New icon at Ralph McGill Plaza
The new icon clearly is visible from the intersection of Campbell Station Road and Kingston Pike and not coincidentally, mirrors the giant engagement ring topiary in front of Rick Terry’s Jewelry Designs, located just across the street, as the same designer made both.
The eye-catching anchor had been in the discussion phase for some time and was a collective effort between Farragut Mayor Ron Williams, Farragut Town Administrator David Smoak and Farragut’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“David and I discussed the idea of having something at that corner, when we realized the [previously discussed] grand entrance of Biddle Farms was not going to be able to be constructed, as it would have taken up too much valuable real estate,” Williams said. “It actually would have taken the place of what is now Parlor Donuts and the new Urgent Care.”
Then, “during a park tour this [past] summer, [Smoak] asked me to research possible monuments for the corner of Kingston Pike and Campbell Station Road,” Town Park and Rec director Ron Oestreich noted.
Based on that conversation, and at Ostrich’s direction, “Blake Travis, parks manager, researched small clock towers, statues, and had the idea to contact Rick Terry about his topiary ring at his shop,” Oestreich continued. “Rick gave us Topiary Joe’s name.
“After discussions, we presented some renderings to Mr. Smoak,” he added.
Smoak, in turn, reached out the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on final designs for the project.
“Once all of the preliminaries were done, we placed the order for the green anchor with real rope,” Oestreich said.
