the heavy machinery. McCoy said certified technicians, and he added his company typically recruits out of the military. “We’re part of an organization called SkillBridge Program. … They take people out of the military to work with John Deere, and we have a program where we hire them, they come on board for six months to make sure it’s a good fit. We’ve had a lot of success with this program.”

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Councilperson Joe Shakeenab asked about pollution control at the site, and McCoy said, “Fortunately over the years, EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) has taken care of that. We have diesel particulate filters on all of these, and really all of the emissions that come out of these machines are a lot of times cleaner than the air we breathe. It’s come a long way.”

McCoy said his company will not continuously operate the machines on the property.

The City Council unanimously approved the rezoning 11-0 with Councilperson Brian Zacharias absent.

The Street Department indicated the McCoy company may need to make improvements to Hornbuckle, which includes the intersection at Highway 76, according to previous reports.

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Christian Brown, Content Editor for Clarksville Now. If needed, you can reach me at [email protected] or at 931-648-7720.