Residents of rural area eastern Wilson County near Interstate 40 are bracing for a potentially huge industrial park now that requests to amend the land use plan and a formal property rezoning have now been submitted.

Conceptual plans connected to Texas-based Hillwood, a company tied to the Ross Perot family, have been submitted and show 10.35 million square feet of industrial style office, warehousing and light manufacturing space if the rezone and land use plan amendments are ultimately approved, Wilson County Planning Director Tom Brashear said.

A retail mix at the northwest corner of the grounds is also proposed with remaining areas to include maintaining agricultural uses or a conservation easement on the proposed master plan.

The total site adds up to a little more than 1,380 acres. One rendering includes the name Legacy Park, though it’s not clear if that is being used for the development plan.

Many area residents and landowners have opposed the development plan after Hillwood representatives met with the community about several months ago at Crossroads Fellowship Church to answer questions.

Efforts to reach a Hillwood representative for comment were unsuccessful.

The portion of land listed as Area A included one building at 1.2 million square feet, six buildings at 1 million square feet, one at 900,000 square feet and one at 800,000 thousand square feet. There was also a 550,000-square-foot building and three 300,000-square-foot buildings, according to the plans.

About 475 signatures were gained by lobbying against the industrial park development’s rezone and plan as of several weeks ago, said Wendy Miller, the owner of Crossroads Salon. She’s handling the petition.

It’s an “undefiled area,” Miller said of the land. “My customers are farmers, and it would affect them greatly.”

Area resident Jack Pratt, Jr. said the topic had been discussed often among community members.

“I would say 90-95% are a solid no,” he said of the public consensus.

Area residents recently held another community meeting for informational purposes.

“We’re preparing to fight it,” landowner Perry Neal said after the rezoning and land use plan amendment requests had been submitted. “We don’t feel it’s appropriate for this community and could be very detrimental. We feel like once you start this, it sets a precedent. There are still a lot of larger farms out here that are still not developed. In 10 years we may have something like (Interstate) 840.”

The site encompasses two commission districts – one represented by Commissioner Chris Dowell and the other by Commissioner Terry Scruggs, officials have said.

“People in Tuckers Crossroads do not want an industrial park,” Dowell said of the feedback he’d gotten so far from his constituents.

Efforts to reach Scruggs were unsuccessful.

The land use plan amendment and rezone requests are scheduled to be heard by the Wilson County Planning Commission at 10 a.m. on June 21.

The planning commission will make a recommendation. If commissioners recommend approval, the requests will then proceed to the Wilson County Commission for final approval.

If the planning commission recommends denial, the applicants can determine whether they will still move forward and seek approval from the county commission while adhering to certain protocols, according to procedures outlined in the Wilson County planning process.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Perot family company proceeds with 1,300-acre Tennessee industrial park