CLARKSVILLE, IN (February 29, 2024) – New life is coming to the long-empty Clarksville Plaza. During its meeting Tuesday night, the Clarksville Redevelopment Commission approved the sale of the property on Lewis and Clark Parkway to Rural King LLC for $2,800,000. The company plans to redevelop the property and move from its current location in Jeffersonville to Clarksville. No word yet on when Rural King will be opening in the new location.
The property was purchased in June 2020 by the Clarksville Redevelopment Commission (RDC), shortly after Hobby Lobby vacated the property for a new location off of Veterans Parkway in Jeffersonville. The property was home to several various businesses and even a restaurant over the last two decades. Harbor Freight was the only remaining tenant of Clarksville Plaza when the RDC purchased the property, however, maintaining the entire plaza for one business was costing local taxpayers $116,000 each year in insurance, utility, and maintenance fees without producing any tax revenue. As a result, the Town of Clarksville worked out a deal to assist in moving Harbor Freight to a new location at 951 East Lewis and Clark Parkway.
Once Clarksville Plaza was empty, the RDC issued a request for proposals to redevelop the property. The town’s 3C Master Plan called for turning the empty plaza into townhomes or multifamily housing, but only two proposals were submitted to the town and neither of those were for housing.
“The 3C Master Plan is not a concrete plan, it is simply a suggested guide for future development in the area,” said Ken Conklin, Clarksville’s Communication Director. “The two proposals we received were reviewed and scored by members of the RDC and town staff. The plan submitted by Rural King ended up with the highest score and was selected as the best use for the property.”
Although the official development plan for the property has not been submitted to the town yet, Rural King LLC’s original proposal calls for redeveloping the entire plaza including demolition of a section of the building to create an outdoor farm and garden area, a new pedestrian and bicycle route to encourage connectivity with Lewis & Clark Parkway, new green spaces to increase storm detention on site and reduce heat island effects, updated accessible parking, and incorporation of beautification elements per the 3C Master Plan.
“The Clarksville Plaza has been a bit of an eyesore for several years now with empty storefronts and a large, empty parking lot,” said Conklin. “We think local residents will be very happy with what Rural King has planned for bringing the plaza back to life.”
According to the purchase agreement, Rural King LLC will officially close on the property following a 60 day ‘Due Diligence’ period. Construction is anticipated to begin in fall 2024 with the opening of the new location sometime in fall 2025.
