Centerville plans new walkable town center to bring economic, recreational opportunity

The City of Centerville is moving forward on plans for a new town center.

In late September, the city council approved a moratorium on new construction and land disturbance permits in the designated town center area for the next six months.

During the moratorium, the city will work on an overlay: a “playbook” that details specific guidelines for private developers looking to build in the area.

According to a tentative map, the town center will be based around Center Park north of the Houston County Galleria and stretch west along Gunn Road and north on Houston Lake Road.

“The town center has been part of the master plan for the City of Centerville since as far back as 2006,” Centerville Economic Development Director Shannon Bryant said. “Centerville is a relatively new city, so it doesn’t have a historic downtown. We don’t have the old 150 to 200-year-old buildings that we can revitalize so we’re having to create a downtown of our own, which is interesting because you get to craft it and create it in the way that you want it to be.”

Centerville Councilman Justin Wright said finalizing the overlay district will ensure that the town center is built in an intentional way. Establishing a town center was one of the main reasons he ran for city council.

“Once you declare a downtown district, it gives you more options to be able to pursue certain incentives, to pursue certain design standards and to make sure that everything that gets built in that area around the park aligns with this vision for town center,” Wright said.

The city plans to offer tax incentives and waive fees to entice private developers to build in the overlay zone.

City officials said they hope to attract small businesses and larger chains.

“The idea with town center moving forward is creating a sense of place around [Center Park],” Bryant said. “Maybe you’ll have a multi-level building that has ground floor retail for businesses, shops, restaurants, that sort of thing. And on the second, third, even fourth floors, you might have apartments or condos or lofts, because that’s a big need … We are growing exponentially, our population grows year over year. So creating different types of living options, that’s a draw as well.

“You might take your family and grab a bite to eat at a restaurant that will be built, and then see a concert over at the park. Or maybe you’ve spent a day in the park and now you want some ice cream so you go across the street to maybe an ice cream shop or a yogurt stand or something like that. It’s about creating this walkable, livable space that incorporates the park, but also the land around it creating that downtown feel.”

Wright discussed the possible economic growth the town center could bring.

“When you talk about this type of growth, this is a growth in our commercial tax base,” he said. “It’s a growth in our sales tax revenues. All of those things are ways that we’re able to grow the revenues that we need to continue to provide high quality services for our citizens without having to talk about raising the millage rate.”