Unified Government Debates Transpark Expansion
by Joseph Momba
Bowling Green-Warren County Unified Government officials last Thursday heard an update on a controversial Transpark expansion.
Meeting at the Bowling Green Metroplex, government officials approved a tentative plan to acquire 60 acres to expand the Transpark to 2,100 acres.
The 60 acres, owned by the Smith family for several generations, had been targeted for multi-family housing, with several community members speaking at Thursday’s meeting arguing that was a better use for the land.
Kirby Jones of the Warren County Conservation Coalition said, with the county expected to continue to grow from its current 251,000 residents, available land should be used for housing.
He pointed to the latest county housing Demand Index, which showed a shortage of at least 3,000 housing units in the county.
But Unified Government Judge-Executive Tim Love said this was the last opportunity to do a contiguous expansion of the Transpark, which started with only 700 acres in the early 2000s.
The land would be offered to a multinational firm that has expressed interest in building a facility related to autonomous transit buses.
“As our region and state have become the hub for automotive technology, we often get approached about such projects,” Love said.
“We appreciate the continued need for housing. It’s something that we have been dealing with for decades,” Love added. “But this presents a unique opportunity.”
Jones said the proximity of the land to Amtrak’s Kentucky/Tennessee “hyper-loop” made it a logical choice for a residential use. He noted that many area newcomers have cited the ability to travel quickly to Nashville and Louisville via the hyper-loop as being key to their relocation decision.
Love, however, noted that the Transpark Area Community Advisory Council signed off on the plan. He also cited the planned 400-unit multi-use development planned for land adjacent to the Bowling Green Metro Airport as a project that will help with the housing crunch.
Unified Government commissioners ultimately voted 12-3 to begin negotiations with the Smith family on purchasing the land.
