FA L L 2 0 1 5
A collection of
favorite places
TRACKING OUR TRANSIT FUTURE
Thinking about
thoroughfares The pros and cons of
inclusionary zoning
A junkie for leadership Janet Miller on her first year at Colliers and where HER TEAM can go from here
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T H O U G H T F U L LY C O N C E I V E D A N D C O N S T R U C T E D . H O M E T O A D I V E R S E A N D D I S C E R N I N G C O M M U N I T Y, SEIZING THE OPPORTUNIT Y OF A LIFETIME .
LIMITED RESIDENCES REMAIN FROM THE
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$350s
TO
$1
MILLION +
NMLS#680454
NMLS#657622
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615-489-8065 | TWELVETWELVE.CO M
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CONTENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER
INTRO
8
37
IMPROVE RISING
8 NASHVILLE RISES
Ah, to be a construction worker in Nashville nowadays
ENVISION 23 A new way to construct
Technology allows for innovative ways to ‘build green’
SMARTER
stormwater
PLACES
24 Keeping a LID on
Nashville’s building boom yields skyreaching instruments of construction
New runoff, sustainability standards are on their way
RETHINK
27 From trash to tree-heavy treasure
20 When old is new(ish)
Nashville’s vintage apartments remain relevant despite influx of new product
28 ‘I’m a junkie for leadership’
Janet Miller on her first year at Colliers, the soft stuff and trying to stay out of operations
18 Crane
creations
COVER
Riverfront Park shines with greenery, amphitheater
34 ‘Our role
in city services will become more valuable’
Downtown investments have helped SMS’ Block by Block division grow
37 Places
within places
Nashville’s urban districts are defined by distinctive nodes
ON THE COVER Janet Miller photographed by Eric England. Read more beginning on page 28.
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ARTERIES
46 motorist-mad Madison made for makeover
Gallatin Pike stretch through Village offers civic planning opportunity
48 A split decision
Will Metro one day decide to improve the V at 70 and 100?
50 Primed
for change
Underperforming South Street may soon reach full potential
DISTRICTS
53 Mall site makeover
Metro Councilwoman Sheri Weiner discusses prospects of mixed-use One Bellevue Place
54 The heart
of The Nations
Transitioning neighborhood’s 51st Avenue could see change — but what type?
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contents FROM THE PUBLISHER
INTRO
Perimeter Security. Peace of Mind.
60 QUESTION SKINNIES
58 Tall, skinny… and attractive? New approach needed for oft-controversial home design
CARLESS
INCLUDE
67 inclusive
and affordable — but workable?
Officials weigh in on the pros and cons of inclusionary zoning
60 Business
TINY
Employees encouraged to ditch their cars, opt for alternative means of commuting
anything but large
as (not) usual
DIVISION
62 viaduct
70 living
Can tiny houses gain traction in Nashville?
TRANSIT
value
72 Moving
DATA
Chamber, area transit advocates foresee various future funding options
Division project offers chances for redevelopment
64 DaTa Bank
The good times are still rolling, but there are big questions to consider
forward
CAYCE
76 how can we
take advantage of the work done on envision cayce?
Keeping residents in the area key part of redevelopment vision
Est. 1958 • rgfence.com The commercial fence ProfessionalsTm
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CONTENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER
INTRO
editorial
Important questions
A Special Thanks to our Boom Issue Partner:
SERVING YOU LOCALLY AS
Nashville has changed a lot over the past year. New buildings have risen all over town, and the plethora of cranes on the skyline promises much more of the same. Our city continues to morph with each passing month and the revitalization waves have reached a number of our outlying neighborhoods. That’s a good thing for areas where many residents feel that progress has left them behind and wonder if and when their time will come. In so many ways, our city is moving in the right direction with smart infill developments that are incorporating new technologies and methods. But there’s little doubt we can do a better job managing the speed of our growth and addressing some of the critical issues before us. There’s transit — a topic on a lot of minds as our next mayor settles into office — and the ever-divisive subject of affordable housing. Can inclusionary zoning provide an answer? As always, we’ve covered a lot of ground in this issue — both related to these big questions but also to success stories and future opportunities. As the community continues to work toward solutions, we will continue to cover these topics and others that you tell us are most important to you. Be watching in November for our Vitals issue, in which we will attempt to tackle another imporS E R V (and I N G YOU Ysometimes O U LLOCALLY O C A L LY difficult) A S AS SERVING tant topic: the future of health care. Thank you for your continued support and readership of the Post, both here in print and via our breaking news website. We’ll see you again soon. Until then, let’s keep digging for answers.
for 25 years
Jamie McPherson, publisher jmcpherson@nashvillepost.com
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Editor Geert De Lombaerde Managing Editor William Williams Contributing Writers Linda Bryant, Emily Kubis, Bill Lewis, J.R. Lind, Julia Weber
art Art Director Derek Potter Photographers Michael W. Bunch, Eric England
production Production COORDINATOR Matt Bach Marketing art director Christie Passarello Graphic Designers Katy Barrett-Alley, Amy Gomoljak, James Osborne
publishing PUBLISHER Jamie McPherson bUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS Maggie Bond, Rachel Dean, Todd Gash, Michael Jezewski, Carla Mathis, Marisa McWilliams, Hilary Parsons, Ellen Skrmetti, Mike Smith, Stevan Steinhart Sales Operations Manager Chelon Hill Hasty Account Managers Jennie Tomlinson Fults, Sarah Richmond, Annie Smith
marketing MARKETING DIRECTOR Heather Cantrell EVENTS DIRECTOR Lynsie Shackelford PROMOTIONS MANAGER Wendy Deason
circulation Subscription Manager Gary Minnis Circulation manager Casey Sanders
SouthComm Chief Executive Officer Chris Ferrell Chief Financial Officer Ed Tearman Chief Operating Officer Blair Johnson Director Of Financial Planning And Analysis Carla Simon Vice President of Content/ Communication Patrick Rains Vice President Of Production Operations Curt Pordes Controller Todd Patton Creative Director Heather Pierce 210 12th Ave. S., Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37203 www.nashvillepost.com Nashville Post is published quarterly by SouthComm. Advertising deadline for the next issue is Wednesday, October 28th, 2015. For advertising and subscription information, call 615-244-7989. Copyright ©2015 SouthComm, LLC.
NASHVILLE POST
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S E R V I N G YOU Y O U LLOCALLY O C A L LY A S AS SERVING
letter from THEfrom PARTNER letter THE PARTNER
PARTNER letter S E R V I N G YOU Y O U LLOCALLY O C A L LY A S AS SERVING
S E R V I N G YOU Y O U LLOCALLY O C A L LY A S AS SERVING
for 25 years
for 25 years
The Bank of Nashville, a division of Synovus Bank, opened in 1989 to meet the needs of local small and medium-sized businesses and the community we love.
Local is a philosophy, a way of doing business. It means supporting businesses The Bank ofofNashville, a division ofItSynovus Bank, opened in 1989 to 1989 meetand themeet needsthe ofand local small The Bank Nashville, a division of Synovus Bank, opened in to needs here, within our community. means shopping with neighbors friends, and medium-sized businesses and the community we love. ofpatronizing local small their and medium-sized businesses the community we love. businesses. The dollars weand spend here — and lend here — stay Local is aSupporting way businesses ofthe doing business. means supporting businesses ourof comhere. is theItbest way we know to left ensure thewithin growth Photographed from tohere, right n of Synovus Bank, opened inphilosophy, 1989 to alocal meet needs isItameans philosophy, a way of doing means supporting businessesThe dollars munity. shopping with neighbors and friends,It and patronizing their businesses. this community — and therefore thebusiness. long-term health of our bank. d businesses and theLocal community we love. here, within shopping neighbors and friends, andwe know we spend hereour — community. and lend here It—means stay here. Supporting local businesses is the best way Gary with Parkes patronizing their we spend here — and lend here — stay toTogether, ensure thewe growth of this community — andof therefore the long-term health of our bank. arebusinesses. invested inThe thedollars future Nashville. Executive Vice President & CFO doing business. It means supporting businesses here. Supporting local businesses is the best way we know to ensure the growth of Parkes Companies, Inc. Together, we are invested in theand future of Nashville. means shopping withthis neighbors and friends, community — and therefore the long-term health of our bank. At The Bank of Nashville, our local advisory board, pictured here, is an essential part e dollars we spend here —Bank and —local stay Atof The oflend Nashville, our board, pictured here, an essential partcollectively of what we think what we thinkhere it means toadvisory be local. These 11 men andis women, who Ronald L. Corbin it means to be local. These 11 and women, who collectively bring more than 50 years es is the best way weTogether, know towe ensure theyears growth of are invested inmen the future of Nashville. bring more than 50 of board service, are deeply embedded in some of of board Retired service, are deeply embedded in some of Nashville’s most established industries, and some of its e the long-term healthNashville’s of our bank. most established industries, and some of its newest and most promising newest and most promising emerging businesses. They are the heart of this community —part and the At The Bank of Nashville, our local advisory board, pictured here, is an essential emerging businesses. They are the heart of this community and the eyes James (Jimmy) W.—Spradley, Jr. and ears eyes and we earsthink ofofThe Bank of Nashville. They help usstrategically, think strategically, identify opportunities, and of what it means to be local. These 11 men and women, who collectively of The Bank Nashville. They help us think identify opportunities, and e future of Nashville. CEO, Standard Functional Foods Group, Inc. understand the best ways to create long-term value for our community. bring more than years ofto board service, are deeply embedded in some of understand the50 best ways create long-term value for our community. Nashville’s most established industries, and some of its board newest and most promising With respect to commercial real estate, several of our advisory members are industry leaders, cal advisory board, pictured here, is an essential part William R. Nigh emerging businesses. They are the heart of this community — and the eyes and earshas With respect real estate, severalinof advisoryThe board with major roles to in acommercial number of landmark properties theour community. Bankmembers of Nashville Regional CEO, The Bank of Nashville e local. These 11 men and women, who collectively of The Bank ofleaders, Nashville. They help us estate, think strategically, identifyproperties opportunities, extensive experience in allwith aspects of roles real supporting owner-occupied and investor-backed are industry major in a number of landmark in theand ard service, are deeply embedded in some of understand best ways create long-term value for our community. projects alike.the community. The Bank of to Nashville has extensive experience in all aspects of real Cordia Harrington dustries, and some of its newest and most promising and investor-backed supporting projectslocal alike. Forestate, more than 25 years,owner-occupied The Bank of Nashville has worked to understand clients and to offer CEO, The Companies the heart of this community — and the eyes and With respect to commercial realears estate, several of ourBakery advisory board members products and services they need to serve this community. Clients want a banking partner with knowlare industry leaders, with major rolesofinNashville a number ofworked landmark in the help us think strategically, identify opportunities, and For more than 25 has to properties understand edge and expertise for years, now andThe theBank future. Whether serving an entrepreneur or a local large corporaBillwe’re Hawkins The Bankproducts of Nashville has extensive experience in all aspects of realClients clients and to offer and services they need to serve this community. eate long-term valuecommunity. for our community. tion, our greatest reward is knowing we’re helpingPresident, a businessCharles and our community grow and thrive. Hawkins Co., Inc. estate, owner-occupied and investor-backed projects alike. want supporting a banking partner with knowledge and expertise for now and the future. The Bank of Nashville operates branches in Davidson, Sumner, and Rutherford counWhether we’re serving annine entrepreneur or a largeWilliamson, corporation, our greatest reward l estate, several of our advisory board members Claire ties. We offer diverse lines ofThe retail and commercial servicesgrow business banking and For more than 25 years, of Nashville hasGulmi worked toincluding understand local is knowing we’re helping a Bank business and ourfinancial community and thrive. roles in a number ofclients landmark properties in the CFO,need AmSurg mortgage lending. and to offer products and services they to serve this community. Clients lle has extensive experience in all aspects of real want a banking partner with knowledge and expertise for now and the future. The Bank of Nashville operates nine branches in Davidson, Williamson, Sumner, Darek Bell pied and investor-backed projects alike. Whether we’re serving an entrepreneur or a large corporation, our greatestfinancial reward and Rutherford counties. We offer diverse lines of retail and commercial Vice President/Partner is services knowingincluding we’re helping a business community grow and thrive. business bankingand andour mortgage lending. Bell & Associates Regional CEO,Construction The Bank of Nashville nk of Nashville has worked to understand local The Bank of Nashville operates nine branches in Davidson, Williamson, Sumner, d services they need to serve this community. Clients William R. Nigh J. Hunter Atkins and Rutherford counties. We offer diverse lines of retail and commercial owledge and expertise for now and the future. Regional CEO, The Bankfinancial of Nashville Board Chairman, services including business banking and mortgage lending. The Bank of Nashville
William R. Nigh
preneur or a large corporation, our greatest reward ness and our community grow andproducts thrive. are provided by Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. Banking
for 25 years
Photographed from left to right Gary Parkes Executive Vice President & CFO Photographed from Parkes Companies, Inc.to Photographed from left rightleft to right Gary Parkes Ronald L. Corbin Gary Parkes Executive Vice President & CFO Retired ExecutiveParkes Vice President & CFO Companies, Inc. Parkes Companies, Inc. James (Jimmy) Spradley, Jr. Ronald L.W. Corbin CEO, Standard Ronald L.Retired CorbinFunctional Foods Group, Inc. Retired (Jimmy) W. Spradley, Jr. WilliamJames R. Nigh CEO, Standard Functional Foods Group, Inc. Regional CEO, TheSpradley, Bank of Nashville James (Jimmy) W. Jr. CEO, Standard Functional Foods Group, Inc. William R. Nigh Cordia Harrington Regional CEO, The Bank of Nashville CEO, The Bakery Companies William R. Nigh Regional Cordia CEO, The Bank of Nashville Harrington Bill Hawkins CEO, The Bakery Companies President, Charles Hawkins Co., Inc. Cordia Harrington Hawkins CEO, TheBill Bakery Companies President, Charles Hawkins Co., Inc. Claire Gulmi CFO, AmSurg Bill Hawkins Claire Gulmi President,CFO, Charles Hawkins Co., Inc. AmSurg Darek Bell Vice Gulmi President/Partner Claire Darek Bell BellAmSurg & Associates Construction CFO, Vice President/Partner Bell & Associates Construction J. Hunter Darek Bell Atkins J. Hunter Atkins Board Chairman, The Bank of Nashville Vice President/Partner Board Chairman, The Bank of Nashville Bell & Associates Construction Art J. Rebrovick, Jr. Art J. Rebrovick, Jr. NMG Advisers, Inc. J. President, HunterPresident, Atkins NMG Advisers, Inc. Board Chairman, The Bank of Nashville Sherry Sherry Deutschmann Deutschmann Founder & CEO,Jr. LetterLogic Founder & CEO, LetterLogic Art J. Rebrovick, President, NMG Advisers, Inc. Sherry Deutschmann Founder & CEO, LetterLogic
Art J. Rebrovick, Jr. theWilliam R. Nigh Divisions of Synovus Bank operate under multiple trade names across Southeast.
President, NMG Advisers, Inc.of Nashville Regional CEO, The Bank
nine branches in Davidson, Williamson, Sumner, ffer diverse lines of retail and commercial financial Sherry Deutschmann Banking products are provided by Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. king and mortgage lending.Divisions of Synovus Bank operate under multiple Founder CEO,across LetterLogic trade&names the Southeast. William R. Nigh Regional CEO, The Bank of Nashville
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NEW TAB NEW TAB
IDEAS
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NASHVILLE
RISES
Ah, to be a construction worker in Nashville nowadays. Sometimes starting as early as 5:30 a.m., these robust men (and some women, too) come trickling onto their respective construction sites, armed with hammers and steeltoed boots — and work ethics that would shame most Americans. Upon their arrival, and with the sun offering a faint light as it rises, the workers reintroduce themselves daily to the steel and concrete beasts on which they toil. At this time of day, the mood is ambient, even spooky. The quietness of the time, however, is punctuated by the gradually increasing noise created by the arrival of more and more workers. By 8 a.m., the light is full; the clanging and banging, even more so. Music City is booming. Let us take note. photos by nicholas sala
Aertson Midtown, 905 20th Ave. S. NASHVILLE POST
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1201 Demonbreun NASHVILLE POST
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Aspire, 2400 Charlotte Ave.
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909 Flats, Rosa Parks Boulevard and Locklayer Street
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SoBro, Second Avenue South and Demonbreun Street
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HCA tower, 11th and Charlotte avenues
Vanderbilt University Engineering and Science Building, 25th and Garland avenues
9/9/15 12:33 PM
New Look. Same Values. ESa is an architectural firm that believes people drive design, not the other way around. Backed by a team of talented, driven and loyal specialists, we are moving forward together to create environments that shape lives.
We are now located at Gulch Crossing.
1033 Demonbreun Street Suite 800 Nashville TN 37203 615-329-9445 www.esarch.com architecture
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interior architecture
master planning
space planning
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Crane creations
Nashville’s building boom yields skyreaching instruments of construction There is perhaps no better symbol of a city’s growth and prosperity than a tower crane. Thrusting skyward in an almost defiant manner, and with their booms swiveling to and fro while hoisting heavy objects, these key instruments of the building business are eye-catching. To understand the significance of Nashville’s construction boom, consider this photo (taken in August) shows 10 tower cranes. Yet there are 12 others located on nearby construction sites and as many as 40 more that could rise within the next 15 months.
Nashville’s urban core currently sports
22
tower cranes
Given the average tower height of 130 feet, these cranes stacked would represent the equivalent of two Empire State Buildings
Thompson Hotel Number of cranes: 1 Developers: AJ Capital Partners and MarketStreet Floors: 12
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Number of cranes: 1 Developer: Nashville Hospitality Capital Floors: 27
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Number of cranes: 1 Developer: Mainland Floors: 6
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Number of cranes: 1 Developer: Childress Klein Floors: 18
1000 Division
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Number of cranes: 1 Developer: Eakin Partners Floors: 15
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The construction site boasting the single-greatest number of crane types is
HCA’s Capitol View project
4
In the near future — and for projects with a reasonable, if not strong, chance of starting no later than 2016’s end — another 40-plus tower cranes could rise.
$
The current tallest crane is likely located at the Element at Music Row site and is standing about
Bridgestone Americas HQ MDHA Parking Garage
Number of cranes: 2 Developer: Highwoods Floors: 30
280
40
The approximate per-hour wage a crane operator earns
feet
SoBro Number of cranes: 1 Developer: Giarratana Development Floors: 32
Number of cranes: 2
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photo courtesy freeman webb
When old is new(ish)
Nashville’s vintage apartments remain relevant despite influx of new product by J.R. Lind It is no secret that Nashville’s apartment market is booming. New product is being constructed, while older complexes and buildings are seeing facelifts. Investors are acquiring existing properties. Developers are pondering projects. All is good. Of note, a likely high-water mark was announced in June: Units at Edge Midtown, slated to open this fall at the northwest corner of the intersection of 22nd Avenue and State Street, will rent for about $3 per square foot. The dollar figure is almost staggering when you consider that $1,611 for a 504-square-foot one-bedroom unit would have been unthinkable even a mere 18 months ago. And those prices are part of a trend. Specifically, Nashville’s new housing stock has shifted towards apartments and away from the boom of glittering condo towers that dominated headlines the past 10 years of so. The new rental product, high-end and mostly indistinguishable from its condo counterparts (notwithstanding height), promises endless amenities and prime locations. Seemingly ubiquitous, the buildings have sprung up citywide (particularly in downtown and in Midtown), highlighted by hip, monosyllabic names that often
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seem derived from focus groups. But not everyone wants to live downtown. And not everyone wants to (much less has the means to) pay $3 per square foot or has the stomach to live in 500 square feet after being conditioned to 1,000. The market works both ways: Apartment complexes have to compete for tenants to stay healthy and full just as potential tenants have to find places that work for their budgets and their lifestyles. With so much shiny and cosmopolitan rental residential product, Nashville’s older (or, to be more tactful, “more mature” or “established”) complexes must find their footing in a market that’s changing more rapidly than anyone could have predicted four or five years ago. The answer isn’t always as simple as keeping rents down, either, though certainly the more established complexes tend to offer lower rents. Renovations can yield a complex looking fresher than its years would suggest. New amenities can be touted as a selling point. Targeting certain demo-
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IMPROVE graphic groups — and not just age, family size or income brackets, but, rather, groups like pet owners — can foster a sense of community while allowing a complex to stay relevant and competitive. The Barbizon Apartments, located in Midtown near the Vanderbilt University campus at 20th and Broadway, was built in 1962. At just 45 units, leases are hard to come by for potential tenants. The modernist building offers just two floor plans — a one-bedroom studio and a one-bed, one-bath conventional set-up — and (at least by Nashville standards) small units, ranging from 388 to 500 square feet. Barbizon’s proximity to Vanderbilt, Music Row and Hillsboro Village has always been a key selling point. And indeed, it seemed a wise enough investment that Vanderbilt paid $2.3 million for the property in 2000, ending 25 years of ownership by Arlington. That ownership change — even though it came well before the city’s mini-boom in the mid-2000s
and its Big Boom now underway — provided a structural advantage for Barbizon, says Nancy Morris, assistant regional manager for Freeman Webb, the Nashville-based company that manages the quirky building. “Although you do not have to go to Vanderbilt to live in the building and we market to the general public, the building does consist primarily of Vanderbilt graduate students, particularly because of our close proximity to the Vanderbilt law school and business school,” she says. That relationship pays dividends. Morris says Freeman Webb is confident the complex will be full nine or 10 months a year, entirely with grad students. Even though Morris says the company is confident it can compete with an older building, Barbizon has undergone upgrades in the last three years: new windows, a new fitness center, renovations to the outdoor deck and an exterior paint job. It helped that Freeman Webb felt the boom coming, she says, noting, “[We] realized the competition we’d be up against.” With the upgrades, Barbizon has tried to maintain a reasonable rental price point. The building can command its rent prices because it has few units, something of a captive renter audience and a desirable location. A prime location is something Views On The Cumberland can now more effectively pitch as a selling point. The 43-year-old 250-unit apartment complex is located on Cabot Drive, across Interstate 40 from Nashville West and a brief drive from The Nations, which is rapidly becoming one of West Nashville’s most continued on page 22
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UNITED WAY
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Changing lives, building futures together.
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desirable neighborhoods. Straddling the Cumberland River, the multi-building complex offers townhomes plus a variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. In addition to location and variety, Views On The Cumberland offers something else: space, and lots of it. The complex sits on more than 15 acres overlooking the river, and that site has become one of management’s main marketing factors. There have been ongoing renovations after a 2011 sale, and the units have easy-to-clean faux-hardwood floors. Lots of space and easily wipeable floors? That combo is perfect for dogs (and how many of the glitzy new apartment buildings can make that claim?). Not surprisingly, pet friendliness is touted in nearly every Views listing. Even more, the complex has no weight restrictions for pets (a rarity), very few breed restrictions and a low pet rent. The leasing office’s coffee bar even offers dog treats and numerous pet magazines. Just as not every renter wants to pay $3 per square foot for an apartment, not every real estate entity is interested in spending $100 million to acquire or de- Nancy Morris, velop an apartment property. Freeman Webb An aftershock of the boom has been new investment blood in existing complexes, particularly those located southeast of downtown in Antioch, where outof-state real estate investment companies have been pouring in. So hot is Nashville’s market that the purchase price per unit in Antioch has risen from an average of $45,000 in 2013 to nearly $80,000 today. New investments in Nashville apartments passed $1 billion in 2014 and should do so again this year. With new money come new ideas — and outdated apartments being given updated looks. Older complexes may not be keeping up with the downtown Joneses, but they can stay current as possible and compete in an environment where the apartment vacancy rate is less than 5 percent. The key is staying as current as possible while playing to a complex’s advantages. Not everyone wants new and shiny. There’s a certain cachet in vintage. Morris says the midcentury modern Barbizon frequently has renters sign up sight unseen because of the building’s old school vibe — not in spite of it.
‘[We] realized the competition We’d be up against.’
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A new way to construct
Technology allows for innovative ways to ‘build green’ by Julia Weber
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Construction is increasingly incorporating innovative “green” and technological elements that can make constructing and owning buildings cheaper, smarter and safer. Here are some features making their way into the building sector.
Energy-efficient Roofs Titanium Dioxide Paint
Philippines-based Boysen has created a paint that absorbs energy from sunlight and breaks down noxious air pollutants that come into contact with the wall’s surface.
They can function as rooftop gardens arranged with native plants or as stormwater retention centers. They also can generate electricity through solar tubes and panels.
Low-Flow Toilets
Electrochromic Glass Windows
New developments in nanotechnology have helped produce smart windows that can adjust tints when charged with electricity. By allowing in sunlight on cooler days and blocking it on hotter days, this dramatically lowers HVAC system usage.
Extreme low-flow toilets can use as little as three tablespoons of water. Combined with a squirt of biodegradable soap, these toilets can help a building dramatically lower its water use.
Carbon-Negative Cement Permeable Pavement
Reduces runoff and lets the ground naturally capture and clean more water. It also is aesthetically more visually pleasing than solid concrete.
illustration by shannon threadgill
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While traditional cement largely contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, this version actually absorbs more carbon dioxide during its production than is emitted by that process. The magnesium silicate-based cement is still in its experimental phase, however.
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Permeable pavers were introduced in an East Nashville parking lot designed by Gresham’s land planning team.
Keeping a LID on stormwater New runoff, sustainability standards are on their way by Mike Hunkler
Everywhere you look, Nashville is growing. Apartments, mixed-use live-workplay developments, corporate office buildings, new neighborhoods, and retail stores are popping up in all corners of the city during our post-recession rebound. This progress is exciting (and challenging), but we shouldn’t overlook that our natural environment has been paying a price for the structures replacing open spaces. “Traditional” development results in rainwater that cannot infiltrate the ground and therefore runs offsite at volumes and velocities higher than would naturally occur. The collective effects of this rainwater can overwhelm existing storm water systems, scour streams, erode stream banks and introduce other pollutants into our creeks, rivers and lakes. This issue is not new. What is new are more aggressive solutions mandated by policy makers as we become ever more cognizant of our planet’s limited resources. Low-impact development is the most recent approach to addressing storm water runoff. Unlike previous approaches that treated water quality and reduced storm water peak runoff rates, LID approaches runoff on a volumetric basis. The goal is to mimic the storm water speed, quality and volume that would run off a typical small residential lot during most rainfall events (approximately 20 percent of the rain amount). LID is currently not required in Nashville development plans, but beginning in 2016, there will be a new Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirement for all new projects, both redevelopment and new development, to infiltrate, evapotranspire and harvest/reuse the first inch of water from each rainfall event. In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency, alongside other federal agencies, non-governmental organizations and members of the private sector, created the Green Infrastructure Collaborative to assist communities with green infrastructure implementation. Even without EPA prodding, LID has become a
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priority in Nashville development in response to our 2010 flood. Previously, LID was incorporated voluntarily where possible and with the added benefit that a majority of LID design solutions also help projects earn credits towards LEED certification. The LEED program recognizes the best in green building strategies and practices. Buildings designed using LEED principles operate more efficiently, saving money and resources. In addition, the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure has recently introduced a parallel program called Envision, which is a holistic approach to sustainable infrastructure design. Now that LID will become mandatory, design goals will focus on conserving natural vegetation, reducing nutrient and pollutant loads, managing storm water runoff volume close to its source and reducing and “disconnecting” impervious surfaces. LID methods currently in practice include bioretention areas, green roofs, permeable pavement, downspout disconnection, reforestation, vegetated bioswales, infiltration planters and cisterns. In addition to the long-term sustainable benefits, the city of Nashville currently also provides incentives for LID implementation that include waivers of plan review fees, monthly storm water fee reductions, runoff reduction credits, green roof credits and reduced storm water detention requirements. Plus, a recent report by the EPA found a majority of LID practices reduce overall project costs. The green infrastructure trend will only continue to evolve. More cities are likely to adopt similar mandates, and the EPA will likely enact additional regulations as part of its Green Infrastructure Collaborative. Implementing LID solutions in Nashville is now a reality: This will inspire designers and their clients to think outside the box and pursue innovative techniques that not only fulfill the new requirements but also create a more sustainable environment for our city.
Mike Hunkler is division vice president of the land planning group of Gresham Smith and Partners.
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Think iT Through
Cottages on Cummins
Incorporating low-impact development features often requires architects to bring in their civil engineering friends earlier in the design process, says Mike Hunkler of Gresham Smith and Partners. Figuring out what to do with storm water can no longer be a late-stage process, he says, particularly with urban developments where buildings will often reach from lot line to lot line. Middle Tennessee isn’t in the vanguard of LID trends, Hunkler says. Several Mid-Atlantic states were adopting these practices more than a decade ago as they sought to protect their coastlines and transition areas. But lowimpact features are increasingly making their into various projects. On these pages are some local projects on which the Gresham team has worked. > Geert De Lombaerde
The Cottages on Cummins Street neighborhood in downtown Franklin incorporated several green infrastructure elements including pervious surfaces, rainwater harvesting, rain gardens and pocket parks. continued on page 26
When you march to a different beat, you tend to take bigger steps.
Here’s to the people who see the world a bit differently. They may not know why or how—they just know that they do. So tune out the norms. Let go of expectations. Find what moves you…and turn up the volume. You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just take the first step.
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Lentz
The Gresham-designed Nissan North America headquarters in Cool Springs boasts an extensive green roof system as part of its focus on sustainability through energy efficiency and water quality.
Bioswales and a rainwater harvesting cistern were incorporated into the design for Lentz Public Health Center on Charlotte Avenue.
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photo by aerial innovations
From trash to tree-heavy treasure
Riverfront Park shines with greenery, amphitheater Nashville is fast becoming a city of “green buildings.” And nowhere is that progress more evident than with the recently unveiled Ascend Amphitheater and its accompanying West Riverfront Park. One of the key environmentally friendly highlights of the downtown site — which (perhaps ironically) most recently accommodated a facility that burned trash to produce power — is the Betty Brown Tree Trail, with its 225 trees representing 36 different species. However, there are many other noteworthy green features, including a mile of walking trails that connect Rolling Mill Hill on the south to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge on the north, Nashville’s first urban dog park and an 18,000-squarefoot ornamental garden running along the Cumberland river with plant material labeled to botanical garden standards and to be managed by Cheekwood officials for the next five years. As for the amphitheater building itself, key elements include a 2,800-square-foot green roof, a 400,000-gallon rain harvesting tank and 1,350 square feet of rooftop solar panels. With all of the sustainability features — including a 1,100-foot-deep well that serves as a water source — Metro has applied with the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. Impressively, the $52 million project required a mere 20 months from its initial design phase to its opening. The design of the park and amphitheater is based on the Cumberland River morphology. Many of the design elements mimic the curves and limestone cliffs of the river — as does the art piece at the entrance to the park at First Avenue and Demonbreun Street. The newly formed Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Environ-
mental Professionals, recently met to discuss some of the sustainability practices in place at the amphitheater and park. Larry Atema, CEO and president of Commonwealth Development Group Inc. and the Metro-appointed senior project development manager for the effort, said during the gathering that West Riverfront Park has made an immediate impact. For example, during the first two weeks the park and amphitheater were open, more than 70,000 people visited. Atema noted specifically that in years past, many locals and tourist alike would walk via Broadway to its east terminus at Riverfront Park and its grouping of well-recognized flag poles — only to arrive at a “point of great disappointment.” Now that has changed. Kim Hawkins, founding principal of Nashvillebased Hawkins Partners (which handled the project’s landscape architecture elements), said the park offers the “best views of the city” and serves as the “front porch of Nashville.” She highlighted the bench-style swings that line the edge of the park and overlook the river. Greg Brubaker, principal at K.S. Ware and Associates (the local office for which served as the geotechnical engineer on the project), vividly remembers the odor and harsh appearance of the former Nashville Thermal Transfer Plant that anchored the prime site. “There were many plans and ideas of what should happen to the site over the years,” Brubaker said, “but thankfully, green space won out.” NASHVILLE POST
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‘I’m a junkie for leadership’ Janet Miller on her first year at Colliers, the soft stuff and trying to stay out of operations by Geert De Lombaerde Janet Miller was pretty sure she had done enough to get the job. It was late June 2014 and Miller, close to wrapping up year 21 of her stint as chief economic development officer at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, was walking out of her last interview with the leadership team of Colliers International’s local office. Ready for that famous “new challenge” after a very successful run at the chamber, she was confident her talents and experiences would be a good fit at Colliers, whose execs she had known for years. The six men Miller had left in the board room were more than sure about their next move. They’d just about made up their collective mind long before, identifying Miller as someone who could elevate Colliers above its large national peers — even as the firm was putting up year-over-year growth of more than 30 percent. Co-founder Nate Greene had hinted at their aims in April of last year when he announced his plans to step down as president and managing partner, saying the leadership team would consider bringing in someone from outside the property brokerage sector. “We had talked for two years about bringing in a CEO and Janet’s name kept coming up,” says Tony Vaughn, another of the six owners of the Colliers office. “She’d claim not to know much about real estate but she was always in it.” Put simply, Miller had become the face of Nashville’s economic boom. For two decades spanning three two-term mayors, the Hillwood High School graduate was on or near the podium for scores of big ECD wins as Nashville hoisted itself into the big leagues of American business cities. Her regional road trips with business leaders and site selectors were key parts of the charm offensive that showcased Nashville’s strengths, infrastructure and amenities. And her longevity helped turn her into a kingmaker in local CRE circles and the person most closely identified with Music City’s journey onto oodles of top-this and top-that lists. More than just a CEO, the Colliers owners had hired themselves a winner.
Focused on the soft stuff Bringing in a full-time firm leader was designed to let market veteran Greene step back into the dayto-day development dealings after 14 years as the first among equals. But it also would fix a structural shortcoming the team felt it had dating back to the 1980s, when big national firms first moved into Middle Tennessee, and following the 2000 merger of The Mathews Company’s commercial brokerage arm with NAI Taylor-Vaughn-Greene. (The firm would switch its allegiance to Colliers in 2010.) Those 1980s competitors — many of them from Texas and Oklahoma and flush with energy industry cash to build out their management and technology infrastructure — “were just better,” says co-founder and co-owner Bert Mathews, and they left many locals somewhat scratching their heads as to how to effectively compete. Much later, the local CRE market precedent was set in the spring of 2006, when financial services sector veteran Doug Brandon was tapped to lead the local operation of what is now — after a flurry of national deals and rebrandings — Cushman & Wakefield. Simply put, the model of the Mathews team (as well as most of its local competitors) that had a practicing broker also function as the leader of the company came with a limit to the upside. Much like the managing partner at a law firm has to cut back on billable hours, Greene over time felt hamstrung in his ability to both guide the Colliers team onward and upward and to best do what he had entered the industry to do. “It was like we were always trying to catch up in some way,” says Mathews. “Like we were getting outdone in some cases. That’s not the case anymore.” Credit a refreshed Miller, who started work at Colliers in early September of last year with a 90-day plan NASHVILLE POST
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IMPROVE thanks to our corporate
sponsors gala sponsor
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Developing leaDers Tressler & Associates
golf sponsor Ovation
platinum sponsor Empower Electric • Gresham Smith& Partners Highwoods Properties • Interior Design Services Spectrum Properties | Emery, Inc. • Feltus Hawkins T.W. Frierson Contractor
golD sponsor Avenue Bank • Crain Construction, Inc. Duke Realty Corporation • H.G. Hill Realty Company, LLC JE Dunn • Office Furniture + Related Services Suntrust Bank • The Bank of Nashville • Waller BL Harbert International
silver sponsor Alex S. Palmer • Avison Young • Baker Donelson Bass Berry & Sims PLC • Bell & Associates Construction Boyle Investment Company • Brasfield & Gorrie CBRE • Chas. Hawkins Co., Inc. • Colliers International Dickinson Wright, PLLC • DTZ DWC Construction Company, Inc. • Eakin Partners, LLC. EDGE Planning, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design First Tennessee Bank • GBT Realty • Hardaway Construction Holladay Properties • Jones, Lang, LaSalle • Lines, Inc. MarketStreet Enterprises • NAI Nashville Panattoni Development Company, Inc. • ProLogis PNC • Ragan-Smith Associates, Inc. • Regions Shaw Contract Group • Sherrard & Roe • Skanska Technical Innovation • TMPartners, PLLC • Turner US Bank Wachter, Inc. • Wells Fargo Whisenant, Stewart, Watrous, & Associates, PLLC
Bronze level Green & Little • Flow Construction Company, Inc. Mayer Electric Supply • Newbanks | Nashville Ortale, Kelley, Herbert & Crawford • S&ME Synergy Business Environment • TTL
that focused first and foremost on “the soft stuff.” “I’m a junkie for leadership,” Miller says. “I want to build high-performing teams […] The most fun for me about coming in as CEO has been getting to decide the spirit of a place.” The core of her plan was anchored in an idea then-Mayor Phil Bredesen voiced to her two decades ago: A big part of success is “getting the talk right,” crafting and building a unified message both inside and outside an organization and celebrating successes as a team. That’s not a layup in the world of commercial real estate brokerage, where team members are to a great extent on their own when it comes to paying the bills. It’s not quite “eat what you kill” but there are elements of a cowboy culture that often don’t neatly mesh with a rah-rah culture. “They were so focused on work, they weren’t celebrating enough,” Miller says. “It’s something I’ve demanded. You might think everyone in the building knows you’ve closed a big deal. Well, maybe they don’t — so let’s go tell them.” Miller also has played up the local ownership and heritage of the Colliers office. In Mathews and other owners, the firm has deep roots in the city — dating to the 1938 founding of R.C. Mathews Contractor — that Miller says give it an edge when it comes to providing stability and leadership for the future. There’s more of a guardian/caretaker character to the firm’s dealings, she adds — an ethos that fits with her ECD background but one that hadn’t been clearly established in the firm’s branding. She’s tried to begin remedying that with a market campaign featuring the tagline “On purpose.”
Triangle of trust Miller also set out to build a solid foundation to her day-today interactions with the Colliers owners. For that, she leaned on local consultant and coach Jody Lentz, who is best known for his work with the Lego Serious Play approach to teambuilding. Another concept Lentz returns to time and again is trust among leadership teams — trust built on a triangle of capability, consistency and sincerity — and it’s that idea Miller wanted to focus on as part of a broader discussion about priorities soon after she started. “We talked about our talent, growing the business and the brand and about operations,” Miller says. “I basically said, ‘Object now because we’re going to move forward after this.’” That early meeting put the team on the right track and gave Miller a clearer sense of what the owners wanted from her. Sure, there were many moments of whack-a-mole, particularly in the first few weeks, and innumerable quick visits to Greene’s office to ask those often mundane questions — “How does X get handled? Who orders Y when we run out?” — that speak to how an organization functions day to day. But it didn’t take long for the traction to turn into results. continued on page 32
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PRESENTS PRESENTS PRESENTS 6 th A n n u a l PRESENTS
6 nn ua l 66 A A BOARD PRESENTS WALK FAME An nn nu ua aOF ll 6 A n n u aOF l BOARD WALK FAME BOARD OF FAME Honoring individual WALK and company achievement in gender BOARD WALK OF FAME diversity amongWALK Tennessee boards C-suites. BOARD OFandFAME th tt h h
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MIRACLES, MYSTERIES MIRACLES, MYSTERIES AND MOTIVATION MIRACLES, MYSTERIES MIRACLES, MYSTERIES MIRACLES, MYSTERIES AND MOTIVATION FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER, MARYANN BRUCE AND MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATION MOTIVATION AND diversity among Tennessee boards and C-suites.
FEATURING MARYANN BRUCE FEATURINGKEYNOTE KEYNOTESPEAKER, SPEAKER, MARYANN FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER, MARYANNBRUCE BRUCE FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER, MARYANN BRUCE
INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR MBIA Inc DIRECTOR and INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR INDEPENDENT MBIAFinancial IncDIRECTOR and Group Atlanta Life and MBIA Inc Inc and and Group AtlantaMBIA Life Financial Financial Group Atlanta Financial Atlanta Life Group Ellen DeGeneres, NewLife York Times, CBS, PBS and others Atlanta Financial Group
‘EvErything ahEad will bE morE difficult’ Looked around Music City lately and incredulously shaken your head at the sheer volume of construction work being done? The pros catch themselves doing it, too. And the ones at Colliers’ new offices on Third Avenue South in Rutledge Hill have a front-row seat to a great deal of the action. From the second-floor balcony of their building, they can scan the horizon from The Gulch to Second Avenue — see our photo and data spread on pages 18 and 19 — and quickly run out of fingers when it comes to counting quality development projects. “Everybody seems to have elevated their game,” says partner Chris Grear, who focuses on office space and is confident the demand is there to absorb what’s on the table for the coming years. Still, local office rents have taken a big step up in recent years. MarketStreet Equities’ new Gulch Crossing building was initially marketed for about $33 per square foot. Recent deals for space there were for about $37 — in line with what Eakin Partners is asking for its nearby under-construction 1201 Demonbreun tower — and many market watchers see that number climbing to $40 soon. Music City’s boom has been great for many people, but Colliers Nashville market leader Janet Miller is among those keeping an eye on the possible ramifications — congestion and transit problems and housing affordability — that won’t be as positive. “There’s so much momentum now that we could go down a path and not be able to control it anymore,” Miller says. “Everything ahead of us will be more difficult than it’s been so far.” We’ve taken a look at some of those issues elsewhere in this magazine and would like to hear your thoughts about possible solutions. Email us at tips@nashvillepost.com with your best ideas for how to handle, absorb or manage Nashville’s growth. Together, we’ll come up with good answers. > Geert De Lombaerde
Ellen DeGeneres, New York York Times, CBS, PBS PBS and others have featured Maryann Bruce’s amazing experiences Ellen DeGeneres, New Times, CBS, and Ellen DeGeneres, New York Times, CBS, PBS andothers others have featuredMaryann Maryann Bruce’s amazing experiences Ellen New York Times, CBS,two PBS and others with aDeGeneres, tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, terrorist have featured Bruce’s amazing experiences have featured Maryann Bruce’s amazing experiences withfeatured tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, two terrorist have Maryann Bruce’s amazing experiences attacks (World Trade Center garage bombing and with aatsunami, hurricane, earthquake, two terrorist with a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, two terrorist attacks (World Trade Center Center garagetowers bombing and attacks (World Trade garage bombing and with a tsunami, hurricane, two from terrorist 9/11 where she viewed theearthquake, burning a jet attacks (World Trade Center garagetowers bombing 9/11where where she viewed the burning burning towers fromand a jet 9/11 she viewed the from attacks (World Trade Center garage bombing and then the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ crash window) and 9/11 where she viewed the burning towers from a jet then the ‘Miracle ‘Miracle on the the crash window) and the on Hudson’ window) 9/11 whereand shethen viewed the burning towers from a jet landing. window) landing. and then the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ crash landing. then the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ crash window) and landing. landing. To say that she is cool, calm and collected is an Tosay saythat thatshe sheisiscool, cool, calm calm and and collected To is an understatement, which is clear incollected her professional life as understatement, whichcalm is clear clear incollected her professional To say that she is which cool, and is an life as understatement, is in her as well. Currently serving on two corporate boards, To say that she is cool, calm and collected is an life as well.Currently Currentlyserving serving on two corporate corporate well. two boards, understatement, whichon is clear in her professional Maryann also had a successful financial industry career, understatement, which is clear in her professional life Maryann alsohad had successful financial industry Maryann also aa successful financial career,as well. Currently serving on two corporate boards,career, well. Currently serving corporate boards, and in US Banker magazine asone oneof of andwas wasrecognized recognized inon UStwo Banker magazine as and was recognized in US Banker magazine Maryann also had a successful financial industry career, Maryann also had a successful financial industry career, “The 25 Women in Banking”. Based on “The 25 Most Powerful Women in “The 25Most MostPowerful Powerful Women in Banking”. Banking”. and was recognized in US Banker magazineBased as oneonof and was recognized in US Banker magazine asMrs. one her life during her speech speech Mrs. of her amazing experience, during her heramazing amazing lifeexperience, experience, during “The 25 Most life Powerful Women in Banking”. Based on Bruce will provide critical tips for long-term careerand and “The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking”. Based on Bruce will provide critical for long-term Bruce will provide critical tips for long-term career her amazing life experience, during her speech Mrs.and life success. life success. her amazing life experience, during her speech Mrs. life success. Bruce will provide critical tips for long-term career and Bruce will provide critical tips for long-term career and life success. life success.
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IMPROVE Two months after Miller started, Colliers announced it had recruited from CBRE the prominent office leasing team of Janet Sterchi and Doug Ryan. The duo brought with them, among other things, the plum assignment of marketing downtown’s UBS Tower, building on the firm’s win earlier that summer of the Fifth Third Center leasing assignment. Miller and Mathews also won the trust and marketing contract of Fred Wehba, the Chicago-based investor who has big plans for the former Lifeway complex at Commerce Street and 10th Avenue. There is an opportunity in that western sector of the central business district, she says, to develop a mixed-use area to match The Gulch — and with its long heritage, the Colliers team is primed to help capitalize on that opportunity. The biggest win of Miller’s first year was announced in July, when Vision Real Estate founders Michael Taylor and Phil Ehrlich said they had merged their 14-year-old retail leasing firm into Colliers’ local office. The deal added a dozen people to Miller’s fold and grew Colliers’ local square footage under management to 10 million. It also created Miller’s next challenge: Less than a year after moving from Lower Broadway to a renovated and expanded office in Rutledge Hill, Colliers has just about filled every available seat in the building it shares with sister companies The Mathews Company and R.C. Mathews. CEO Miller now has to get to grips with the space issues her CEO clients have so often faced.
In addition, she says the coming year will see her focused more on growing Colliers’ property management business and improving agents’ productivity and accountability. The work will be much closer to the trenches than her first year of team building and brand boosting but it won’t stray too far from her people-focused strengths. “I can’t get too far into the operations,” Miller says, readily ceding much of that territory to Greene’s four decades of experience. “There’s just so much opportunity to grow the business.” And so, what might have seemed like a bit of a risk 18 months ago — Miller, who’d never run a company before, freely admits she was scared to death when she started at Colliers and says “there are 1,000 people better than me” at the daily nuts and bolts — now looks like a master stroke that’s paying big dividends early. “We had just done the deal for our new building,” says Vaughn. “The risk would have been greater had we not taken this big step.”
W h at d o e s i t c o s t to b e f r e e ? Nashville, Tennessee is topping everyone’s list as the it city. Best food, best live music and best place to live. Those same qualities make Nashville high on the list for human traffickers. But we can prevent it. Help us to get unlisted and end slavery in Tennessee by making a donation at endslaverytn.org today.
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photo by eric england
‘Our rOle in priOritizing city services will becOme mOre valuable’ Downtown investments have helped SMS’ Block by Block division grow into national force
Block by Block has been a part of local maintenance services conglomerate SMS Holdings for more than seven years, during which it has grown its revenues to about $60 million. The business, which manages downtown ambassador programs in more than 70 cities in 28 states, has been led by Blair McBride since the middle of last year. McBride recently talked with Post Editor Geert De Lombaerde about his team’s growth at the center of America’s flourishing downtowns.
ville was setting the stage for just the kind of development we are seeing today. Now that we have residents living downtown, retail is starting to pop up, new restaurants are opening seemingly every week, and people are filling the streets almost every day and night. This success and the new businesses and people who are drawn to downtown present a new set of challenges for our customers, and we’re continuing to adapt to serve these changing needs. More people downtown means there are more people to clean up after. With people staying later in the evening for concerts and sporting events, we have to deliver services differently — right down to considerations related to the sound of using equipment late at night and how that impacts residents and people in hotels. They are important challenges, but they are also wonderful issues to be dealing with.
SMS acquired Block by Block in the summer of 2008. In retrospect, the timing was excellent, given post-recession development trends that have more greatly emphasized urban investment. How has the business — and what clients want from you Many of the services Block by Block pro— grown and evolved over the past seven years? It’s been exciting to watch our downtowns flourish. When cit- vides were historically performed by govies began investing in their downtown areas, their goal was to ernment agencies. Why have so many muenergize these areas and to make them attractive settings for nicipalities made the switch? What’s the businesses, residents and tourists. In 2008, downtown Nash- appeal of Block by Block and its peers?
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IMPROVE We’re definitely not replacing city services. Our services are supplemental to what the city can provide. We work with businesses through organizations like the Nashville Downtown Partnership to provide those critical services that city government isn’t structured to do. Downtown leaders recognize that their districts won’t prosper if they aren’t clean or they don’t feel safe to our residents and visitors. Cities don’t have the resources to sweep sidewalks twice every day or empty trash cans multiple times or have enough police on the street corners to make people feel safe, but Ambassador programs such as Block By Block’s can do just that — provide the enhanced frequency of services downtowns require to flourish and be competitive. If we’re doing our jobs well, we’re actually making the city services more efficient. Moving forward, we think the role of our Ambassadors teams in helping prioritize city services will become more valuable. For example, all cities operate on a limited budget, so we want to help the city prioritize which maintenance issues they address first. We also want to help social services deal with the human element of our downtown, such as the homeless population. We can help prioritize which homeless individuals are most in need, based on our daily interactions with them, and work with city agencies and other groups to provide that help. As far as the appeal of Block by Block, we’d say there are two things. First, there are nuances that are inherent to downtown, such as how we clean, the social issues of homelessness and socially unacceptable public behaviors. We understand these nuances well. That knowledge and our experience make the Block by Block program turnkey, requiring less involvement on the part of the downtown organization. Second, downtown organizations like the Ambassador programs because they
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allow the organization to have control. Essentially, downtown gets to set the objectives and priorities for downtown, and the Ambassador program provides the flexible capacity to drive initiatives toward those goals.
2015 Annual Luncheon November 4
Much of Block by Block’s presence around the country is in the Mid-Atlantic and on the West Coast. Does that lead you to look at the center of the country as a huge opportunity?
When you look at the concentration of cities and business improvement districts, there is certainly more density on the coasts. But there are major urban centers throughout the Midwest, and these cities require many of the same services that the biggest cities on each coast use. We have already seen success in this part of the country; in fact, some of our largest programs are in San Antonio, Nashville and Cleveland, and the downtown Minneapolis program is Block by Block’s largest operation. We built our organization years ago with proven, efficient systems and a decentralized corporate staff, making it possible for us to provide services anywhere in the country. We’re as far east as Boston and as far west as Honolulu, so we see the Midwest and everything east and west as strong growth opportunities.
Keynote Speaker
Daniel Hernandez Neighborhood Planning Designing for Equity, Health, and Affordability
Your contracts range from having small teams work a single street to — as in Nashville — covering dozens of city blocks with large crews and running parking shuttles. Does that pose some challenges in terms of instituting best practices?
This is really one of the greatest advantages of Block by Block. Every program we operate is built on our experiences serving in other places, both large and small. From techniques on how and when we clean to dealing with social issues impacting public perceptions, our entire model is built on lessons learned throughout the past 20 years in urban environments of all sizes and locations. You acquired Service Group Inc. of Philadelphia in 2013, growing your employee base to 1,300. Are there many other potential acquisition targets out there that would make a meaningful impact on SMS’ size?
Block by Block is clearly the largest provider of these services in the U.S., and the demand for these services will continue to grow. So we expect to grow, both through our own organic expansion, but also through strategic acquisitions that mesh with our culture and expand the areas we can serve. There’s no acquisition that we are targeting now, but we know who the companies are in this space, and are always looking at opportunities that make sense for us and our customers.
Get Your Tickets Today civicdesigncenter.org
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OCTOBER 10, 6PM NASHVILLE FARMERS MARKET
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Places within places
Nashville’s urban districts defined by distinctive nodes photos by eric england and michael w. bunch
Nashville is emerging as a mid-sized city with numerous eye-catching urban neighborhoods and districts, often sporting specific nodes of noteworthiness. These self-contained places showcase both large-scale buildings (as found in the central business district, SoBro, The Gulch and Midtown) and more fine-grained pedestrian-flavored built fabric (such as seen in 12South, Five Points, Germantown and Hillsboro Village). Many of these mini-pockets are readily recognizable. For example, Germantown offers the intersection of Madison Street and Fifth Avenue North; The Gulch is highlighted by the split at 11th and 12th avenues; and Midtown counters with the point at which 21st, Broadway and Division Street converge. Beyond the high-profile spots within these districts are the less visible nodes. The Post asked some local followers of Nashville’s manmade environment to describe their favorite such pockets. Here is what they revealed. NASHVILLE POST
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Marathon Village Marathon Village is one of my favorite urban areas in Nashville, as it includes little nooks and spaces that showcase its unique characteristics. While Marathon has evolved significantly over the years, it still has the ability to surprise me on my visits. It is a successful historic redevelopment that shows such adaptive reuse, though difficult, can be successful. There are event spaces, a coffee shop, spaces for restaurants, a candy store and the distinctive little experiences such as observing the pedestrian energy generated by Antique Archaeology. Marathon is a destination place with the potential to continue to develop even more without harming the setting. There are other historical areas in Nashville, such as Wedgewood-Houston, that can develop using this model. Marathon Village has shown how to make a variety of sizes and types of venues work for these special nooks in our city. > Brian Tibbs, Moody Nolan
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The downtown intersection of Sixth and Church I love the intersection of Church and Sixth for its people-watching: downtown workers hurrying to their next meeting or sitting in the Church Street Park enjoying “non-air-conditioned air”; residents walking their dogs; moms herding awe-struck children to the Main Library; students from HumeFogg savoring their freedom; homeless Nashvillians selling papers or resting in the park; tourists, escaped from Lower Broad. You see all this activity because the intersection has destinations — the library, Provence, the Church Street Park. But it’s also on the way to restaurants, homes, hotels, offices, galleries, shops, performance venues, the grocery and the Capitol. This intersection has wide, tree-lined sidewalks and, as importantly, a narrow street. The Church Street Park is an oasis, beckoning you to stop and sit, enjoy a performance on the small stage, or just relish the moment of cool green as you walk through. Finally, Church Street between Sixth and Capitol Boulevard has unexpected delights — a mural framing the park that “reflects” the library, the unexpected view of the Capitol looking north on Capitol Boulevard, and, for me, the diversity of Nashvillians, and maybe future Nashvillians, who walk by. > Jennifer Carlat, Metro Planning Department
The Richard H. Fulton Campus walkway
Nestled between the Howard Office Building and the Nashville Children’s Theatre is a small park/walkway that may be the most underrated space within the Richard H. Fulton Campus. You can sit at the picnic tables and enjoy the surroundings, including the eye-catching metal dragon sculpture and the attractive architecture of the surrounding buildings. This is likely a place that many residents and employees of the area enjoy for a quiet break. You can also imagine the families enjoying the area as they wait for a production to start at the children’s theater. > Adam Leibowitz, Double A Development
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The Frist Center for the Visual Arts parking lots
Surprisingly, perhaps one of the most comfortable and pleasant urban spaces in Nashville lies within the confines of a downtown parking lot — albeit the parking lot to the eye-catching Frist Center for the Visual Arts. The simple beauty of this space is due to its manageable scale and two simple ingredients: shade trees and seating. The deep shade canopy provided by the Chinese Zelkova trees on the sidewalk approach to the Frist creates an unrivaled high-quality pedestrian experience. Furthermore, a comfortable landscape buffer provides sidewalk users a safe environment from the lot’s harsh vehicular surroundings. The designers working in our great city should take note of the simple ingredients that make this humble parking lot one of the best pedestrian experiences our city has to offer. Or perhaps provide at least one of those ingredients: trees. > Scott Morton, Rebuilding Together Nashville Board of Directors
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West Riverfront Park Living on West End Avenue with its constant buzz of traffic and activity has me often looking for a peaceful spot. Most who know me well know that my favorite place is on the water in my rowing shell. However, when I need to take a break and re-energize, my favorite spots in Nashville tend to be on a swing. I live in a small space with no outdoor porch, so I have found a few hidden ‘porches’ around Nashville where I can enjoy, postrow, an early morning cup of coffee. Parmer, Edwin Warner and Centennial parks are a few of my favorites. Recently, I discovered a ‘front porch’ swing in the new West Riverfront Park overlooking the Cumberland River (on which I hope to be rowing one day). This is my new favorite spot for my porch time and it will be quite the buzz of our growing city. > Lizabeth Theiss, Crain Construction
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The Gulch pedestrian alley Tucked between the old Javanco and Farber buildings (now home to Lucchese Boots and Urban Outfitters, respectively), this urban passageway offers Gulch residents, hipster shoppers and Station Inn patrons a respite from the bustling district’s auto-crowded streetscape. While some folks originally saw a void between two seemingly useless industrial structures, Gulch planners contended that the district’s few remaining old warehouses, and the spaces in between, offered instant cachet. Interestingly, despite some early desires to rebrand the neighborhood’s rough image with something more glitzy, The Gulch name remained and, as such, demanded an urban grit that is difficult to recreate with modern construction. If left intact, these relics of no architectural significance would provide a connection to the neighborhood’s history and the remnant bones of an evolving city. While the neighborhood may be short on green space, the alley offers places to sit, shade, rich textures of aged masonry and steel windows, soft lighting and a one-of-akind authentic place. Amidst the shiny new structures that will continue to rise in this growing urban neighborhood, the Gulch Pedestrian Alley offers a touch of patina needed for our quickly changing urban core. > Hunter Gee, Smith Gee Studio
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IMPROVE Shelby Hills
Shelby Hills is my favorite urban pocket and the reason I made Nashville my home after a two-year search for just the right spot. The backyard of this incredible East Nashville neighborhood is, in my opinion, the city’s biggest gem — Shelby Park and Bottoms — which is great for dog walking, running, cycling, golf and generally staying active and enjoying the outdoors. Shelby Hills has some of the best views of downtown and the Cumberland River, especially when the General Jackson is going by. I appreciate Shelby Hills’ great history as one of Nashville’s original streetcar neighborhoods. And I especially love the quick commute to downtown.> Britnie
Turner, Aerial Development Group
The Fatherland District Located at the intersection of South 11th and Fatherland streets and on the fringe of East Nashville’s Five Points, the so-called Fatherland District (also called Martin Corner) offers micro retail boutique spaces clustered in The Shoppes on Fatherland (which includes the open-air multi-use Pavilion EAST) and the new 1100 Fatherland housing local retailers along with the Local Taco and AMOT Eatery. The district has become more than just a neighborhood destination due to its authenticity (being true to its East Nashville roots and cultivating local, small start-up business) and its scale (The Shoppes is a well-edited collection of 23 retail spaces ranging from 192 square feet to 800 square feet allowing opportunities for the business owners to organically expand yet stay within the district). The smaller-scale buildings at mid-block work to draw customers to explore both its “alleys” and the tiny interior shops accessed through gravel pathways. The district is successful because it’s true to its east side neighborhood — quirky, walkable and just plain likeable. > Tracey Ford, EOA Architects
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DISTRICTS 53 SKINNIES 58 CARLESS 60 DIVISION 62 DATA 64
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[nashvillepost] LEADERS | SPRING 2014
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photo by michael w. bunch
motorist-mad Madison made for makeover
Gallatin Pike stretch through Village offers civic planning opportunity by Bill Lewis Gallatin Pike is one of Nashville’s key streets, its name change to Main Street as it approaches downtown suggesting a certain importance and geographic noteworthiness. Indeed, the multi-lane thoroughfare links downtown Nashville to fastgrowing Hendersonville via thriving commercial areas near the east side’s urban Five Points to suburban RiverGate Mall. But, glaringly, the suburban car culture that the road promotes has led to a steep decline of the business district located along a key stretch in Madison. An effort to reinvent the length of Gallatin Road between Neelys Bend Road to the south and West Old Hickory Boulevard to the north met with only partial success in the late 1990s. Civic boosters still believe that area, known as the Village of Madison, is primed for redevelopment similar to those of 12South or the Riverside Village and Five Points areas of East Nashville. Instead of motorists speeding by on their way to somewhere else, they
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envision young professionals and older downsizers living in mixed-use buildings and walking to local restaurants, bars and businesses. “This is the next town center,” says Debbie Massey, executive director of the Madison-Rivergate Chamber of Commerce. “We’re ready for mixed-use buildings.” The Village of Madison is home to iconic businesses. Nashville’s first Shoney’s restaurant is still in business at 720 Gallatin Pike. It is currently closed for renovations. The restaurant is located next door to Madison Square shopping center, 800 Madison Square, one of the city’s first suburban shopping centers. Madison Square’s high-end department stores have been replaced by other uses, including a Dollar Tree and Dollar General discount stores, a Sherwin-Williams paint store, an Aldi grocery store, National College (an accredited school offering degrees in business and technology) and blood donation center CSL Plasma. The Harvey’s department store location, 950
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ENVISION Madison Square, is now Nashville Nightmare A few of the signs are battered, but enthusiasm for the future of the VilHaunted House. lage is undiminished. Acres of parking surround Madison Square, “We have opportunities on the Gallatin Road corridor that could stimupaved at a time when it served as a regional late new development,” says Nathan Massey, Debbie Massey’s husband and shopping destination. Today, that parking lot past president of civic organization Discover Madison. “We can make the separates the shopping center from traffic rush- area more attractive, give it more curb appeal.” ing by on Gallatin Road. Other major businesses Nashville Next, the city’s community-driven development plan the Metro in the Village are also surrounded by asphalt. Planning Department oversaw, supports that idea. Located with the 100 or 200 blocks of Gallatin “The Nashville Next long-range plan includes a priority for streetscaping Pike, they include a Kroger grocery and a Kroger and increased walkability,” says Craig Owensby, department spokesman. Fuel Station, Walgreens, Walmart Neighborhood Making the Douglas Street Connector a reality is also a possibility, he says. Market and Old Time Pottery. “That’s another Nashville Next priority, to study that intersection for The Village is home to two civic anchors, the possible traffic-walkability improvement,” says Owensby. public library at 610 Gallatin Pike and Amqui Nathan Massey has a creative idea for some of the vast areas of parkStation and Visitors Center, a historic train sta- ing surrounding Madison Square. He wants someone to develop mixed-use tion at 303 Madison St. Between them is a green buildings with apartments, condos and retail spaces that would attract new space that civic leaders say could beresidents and the businesses to serve them. come a city park. It has already happened in other urban neighborTraffic on Gallatin Pike, a nighthoods, he says. mare almost any time of day, is espe“This has worked in East Nashville and Germancially bad at Neelys Bend Road, which town,” he says. “Look at Werthan Mills, an old factory runs through numerous neighborwhere people built condos. Look at 12South.” hoods and ends at a T-intersection The Nashville Next plan expresses similar thoughts. with Gallatin Pike. Motorists have to “Redevelopment of the Gallatin Pike corridor with turn either right or left. a greater mix of uses, higher density and intensity and Extending Neelys Bend across Gallmore transit-oriented development is critical to the atin Pike and connecting with Dougeconomic health of the Madison Community in the las Street would create an alternative future. Redevelopment could occur through the conroute for motorists to reach West Nathan Massey, cept of retrofitting suburban development,” the plan Old Hickory Boulevard, but funding reads. Discover Madison for that idea fizzled out years ago. As “This concept describes the reusing and redesignpart of a 1998 streetscaping program, ing auto-oriented suburban development, to make for Madison achieved its goal of getting a a more walkable development pattern,” the plan adds. new Metro Police Department precinct. But the “This would typically occur on commercial properties at strategic points road project, known as the Douglas Street Con- along Gallatin Pike.” nector, was never funded. “The Madison Square shopping center is a great example of a property “We’ve never have been able to get in the bud- that can be redeveloped for more intense and walkable uses,” it continues. get again,” Massey says. “In addition to repurposed commercial development, a better mixture of As part of that streetscape plan, parallel park- housing would complement such development.” ing would have been allowed on Gallatin Pike, Madison is uniquely positioned for commuters, says Nathan Massey, with similar to 21st Avenue in Hillsboro Village, but access to Gallatin Pike, Ellington Parkway, West Old Hickory Boulevard, Brimerchants resisted the idea. ley Parkway and Interstate 65. The key to success for the Village, though, is At that time, civic boosters — in a moment of getting people out of their cars. optimism — erected numerous signs welcoming “Bring in young professionals,” he says. “Create an opportunity for somemotorists to Madison. one tired of cutting grass, a walkable community where you would not ever “Tornados and wrecks have taken their toll on have to get in your car. You could function within a mile and have all the some of them,” says Massey. services you need.”
‘We can make the area more attractive, give it more curb appeal.’
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A split decision
Will Metro one day decide to improve the V at 70 and 100? by Bill Lewis There are Nashville street segments that no one could imagine radically altering, including those in East Nashville’s Five Points (with its restaurants, bars and historic homes) and at the Music Row roundabout, where the nine nude figures of Musica cavort. In contrast, nobody’s list of attractive streetscapes would include the point at which Harding Pike splits into Highway 70 and Highway 100 and motorists going to and from West Davidson County’s booming suburbs funnel through a vehicle-heavy and unwieldy V intersection. Motorists heading west on Harding and to 100 must cross paths with those traveling east on 70 and to Harding. Motorists traveling in either direction and on any of the three roads must slow down to avoid vehicles pulling into and out of the uncurbed parking lots of businesses and restaurants — including Sportsman’s Grille, Finezza Italian Bistro, American Tire and West Meade Wine & Liquor Mart — located along both sides of Harding. Compounding the challenge, a traffic light on 100 at Heady Drive sometimes yields clogs. There are no curbs or sidewalks along Harding Pike, leaving vehicles free to enter or exit traffic at numerous points. Pedestrians (not there are many) face significant danger. Few parking lots — notwithstanding those servicing Westgate Center and Harpeth Hills Plaza (home to a Harris Teeter and Escape Day Spa & Salon) — offer designated entrances and exits. In short, the split is a mess, both in its form and function. “I’ve lived nearby the split since 1994, and it has become more and more dangerous ever since,” says Janet Williams, a Bellevue resident. Almost disturbingly, traffic will only get heavier after Crosland Southeast completes its redevelopment of Bellevue Center. That project, named One Bellevue Place, 48 BOOM
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is expected to bring 400,000 square feet of retail space, 360,000 square feet of office space, 330 apartments and a 120-room hotel to the site of the defunct mall on Highway 70 near Interstate 40. Likewise, developers are building new homes west of Bellevue. For example, Rochford Realty and Construction Co. has plans for up to 1,400 homes in Stephens Valley, located among rolling hills across from The Loveless Cafe. The Jones Co. and Ole South, among other builders, are developing hundreds of houses farther west in Fairview. More homes mean more motorists. And the 70100 split will lure a greater share of vehicles. Both highways are state routes, and any changes to the 70-100 split would require Tennessee Department of Transportation involvement, says Craig Owensby, spokesman for the Metro Planning Department. Despite Harding’s lack of sidewalks and the potential for chaos, residents of homes along streets in nearby Belle Meade and West Meade are within reasonable proximity to walk to the businesses clustered around the split, Owensby says. “I lived near there, on Heady, for nearly five years and used to walk to the Harris Teeter when it was still a Sunflower,” says Owensby. It is unlikely Metro will attempt to beautify the 70100 split with, for example, a massive civic art piece. Nor is the city expected to create a redevelopment district (with tax increment financing monies avail-
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Sidewalks would make the area more pedestrian friendly and soften its carable) surrounding the V to lure developers to undercentric nature, Murphy says, adding that curbs would help control the flow of take urban-oriented mixed-use projects. However, the split could be redesigned to improve vehicles accessing Harding’s many surface parking lots. “There appears to be adequate right of way for sidewalks. It would require traffic flow and safety, says Bob Murphy, president of constructing new curb and gutter along both sides of the highways since the RPM Transportation Consultants. current roadways are not curbed,” he says. “By going to a Perhaps the simplest solution, curb-and-gutter design, you could also reduce the amount of Murphy says, would be to redesign uncurbed open frontage … that allows cars to enter and exit the intersection so that the traffic businesses at just about any point, which creates confusion intersects at 90 degrees. City planand conflicts, and slows traffic down. ners have considered that option in “Having a curb-and-gutter design would improve the acthe past but Metro never pursued it. cess control to the businesses along the street, which would RPM was part of the team help traffic flow more smoothly, reduce conflicts and enhance that undertook the Sylvan Park the safety of pedestrians,” he adds. “Also, painted bike boxes streetscaping project that yielded at the intersection could be used to make it easier and safer wide sidewalks and a roundabout. for bike traffic that wants to go from Highway 70 to Highway On this theme, the 70-100 split could be reinvented with a round100 and vice versa.” about, though it would have to be Bob Murphy, Public art and a more urban streetscape would make the very large, says Murphy. area more appealing, Murphy says. RPM Transportation “A roundabout would need to be “This will always be a high-traffic area,” he acknowledges. Consultants similar in size to the KVB/Eighth “But it doesn’t have to be so car-centric nor does it have to Avenue roundabout, which has an be so high-speed. As the area redevelops in the future, it is inscribed circle of about 230 feet,” vital that the street frontage be activated with new buildings he says. “This size roundabout would likely require that are placed closer to the streets and wide sidewalks and buffers between the the purchase of additional right of way from adjacent street and sidewalks. Public art could also be incorporated into these designs.” properties, which may be prohibitively expensive. The planning department’s Owensby isn’t aware of any looming plans for More detailed study would be needed to fully evaluate sidewalks in the vicinity, but he’s not ruling out the possibility for the future. the feasibility as well as the optimal size of the round“Streetscape improvement, including sidewalks and art, are always open for about and the need for any additional right of way.” discussion,” he says.
‘[The split] doesn’t have to be so carcentric … or so high-speed.’
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Primed for change
Underperforming South Street may soon reach full potential by Bill Lewis Certain streets tell the story of Nashville’s urban revival. And it’s a compelling tale, indeed. Eighth Avenue South conjures images of historic residential districts like Waverly-Belmont and Woodland-in-Waverly and iconic businesses such as M.L. Rose, All Seasons Gardening and Brewing Supply Co., The Smiling Elephant and W.O. Smith Music School, to name a few. Likewise, 12th Avenue South offers the thriving Gulch (Watermark, Sambuca, the Station Inn, Twelve|Twelve, etc.) on its north end and the 12South neighborhood (Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, 12 South Taproom, Urban Grub, Edley’s Bar-BQue, Sevier Park, etc.) anchoring its southern fringe. Sixteenth Avenue, a key stretch of which is known as Music Square East, pairs with 17th to comprise the internationally recognized Music Row. Connecting that trio is South Street, an overlooked (and, many would argue, underperforming) street located two blocks south of downtown’s interstate loop. The street was designed during the days of urban renewal and has sat somewhat quietly since. Now, it might be prepped for a renewal of its own. South Street runs from Eighth Avenue South on the east to 19th Avenue on
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the west. The stretch from Eighth to 16th Avenue is a rarity in the city — a boulevard divided by a grassy, tree-lined median. That design apparently resulted from an ambitious 1970s urban planning idea that never quite made it off the launch pad. “There was a move to create a boulevard connecting North Nashville and South Nashville,” says Craig Owensby, Metro Planning Department spokesman. “Right of way didn’t get acquired [and the project] didn’t happen.” But with robust Gulch activity and Evergreen Real Estate’s 49-home Archer at 12th project underway on Archer Street, South Street (particularly the stretch from Eighth to 12th) is back on the radar. Of note, the lots for the residential buildings between Eighth and 12th are elevated, offering strong views of downtown. To understand the street’s potential future, however, let’s consider its past and present. Divided by the median, the sides of South Street from Eighth to 12th developed different identities. The south side of the street is lined with nondescript
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ENVISION mini-ranch houses and a few commercial buildings, while the north side offers a handful of bland commercial buildings, lots of surface parking and no homes. Within this stretch, few of the residential or commercial buildings are architecturally significant, thus lending future opportunity for more larger-scale, and eye-catching, construction. For example, Leasing Systems Inc. is located on the southwest corner, and Graybar Electric occupies the northwest corner, respectively, of the T-intersection of South Street and Eighth. At the intersection at 12th, the nonprofit Rochelle Center and the United Methodist Communications building are located at the southeast and northeast corners, respectively. On the northwest and southwest corners of this intersection, respectively, are two massive properties (one home to the Greater Bethel AME Church and the other with two non-descript structures). All four corners are primed for reinvention.
Between them, The Buntin Group is headquartered at the northwest corner of the intersection of South Street and Southside Place. As South Street moves west from 12th to 16th, the homes — particularly on the street’s north side — are relatively impressive overall and, as such, will likely remain as future development unfolds. However, some homes within the stretch eventually will be razed, and many hope that neo-American foursquare and cottages will replace them (in keeping with the traditional residential character of the street). Regardless, as the lesser-used streets on either side of the road redevelop with new homes, South Street (and even Hawkins Street, which runs parallel to South and the interstate loop) may finally be poised to achieve the glory it was denied in the 1970s by the vagaries of urban planning. “Hawkins Street and South Street is Nashville’s next boom area — the natural expansion area of The Gulch,” says Jeffrey Buntin Sr., whose eponymously named advertising agency has been headquartered for more than 30 years in a building sandwiched between the two streets. Buntin (though understandably biased) might be correct. The neighborhood located south of South Street and north of Archer Street already has attracted developers eager to build homes for the young professionals and downsizing empty nesters who want to live near the center of the city. Buntin has watched as one new house already has been built on South Street and another started. continued on page 52
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ENVISION There are other stirrings in the general area as well. In April, a buyer purchased the 1920-built house at 914 Villa Place for $385,000. In addition, Nashville-based developer Bill Ruff is planning to soon start on a 19-unit townhome development located at 1212 Hawkins St. and 1119 and 1121 Sigler St. “The neighborhood has started to evolve,” says Buntin. “The whole area could [eventually offer] contemporary, attractive houses, what I call the Gulch South.” The evolution is not limited to residential construction. For example, The Buntin Group is preparing to move from its 36,000-square-foot building, which it owns, at 1001 Hawkins St. The firm plans to have a three-story, 60,000-square-foot headquarters building next door at 915 Hawkins St. The site — currently including a parking lot that was zoned for industrial usage — eventually will feature a building with frontage along South Street. New companies are expected to eye the area, as The Buntin Group’s future building will offer space for tenants other than the ad agency. Relatedly, the company’s current headquarters building will be available for re-use. One block east, at 900 South St., the property home to Music City Porsche and Audi also is for sale. Its owners are asking $1.5 million for the 0.34-acre site. The Buntin Group has engaged Civil Site Design Group for general engineering for the project, with Hastings Architecture Associates providing the design work. Both companies are based in Nashville.
Meanwhile, South Street will continue to be home to one of the largest electrical contractors in the United States, the employee-owned Graybar Electric. “At this time, Graybar does not have any plans to sell our location at 825 Eighth Ave. S.,” Timothy Sommer, the company’s manager of corporate communications, writes in an email. He did not say if there are potential buyers. The city’s plans for South Street include a possible bikeway connection on Grand Avenue. That street, located one block south of South Street, currently is hampered by two dead ends: It runs from Villa Place to 15th Avenue, where it stops, then picks up again at 14th Avenue and connects with South Street. A bikeway could make the neighborhood more inviting to non-vehicular traffic. Metro’s Owensby says the city is monitoring South Street and its many side streets. “It’s definitely an in-demand area,” he says.
Your Trusted Tennessee Legal Advisor Advancing and protecting your interests in Nashville and Statewide
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Mall site makeover
Metro Councilwoman Sheri Weiner discusses prospects of mixed-use One Bellevue Place by Emily Kubis It has taken much time, but the property once home to the Bellevue Center mall is ready for a new life. Demolition on the long-shuttered suburban shopping center began in August, the first step toward its site being reinvented with a multi-building mixed-use development. The $200 million project, to be undertaken by Charlotte, North Carolinabased Crosland Southeast, is the latest in a series of plans to redevelop the site since the mall closed in 2008. Ideas included a public library, a Bellevue magnet school and two mixed-use projects from GBT Realty and Crosland Southeast that the developers scrapped in 2011. But with $15 million in tax increment financing approved by the Metro Council this summer, the current project, named One Bellevue Place, seems to have a better chance at success than previous proposals. Featuring 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, including a Carmike Cinema, 330 multi-family residential units, a 120-room hotel and 360,000 square feet of office space, the new development is expected to revitalize the site of the former mall while simultaneously placing some positive attention on Bellevue. The Post spoke with Bellevue-based Metro Councilwoman Sheri Weiner, in whose District 22 the property sits, to get her take on the property’s newest chapter. What is your vision for the project?
The developers have proposed a town center feel, which is why I named it One Bellevue Place, representing the unity of the community and the place where we can all come together as we did this weekend [for the demolition]. This is a private property transaction, and [the developers] are the ones who may establish
and implement their vision within the confines of land use policy for that zoning district. Who is the target market?
This is a mixed-use development, which means that it will attract folks who live here as well as folks who want to live here. It will offer a state-of-theart theater that will provide area residents with a choice of whether to go to Green Hills or come here to Bellevue. It will offer another hotel choice, which is definitely going to fill a need, and the Sprouts grocery will be another choice for folks who frequent Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Are there any additional approvals necessary for the project construction or financing?
From a Metro Nashville standpoint, we are finished other than pulling permits for demolition and then construction. As far as their financing, I am not privy to that at this point. The proposed development also includes two acres of Metro Nashville property. What might that land be used for?
We have multiple needs here in terms of civic use — a fire hall, a community center, a recycling facility — to just name a few. We are investigating the feasibility of each at this time. What makes this project different from some of the other plans that have been proposed for the site?
This one has a team in place that has been able to follow through with its intent and vision. NASHVILLE POST
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The heart of The Nations
Transitioning neighborhood’s 51st Avenue could see change — but what type? by Bill Lewis Picture summertime in The Nations. Young hipsters bike, walk and skateboard past single-story buildings and open spaces on 51st Avenue North while semi-trucks roar by. On either side of the vehicle-heavy thoroughfare of the transitioning West Nashville neighborhood, mothers pushing strollers dodge traffic on sidewalk-less side streets along which developers are busy razing tiny Eisenhower administration-era houses and replacing them, often with two or more homes on a lot. That is now. And change is coming. In perhaps no more than 10 years, the iconic 200-foot-tall grain tower located near the intersection of 51st and Centennial Boulevard may be the only recognizable part of The Nations’ landscape. The hipsters will be superseded by the next generation of urban cool, the homebuilders should be largely finished with their work, and 51st could be framed by multi-story buildings offering thriving retail businesses, condos and apartments. As it attracts attention from developers, 51st could become the epicenter of The Nations just as 12th and 21st avenues have become the heart of the thriving 12South and Hillsboro Village districts. Indeed, the potential for 51st to be dramatically reinvented is strong. But for now, 51st is a blank canvas. The height of the structures that will be built, the question of whether upper-level residences should be encouraged to promote density and walkability, even the width and functionality of the street itself are still undecided. “51st is the main thoroughfare. It has potential to be an amazing street. But it’s a truck route now,” says developer Michael Kenner, who has several projects 54 BOOM
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planned or underway in the neighborhood. They include affordably priced micro apartments made from about a dozen discarded international shipping containers at 60th Avenue North and Morrow Road and Treaty Oaks, a 60-home subdivision to be located at 1206 60th Ave. N. The first homes in Treaty Oaks won’t be finished for some time, but Kenner’s company, MiKeN Development, already has a waiting list of 150 potential buyers. He expects prices to range from approximately $225,000 to $350,000. Kenner expects a similarly enthusiastic response to an urban-oriented development he is targeting for the northeast corner of the intersection of 51st and Illinois avenues. The three-story building is to include apartments and 2,000 square feet of retail space with limited surface parking situated in the rear. Kenner, who needs a special exception from the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals regarding the building’s lack of setback from the street, put the project on hold when the area’s representative on Metro Council and some Nations residents voiced concerns about traffic and parking. Without the special zoning exception, Kenner says existing zoning regulations will require him to surround his building with a “sea of parking.” He says that’s the opposite of what the Metro Planning Department’s Nashville Next plan envisions. “There’s a disconnect between current zoning continued on page 56
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CA
A quick look at The NationS
Plans to operate from a warehouse located at 5901 California Ave. 2. U nidentified
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The Nations is a district perhaps best defined by its long-term potential rather than its present. Loosely bordered by Briley Parkway on the west, 63rd Avenue North and Centennial Boulevard on the north, 44th Avenue North on the east and Interstate 40 on the south, the mainly residential district is perhaps best recognized as the home of The Stone Fox, a pub and live music venue that operates at 712 51st Ave. N. Indeed, very few commercial businesses or buildings of note (notwithstanding the many industrial-oriented companies that operate from its confines) are found in The Nations. But that will soon change. Many mixed-use developments are planned for the fledgling urban district. Once in place, they are expected to help redefine what might be West Nashville’s most potential-packed urban pocket.
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A mixed-use project to be located at the northeast corner of the intersection of 51st and Illinois avenues.
8. Retail Options Jeff Estepp is considering retail options for two buildings, located on the southwest corner of the intersection of 51st and Tennessee avenues, that he plans to buy and rehab. 9. F at
Bottom Brewing Co.
Plans to operate from a warehouse located at 800 44th Ave. N.
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publisher position Your Primary Source for Professional Healthcare News
ENVISION
INC
nashville and east tennessee
You will be responsible for revenue generation by building and maintaining strong relationships with advertisers. You will be actively involved in the local medical community and have a successful sales track record. You are a consultative communicator who is fluent in both print and digital products.
and the Nashville Next plan,” says Kenner. know that you will ever have enough denHomeowners in The Nations tell him they don’t want sity to have a walkable neighborhood. 51st to replicate the traffic congestion on 21st Avenue in There aren’t enough people,” he says. Hillsboro Village, where parking is allowed on both sides Contractor Jeff Estepp is planning a of the street. retail development at 702 and 704 51st “That will never happen,” says Kenner. “Hillsboro Village is Ave. N., where he expects the 51 North on a four-lane road that’s 50 feet wide; 51st is 100 feet wide.” Taproom and Grill to locate. It will be “baThe street is already home to small, locally owned business- sically a twin” to the 12 South Taproom es like The Stone Fox, a bar, restaurant and live music venue, and Grill in 12South. for which the opening a few years ago served as a defining Estepp, whose office is located on 51st, moment in the steady revival of the neighborhood. Likewise, envisions the street as a relatively narrow Fifty First Kitchen & Bar recently opened at the northwest commercial corridor that runs through corner of the intersection of 51st and Illinois avenues. a residential neighborhood. Its potential But for 51st to become the linear for high-density uses center of gravity of a walkable neighbormay be limited. hood, the city will have to change much “You turn left or of the street’s zoning to encourage the right and all of the larger-scale commercial and residensudden you’re on top tial construction that promotes people of houses,” he says. “I density, says developer Bill Hostettler. don’t want to be the Many prime locations on the street are guy who pops up a sixzoned “industrial restricted,” which story building. Somedoes not permit residential use. body will probably do Rezoning to allow three-story mixedit, but it won’t be me.” use buildings along 51st would encourJamie Brown, a age development, he says. member of The Nations “If you want walkability, it’s going to Neighborhood Assotake density, restaurants people can walk Michael Kenner, ciation, says residents to without parking,” says Hostettler, chief MiKeN Development have two goals in mind manager of Craighead Development, a as the area redevelops. sister company of HND Realty. “What we want is Craighead is developing West Mill Townhomes, a 98-resi- for everything to be safe and aesthetidence development located on 57th Avenue between Califor- cally pleasing,” she says. nia and Louisiana avenues on a six-acre site that previously At a charrette during which the served as a lumberyard. The company sold 43 townhomes future of 51st was discussed, some during the first month after announcing the development. residents expressed support of a “road Interestingly, a number of Nations residents objected diet” that would reduce the street’s four to a multi-unit residential development in a neighborhood lanes to two traffic lanes, with a center that traditionally has been defined by a mix of single-fami- turning lane, crosswalks and curbside ly homes and light industrial structures. bicycle lanes. Others pointed out that Hostettler says without multi-family development, The such changes could cause congestion or Nations will remain essentially suburban, with the bars create dangerous conflicts with the big and restaurants expected to eventually operate on 51st trucks that still use 51st as a connector depending largely on automobile traffic and less so on pe- between Centennial Boulevard and Indestrians who could actually live above those drinking and terstate 40. dining establishments. True, truckers could avoid the neigh“In a single-family neighborhood [like The Nations], I don’t borhood by using nearby Briley Park-
‘51st Avenue … hAs potentiAl to be An AmAzing street. but it’s A truck route now.’
We offer full benefits: medical/dental/life insurance, 401K, paid vacations and holidays.
to apply for this position: email your resume along with a cover letter with salary requirements to hr@cygnuspub.com. Medical news is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, or national origin.
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ENVISION way, a four-lane divided highway located a few blocks to the west. But for now, many still use 51st to access the industrial buildings located on Centennial. “It’s a truck route,” says Brown. “But as people move to the city, as the neighborhood changes and people are out walking, there [will be] superior routes.” Meanwhile, the people who are out walking in The Nations already have to dodge traffic on side streets that have no sidewalks, much less curbs. “If you’re pushing a baby stroller, you’re in traffic,” says Brown. Currently, only a handful of side streets in The Nations have sidewalks. That could change at some point, but no one can say when. In a color-coded map on the Metro Department of Public Works website, streets that are designated for sidewalks appear in green. But the map lacks a schedule. “There is no set timetable,” says Jenna Smith, the department’s spokeswoman. “While our goal is that, someday, these streets would all have sidewalks and curbs, the answer is, of course, dependent on available funds.” Metro’s Strategic Sidewalk Plan relies on a tool called the pedestrian generator index to ensure that sidewalks are placed where current and future pedestrian needs are greatest. Extra points are awarded to streets close to schools, libraries, parks, hospitals, transit routes and densely populated neighborhoods. More points are given for urban roads and areas where traffic volume and speed can create safety hazards for pedestrians. The amount of public interest and Public Works’ ability to leverage funding from outside sources are also taken into account. “Also, just a reminder that the [sidewalk] program is countywide,” Smith says. “Nashville and Davidson County are over 530 square miles.”
Sidewalks exist on either side of 51st spanning Interstate 40 on the south to Centennial on the north. So the few pedestrians using them today don’t have to worry about sharing the road with fast-moving traffic. A “road diet” might slow that traffic and render the street more walkable, but as more businesses and residents are attracted to the area, congestion could be the unintended result, says Brown. She cites a recent transaction in which 36 acres just three blocks west of the T-intersection of 51st and Centennial Boulevard changed hands for $6 million. The buyer, R Manuel Centennial, was represented by Southeast Venture. A 9.8-acre portion of the site is being rezoned from industrial to mixed use. The buyer has not indicated whether it will include a combination of commercial and residential space, says Southeast Venture Affiliate Broker Lee White, who brokered the deal. He expects the site to be redeveloped in phases. “The front nine [acres] is certainly the filet of the whole thing,” says White. The remaining acreage includes a bluff overlooking the Cumberland River. “Twenty-seven acres of riverfront in a neighborhood so close to downtown, so close to [a neighborhood] where demand is high and supply low [is desirable],” says White. The site includes a 200-foot-tall grain tower that is visible from Interstate 440 and downtown. White expects the new owners to incorporate it into their redevelopment plans. “My client is trying to make that a beacon,” he says of the industrial architecture piece. The site’s eventual residents and retail patrons could take Centennial Boulevard and 46th Avenue to connect with Charlotte Pike and I-40, but 51st will provide a direct route. Paul Riggan, a realtor with Parks, believes mixed-used development combining residential and commercial spaces are coming to 51st. “People are talking condos up, retail down,” says Riggan. He recently represented Nashville-based Vintage South Development in the purchase of 1.9 acres at 5016 Centennial Blvd., which includes a building that fronts 51st. The buyer is considering a restaurant, retail and office space. The property, the former home of Nashville Discount Building Materials Inc., was listed for $1.4 million and sold for $1.28 million. Parks has eight listings in the neighborhood, says Riggan. “Every builder in Nashville loves The Nations,” he says.
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Tall, skinny… and attractive?
New approach needed for oft-controversial home design Bike through most neighborhoods ringing Nashville’s urban core and you are bound to get a flat tire — the result of multiple construction sites yielding reinvented once-vacant or underused lots. New restaurants, coffee shops, yoga studios and large-scale apartment buildings are dotting our man-made landscape. And there are more to come. No doubt, the city is booming. With this construction frenzy, it is not surprising some housing styles seem out of place. Many new single-family homes are dubbed “tall and skinny,” urban homes accommodating residential demand dictated by constraints of tight lots in the urban core and a desire to make Nashville more densely populated. Some of these homes are thoughtful and attractive in their own context and can actually create a nice street rhythm and continuity. But when positioned in the middle of a street and accompanying, say, bungalows or cottages, the effect can be jarring and, sometimes, flat out ugly. So what is a tall and skinny? Often it closely resembles a townhome but is either detached or very minimally attached. The design is simple — typically two to three stories with a taller 1:2 proportion of width to height. Tall and skinnies often are built in pairs or rows with very similar styling: either traditional (a double front porch with lap siding) or contemporary (gridded paneling, flat roofs and a roof deck). Love them or hate them, these homes are filling a need and, not surprisingly, selling quickly. Reversing a trend that brutalized Nashville’s core from the 1950s to the 1980s, more and more people — whether from Brooklyn or Bellevue — are returning to the city’s center. As such, once-challenged neighborhoods have sprung back to life.
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ENVISION Young singles and couples want their first place and retired empty nesters seek to downsize and simplify. Nashville is becoming a modern metropolis for the millennial mindset. Do these buyers have a sufficient variety of choices available? And how can our neighborhoods maintain their individual character while balancing existing residents with new ones? So far, the market’s answer has been large multi-unit apartment buildings and scores of tall and skinnies. This answers the need for density but not necessarily the need for quality, context and character. The market must evolve past the “quantity over quality” mindset to embrace a “less is more” mantra to facilitate smart growth — factors other markets have neglected to date, and the results are glaring. So while a more dense, single-family option is needed, it doesn’t have to be the equivalent of a tall non-fat skinny latte with caramel drizzle on top. Nashville is beautiful. Our neighborhoods have unique context and character that, sadly, have been largely ignored by current residential design. And there is minimal sign that will change. The designs of new homes are practically unregulated by local ordinances, except in areas fortunate to have an urban design overlay. My expertise as an architect is viewed as an unnecessary cost, and I have very little opportunity to influence builders and their product. I cringe along with everyone else when I see a charming old home demolished and replaced with several new adjacent homes built similarly except for, say, color palette. As ‘millennial’ as it might be to see your neighbors’ bedroom and bathroom from your own home, there is a better alternative. Nashville is a smart, educated, modern city. And its residents have a right to expect more. In January, my partner Patrick Weber and I founded Aesh Design to encourage better design for commercial and residential buildings, drawing on our backgrounds and interests in furniture and product design. We are working with several homebuilders who want to offer quality, distinctive tall and skinny homes that are respectful of neighborhoods. Just as Nashville has started to value handmade goods and artisan furniture, so too should the city value craftsmanship and design in our homes — not as “millennials” or “hipsters,” but as a community that can be receptive to a quality tall and skinny.
David Grisham is co-founder with Patrick Weber of Aesh Design, which is based both in Nashville and St. Louis.
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Business as (not) usual
Hillsboro Village and 12South, among others. Participation is a lot of fun and even a little competitive, Copeland says. Every time employees ride bikes, their names are entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card.
Kelly Copeland had reason to be skittish. Hawkins Partners had just announced its workplace biking program, and Copeland, the Nashville-based landscape architecture and planning company’s office manager, initially found the thought of using it a bit daunting. But Copeland quickly overcame her fears — and then some. Not only did she embrace the program, she eventually decided to move from Mt. Juliet to The Gulch so that she could make a full-on commitment to it. Copeland now commutes via bike every day to Hawkins Partners, the digs for which are located at 105 Broadway. Her trip requires a mere 10 minutes worth of pedaling. “I was actually nervous about biking in traffic because I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was a kid,” Copeland recalls. “I thought I’d be the slowest one here because many people at Hawkins are regular cyclists. But it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The biking culture here is really contagious, and everyone is super supportive.” Fueled by the idea that Nashville’s growth and development will be most effective by minimizing personal vehicle use, the Hawkins Partners program has been a success by any measure. Most of the firm’s 15 full- and part-time employees use bikes to commute to work and/or to zip around to various downtown places on their breaks. Many take advantage of Metro’s B-cycle bike sharing program. Hawkins Partners makes it easy for employees to get started. Once a month the staff picks a restaurant located within a one-mile radius of the office for a bike-to-lunch day. The workers typically use the aforementioned B-cycle program, a low-cost bikeshare service sponsored by the Mayor’s Office and the Metro Health Department, which launched in 2012. The program has expanded to 31 bike stations placed at various points throughout the city, including Centennial Park, Five Points, Germantown,
The Gulch leads the way
Employees encouraged to ditch their cars, opt for alternative means of commuting by Linda Bryant
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Nashville routinely makes Top 10 lists for job growth and business friendliness but is not known as an elite city regarding alternative transportation. Still, progress is being made on that front. At no place is this more evident than in The Gulch, where biking or walking to work or taking the Metro Transit Authority’s free downtown bus shuttle, the Music City Circuit, is a common occurrence. Gulch Crossing, the newly opened 205,000-squarefoot Class A office building that hugs the Demonbreun viaduct offers tenants a 33-rack secure bike storage space and spa-like locker rooms with showers. MarketStreet Enterprises, the building’s developer and the Metro-appointed master developer of The Gulch, worked with the city to incorporate a complete street design that begins in front of Gulch Crossing and extends north along 11th Avenue to Charlotte Avenue. That particular aspect of the design is key to making the building accessible and bike-friendly. MarketStreet Managing Director Jay Turner says the company is willing to consider similar accommodations for its future projects in an effort to render Nashville and The Gulch more friendly to
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ENVISION alternative commuters. This mindset is critical for developers as the city continues to become more building and people dense, thus necessitating ways other than private cars for accessing buildings. On that theme, The Gulch was the first LEED-certified neighborhood (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in the Southeast, with alternative transportation, walkability and connectivity having a significant impact on receiving such designation. “We’re encouraged by the response to it,” Turner says. “It has also been exciting to see the increased foot traffic in the neighborhood generated by the [building’s] pedestrian staircase, which has made a big impact on The Gulch and its connectivity to [SoBro and the CBD].”
Taking a ride Yeast At Yeast Nashville Baking Co., biking provides more than a means to get to work. It is woven into the East Nashville-based retailer’s culture and image in a way that generates business from other cyclists. For example, the artisan bakery hosts a oncea-month “Bike Brunch” to spur customers to visit the shop via cycle. “Not only do we get riders from East Nashville, we get riders from all over the city who may have never heard of our bakery,” says Bill LaViolette, who co-owns the business with wife Sara. “I love being a destination on someone’s route. Plus, I believe people tend to support businesses that support the causes that interest them. Avid cyclists tend to seek out bike-friendly businesses because we cater to their interests and understand the little extra things they need.” LaViolette bikes to the couple’s shop in an effort to “clear my head” for the workday’s beginning and end. “On the days I ride to work, I enjoy the pace of getting to the shop and going home,” says LaViolette, who is also considering offering a stipend for employees who use the bus to get to work on a regular basis. “In the mornings, it helps me wake up. And on the way home, it’s a nice way to unwind. It gives me a chance to see what’s going on in the neighborhood.” Earlier this year, the League of American BicyBill LaViolette, clists recognized Yeast with a silver-level “BikeEast Nashville Friendly Business” for its efforts to educate and Baking Co. encourage workplace biking. LaViolette, who also is considering offering a stipend for employees who use the bus to get to work on a regular basis, says gaining silver-level status was the result of a relatively simple, but very thorough, process that involved a $50 fee and a 15-page application. Relatedly, the League of American Bicyclists has certified 18 Middle Tennesseebased companies, including the previously mentioned Hawkins Partners, RPM Transportation Consultants, Golden Spiral, Emma and REI Brentwood. “We didn’t have to make too many changes to get certification,” LaViolette says, “aside from requesting a designated safe and secure parking area for our employees and customers who ride to the shop, along with a description of the type of bicycle rack that would be installed.”
‘Avid cyclists tend to seek out bike-friendly businesses.’
Anchor down without a car Many folks consider Vanderbilt Middle Tennessee’s juggernaut for promoting alternative transportation, and it doesn’t take a college professor to figure out why. It’s a matter of necessity. Both the university and the medical center have a combined approximately 23,000 employees and are the largest private employer in Middle Tennessee and the second largest in the state. As such, parking on or near the campus can be a nightmare. And traffic congestion around VU and VUMC, especially at peak commuting times, can be a major pain. But practicality and logistics are not the only reasons why Vanderbilt actively encourages employees, faculty and students to find alternative ways to commute to work or get around campus. “It’s an important issue, not only at Vanderbilt but for the community,” says Mary Pat Teague, VU assistant vice chancellor for community, neighborhood and government relations. “There is a strong desire from faculty and students to have choices in alternative transportation. It’s a huge factor when it comes to employee satisfaction. The environmental component is also very important. Vanderbilt cares about our carbon footprint and has taken many steps to be ‘green’ in recent years.” Specifically, Vanderbilt pays for employees to use MTA’s Easy Ride bus-commuting program. Participation has risen from 225 average daily rides in 2004 to 1,700 average daily rides in 2015. Teague says total rides in 2015 likely will reach 60,000. A Bellevue resident, Teague commutes daily via bus to the Vanderbilt campus, which usually takes about 30 minutes. “I used to get distressed about driving in traffic,” she says. “Now my commute is 100 percent stress-free. I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.” Name a form of alternative transportation and Vanderbilt is probably supportive of it. There are eight electric car plug-in stations on campus as well as 2,400 bike racks. Students can rent bikes for a semester or a year though the VanderBIKES program. Vanderbilt also provides incentives for vanpooling and carpooling. Zipcar, a car-sharing service that allows participants to pay for access to compact cars positioned around campus, is offered at a discount. The university also provides a 60 percent discount to commuters who use the Music City Star commuter train line. > Linda Bryant
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Viaduct VALUE
Division project offers chance for redevelopment With Metro having started work on the Division Street Extension in SoBro, let’s ponder the potential of the area located east of the future viaduct. Ash Street and the streets that intersect it are primed to be redeveloped. True, current property owners might not sell their land. Still, we envision up to five new buildings to be constructed within the next 10 to 15 years and positioned near the point at which the viaduct connects Division to Ash Street by scaling both the CSX railroad tracks and Ewing Avenue.
Ewing and Fogg The future building to be located here could rise eight stories and help transition the area from the taller buildings expected to frame Ash to the more pedestrian-scaled structures, such as the Church of the Holy Trinity, located closer to Lafayette Street.
photo by aerial innovations
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ARTERIES DISTRICTS SKINNIES CARLESS DIVISION DATA
ENVISION Sixth and Ash NE Sixth and Ash NW The future building to be located here could offer an iconic triangle-esque shape. With a distinctive orientation and strong views of the Gulch, the Adventure Science Center and Rutledge Hill, an eight- to 10-story residential tower makes sense.
This site (adjacent to the Greyhound bus property) needs a four-story building with creative spaces — similar to the nearby INK Building — or a contemporary and smaller version of Cummins Station.
Sixth and Ash SW
Fifth and Ash
This site is primed for a large-scale building (or buildings) with retail and could serve as the area’s anchor. Any new structures will be key to shaping the skyline that emerges south of Lafayette Street.
This site could be a challenge. It faces the Greyhound station and, as such, might not be well suited for residential space. However, a six-story parking garage might prove successful.
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ARTERIES DISTRICTS SKINNIES CARLESS DIVISION DATA
ENVISION Good and Steady
DATA BANK
Why all the construction? Because there are many more jobs. Since the middle of 2012, Nashville-area employers have averaged yearover-year job growth of 3.4 percent.
The good times are still rolling in Middle Tennessee, with both residents and businesses moving here in droves to stoke the development fires. But there are workforce clouds on the horizon — can we find the people to build all those permitted houses? — and the risk that the hot property market will price some businesses out of the city’s core.
Concern Ahead But posting such good job numbers will be tough in the next few years as the growth of new working-age people in the Nashville MSA’s workforce slows.
3.4%
4.5%
Average Job Growth
3.5% 2.5% 1.5% 0.5%
June 2012
Dec
Mar 2013
June
Sept
Dec
Mar 2014
June
Sept
%
Forecast change from 2015 to 2020
Q2 2012
Up and Away? Developers are working to remedy the shortage of top-shelf local office space, but their product hasn’t hit the market in time to stop pricing pressures from affecting Class B properties. Here’s how the area’s different tiers of office space have fared over the past three years. Most observers expect the asking rates to climb even more steeply in the coming quarters.
Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013
2014*
2015*
Vacancy rate
5.5%
3.6%
3.4%
Change in asking rates
0.4%
2.0%
3.2%
Class B
2013
2014
2015
Vacancy rate
12.3%
13.9%
12.1%
Change in asking rates
2.9%
3.7%
7.0%
Class C
2013
2014
2015
Vacancy rate
15.8%
14.0%
11.4%
Q1 2015
Change in asking rates
2.9%
1.8%
1.6%
Q2 2015
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1,163 1,384 1,453 1,339 1,643 2,007
Q2 2013
2013*
*As of June 30
Mar 2015
It took a good while for home builders and the banks that lend to them to recover from the Great Recession. But look at these single-family construction permit numbers for the Nashville MSA and you’ll see they are catching up to demand in a big way. Q1 2012
Class A
Dec
Rooftop Rev Up
1.9
6.3
%
Change from 2010 to 2015
Sept
Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014
1,775 1,599 2,124 2,519
Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
2,285 2,102 2,339 3,116
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, EMSI, DTZ, MTSU Business and Economic Research Center FALL 2015
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[nashvillepost] LEADERS | SPRING 2014
9/9/15 12:58 PM
Be a Part of the Historic Inaugural Induction! With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health care industry, The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame seeks to recognize and honor the pioneers and current leaders that have formed Tennessee’s health and health care community and encourage future generations of health care professionals. Don’t miss the induction of the first class, featuring these health care legends:
Thomas F. Frist, Sr., M.D. Co-Founder, HCA
Thomas F. Frist, Jr., M.D. Ernest W. Goodpasture, M.D. Physician, Pathologist, Professor Co-Founder, HCA
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R. Clayton McWhorter Co-Founder, HealthTrust and Clayton Associates
David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Former U.S. Surgeon General
Mildred T. Stahlman, M.D. Pediatrician, Pathologist, Professor
Danny Thomas Founder, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
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Sponsorships and Individual Tickets available at tnhealthcarehall.com
The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame has been created by Belmont University and The McWhorter Society and is supported by Founding Partner, The Nashville Health Care Council.
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Inclusive and affordable — but workable? Officials weigh in on the pros and cons of inclusionary zoning by Linda Bryant
Nashville has a housing concern. And that fact is due less to a shortage of residences and more to their affordability. As the city’s explosive growth continues, the housing options found in and near downtown — choices that for years were mainly limited to the disenfranchised, the working poor and the lower-middle class — are dramatically now being targeted to the wealthy and to young folks willing to live with roommates to share considerable expenses. Many citizens are concerned by this and, as such, officials are taking action. The Metro Council has tasked the city’s planning department staff with crafting guidelines, rules and regulations that could yield a bill for inclusionary zoning, a sometimes-contentious land-use policy that is gaining momentum nationwide. (Of note, the city of Franklin is exploring similar legislation too.) Often simply called IZ, inclusionary zoning is being adopted by towns and cities where high-end residential developments are mushrooming and leaving little room for housing geared toward those in low- and moderate-income brackets. Inclusionary zoning typically requires developers to designate a percentage of units in new projects “affordable” to lower-income households as a condition of permitting approval. Developers are usually offered zoning waivers that incentivize them to build more units than otherwise allowed so that they regain the profits lost on the lower-priced homes, apartments or condos. IZ ordinances are
specific to individual communities and can include a variety of incentives and cost offsets, including exemptions from various costs associated with new developments, assistance with land purchase and bond financing. IZ policies exist in almost 500 local governments in 27 states. Critics argue that inclusionary zoning increases development costs and dampens the rate of such construction, thus yielding few affordable units while driving up the price of marketrate homes. Many say IZ ordinances are essentially the same as rent control. A better alternative, they argue, would be for cities to allow maximum residential density without the price controls. Backers of IZ insist it is a useful — and desperately needed — tool for the creation of wellbalanced towns and cities. They say an effectively crafted IZ ordinance helps yield income-diverse housing for essential members of the workforce — teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers, etc. No doubt, IZ can work. For example, Montgomery County, Maryland, (the sixth-wealthiest county in the country, no less) is considered a pioneer in inclusionary zoning policies. Since 1974, the city has seen more than 14,000 affordable housing units constructed. Other cities with inclusionary zoning include Boulder, Colorado; Princeton, New Jersey; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and San Diego.
Real estate industry blowback “I’m all for affordable housing, but it’s a very bad idea to mandate it,” says Wood Caldwell, managing principal of Nashville-based Southeast Venture. “You don’t want to put this on the backs of developers who are already doing great projects. It burdens them with an unnecessary tax that will kill many projects. The more you tax any activity, the less of it you get. “Why would we want to start putting [de facto] rent controls on projects when it’s been proven that they don’t work?” Caldwell adds, stressing that conventional rent control is illegal in Tennessee. Caldwell also disagrees with one of the underlying principles of inclusionary zoning — that there’s a major lack of affordable housing in Davidson County. “We have housing available for all income ranges,” he says. “This so-called crisis is about the lack continued on page 68 NASHVILLE POST
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of affordable housing in areas where the housing is more expensive. Now people can go to affordable areas like Donelson, Madison and Antioch, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all part of a natural dynamic that creates a vibrant city.” Caldwell points out that he bought his first house in Inglewood because he couldn’t afford a home in the pricier Green Hills district. “Let the market take care of this,” he says. “Regulated housing will just cause housing prices to skyrocket to make up for the below-market units.” Veteran Nashville developer Bill Hostettler is also adamantly opposed to inclusionary zoning. He notes his company is already voluntarily building 200 residential units that would qualify under a Metro IZ policy. “Don’t make these rules so prohibitive that they hurt us,” says Hostettler, a partner with HND Realty LLC. “I believe that inclusionary zoning will kill capital markets. I don’t think the Metro Council understands the ramifications.”
‘I’m all for affordable housIng, but It’s a very bad Idea to mandate It.’
‘The free market doesn’t take care of this problem’
Wood Caldwell, Southeast Venture
Emily Thaden, a local housing expert with a Ph.D. in applied community research from Vanderbilt University, strongly disagrees with Caldwell and Hostettler. “Developers tend to serve the high end first,” Thaden says. “We’re seeing that end of the housing sector grow and grow. Now that the housing market is heating up again here, we’re also seeing increased unaffordability. Both Nashville and Franklin have said it’s time to do something now, and they are doing the right thing.” A Nashville resident who serves as research and policy development manager for the Portland, Oregon-based National Community Land Trust Network, Thaden worked closely with Franklin’s government and business communities on issues involving affordable housing. Relatedly, she was a key presenter at two housing summits in Franklin earlier this year. “The free market doesn’t take care of this problem … when it comes to the housing needs of a community,” Thaden says. Interestingly, not everyone in the local real estate community is opposed to inclusionary zoning or convinced it will be bad for Nashville’s economy.
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Perimeter Security. Peace of Mind. Serving your Fence Rental Needs
“Maintaining the social and economic diversity of our communities is a critical piece of a healthy economy,” says Floyd Shechter, an affordable housing advocate and president of SmartSpace, a Donelson-based commercial real estate company that specializes in adaptively reusing large and/or outdated buildings. “Inclusionary zoning is just one tool in the toolbox to address affordable housing — but it’s a very important one.” Shechter, a key member of Nashville’s A VOICE group aimed at reducing poverty, says he respectfully listens to the views of the developers and property rights advocates. “And one of my main responses,” he says, “is this: A permit is a privilege; it’s not a right.”
Where things stand now In July, the Metro Council voted 31-4 on affordable housing legislation that could pave the way for an inclusionary zoning policy in Davidson County. The bill asks the Metro Planning Commission to pursue IZ with the goal of requiring new multiunit residential developments to devote 14 percent of units as affordable. When completed, the plan will be subject to Metro Council approval. Caldwell is taking a wait-and-see approach, hoping that Planning’s report will modify or alleviate concerns coming from the development community. “Doug Sloan (director of Metro Planning) and his department have 180 days to come up with a recommendation,” he says. “I believe that Doug will vet everyone he can — the development community, civic leaders, neighborhoods and all the rest. Most Metro Council members really don’t know what this is, but I have faith that the Planning Department will draft a plan that doesn’t burden the real estate and development community adversely.” Franklin already has a voluntary inclusionary zoning ordinance on the books, but many in the community say it’s weak and has made little impact. After hearing the sobering results of a 2014-commissioned survey that concluded that Franklin’s affordable housing stock was sorely lacking, the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen decided to request a redo of the current ordinance. Specifically, they asked the Franklin Housing Commission to make recommendations for a more cohesive strategy. Among the changes expected in the revised ordinance: At least 15 percent of the total number of residential units built in Franklin in the future will be mandated as affordable units. Thaden thinks everyone should calm down and wait until Franklin and Nashville release their official reports and recommendations. “It’s premature for anyone to be upset,” Thaden says. “We don’t have enough information.”
Est. 1958 • rgfence.com The commercial fence ProfessionalsTm NASHVILLE POST
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Music City Tiny House
photo by eric england
Living anything but large
Can tiny houses gain traction in Nashville? by William Williams Spur, Texas, has a population of about 1,000 folks living humbly within its 1.6 square miles. Of note, the hamlet that produced native son Aaron Latham (who wrote the script of the 1980 film Urban Cowboy) and has no body of water any larger than a puddle bills itself as the nation’s first “tiny house friendly” town. But as Spur is receptive to such diminutive dwellings, Nashville is not. In Music City, most residents would prefer to dwell in a 3,400-square-foot minimansion rather than a 400-square-foot tiny house. Now, some pioneers are trying to change that mindset. Sarah and John Murphy, who oversee Music City Tiny House and are state chapter leaders for the American Tiny House Association, advocate going tiny. Generally, a tiny home is not more than 400 square feet, with “small” homes ranging from 400 to 1,000 square feet. “We host public open houses monthly to help promote awareness, and we regularly talk to [decision makers] about tiny houses and their potential impact/benefit on Nashville’s housing crisis,” Sarah Murphy says. The couple feels Nashville’s first tiny home community might involve somebody purchasing a mobile home or recreation vehicle park and then installing the necessary infrastructure and communal resources. “The major roadblocks to tiny houses in Nashville are zoning and building regulations,” Murphy says. “There are a number of areas that would appear to allow tiny houses [since that land doesn’t have a square foot minimum requirement for homes].
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But the tiny homes still need to abide by the International Building Code, which has its own minimumsquare-foot requirements and prohibits wheels.” Of note, the Metro Council recently adopted the 2012 International Building Code. However, many of the “tiny home friendly” alterations are in the 2015 International Building Code, and most municipalities nationwide haven’t had time to adjust. “The ideal for tiny houses in Nashville would be for Metro to write a separate section of its code to apply to them, just like they have for mobile homes and DADUs (detached accessory dwelling units),” Murphy says. “Because tiny houses are not mobile homes, they’re totally different. They’re not mass produced and they’re not regulated by HUD like mobile homes are. If you live in an area that allows DADUs, and you can offer suitable alternatives to all safety and sanitation requirements that DADUs are required to have, tiny houses should be legal.” With tiny homes will come citizen pushback. Folks living on streets with all homes of a similar height and mass might oppose small structures (even if constructed legally and with the proper setback), contending they would look awkward and visually interrupt the rhythm and continuity that the existing standardsized homes create. Some people might even argue tiny homes would trivialize their neighborhoods. “I’m not sure there is really a way around that,” Murphy says of the foes of tiny-ness. “The tiny house mentality is … a shift in consciousness. Not everyone will buy in and that’s okay.” Social and cultural considerations aside, the issue will always return to zoning. Bill Herbert, Metro Codes Department zoning administrator, says Nashville lacks rules and regulations specifically related to tiny houses. Herbert says future Davidson County tiny houses used as permanent dwellings (i.e., not on wheels and connected to Metro utilities) will have to be located on land zoned appropriately and compliant with codes. Metro is willing to be accommodating, he adds. On that zoning theme, many residentially zoned Davidson County lots span at least 0.25 acres. Most already have homes that would, of course, be razed to make way for tiny homes. Bluntly, it might not make much financial sense for a would-be tiny house dweller to purchase such a lot, pay to demo the existing house and then have a 400-square-foot (or smaller) microhome constructed on it. Even two tiny homes built on
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QUESTION a smallish lot (potentially allowable if done in a duplex configuration and with proper setbacks) could seem odd — and unfeasible. A greater challenge is meeting Metro’s building codes, Herbert says. “You have to comply with the electrical, the mechanical/gas, the plumbing and the fire codes,” he notes. “That’s the biggest stumbling block. The codes we are working with don’t contemplate tiny houses.” Herbert says Metro has yet to see requests for permits for tiny homes, adding, “But we’ve had two recent meetings with groups of folks who wanted to see what they can do to have tiny houses.” “This is a brand new concept and we don’t have codes set up to address it,” Herbert says. “We’re having to pigeonhole into our existing codes, and it’s not an ideal fit.” With these realities, tiny homes built randomly throughout the county is an unlikely scenario. Instead, locating a tiny home community on an existing mobile home or RV lot (as Sarah Murphy notes) or simply on
an empty tract might be more practical. David Latimer, founder of Sojourn Tiny Homes, is hoping to build tiny homes in Nashville and to consult with people regarding how to do likewise. “The local movement is still in a pure phase,” Latimer says. “There is potential for financial gain, but it’s not quite an established industry just yet. There are a lot of people waiting on the sidelines to see how it plays out.” Latimer says he has “silent investors” interested in the movement. He has talked to officials at the Metro Planning and Metro Codes departments and continues to conduct research, noting, “I’ve met a few people [in positions of leadership] and they’ve been receptive. I feel optimistic and excited.” Nashville now has Infinity Village at Green Street Church, located less than one mile east of downtown. Built as an outreach project of the Infinity Fellowship Interfaith Gathering and paid for, in part, by a GoFundMe campaign, the little structures accommodate the homeless. Since they do not offer bathrooms or full kitchens, they are not truly tiny homes. But they are a start. The Rev. jeff obafemi carr, who oversaw Infinity Village with Memphis-based tiny home builder Dwayne A. Jones, says the development can serve as a model of sorts. “I’ve been approached by countless people who would rather save the rising rent in Nashville by living small,” carr says, “then invest the savings into traveling, education or other experiences that connect them with community, only coming home to sleep and shower.”
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QUESTION Moving Forward
Graves specifically highlights Cleveland’s HealthLine, a comprehensive BRT system for which the vehicles run on rubber tires and in dedicated lanes — Chamber, area transit advocates foresee various look somewhat like modern streetcars. options for funding future system by William Williams and“As demographics [and development] change, the Mass transportation for Nashville. transit line can be moved,” she says of BRT in genUtter the four words and the reactions will be varied. Indeed, many locals hold eral. “We have learned that we have choices to make strong opinions and emotions regarding the topic, their memories of failed bus depending on the needs of the population.” rapid transit system The Amp still strong. Graves points to a recently initiated effort, The Those opposed to full-scale mass transit in Music City (and who, typically, em- Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Moving Forbrace private vehicle usage) consider the topic anathema — noting only bohemi- ward plan, that could prove helpful. ans, the poor and socio-political progressives will use. They are particularly opposed “The plan not only involves business and commuto public dollars being spent on a system. nity leaders in the discussion of our transit needs, Advocates contend Nashville will embrace a system that goes beyond standard but it also asks these very same people to come up bus routes (with a smattering of bus rapid transit options thrown in for good mea- with solutions,” she says. “This is a great avenue for sure), thus more reasonably justifying its cost. public input and citizen action.” As the city and region continue to gain population (the city’s metropolitan Given The Amp failed to gain public traction (destatistical area is expected to have about 2.3 million people by 2040), its need spite being on course to have received $24 million for efficient and effective mass transit, in theory, increases. in federal funding), Moving ForJo Ann Graves, executive director of the Transit Alliance of ward faces challenges. However, Middle Tennessee, says a far-sighted approach is needed. the chamber move to tap Bridge“Our current bus system was designed for a mid-sized city stone CEO Gary Garfield as chair several years ago,” she notes. “[The Metro Transit Authority] of the initiative might be genius. is currently undertaking a study of transportation needs not Highly respected, Garfield can only for the demands of today but also for the demands of bring a reasoned and measured the future. Not only do we need a system for the people who approach to advocating for mass live in the Nashville area, but we must also have a system that transit. Perhaps more than anyallows people who reside in the surrounding counties to combody, he can subtly sway transit mute to work.” foes (see Lee Beaman of Beaman Graves offers several options that would serve Nashville and Automotive). Middle Tennessee effectively: an enhanced bus service that runs Specifically, Moving Forward longer hours; an expanded express bus system that offers direct seeks to complete updates to the routes with limited stops; a light rail system in a heavily congest- Bob Murphy, RPM strategic plan for the Regional ed area; and a commuter train that offers trips in both directions Transportation Transit Authority and the Metro Consultants multiple times a day. Transit Authority within one “All of these are dependent on what citizens are willing to year, ensure Tennessee and the bear in cost,” she says. “A multi-modal approach — city buses, federal government raise reveexpress buses, light rail and commuter rail — will meet the needs of the Middle nue for regional transit within two years, engage at Tennessee area for years to come.” least 30,000 people in transit discussions over the Graves feels Nashville needs to look at peer cities for an idea as to what might next two years and identify and secure a dedicatbe successful. ed local funding source for regional transit within “Nashville [leaders] have visited several cities — Austin, Denver, Cleveland, three years. Dallas and others — to learn what works best for them and is the most efficient,” “Our goal, along with the chamber, is to break Graves says. “Many of these cities are our competitors for companies that are look- ground on a transit system by the year 2020 — if not ing to relocate or expand their businesses. We have seen that these cities are using sooner,” Graves said. a variety of transit options, and they are working well.” To do so will not be cheap. The Amp would
‘limiting funding opportunities puts us at an economic and competitive disadvantage.’
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QUESTION have carried a $174 million price tag. Any future comprehensive mass transit system might be even pricier and, of course, met with resistance. For example, in November 2014 Austin — a city heavily populated by progressives who seemingly would embrace mass transit — voted down a plan to float a transportation bond that could have funded a roughly 9.5-mile $1 billion urban light rail project. The issuing of a bond could be one option to fund any future major mass transit project locally. However, there are other funding vehicles and they typically are combined for such projects. Cincinnati, for example, is using various sources to pay for a 3.6-mile $102 million streetcar line. For the total cost, $25 million will come from capital bonds; $25 million, from tax increment financing from downtown property taxes; $31 million, from private contributors, partners and sponsors; $11
million, from proceeds from the sale of the Blue Ash Airport; and $10 million, from state grants. Graves says that the current climate in Washington, D.C., could render it “difficult … but not impossible” to secure federal funding. “There are grants that could be used for capital expenses but not operating expenses,” she says. “The Nashville Metropolitan Planning Organization works to keep abreast of what grants are available for transit.” Michael Skipper, MPO executive director, notes the region already receives federal funds for mass transit. “We could decide to spend even more of those funds on transit projects if we are willing to make tough decisions about which projects we should be funding with our share of funding that is distributed via formula to Tennessee and the MPO area from the federal gas tax,” Skipper says. “The MPO’s Regional Transportation Plan is the official gateway to those funds. Right now, we have the bulk of our region’s federal funding tied up on roadway projects that have been in the pipeline for several years. The key to making this shift is to recognize that transit projects are a vital part of our roadway system.” Skipper says that as the region plans roadway improvements, incorporating into their design technology and alternative modes of transportation (for continued on page 74
www.SoutheastVenture.com 615-833-8716 NASHVILLE POST
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QUESTION example, sidewalks and bicycle lanes) is critical. “All that said, most large transit construction projects do compete for additional federal funding through discretionary grants that are managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation or the Federal Transit Administration in Washington, D.C.,” he explains. “The Amp project included federal formula funds from the MPO and was awarded discretionary funds from the FTA New Starts Program — one of the most competitive federal grant programs in the nation.” Skipper says the Metro Transit Authority is currently implementing improvements along Nashville’s so-called “BRT lite corridors” (Gallatin Road and Murfreesboro Pike, with Charlotte Avenue on the way) with funding from the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program. “It’s very likely that we will pursue some of this discretionary funding in the future for other projects if it continues to be available,” he says. “The programs are very, very competitive, and their continued existence is in question as the U.S. Congress has routinely failed to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, which is not keeping up with the cost of projects as inflation has eroded the buying power of the per-gallon gas tax last adjusted more than 22 years ago.” Bob Murphy, president of Nashville-based RPM Transportation Consultants, says landing federal funds is a “competitive process,” particularly since many cities vie for such funding each year. “However, as long as we propose mass transit projects that make sense,
Nashville should be very competitive due to our current needs, our growth rates and our strong city leadership,” Murphy says. “Nashville was successful in being approved for federal funding for The Amp project, so there is no reason to think that we can’t successfully compete for more funding in the future.” Beyond that, Murphy says Nashville’s challenges with mass transit will be hampered by those who fail to realize its importance to Middle Tennessee regarding economic and quality of life perspectives. “It is important that our state leaders understand that the transportation solutions, such as high-capacity mass transit, that are needed for urbanized areas like Middle Tennessee are different from transportation solutions for many other areas of the state,” he says. “Precluding future transit options or limiting funding opportunities for Middle Tennessee puts us at an economic and competitive disadvantage with other urban areas around the country.”
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QUESTION
Tracking our transit future
Clarksville
Saint Bethlehem
Nashville may never boast a major mass transit system, complete with multiple bus rapid transit lines and light rail.
Pleasant View
But since we at the Post enjoy speculating, we enlisted William Fry, a Nashvillebased follower of the city’s manmade environment and member of the local chapter of urbanplanet.org, to craft a hypothetical transit map. Would that The Amp had jump-started Fry’s vision.
Kings Lane
Whites Creek OHB
Bordeaux
Clarksville Pike Gallatin MetroCenter
Buchanan St
Hendersonville
CUMBERLAND RIVER
Salemtown
Underwood St
Rivergate Germantown
Madison OHB
Fisk Bicentennial Mall
Herman St American
Bellevue Nashville West
46th
37th
Cleveland
6th 9th
oneC1TY
N. Whitebridge
Hart
23rd
18th
Capitol
N. Gulch
Music City Central
Five Points
East Riverfront
Opryland
Douglas Trinity
Eastland
Opry
Church St Belle Meade
White Bridge
Centennial 21st Park Ellington Cherokee Park Park
7th
13th
The Gulch
LEGEND Station
17th
Acklen Park
Union Station
4th
Hermitage
Lebanon Martha
Fairfield Elm Hill Pike
Light Rail Full Service
Fesslers South Nashville
Orange Line
Arlington
Gold Line Transfer Station
Mount Juliet
Donelson Station
Riverfront
Lafayette
BNA
Thompson Craighead
Fairgrounds
Light Rail Partial Service Thompson
Blue Line Thompson
Silver Line Branch Lines
Berry Hill
Bus Rapid Transit
Oak Hill
D B Todd
Donelson Pike Nashboro
McCall Harding
Harding Place
Bell Road Zelida
Brentwood OHB
Nolensville Pike
Fairlane
Hickory Hollow
Murfreesboro Pike Nolensville OHB
Concord Rd
Commuter Rail
Glengarry
La Vergne
Lenox Village
Local Streetcar
Cool Springs
Crockett
Smyrna Nolensville
Rush Hour Express Bus
Not to scale
McEwen Franklin
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Concept courtesy of William Fry
Arrington
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South Franklin College Grove
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QUESTION
How can we take full advantage of the good work done on Envision Cayce?
Keeping current residents in the area key part of $600M+ redevelopment vision by Geert De Lombaerde The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency this summer broke ground on the 68-unit Cayce Place Apartments in East Nashville. The $11 million project is part of the first phase of MDHA’s master redevelopment plan, known as Envision Cayce, that calls for 2,390 units and ensures a one-forone replacement of public housing units while adding both new affordable and market-rate apartments. MDHA’s development of the Envision Cayce plan has been widely lauded for its inclusion of area residents and a scope that reached beyond the immediate project area into adjacent neighborhoods, recognizing that — in the words of MDHA’s own report — “the long-term viability of any redevelopment plan for Cayce Place hinges on what happens in the broader community.” Envision Cayce aims to guide $602 million worth of redevelopment that will produce a mixedincome community featuring needed commercial, retail and civic amenities. Marsha Edwards, president and CEO of the nonprofit Martha O’Bryan Center, was a member of the community advisory group that helped shape Envision Cayce. Here, she shares some thoughts on the successes of the planning process, its shortcomings and what needs to come next. “I was a strong critic of [the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s] Hope VI [program]. It didn’t reduce poverty but it did make us feel better about the housing situation. I am very impressed with the intense dedication MDHA is showing to do this better than Hope VI or other projects around the country have done. There’s a new level of openness and we’re all really thinking deeply before taking giant steps. [MDHA Executive Director] Jim Harbison has spoken eloquently about needing to have housing with access to transit, jobs and health care. 76 BOOM
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“It’s still a learning process at this point. Everyone’s made a very serious commitment about a one-for-one replacement of housing units. That’s been a steadying policy piece throughout this process, and it’s something we’ve been able to reinforce in meetings with residents: “You are a part of the new Cayce. You will not have to leave.” That is a big part of what has made this very long process […] go well. “My main concern is that there hasn’t been a financial plan floated. This will take local financing, whether it involves housing or adding the muchneeded commercial space. Also, we need to consider that housing, while important, doesn’t change poverty. If you can’t feed your kids all 31 days of the month, a new apartment with air conditioning doesn’t pull you through. We need economic development in this area as well as housing development. “I believe that, with the well-meaning and thoughtful people staying at the table as they have, we have the opportunity to do something well and in as large a way as any project in the country. But it’s a complex process and we haven’t put an emphasis on attracting companies that need entrylevel workers. Not every company coming to town can be a headquarters. “Since I arrived here in the early 1990s, the workforce development money has dried up. But we all know that it’s small businesses that create the jobs in this country. We need to encourage them to set up in this community and hire 75 people who just want to get on that first rung.”
NASHVILLE POST
9/9/15 5:05 PM
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QUESTION
Key to success: Focus on walKing distance In Shaping the Healthy Community: the Nashville Plan, a book that will be published later this fall by Vanderbilt University Press, Gary Gaston of the Nashville Civic Design Center and co-author Christine Kreyling will explore the interconnected relationships between the built environment and public health. Focusing on seven “transect zones” — including rural, suburban, urban and downtown — the writers present design strategies to make each area healthier. Addressing various urban development strategies, Gaston and Kreyling say redeveloping public housing complexes to include a mix of uses should make it a priority to have residents’ daily needs located within walking distance. Among residents surveyed during the planning process, more than 60 percent said the following seven services were “very needed” in the neighborhood: a grocery store, a pharmacy, a laundromat/dry cleaner, a library, a church, a community meeting space and a farmer’s market. Envision Cayce calls for the retail amenities among that group to be clustered on the western edge of Cayce Place, near Interstate 24 and Shelby Avenue. That’s also the area that will feature the highest-density housing components, buildings expect to rise between four and six stories. From the Envision Cayce report: “Commercial investment in this area can help create a more urban and walkable environment, buffer views of the large metal recycling facility, support sports and entertainment-related activities at LP Field, and establish a gateway outbound to East Nashville. The concept for retail uses within this area focused on destination sporting goods, dining, and entertainment (e.g., nightclub). Such commercial development can also help create a stronger linkage between Downtown and the Cayce Place Redevelopment Plan.” > Geert De Lombaerde
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POSTSPORTS Join us on Post Sports as we cover and analyze the Nashville sports scene. Fresh content hitting your inbox every Monday and Friday. David Boclair and JR Lind will take you inside the numbers and into the locker room.
GO TO: NASHVILLEPOST.COM/SPORTS
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INDEX 1000 Division.................................................................................................. 18 1201 Demonbreun...............................................................................11, 18, 31 909 Flats......................................................................................................... 14 12South............................................................................. 46-47, 50, 54, 56, 60 51st Avenue.................................................................................................... 54 Aertson Midtown.............................................................................................. 9 AJ Capital Partners......................................................................................... 18 American Tiny House Association................................................................... 70 Ascend Amphitheater..................................................................................... 27 Ash Street.................................................................................................. 62-63 Aspire.............................................................................................................. 14 A VOICE.......................................................................................................... 69 Bill Herbert...................................................................................................... 70 Bill Hostettler.............................................................................................56, 68 Bill LaViolette.................................................................................................. 61 Bill Ruff........................................................................................................... 52 Blair McBride.................................................................................................. 34 Block by Block............................................................................................ 34-35 Bob Murphy...............................................................................................49, 74 Bridgestone Americas..................................................................................... 19 Capitol View.................................................................................................... 19 Cayce Place Apartments................................................................................. 76 Centennial Park............................................................................................... 60 Chris Grear...................................................................................................... 31 Civil Site Design Group................................................................................... 52 Colliers....................................................................................................... 29-32 Commonwealth Development Group.............................................................. 27 Cool Springs.................................................................................................... 26 Craighead Development............................................................................ 55-56 Craig Owensby..................................................................................... 47-48, 50 Crosland Southeast....................................................................................48, 53 Cushman & Wakefield.................................................................................... 29 David Latimer.................................................................................................. 71 Debbie Massey.......................................................................................... 46-47 Discover Madison........................................................................................... 47 Division Street Extension........................................................................... 62-63 Doug Brandon................................................................................................. 29 Doug Ryan...................................................................................................... 32 Doug Sloan..................................................................................................... 69 Dwayne A. Jones............................................................................................ 71 Eakin Partners............................................................................................18, 31 East Nashville............................................................... 24, 43, 46-48, 61, 76-77 East Nashville Baking Co........................................................................... 60-61 Edge Midtown................................................................................................ 20
Element at Music Row.................................................................................... 19 Emily Thaden.................................................................................................. 68 Emma.............................................................................................................. 61 Envision Cayce........................................................................................... 76-77 Evergreen Real Estate..................................................................................... 50 Fat Bottom Brewing Co................................................................................... 55 Fatherland District.......................................................................................... 43 Fifth Third Center............................................................................................ 32 Fifty First Kitchen & Bar................................................................................... 56 Five Points......................................................................................43, 46, 48, 60 Floyd Shechter................................................................................................ 69 Fred Wehba.................................................................................................... 32 Freeman Webb.......................................................................................... 20-21 Frist Center for the Visual Arts........................................................................ 40 Gary Garfield................................................................................................... 72 Germantown..............................................................................................47, 60 Giarratana Development................................................................................. 19 Golden Spiral.................................................................................................. 61 Greg Brubaker................................................................................................. 27 Gresham Smith and Partners..................................................................... 24-25 Gulch Crossing...........................................................................................31, 60 Hastings Architecture Associates................................................................... 52 Hawkins Partners................................................................................. 27, 60-61 Hillsboro Village.......................................................................21, 47, 54, 56, 60 HND Realty................................................................................................56, 68 Inclusionary Zoning................................................................................... 67-69 Infinity Village................................................................................................. 71 Jamie Brown................................................................................................... 56 Janet Miller...............................................................................................29, 31 Janet Sterchi.................................................................................................. 32 Jay Turner....................................................................................................... 60 Jeff Estepp................................................................................................. 55-56 jeff obafemi carr.............................................................................................. 71 Jeffrey Buntin Sr............................................................................................. 51 Jo Ann Graves................................................................................................. 72 Jody Lentz....................................................................................................... 30 John Murphy.................................................................................................. 70 John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge............................................................. 27 Kelly Copeland................................................................................................ 60 Kim Hawkins................................................................................................... 27 K.S. Ware and Associates............................................................................... 27 Lafayette Street......................................................................................... 62-63 Larry Atema.................................................................................................... 27 Lee White....................................................................................................... 57
NASHVILLE POST
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INDEX Lentz Public Health Center.............................................................................. 26 Madison............................................................................................... 46-47, 68 Madison-Rivergate Chamber of Commerce.................................................... 46 Madison Square........................................................................................ 46-47 Mainland........................................................................................................ 18 Marathon Village............................................................................................ 38 MarketStreet Enterprises................................................................................ 60 Marsha Edwards............................................................................................. 76 Martha O’Bryan Center................................................................................... 76 Mary Pat Teague............................................................................................. 61 Metro Board of Zoning Appeals...................................................................... 54 Metro Codes Department............................................................................... 70 Metro Development and Housing Agency................................................. 76-77 Metro Planning Department.................................................... 39, 47-48, 50, 54 Metro Transit Authority........................................................................60, 72, 74 Michael Kenner.........................................................................................54, 56 Michael Skipper.............................................................................................. 73 Michael Taylor................................................................................................ 32 MiKeN Development.................................................................................. 54-55 Moving Forward.............................................................................................. 72 Music City Circuit............................................................................................ 60 Music City Tiny House.................................................................................... 70 Music Row............................................................................... 18-19, 21, 48, 50 Nancy Morris.................................................................................................. 21 Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce......................................................29, 72 Nashville Metropolitan Planning Organization................................................ 73 Nashville Next.....................................................................................47, 54, 56 Nate Greene................................................................................................... 29 Nathan Massey.............................................................................................. 47 National Community Land Trust Network....................................................... 68 Nissan North America.................................................................................... 26 Ole South........................................................................................................ 48 One Bellevue Place....................................................................................48, 53 Parks..............................................................................................14, 25, 41, 57 Paul Riggan..................................................................................................... 57 Phil Bredesen.................................................................................................. 30 Phil Ehrlich...................................................................................................... 32 Regional Transit Authority............................................................................... 72 REI Brentwood................................................................................................ 61 RiverGate Mall................................................................................................ 46 Riverside Village.............................................................................................. 46 Rochford Realty and Construction Co............................................................. 48 Rolling Mill Hill................................................................................................ 27 RPM Transportation Consultants.........................................................49, 61, 74 80 BOOM
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Rutledge Hill.............................................................................................. 31-32 Sarah Murphy................................................................................................. 70 Shelby Hills..................................................................................................... 43 Sheri Weiner................................................................................................... 53 SmartSpace.................................................................................................... 69 SMS Holdings............................................................................................ 34-35 SoBro...................................................................................................16, 19, 61 Sojourn Tiny Homes........................................................................................ 71 South Street............................................................................................... 50-52 Southeast Venture.....................................................................................57, 67 Tennessee Chapter of the NAEP..................................................................... 27 Tennessee Department of Transportation....................................................... 48 The Amp.............................................................................................. 72, 74-75 The Barbizon Apartments........................................................................... 21-22 The Buntin Group....................................................................................... 51-52 The Gulch....................................................................... 31-32, 42, 51-52, 60-61 The Jones Co.................................................................................................. 48 The Mathews Company.............................................................................29, 32 The Nations......................................................................................... 21, 54-57 The Nations Neighborhood Association......................................................... 56 The Stone Fox............................................................................................ 55-56 The Village of Madison................................................................................... 46 Thompson Hotel.............................................................................................. 18 Tony Vaughn................................................................................................... 29 Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee.............................................................. 72 Treaty Oaks..................................................................................................... 54 Turtle Anarchy Brewing Co............................................................................. 55 UBS Tower...................................................................................................... 32 Vanderbilt University......................................................................16, 21, 68, 77 Vanderbilt University Engineering and Science Building................................ 16 Views On The Cumberland......................................................................... 21-22 Vintage South Development......................................................................55, 57 Vintage South Development........................................................................... 55 Waverly-Belmont............................................................................................ 50 Wedgewood-Houston..................................................................................... 38 Westin Nashville Hotel................................................................................... 12 West Mill Townhomes.................................................................................... 56 West Riverfront Park..................................................................................27, 41 Wood Caldwell................................................................................................ 67 Woodland-in-Waverly..................................................................................... 50 Yeast Nashville Baking Co............................................................................... 61
NASHVILLE POST
9/9/15 5:01 PM
In the age of health care reform, success is measured on a wider spectrum that includes everything from wellness to acute care to new delivery platforms. The landscape is being redrawn by a number of alliances between stakeholders addressing the industry’s challenges from different angles. Vitals will explore how those relationships are being fleshed out and what that means for both patients and for the industry as a whole.
ad close: october 23 materials due: october 30 in market: mid november For details and pricing, please contact your account executive or Heather Cantrell at 615.844.9252 or hcantrell@southcomm.com
Issue Partners:
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