Architects, planners lined up to build Riverview Square entertainment district next to F&M Bank Arena

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Plans to build a retail center between Riverview Inn and the under-construction F&M Bank Arena are moving forward, and the project now has a name: Riverview Square.

Nashville-based BNA Associates has announced that Cooper Carry has been named architect and designer for the project. The firm’s The Johnson Studio will master plan the entire site, as well as handle architecture and interior design for the hotel renovation, entertainment district and parking garage, according to a news release Friday from Oliver Hospitality in Nashville.

The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry focuses on hotel and restaurant designs, with recent work including The Garden Room in Atlanta and Oak Steakhouse in Nashville.

The studio will work in tandem with local architect firm Lyle Cook Martin.

“We look forward to collaborating with Lyle Cook Martin to bring downtown Clarksville to life with this bustling and vibrant development,” said Keith Schutz, associate principal at The Johnson Studio. “This partnership is an integral part of the success of creating a place where locals and visitors alike come together to shop, dine, play and stay.”

Riverview Square will be a 4-acre mixed-use development with the inn remodeled as a 156-room full-service hotel, plus 55,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. Initial plans were announced in November 2019 for the $50 million project, with a 700-plus space parking garage, bringing 200 new jobs and a new local sales-tax revenue potential of more than $500,000 annually.

The project is still on a scheduled timeline to open in tandem with the opening of the arena in late 2022, according to Kaitlyn Rice MacKay with Oliver Hospitality.

Riverview Square is seeking to partner with the City of Clarksville to donate the land to provide a free public parking garage for the downtown area, MacKay told Clarksville Now.

City spokesperson Linda Gerron said the city has not yet had any discussions with project developers about the matter. City officials are continuing to analyze ways to improve parking in downtown Clarksville, Gerron said.

The block for the development is bounded by College Street, First Street, Main Street and Spring Street. It’s currently the parking lot for Riverview Inn.

“My family and I are honored to be a part of this project in our hometown,” Riverview Inn owner Charles Hand said when the project was announced in 2019.

“This will play a supporting role to the MPEC and will not only improve the landscape of downtown by providing a fresh lodging option, retail and dining opportunities, but most importantly it will create much needed new retail jobs, new opportunities for small business and regional economic growth in the downtown market.”

There has been speculation over the last year that the hotel would come under the operation of a national brand, but no announcement has yet been made.

For more information, visit the Riverview Square website.