Tollgate Village

Amenities, Commercial Development Take Shape at Tollgate

Posted: 4/22/2008

THOMPSON'S STATION — The "live, work, play" concept behind Tollgate Village is morphing from drawing board to reality. Billed as a neighborhood with all the trappings of a community, Tollgate Village's inventory of services and facilities will eventually extend beyond the typical pool and clubhouse. But the outdoor recreation crowd should be happy come Memorial Day weekend, when Tollgate Village unveils its amenity center, which will encompass a fitness and aerobics center, tennis courts, beach-entry swimming pool and basketball courts. Also in the pipeline for Tollgate is the 45,000-square-foot Tollgate Village Medical Pavilion, a facility anchored by an office occupied by a joint venture between Williamson Medical Center and St. Thomas Hospital. The facility will house a women's health services center, a sleep lab, primary care physicians and physical therapy and imaging. Construction on the project, which is in development through First Colony Healthcare, is expected to begin by late May, said Dennis Norvet, First Colony president and principal of the company's Franklin operation. Norvet said the notion of putting a medical facility inside a neighborhood represents the philosophy of planned communities in which everything is within easy reach for its residents. "Instead of patients going to the doctor, the doctors are coming to them," Norvet said. "It's an arrangement that's attractive to health-care providers because of the convenience to the Williamson County public." First Colony recently completed a similar development project in Charlotte, N.C. The 4-acre health-care campus is also expected to include dental and orthodontic practices, and possibly family counseling. CVS is first tenant Tollgate Village's first confirmed retail tenant, CVS pharmacy, is expected to open later this year. Pegan Sherick, sales manager for Tollgate Village's residential dealing, said the quick pace of Tollgate's development should make it attractive to potential homebuyers, even in tough economic times. "We're doing the things now that a lot of communities don't see until years down the road," Sherick said. "When people start to see these amenities taking shape so quickly, you see the springboard effect." Forty-five homes in the development are occupied. Once complete, the final total of 750 dwellings is planned to include 400 houses, 170 townhomes, 180 apartments or condos and as many as 200 live/work multipurpose units. More than 70 acres of retail property is planned within the development and is expected to include small eateries and retail options. A series of parks and walking trails is also planned.