Michelle Willard, The Daily News Journal, June 23, 2016
Developers say they intend to preserve this historic house at 3726 Manson Pike and make it an amenity for a proposed upscale apartment.
MURFREESBORO – The Murfreesboro Planning Commission unanimously approved the final design review for a controversial 270-unit apartment complex on Manson Pike on Wednesday.
The apartment complex was proposed last year, but ran into problems when neighbors protested threats to a historic house, called Springfield.
Since then, the developer redesigned the complex, seeking to preserve the home, said Charles Haskett of Bonavic Development.
“We changed the site design several months ago to preserve the existing home and many of the mature trees surrounding the home. That site design was approved by the city through the PRD zoning process and is now in place to ensure the home’s preservation,” Haskett said.
According to documents for the Murfreesboro Planning Department, the proposed buildings for range between two and three stories, some with garages on the first floor and some with stand-alone garages.
At an emotional public hearing on annexation and rezoning requests in November, neighbors expressed concerns about noise, security, traffic, privacy and density, but mainly they spoke about threats to the local watershed and concerns for the historic home on the site.
The home was built between 1805 and 1810, said John Lodl, the director of Rutherford County Archives. It was home to the Smith, Washington and Crockett families. He added one of the homeowners was a fifth cousin to President George Washington.
The design seeks to preserve the historic house as an amenity as well as using historic paint colors and natural brick to highlight the architecture of the historic home, said Margaret Ann Green, principal planner of the Murfreesboro Planning Department.
At a meeting in May, Haskett explained the complex’s design was inspired by early American architecture of the Springfield house and “in keeping with architectural intent” of the historic home.
Reach Michelle Willard at 615-278-5164, on Twitter @MichWillard or Rutherford County Business News on Facebook at facebook.com/DNJBusiness.