The Arlington Board of Mayor and Aldermen has approved the master development plan for Hawthorne, a $500 million to $700 million project north of Interstate 40 between Airline Road and Tenn. 385.

The board unanimously adopted the master plan during its monthly meeting on Monday June 3, a meeting where leaders also approved the town’s annual fiscal year budget. That decision on second and final reading, included the budget for Arlington Community Schools and maintains the town’s $1.28 property tax rate to fund the 2024-25 operating budget.

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Hawthorne is a mixed-use project by Beacon Companies. The master development plan had been split into an 83.5-acre residential portion and a 25.1-acre commercial area, meaning two separate votes were required, similar to how the general development plan was handled.

“We’re excited about what (Hawthorne) is going to mean to Arlington, right at the entrance of not just our town but Shelby County,” Mayor Mike Wissman said after the meeting. “It’s going to be very high quality and be beneficial to many.”

The overall plan includes up to 37 townhomes, 114 individually owned stacked flats, 600 rental apartments and more than 50,000 square feet of retail. The plan shows three hotels, a brewery/restaurant, along with other uses such as light industrial and commercial.

The Hawthorne site is divided by Hall Creek, and plans feature nearly 50 acres of open space for lakes, trails, an amphitheater, a disc golf course and a community/dog park.

“This is a complex engineering project because of where it is and the natural features that we’re dealing with,” Beacon partner Chris Rudd said.

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Rudd hopes to start the project as soon as it receives all of the town approvals. He thinks the project has improved and benefited from public input and the engagement with town officials and residents.

“I actually think it’s going to be a great project if it gets done (or) when it gets done a long time down the road,” Alderman Oscar Brooks said.

Aldermen Jeremy Biggs and Larry Harmon voted against the project’s general development plan in March of last year due to concern over the number of apartments.

“I don’t like having 800 units in a smaller area like that,” Harmon said after Monday’s meeting. “I voted against this when it first came to us. Now that fight is over. Now the only thing I can try to do is make it impact the least.”

As a battalion chief with the Memphis Fire Department covering the Cordova area, he says dealing with large apartment complexes with 300 to 400 units can be “a nightmare.”

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Ironing out traffic concerns has been a major focus of the planning process in recent months. Developers have worked closely with town staff to determine how many roads will be needed and the placement of intersections along Airline Road.

The developer’s next step in the development process is approval of construction plans by the town’s Planning Commission and BMA.