Proposed Murfreesboro amphitheater project fails to get needed council votes. Here's why.

The proposed Notes Live amphitheater and restaurant development fell one vote short of reaching a development agreement with Murfreesboro officials.

A split Murfreesboro City Council on June 30 had three members in support and three against a music venue and restaurant project on 18.2 acres on the south side of Medical Center Parkway across from the Fountains at Gateway development and near Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital. The proposal included the following:

• a 4,500-seat, "Sunset Colosseum" for outdoor concerts;

• a "Boot Barn Hall" for indoor music for 500 patrons for fully seated events with 8-top tables and 1,400 patrons in concert-style seating;

• and a Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern with restaurant seating for 300 customers.

Retiring Councilman Ronnie Martin abstained from voting on the development that he said would involve future elected city officials after he leaves office in August.

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Retiring fellow Councilman Rick LaLance, however, was among the three officials who voted against an agreement to possibly give away former city land to attract a headquarters for a development that could contribute to traffic and noise problems on Medical Center Parkway.

"For me, I would rather sell that property and have money available to widen Medical Center Parkway," LaLance said after the meeting.

Fellow Councilman Shawn Wright and Vice Mayor Madelyn Scales Harris also opposed the development agreement for the now estimated $30 million private investment for the project. Mayor Shane McFarland and Councilmen Kirt Wade and Bill Shacklett supported the proposal recommended by City Manager Craig Tindall.

Wright: Concert traffic may impact ambulance traffic to hospital

LaLance, Wright and Harris each praised the development concept, but questioned the location and whether traffic concerns will be addressed.

Wright said they'd need to see city plans to widen the parkway and the developer's traffic study with other recommended road improvements before voting on the amphitheater project.

"I think we already have a traffic issue on Medical Center Parkway," Wright said.

Given the development is close Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Wright mentioned concerns about concert traffic preventing an ambulance from being able to respond to an emergency in a timely manner.

"Even one ambulance not getting to hospital because of (a concert) is one too many," said Wright, adding the city ought to include an emergency lane in the parkway widening plans.

Tindall complimented Wright on the emergency lane idea and suggested the city will have an alternative way for ambulances to get to the hospital.

After LaLance mentioned amphitheater noise concerns at the hospital and nearby Old Fort Golf Course, Tindall responded by saying the concerts should be at night when the golf course is closed. The sounds would be aimed away from neighborhoods and the hospital. The city manager also suggested the restaurant location plan behind the outdoor audience seats should mitigate much of the concert sounds from the amphitheater.

City gives up on selling land for headquarters

Wright also mentioned he'd rather see the project developed on 154 acres the city owns on the north side of Franklin Road about a mile west of Veterans Parkway. This land had been planned for a park with ballfields, a school and  ire station.

The Notes Live development, Tindall said, should be in the city's urban center for a high-end restaurant and enough land for the entertainment venues.

The city's 18.2 acres in question had previously been available for a headquarters after the council bought the land about 20 years ago. Murfreesboro officials, however, have been unable to find a corporation willing to make a commitment for this property.

Any corporation wanting the property to develop a headquarters would demand free land and a property tax abatement deal, the mayor said.

"One thousand employee companies are almost impossible to get anymore," McFarland said.

The mayor suggested corporations want headquarters located closer to interstate interchanges. This includes Middle Tennessee Electric swapping headquarters land to obtain former city property for a never-built Blackman Park off Interstate 840 and Veterans Parkway.

LaLance expressed disappointment about the city deciding against pursuing a headquarters.

"I think most people gave up on bringing good jobs here a long time ago, unfortunately," LaLance said. The retiring councilman also questioned how an amphitheater project would benefit the city more than a headquarters with 1,000 jobs.

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Developer has second restaurant plan

If the project is not dead, the majority of the council may expect a revised development agreement with more details about traffic plans.

If approved, Notes Live expects 20 to 30% of the concert ticket buyers to come from outside Rutherford County and its government seat in Murfreesboro, said Robert Mudd, the president and chief operating officer for the company.

Medical Center Parkway has an interchange with Interstate 24 that's nearly 2 miles northwest of the property. The parkway also has an intersection with Northwest Broad Street (U.S. Highway 41) about a mile to the southeast. I-24 and U.S. Highway 41 pass through Nashville. Both routes stretch from the Clarksville area on the northwest side of the Middle Tennessee region and the Chattanooga area on the southeast side of the state.

Notes Live sees Murfreesboro as providing the target market to support a development that also could decide to build a "Roth Seafood and Chophouse" restaurant, according to the proposed agreement that failed to get a majority vote from the council.

The Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern project would be expected to take about 18 months to complete while the amphitheater would take about two years and possibly open in 2024, Mudd told the council prior to the vote.

The project would involve 132 jobs to build the development with an annual average wage estimated to be $54,000. Once finished, Notes Live will have around 200 employees with about 40% being full-time. The jobs would include two executives earning $100,000 to $120,000 annually and 10 others making above the county's average annual wage, according to a report to the council from the city manager.

Annual sales from the completed projects will bring in $32.5 million to $40 million, and the city should gain nearly $1.5 million in yearly taxes without counting the addition of Roth Seafood and Chophouse, Tindall's report said.

Failed agreement includes Notes Live meeting concert requirements

Although Notes Live could have gained free land from the city for a successful project, the proposed agreement would require the company to pay 10% of the value of the property for the first year of a 10-year plan for failing to meet requirements: holding at least 10 annual concerts with at least 2,500 tickets sold for each event.

Failure to meet the thresholds a second year would require Notes Live to pay the remaining balance for the property.

The agreement would have given Notes Live about 8 to 9 acres valued at $15.75 per square foot (nearly $5.5 million for 8 acres) for the restaurant, indoor concert hall and amphitheater.

The developer would also build a parking lot on that remaining land that's retained by the city to also use for trailhead access to the Stones River Greenway and events, Tindall said.

The 18.2 acres has a Rutherford County Property Assessor appraisal value of over $5.3 million.

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips and questions through emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.

Facts about Notes Live project

• Location for proposed development: South side of Medical Center Parkway at Gateway Boulevard intersection across from The Fountains at Gateway

• Number of seats for "Sunset Colosseum" (amphitheater for outdoor concerts): 4,500

• Number of seats for seats for "Boot Barn Hall" for indoor concerts: 500 patrons for fully seated events with 8-top tables and 1,400 patrons in concert-style seating.

• Number of seats for development's plan for Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern: 300

• Acres of city land available for development: 18.2

• Acres Notes Live would use for buildings: 8 to 9

• Estimated value of proposed property for Notes Live: $15.75 per square foot (about $5.4 million for 8 acres)

• Remaining land city would retain for parking by developer for Stones River Greenway trailhead and events: 9 to 10

• Rutherford County Property Assessor appraisal value of 18.2 acres: $5.3 million

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Murfreesboro amphitheater project fails to get needed council votes