Locust Grove Buys Land in Downtown Area for New Road

The city of Locust Grove has bought about ten acres in its downtown district this spring. The land purchases not only support the upcoming Peeskville Road extension, but also provide the city with more input how its downtown district will develop.

Locust Grove Buys Downtown Land

On June 3, 2024, the Locust Grove council approved a purchase agreement for about nine acres. The land is located west of Cleveland Street. For those who might not be familiar with the downtown area, Cleveland Street runs behind the downtown shops and restaurants. It is parallel to highway 42.

The city will pay $4.63 million for the nine acres. They will make payments on it over a ten-year period. The current land owner, Warren Holder, retains usage of the land during the ten-year period.

Earlier this spring, the city made two other land purchases. All three purchases are to allow the construction of the Peeksville Road extension. In April, the city approved spending $1.682 million to purchase Eagles Landing Pharmacy.

Later that same month, the council approved $116,500 for right of way from One and Two Vestige Properties, LLC. This is the parking lot located at 58 Cleveland Street. They also approved $1 for a temporary construction easement with Locust Grove Family Medicine.

Peeksville Road Extension

Locust Grove is preparing to construct the Peeksville Road extension. The project extends between state route 42 and Frances Ward Drive. In addition, it will construct a new roundabout at Peeksville Road and Frances Ward. Estimated project costs are about $5 million dollars.

The city is close to finalizing right of way acquisition. They plan to place the project out for construction bids when that is complete. This could occur this fall. Construction should take 12–18 months to complete.

The road extension will create better street grid connectivity in downtown Locust Grove. This will provide motorists with another option instead of Bill Gardner Parkway.

Finally, the city has aspirations for another new road in the future. It would be between Frances Ward and Tanger Blvd. Many motorists drive behind the Ingles grocery store now as a cut-through. This project would convert the cut-through into an actual road.

Featured image shows a map of downtown Locust Grove with government-owned properties and downtown land purchases. Clayton Carte map created with DataWrapper.