The following was published on www.newstalk941.com. The original article can be found here

UCHRA is in the early stages of building a new expanded hub for its Warren County public transportation services.

Transportation Director Holly Montooth said the hub will include office space, a conference room, restrooms, bicycle storage, and a covered portico outside. Montooth said they intend for the hub to serve as a focal point in the community by having its transit centers offer customer service in enclosed, secure waiting areas.

“This location will serve as a convergence location for our multiple bus routes in which we service the county and city of both Warren County and the City of McMinnville and we also go to Cookeville, Murfreesboro, and Nashville,” Montooth said. “And this location will enable riders to get to their final destinations more quickly.”

Montooth said the new space will be in a 4,000-square-foot section of the Three Star Mall where the old Goody’s store once stood. She said the facility will also be more convenient and comfortable for their employees than their current office in the Warren County Administrative Building.

“It’s going to be able to provide all of the services and the expansions that we are hoping to implement,” Montooth said. “We received a grant through Tennessee Department of Transportation’s IMPROVE Act that is going to be allowing for the funding.”

Montooth said their close proximity with the McMinnville-Warren County Senior Center will allow them to improve their services for local seniors even further.

“Realizing that our services continue to grow in Warren County, we knew that it was time for us to expand,” Montooth said. “And we are very fortunate to work in conjunction with the county on the Three Star Mall location.”

Montooth said proposals for the project are due from architectural and engineering firms by Friday, September 6.

“Once that A&E firm vendor has been brought on board with our project, UCHRA intends to develop the details of the intended use more formally,” Montooth said.

Montooth said they will have a better idea of the timeline and potential budget of the project after they have selected and onboarded an A&E firm.