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Davidson East: East Nashville, Inglewood, Madison, Donelson, Hermitage, Old Hickory


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Here's one for FieldmarshalDJ.  Someone from Metro Archives lives in East Nashville (surprise!) and posted this picture to the ENListserv.  It is a photo of a beautiful Italianate house that once stood at 711 Woodland Street, where the new apartment building is going up across from East Park.  Most likely, this structure was destroyed by the 1916 fire that ravaged Edgefield.  The clearing of destroyed homes there led to the creation of East Park in the first place.  I hope that this link works https://east-nashville.googlegroups.com/attach/d18c2bdd257f7248/711%20Woodland%20St%20%20smaller%20%20%20%20%20191.jpg?view=1&part=4

 

Thanks for the photo. I don't believe this house was destroyed in the "Great Fire", since a similar-era house that is the location for the Phillip Miller & Associates Law Firm at the NW corner of 7th & Woodland still exists (along with a few others there that may be pre-1916). Looking at an aerial map of downtown in 1951, those blocks in question (7th-9th) were still filled with homes (now whether it was the same house, I can't definitively say, since I can't get a clear close enough view). East Park (in 1951) only consisted of the area between Woodland & Russell and 6th-7th Streets. The baseball field between 7th-8th was still a dense square block of homes and didn't become a part of East Park until the mid to late 1960s (according to a topo map). Obviously at some point over the next 15-30 years it fell victim to "urban renewal." We're still fortunate that that area still has some gems that survived the fire, though many of the bigger mansions did not (though again, more than a few survived the fire just to meet the wrecking ball, especially after the interstate came through).

 

Had the Great Fire never occurred, one wonders how the development of that part of Nashville would've proceeded, since as we know, the upper class removed itself to West Nashville. Urban decline as it was might've not altered that course, though perhaps we might've seen a greater upper-class development push further eastward.

Edited by fieldmarshaldj
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You could be right, FMDJ.  East Park was originally just the one block, although it originally had a beautiful Beaux Arts-style columned pavilion in the center.  Imagine a smaller building styled after the Schermerhorn.  Like you said, the city of Nashville started the Urban Renewal gig in the 1950s and 1960s and started clearing out perfectly good homes in that next block from 7th-8th for the park expansion and also cleared out a lot of other surrounding homes "just because."  They also must have had the brilliant idea of demolishing the pavilion at that time.  Many of those lots surrounding the expanded (and underprogrammed) East Park sat as vacant parking or weed-strewn lots until about the last decade or so, and perhaps this particular lot until 2013!

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Surprisingly, probably the most egregious example of Urban Renewal (with respect to housing stock) in Nashville didn't occur in the '50s or '60s, but in the 1910s ! It was when the city mass-cleared blocks between Union to Charlotte and 6th-7th including beautiful townhouses and mansions and the Governor's Mansion to build the War Memorial Plaza. The Governor's Mansion stood on 7th right about where the "Giant Nekkid Guy" statue is today. At least in the case of East Nashville, most of what was demolished was due either to the Great Fire, the '30s Tornado, or natural deterioration of the housing stock.

 

I'll readily admit that despite being born and raised here in Nashville, the East Side was never a place I visited much and always struck me as being rather seedy, if not outright dodgy. As they mention some places that are on the "wrong side of the tracks", the east always seemed the "wrong side of the river." I'm glad to see, though, that it is experiencing a renaissance today probably unequalled in a century (pre-fire). Perhaps one day when the interstate running through is either placed underground or converted to boulevard, it can be properly restored all the way to the river as it once was.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is a townhome development that will include ground-floor retail on some of the units and parking in the interior.  I have attached a link to the full text of the Metro Historic Zoning Commission documents when this was approved.  Renderings are at the end.  http://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/MHZC/docs/2013%20Meetings/06%20June%202013/SR%20205%20S%2010th%20St.pdf Warning that this document can be a little bit confusing as it includes some info from the original SP that was filed a few years ago but never built.  The SP has been updated, and those renderings are at the very end. 

Hey guys, new poster here. Anyone know what's planned at Russell and 10th? 

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Welcome to the forum fatherland. I knew Bret would know. I remember the plan. BTW, a lot more infill heading to East Nashville.

I expect there will be a lot more filling the pipeline in the near future. Tons of proposals out there and it's to the point I am having a hard time keeping track of them all. East Nashville is so large that it is a one man job there by itself.

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There are renderings at the end of the link that I posted from MHZC.  I don't know how to cut-and-paste those out of documents to this board, though.  Still, it would be good to get a cleaner rendering if John Root will provide one.

 

This will definitely be good infill on that corner.  Now to demolish everything else on 10th Street, victim as it is to 1960s urban renewal.  Those nasty brick apartments, bland/blank church buildings, and most importantly, the dollar store at Woodland all are screaming out for redevelopment.

I remember this now when I ran across it a few months ago. I would bet WW can get renderings from Root Arch.

 

Is there equipment on site???????

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There is a hell of a lot of East Nashville restaurant news on this blog  http://nashville.eater.com/archives/categories/east_nashville.php.  Too much to list out. But it does talk about Ken's Sushi (although they have missed the 09/30 opening date), the new Mexican restaurant on Main Street in Five Points next to Hunter's Annex (see Five Points Cucina Mexicana below), a new Japanese pub in Walden, a new place to replace Myridia in the seemingly cursed 5th and Main building (there is also a "sports lounge" that is going in where Germantown Cafe East/Feast were located), a new nonsmoking "dive bar" called Mickey's Tavern in the up-and-coming East Hill neighborhood on Gallatin near Trinity (where Logue's Black Raven Emporium and Hop Stop are located), status update on Mitchell's Deli remodel in the new space further west on McGavock Pike in Riverside Village, etc.  

 

I have pasted a separate article about the Five Points Cucina Mexicana here  http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/10/new-mexican-restaurant-coming-to-five.html.  John had reported that a while back.  The building currently still has a cheap plastic sign tied to the building that says, "Mexican Restaurant Coming Soon." I think that this link will take you to the Streetview of the address, 972 Main Street  https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=36.177547,-86.752122&cbp=13,164.6,0,0,0&cbll=36.177883,-86.752237&q=972+Main+Street,+Nashville,+TN&ei=qK1VUutq8qzgA4XcgagH&ved=0CCsQxB0wAA.  Since this picture was taken of the old Sine Systems building, one of those old crappy Bradford Pear trees has mostly blown down, which in this case improves the appearance of the building.  That space is not the most obvious design for a restaurant.  Maybe they will cut some windows in that joint and replace the grass out front with a patio?

Edited by bwithers1
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I have pasted a separate article about the Five Points Cucina Mexicana here  http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/10/new-mexican-restaurant-coming-to-five.html.  John had reported that a while back.  The building currently still has a cheap plastic sign tied to the building that says, "Mexican Restaurant Coming Soon." I think that this link will take you to the Streetview of the address, 972 Main Street  https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=36.177547,-86.752122&cbp=13,164.6,0,0,0&cbll=36.177883,-86.752237&q=972+Main+Street,+Nashville,+TN&ei=qK1VUutq8qzgA4XcgagH&ved=0CCsQxB0wAA.  Since this picture was taken of the old Sine Systems building, one of those old crappy Bradford Pear trees has mostly blown down, which in this case improves the appearance of the building.  That space is not the most obvious design for a restaurant.  Maybe they will cut some windows in that joint and replace the grass out front with a patio?

Patio was not approved for the front, Metro said it was too close to the road.

There will be a very large patio on the back side with a view of the rest of 5 Points.

There will be a decent amount of money pumped into this place, should come out looking very nice.

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A front patio would be too close to the road?  Unbelievable.  What about Edleys a few doors down?  Or any other restaurant in Nashville that offers al fresco dining (and drinking)?

Unfortunately.

The rear of the building option gives them much more room for a bigger patio though.

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Let's hope that this one lasts, because none of the other restaurant options in that building have survived very long.  Given that this building is surrounded by church lots and other parking lots that are used for Titans parking, this one at least stands a chance.  Yet they are already too late to capitalize on the Titans connection too long.

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Certainly Councilman Westerholm has been telling people for a long time that Davidson Street's days as an industrial corridor are numbered if only because of market forces.  There are too many sites there that have killer views and that have awesome accessibility by car, by bike, and maybe someday by boat dock.  There are already a few lofts in an older building at 508 Davidson and adding a few more entertainment options such as this will help to fill in the area.  And if the extended version of the Cayce revitalization proposal goes through, the Davidson County Sheriff's office and Public Works will move and a lot of property along South 5th Street will be mixed use with a focus on market rate townhomes/flats and restaurant/retail spaces. 

I think there will be a good draw from the tourist sector downtown. That could be the future of some parts of the E Bank until a master plan has been made. I could see a few more projects of this type going in and around downtown.

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That's awesome. I think that could be very popular.

 

One question -- that article says "76,000 sq ft of warehouse space"...that building is nearly 300,000 sq ft. I wonder what will become of the rest? Or is it two separate buildings that are connected?

 

In any case...very good news...and I agree that the area's days as an industrial wasteland are numbered. Obviously the key is PSC. Once that moves, I think the rest will fall in relatively short order.

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This is a continuation from the West End thread about NADC (or Lincoln College of Technology) that was threatening to hijack the Aquinas {sodEmoji.|} Welsh College post. In reply to bwithers - I am somewhat familiar with NADC's plan (or at least former plan) to expand it's footprint and to not only acquire commercial businesses on Gallatin Rd but chunks of Douglas Ave, Straightway Ave, Chester Ave and I believe a little bit of Cahal. I was never quite clear on the process they were going to follow to make sure that they were able to complete their desired expansion, but it seemed they were angling for "assistance" from Metro if they ran into any unwilling sellers. I may be way off there, but that was the impression I had. NADC used to send roving bands of students to pick up trash in the neighborhood but I haven't seem them doing that in years. And there was a time I thought this might be a good idea, but with the way that neighborhood is turning around I don't see this happening now, with or without Metro's help. Yeah I'm very aware that these students stand to make plenty of money when they graduate (some near or around six figures) and I wasn't trying to be elitist by inferring that they would be better off in the suburbs. I really think their business model would work better there and I'm not sure how they benefit by being located into a denser area. The fact that they have already explored expanding sort of backs that up.

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I remember the discussion that you are talking about with regard to NADC's expansion plans.  That was right around the time that I bought my house just off Gallatin in 2005 (and back when a lot of the rental properties on my street were basically dormitories for NADC students). 

 

Other than the institutional overlay that was put in place for NADC, I don't think that Metro was offering cash or any other kind of assistance for acquisition.  I think that the college was simply aiming to purchase properties as they became available.  In that regard it's no different than what Vandy or Belmont or Lipscomb have done in their own respective areas.  But you are right that if NADC hasn't acquired the properties yet (some 8 years later), their chances of doing so are getting thinner with the improving market.  As much as I would like to see it go, I can't see Bailey's Wrecker Service moving off of Gallatin since their move out of 5 Points itself was so contentious.  But I would LOVE to see Mac's Market, the former Tornado Wireless, Jerry's Market, etc go and be replaced by mixed use buildings.  Or even for the college to put better buildings up on their own campus space that address the street better and maybe keep the students from wandering randomly across Gallatin.

 

NADC has technically been a property of Lincoln Education for some time, but they have been rebranding the campus lately for more uniform signage with the Lincoln brand.  I don't know whether Lincoln may have more money to invest in the NADC campus expansion than NADC did.

 

You may know that the main building on the NADC campus was the mansion that belonged to Percy Warner before he sold it to Trevecca Nazarene University and moved out to Belle Meade.  (The Trevecca campus is the reason for the having Trevecca Street there).  At some point Trevecca Nazarene then moved to LaFayette Street and NADC took over the former Trevecca campus.  If NADC does move out for some reason, the future of that building would become uncertain.

Edited by bwithers1
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