Ashby development back before planning commission
Collierville could see more apartments, houses, commercial buildings and parkland.
The Collierville Planning Commission will review three items Thursday from project representatives Looney Ricks Kiss for Ashby Planned Development — a 134-acre project with plans for apartments, town homes, single-family homes, retail shops, office space, hotels and an assisted-living facility.
The Planning Commission will look at a request to approve the planned development, amend the Collierville 2040 Land Use Plan and rezone tracts for mixed-use projects.
Town Planner Jaime Groce said the development would sit behind Walmart, 560 W. Poplar Ave., and add a connector road from Maynard Drive to White Road.
“It’s really an underutilized area of town,” Groce said. “If this is approved, it helps get that area filled in in a way that could provide a lot of different needs, create more of a center of town there.”
Groce said the road connection will help with emergency response times, waste management pickup and school bus routing.
If approved, the development will feature up to 198 apartment units, 143 senior-living units and 461 townhomes along with retail, commercial and green space.
Groce said the developers also will plan for a walking trail from W.C. Johnson Park down to Town Square.
Residents expressed opposition and concerns for the development on social media and said the road connection will make the streets more dangerous for children.
“The developer does have some rights,” Groce said. “Thursday we’ll explain to the neighborhood that the developer does have the zoning, and it’s not like they’re asking for apartment zoning that they don’t already have.”
Groce said he looks forward to educating the public about the development.
Dima Amro covers the suburbs for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at Dima.amro@commercialappeal.com.