The south side of the South Hartmann interchange off Interstate 40 exit in Lebanon is about to change.

A groundbreaking event was held this week for a massive mixed-use project named Barton Village, which will ultimately add almost 2,000 homes and 350,000 square feet of retail, commercial, and office space to about 350 acres about a half-mile off I-40.

Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell believes Barton Village has the potential to bring sit-down restaurants and new retail options for residents as well as consumers who live outside the city.

Barton Village’s developers are paying for sewer upgrades, according to Bell, who described the project as a public-private partnership.

“This investment is not just in this property, but it’s in the entire area and the infrastructure (is) not only to support this development, but other developments that will come out here,” Bell said Tuesday.

Phase 1 includes 100 single-family homes that should be open for sales in early 2025, according to developer Mike Koch, managing partner of Suncrest. PulteGroup is the home builder. About 740 single-family homes with 1,200 additional residential units that will include a variety of multifamily units and townhomes are planned for the project.

Initial work will also include Barton Village Boulevard, which should be completed and open for vehicle traffic by September 2024, Koch said. Barton Village Boulevard will be the gateway into Barton Village with plans to include a proposed roundabout at Barton Creek Road that will open up to the single-family portion of the community. 

Barton Village can provide “walkable living and (a) commercial aspect that the city has been lacking,” Lebanon Councilmember Camille Burdine said in support of the project.

About two miles of multi-purpose walking paths and more than 60 acres of open space are planned as part of the 350-acre site.

There are contracts with “a couple of commercial end-users, including a local restaurant group,” Koch said, though no specific brands have yet been named.

The mixed-use portion of the development north of Bartons Creek Road is a specific plan zoning district approved in 2021 and amended in 2022, according to the Lebanon Planning Department. South of Bartons Creek Road is the single-family portion of the development that had a preliminary plan approved in 2021 and was expanded and revised earlier this year.