GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

[Mark B]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

All,

General Motors gave about 98 acres and the mansion to the "Rippavilla Board." The final plat has not been made public, but it seems to include the Mule Museum (Red Barn where Federals parked at Outpost) and the ropes course that ran along the creek, and the cemetary.

Spring Hill has not approved the rezoning yet, but they probably will. Only one Spring Hill alderman has tried to stop this, but he admits it is a done deal. Maury County has approved the building of 10,000 houses in the next three years and most of those are on developments between Columbia and Spring Hill.

The next thing to worry about is the mansion and the remaining 98 acres. I don't know how the board is going to have the funds to maintain the house and the acreage. This could be lost as well.

Mark Bridges
Spring Hill High School
Columbia, Tennessee

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

Thanks for keeping us posted, this is just so wrong. I really do not want to give up just yet. Miracles do happen. :baring_te

[Mike Ventura]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

As a person involved in the home building industry, I can state that while this development may be platted for 10,000 homes that a very small portion of that will be built in the next three years if at all.

That is not make this consequence any less meaningful, nor to make it sound as if it's not a big deal. My point is that there will not be 10,000 new homes on this land three years hence - especially with the state of the housing market at present.

[Bob Steele]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

I would just like to know what input, if any, has come from both local , state and national preservation associations, both government and nonprofit organizations such as The Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association (TCWPA), the Tennessee Historical Commission and Tennesse War Commission and the C.W.P.T. , in regards to the Rippavilla Property. If anyone knows anything, please share it with us. Thank you very much.

Bob Steele

[Mark B]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

All,

This is the article that appeared on the front page of yesterday's Daily Herald.

Mark Bridges

Historic Land Endangered

By SKYLER SWISHER/Staff Writer Columbia Daily Herald December 3, 2007

The fate of several hundred acres that were named one of the most endangered historic properties in Tennessee could be determined by the end of the year.

Historic preservationists, along with some local elected officials, have been working to save about 513 acres near the Rippavilla antebellum home from development. The owner, General Motors Corp., has struck a tentative agreement with Trace Investment Partners to sell the property.

Meanwhile, there are also efforts under way to establish a national battlefield park in Maury County that would be associated with the Battle of Franklin. A Civil War skirmish was fought on the Rippavilla land, and its development could dramatically lessen the likelihood of a national park being established in Maury County.

Some of the 513 acres will be preserved. Kate Neary, a GM spokeswoman, said the sale is contingent on the developer donating nearly 100 acres to the east of the antebellum home to Rippavilla Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the historic mansion. GM also plans to donate $1 million over 10 years to Rippavilla Inc., she said.

Maury County commissioners allocated $946,000 to purchase 86 acres that are adjacent to the 100 acres GM has donated to the plantation, but their bid fell short. Commissioner Ty Cobb, who spearheaded efforts to purchase the property, said efforts to save the land from development might be too late. Cobb said GM wants to close on the sale by Jan. 1.

Columbia City Councilwoman-elect Debbie Matthews has called for GM to slow down the process to allow various entities interested in preservation to raise enough money to purchase the property. She said the property could make money for the city and county and provide other benefits if preserved.

“But once it’s gone it’s gone forever, there’s no coming back,” she said.

Asked whether GM would consider allowing historic groups and governments more time to make a bid, Neary said the bid process has been completed.

“We did get a competitive bid from them,” she said. “They were considered with everyone else, but it wasn’t up to the amount required to purchase the property.”

Some people argue the automotive giant hasn’t done enough to work with parties interested in saving the property from development. Dan Brown, executive director of the Tennessee Preservation Trust, said this past week the company promised to preserve the land “essentially forever” during its public relations’ campaign when the plant was built in the 1980s.

“I think there is a lot of disappointment in most people’s minds right now that this land is being sold for private development,” he said.

Brown’s organization listed the land as one of the 10 most endangered properties in Tennessee, describing it as “one of the largest remaining tracts associated with the Nov. 29, 1864, Battle of Spring Hill, the critical precursor to the Battle of Franklin.”

Neary said GM has lived up to the promises it made to the community.

“To preserve the integrity of the landscape was really the promise that we’ve always worked to uphold,” she said. “That promise has been kept through farming the land and through our business practices with respect to recycling and the way we administer our business here. We’ve kept our promise with ... the historical groups with our facilitation of the donation of the Rippavilla property.”

Historic groups interested in saving the property have been ignored by GM for more than two years, Matthews said.

“There’s not been one returned phone call or any correspondence from GM back to these people in 2 1/2 years,” she said.

Neary said GM is listening to preservation groups as evidenced by the company’s decision to facilitate the donation of 100 acres and provide $1 million for preservation of the historic home, a condition of the sale.

“That property will not be sold unless the contingency is met,” she said.

But Cobb said that during talks with the company a GM official told him all the land would be sold — including the roughly 100 acres to the east of Rippavilla — if the county tried to make it difficult for GM to sell the remainder.

“To me, that would be doing a very big disgrace to the citizens of Maury County if you take that 98 acres out just because you’re mad at the way something is going,” he said.

Skyler Swisher may be contacted at sswisher@c-dh.net or (931) 388-6464 ext. 3023. Staff writer D. Frank Smith contributed to this article.

[Mark B]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

All,

The Columbia Daily Herald reported today that the land deal for the Rippavilla property has fallen through. It is not clear what GM will do now. They may go to the next highest bidder or they may start over.

Keep your fingers crossed.

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

I knew if I cursed GM enough this would happen. I swear do not make me have to go down there, come on Tennesseeians fight for your battlefields. TN was the most fought over state then so it is now. How can I help?

[Todd Watts]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

We're trying folks, but "progress" too often is headed by monied-interests and not historic preservationists.:( I have been trying to get interest amongst our lawmakers to purchase and preserve the Liberty Gap battlefield to no avail for 3 years now. They claim there's not enough money in TN coffers to justify the purchase, but our Gov. is building himself a $20 million or so "bunker" on the Gov's mansion grounds that nobody but he seems to want.

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

So what do we do now is the question? Is there anything to do to bring awareness to how valuable this land is not just to history but my other cause green space. Who here thinks this is a cause worth fighting for or do you think it is to late? Speak up.

[Todd Watts]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

I am at a loss personally. Letters to papers don't really generate enough effective support. It is a private property-rights issue. It really comes down to the goodness of GM's heart vs. money. And shareholders demand money, not good-will to a TN county. Letters to GM, lots of them, might work. Maybe we can all promise to show up at the 145th Franklin event there driving GM trucks. Seriously though, have we written to GM!? I had not thought of that until now, but showing that customers, or potential customers by the thousands are interested in this site might wake someone up in GM's marketing dept.

[crabby]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

Is there a person to send them to? If so who and where do the letters go to?

Crabby

[Thomas Alleman]

Re: GM to develop the Rippavilla property.

The following environmental principles provide guidance to General Motors personnel worldwide in the conduct of their daily business practices.

We are committed to actions to restore and preserve the environment.
We are committed to reducing waste and pollutants, conserving resources, and recycling materials at every stage of the product life cycle.
We will continue to participate actively in educating the public regarding environmental conservation.
We will continue to pursue vigorously the development and implementation of technologies for minimizing pollutant emissions.
We will continue to work with all governmental entities for the development of technically sound and financially responsible environmental laws and regulations.
We will continually assess the impact of our plants and products on the environment and the communities in which we live and operate with a goal of continuous improvement.

http://www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/