Gallatin's Next Gathering Place Is Being Decided In Two Very Different Rooms

At 118 North Water Avenue, in the space Swaney Swifts used to occupy, The Paper Mill opened its second location this year. In May, owner Justin Ragan told Gallatin News the opening would come "June 1 or thereabouts." The restaurant's website now lists daily Gallatin hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's a small addition to downtown, and it opened just off the Square while the city keeps debating what should happen to the two city-owned blocks around City Hall.

Across town, a Brentwood developer has announced the biggest new shopping project the Nashville area has seen in 12 years. Construction is expected to start in early November.

Two projects this fall will shape where Gallatin eats, shops and spends Saturdays, and they move at very different speeds. The GreenLea project runs on a private construction schedule. The downtown project runs through public meetings, and right now it is waiting on one number nobody has published yet.

What Is Planned for the Two Blocks Around City Hall

The downtown plan is called Project Phoenix. Sumner County Source reports that the City of Gallatin is working on it with Boyle Investment Company, and that the city calls it "not a 'done deal.'" The city is studying whether to rebuild the two city-owned blocks where City Hall sits now. The concept presented so far includes:

• A new City Hall
• A flagship hotel
• Residential units
• Open green space
• New retail, commercial and restaurant space

The plan also deals with problems the city already has. Sumner County Source reports that it would cover capital improvements to City Hall and Fire Hall #1 and give the Fire Department a headquarters and training space. The design is meant to match the scale of downtown and "preserve the historic character of the adjacent square."

The current City Hall does more than house city offices. Sumner County Source notes that residents rent its affordable event facilities and its marquee for private events. The public material so far doesn't say what happens to those event uses under the new concept.

A Plan That Has Been Moving Through City Meetings Since March 2024

Project Phoenix didn't start this year. The city's own Project Phoenix timeline goes back to a council committee meeting on March 12, 2024. That's about 31 months of agenda items as of this October.

According to Sumner County Source, the August 2025 vote kept the project in its feasibility phase. It let the city and Boyle "continue due diligence, conduct deeper financial analysis, and gather public input before any final decisions are made." Every row in that table is a step toward a decision. None of them is the decision itself.

Why the Downtown Plan Is Waiting on a City Hall Cost

The September 8 meeting is where things slowed down. WKRN reported that the council deferred the Project Phoenix memorandum for a month. Project leaders had recently learned what the new City Hall would cost and needed time to build a financial plan around it. The station also reported that the cost "has not yet been revealed."

That deferral ran out in early October. The city's agenda center lists a City Council meeting on October 6 and a Council Work Session on October 13. The city's posted timeline still ends at the September 8 committee item. As of this writing, there's no published record of a final vote or a released City Hall price.

That single number matters because the case for Phoenix depends on comparing two options. Sumner County Source, citing the city's website, reports that renovating the current City Hall would cost nearly the same as building a new one, and that the city says the results would be very different. The city's pitch is that a mixed-use project could bring in new tax revenue to help cover those capital costs. It would also deliver things residents have asked for over the years: "green space, walkability, new restaurants, new retail, and increased foot traffic to support existing downtown businesses."

The city points to an independent economic impact assessment with these projections:

• $66.3 million a year from direct and indirect taxes and wages
• Nearly $40 million in new property tax revenue over 20 years
• More than 400 permanent new jobs
• More than $260 million in private spending during construction

Not everyone in town is convinced. WKRN reported that a resident petition asking city leaders to be more transparent about the project's cost and its effect on downtown businesses got more than 100 signatures. Some residents have asked for a public vote, and council members said that isn't an option. Mayor Paige Brown and Vice Mayor Craig Hayes told the station they have shared everything they know about the project so far.

The Crossroads at Harris Lane and GreenLea Is on a Faster Schedule

Gallatin News reported on September 24 that GBT Realty of Brentwood had announced The Crossroads of Gallatin. The plan calls for 300,000 square feet of shopping, dining and services north of Harris Lane and east of GreenLea Boulevard, visible from Vietnam Veterans Boulevard. The paper says the developer calls it the largest new shopping destination in the Nashville metro area in 12 years.

Construction is expected to begin in early November, with tenant announcements to come later. No restaurant or store names have been made public yet. GBT is marketing the site to quick-service restaurants, cafes, health and wellness services and boutique retail.

The location was chosen for traffic. Gallatin News reports that Vietnam Veterans Boulevard carries more than 47,000 vehicles a day, and GBT projects that GreenLea Boulevard will reach about 21,700 vehicles a day as new development comes online. GBT founder George Tomlin told the paper the center "will become one of the most important retail destinations in Sumner County."

The Economic Development Agency's figures in the same article show what the city stands to gain:

By those figures, non-residents already account for roughly a quarter to nearly a third of Gallatin's retail spending. The EDA counts 18,000 to 22,000 inbound commuters on a typical weekday. The Crossroads is designed to capture more of that traffic at a highway-visible intersection, well away from the Square.

Both Projects Are Pitched as Tax Revenue, With Different Goals

City leaders use the same argument for both projects: new development brings revenue that helps pay for a growing city. Sumner County Source counts 10,000 new residences in Gallatin that are either under construction or in planning, including apartments, townhomes, condominiums and single-family homes.

What each project is meant to build is different. The Crossroads is described as a regional gateway connecting Gallatin, Hendersonville and the greater Nashville area. Phoenix is pitched as a way to put people within walking distance of the shops that are already downtown. As Sumner County Source relayed from WKRN, Mayor Brown said:

"convinced that the creation of housing close to our square supports a thriving environment"

New places are already opening in both parts of town without waiting for either project. Little Hats Market, the Nashville Italian deli and market, opened its fourth location at 120 Goodview Way, Suite A. The Tennessean reported in July that it was set to open July 23, and Little Hats now lists the Gallatin shop as open. Downtown, The Paper Mill moved into an existing storefront on Water Avenue.

Dates Coming Up on the Gallatin Calendar

Here's what's scheduled between now and December. Some of these are decision points for the two projects, and some are downtown traditions continuing alongside them.

1. Tuesday, October 13: The City Council Work Session is on the city's agenda calendar. Posted agendas show whether Project Phoenix is on it.
2. Friday, October 30: Trick-or-Treat on the Square, with downtown merchants handing out candy, according to Historic Downtown Gallatin.
3. Early November: Construction is expected to start on The Crossroads of Gallatin.
4. Saturday, December 5: The third annual Merry Little Christmas Market on the Square.

The city's Project Phoenix page and its timeline document are where the next official step should show up first. The thing to watch for is the City Hall construction cost, because the rest of the downtown plan depends on it.

If you have questions about how Project Phoenix or The Crossroads could affect your part of Gallatin, The McGiboney Team is happy to talk them through with you. We follow these council agendas and construction schedules as part of knowing the town, and we'll share what we know, including what hasn't been decided yet.