McMinnville officials are seeking public input as the city applies for a state grant to improve the alleyway connecting Main Street to the Farmers Market and update aging infrastructure in the area.
The proposed project focuses on the Farmers Market Walkway, a key pedestrian connection between public parking, Main Street businesses, and the Farmers Market, where existing landscaping infrastructure is deteriorating.
Jordan Pupols, tourism and marketing manager for the City of McMinnville, said the project stems from a statewide opportunity tied to a major historic milestone.
“It comes out of an opportunity from the state of Tennessee in celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of America,” Pupols said.
Pupols said the grant opportunity is designed to support heritage-focused projects, and McMinnville’s long history as the Nursery Capital of the World makes the alleyway an ideal location for a living historical installation.
“Being that Warren County is the nursery capital of the world and has a long history and legacy within the nursery industry, wanting to bring an installation into downtown that would celebrate that,” Pupols said.
According to Pupols, the existing foliage in the alleyway would be removed and replaced with a walkable exhibit that visually tells the story of the nursery industry across multiple eras.
“We’d like to start with native plants, move into the orchard era, into the seedling era, and then again into the modern innovation era,” Pupols said. “That would be visual in the form of both the plants and then as well as signage.”
The plan also includes placing murals or visual markers at both entrances of the alleyway to draw people in from Main Street and the public parking area near the Farmers Market.
Pupols said improving the alleyway would add more than just new landscaping, helping strengthen community pride and downtown vibrancy.
“Anything that you can do to add arts and culture really adds to the vibrancy and pride of a community,” Pupols said.
City leaders are actively seeking public feedback to ensure the project reflects local priorities and honors McMinnville’s history.
“When you work in government, public input is always extraordinarily important,” Pupols said. “It’s their history, it’s their legacy.”
Residents can share their thoughts through a public survey posted on the City of McMinnville government’s official page. The survey includes both guided questions and an open-ended section for additional feedback.
Pupols said the survey is open now and will close on Monday, January 19, at 7:00 p.m. Central Time, ahead of the city submitting its grant application later that week.
While the grant has not yet been awarded, Pupols said incorporating public sentiment into the application is a priority as the city moves forward with the process.
“We’re just really excited about it,” Pupols said. “To be able to roll all of those elements, beautification, placemaking, and history and heritage and culture into one space is always a really special project.”