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It appears GM is cashing in on the Rippavilla property. This is the property that all the past reenactments have been held on. The article below appeared in Columbia's The Daily Herald this morning. It can be accessed later today at www.c-dh.net.
Sincerely,
Henry Demuth
Acreage near Rippavilla to be developed
Hundreds of acres
to be annexed,
rezoned and sold
By D. FRANK SMITH
and SKYLER SWISHER
Staff Writers
SPRING HILL — General Motors will soon put more than 400 acres of prime real estate surrounding Rippavilla Plantation on the market for development, and the city will attempt to annex the land, Mayor Danny Leverette said Wednesday.
"It's no secret GM has been exploring their avenues in developing the land," Leverette said. "Right now it's in our urban growth boundary, so when an opportunity presents itself for annexation, we would certainly love to see that in our city limits."
Calls to GM officials seeking comment on Leverette's statements were not returned Wednesday.
GM owns the land, but because of a tax-break agreement, the land is in the name of the Maury County Industrial Development Board. GM's Spring Hill Manufacturing Facility sits across the street from the Rippavilla property.
GM told city officials this week they would be in the process of reclaiming the property from the industrial board and will pursue an "aggressive" time frame in sending out requests for pro-
posals to potential developers — possibly within 45-90 days, Leverette said.
However, Maury Alliance President Frank Tamberrino said GM would likely have to jump several hurdles to sell the land. The property would have to be annexed by a municipality, rezoned and a plan of services drafted.
In addition to those hurdles, future developments could face scrutiny from residents con-
cerned about maintaining the integrity of the historic area.
Chuck Byrn, who's employed at Rippavilla as a tour guide, said developing the historic property, which, played a key role during the Civil War would be "an absolute slap in the face to those
who fought and died there."
"Once paradise is paved, there's no turning back," he said. "When you tear down a part of somebody's culture, it's gone — that's it."
|But County Historian Bob Duncan said he wouldn't be opposed to the property being developed as long as it was done tastefully.
"We have to understand that area is going to develop," he said. "I think, at this point, I woulid hope it would be developed with an eye toward keeping the historical integrity of
the area."
The city's Planning Commission would be in charge of regulating the look of develop-ment in the area. An Historic Commission would have had control over some aspect of the development, but the creation of the commission was denied at Tuesday's Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
Leverette said the city and GM would work together to ensure the development would
integrate well with the historic area.
"GM is very, very particular about what type of developments that would go in and
around that property, to make sure ,that it would not only complement the area but the
(GM Spring Hill Manufacturing facility) across the street and Maury County and our
design standards," he said.
While officials were unable to provide an estimate of the land's value, the property would
likely carry a huge price tag. Kroger recently purchased a 3.5-acre parcel near Port Royal
Road for $1.6 million, according to county records.
City Administrator Ken York said he did not know whether the development would be
commercial or residential, but he said GM was sending out proposals to many different
types of companies.
"They said they had a pretty long list of developers that were interested in the prop-
erty, and that they would pick the developer with the most compatibility," he said.;
Some of those developers will be visiting the city soon to look into their potential future
home, he said.
Leverette said the development would be beneficial to all parties involved, and he's
excited about the possibility of developing the property.
"It would be good not only for the city of Spring Hill, but Maury County in general
because you're getting ... land that now comes onto the tax rolls," he said.
D. Frank Smith may be contacted
at dfsmith@c-dh.net or (931) 388-
6464 ext. 3021. Skyler Swisher may
be contacted at sswisher@c-dh.net
or (931) 388-6464 ext. 3023.
Sincerely,
Henry Demuth
Acreage near Rippavilla to be developed
Hundreds of acres
to be annexed,
rezoned and sold
By D. FRANK SMITH
and SKYLER SWISHER
Staff Writers
SPRING HILL — General Motors will soon put more than 400 acres of prime real estate surrounding Rippavilla Plantation on the market for development, and the city will attempt to annex the land, Mayor Danny Leverette said Wednesday.
"It's no secret GM has been exploring their avenues in developing the land," Leverette said. "Right now it's in our urban growth boundary, so when an opportunity presents itself for annexation, we would certainly love to see that in our city limits."
Calls to GM officials seeking comment on Leverette's statements were not returned Wednesday.
GM owns the land, but because of a tax-break agreement, the land is in the name of the Maury County Industrial Development Board. GM's Spring Hill Manufacturing Facility sits across the street from the Rippavilla property.
GM told city officials this week they would be in the process of reclaiming the property from the industrial board and will pursue an "aggressive" time frame in sending out requests for pro-
posals to potential developers — possibly within 45-90 days, Leverette said.
However, Maury Alliance President Frank Tamberrino said GM would likely have to jump several hurdles to sell the land. The property would have to be annexed by a municipality, rezoned and a plan of services drafted.
In addition to those hurdles, future developments could face scrutiny from residents con-
cerned about maintaining the integrity of the historic area.
Chuck Byrn, who's employed at Rippavilla as a tour guide, said developing the historic property, which, played a key role during the Civil War would be "an absolute slap in the face to those
who fought and died there."
"Once paradise is paved, there's no turning back," he said. "When you tear down a part of somebody's culture, it's gone — that's it."
|But County Historian Bob Duncan said he wouldn't be opposed to the property being developed as long as it was done tastefully.
"We have to understand that area is going to develop," he said. "I think, at this point, I woulid hope it would be developed with an eye toward keeping the historical integrity of
the area."
The city's Planning Commission would be in charge of regulating the look of develop-ment in the area. An Historic Commission would have had control over some aspect of the development, but the creation of the commission was denied at Tuesday's Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
Leverette said the city and GM would work together to ensure the development would
integrate well with the historic area.
"GM is very, very particular about what type of developments that would go in and
around that property, to make sure ,that it would not only complement the area but the
(GM Spring Hill Manufacturing facility) across the street and Maury County and our
design standards," he said.
While officials were unable to provide an estimate of the land's value, the property would
likely carry a huge price tag. Kroger recently purchased a 3.5-acre parcel near Port Royal
Road for $1.6 million, according to county records.
City Administrator Ken York said he did not know whether the development would be
commercial or residential, but he said GM was sending out proposals to many different
types of companies.
"They said they had a pretty long list of developers that were interested in the prop-
erty, and that they would pick the developer with the most compatibility," he said.;
Some of those developers will be visiting the city soon to look into their potential future
home, he said.
Leverette said the development would be beneficial to all parties involved, and he's
excited about the possibility of developing the property.
"It would be good not only for the city of Spring Hill, but Maury County in general
because you're getting ... land that now comes onto the tax rolls," he said.
D. Frank Smith may be contacted
at dfsmith@c-dh.net or (931) 388-
6464 ext. 3021. Skyler Swisher may
be contacted at sswisher@c-dh.net
or (931) 388-6464 ext. 3023.
But I did bring in some interest and raised a few eye brows on the situation. I actually got a lot of positive feed back. The majority of my class that was from Franklin and Spring Hill, had no clue that there had ever been a Civil War battle that had taken place there or new very little about it.
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