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

[bwithers1]

6 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

Is that Gallatin Rd in the center? If so, I would have hoped everything would have been up to the street instead of parking.

Ron:  I hear you.  But let me offer another perspective.  What you would get with everything built up to the street is the old Publix plan:  a huge, mostly windowless box built up to the street with all of the activity and parking to the side and the rear, which would put large parking lots, dumpsters and truck loading areas directly adjacent to houses.  That is sort of what the neighbors have now, which is something that they have been wanting to eliminate for a long time.  This site plan addresses most if not all of those longstanding neighbor concerns. 

By comparison, while the Turnip Truck building on Woodland does feature lots of windows along Woodland, pedestrians must walk almost all the way around the building to access the entrance.  So while in theory that is more "pedestrian oriented" because it is built right up to Woodland, it remains the case that the store entrance is located in such a way as to focus access to the rear parking lot.  Therefore the door is located closest to and best serving the patrons who drive cars while those who walk to/from the store and are carrying groceries home have to walk the furthest.  To what extent is that pedestrian oriented?  That's not a criticism, per se, it is an observation.

In this case, placing the rear wall of the grocery store at the rear of the site with a landscape buffer next to the houses offers a greater degree of privacy for neighbors.  One fact that was discussed at last night's community meeting is the absence of an alley separating this site from the adjacent residential lots.  In fact, this assemblage includes some residential lots that presently have R6 zoning but an underlying mixed-use Community Character policy.  Therefore, the 2-story apartment buildings along Greenwood and Sharpe will provide a residential buffer to transition from the Gallatin commercial area and traffic toward the one-and-occasionally-two-family residential Eastwood neighborhood along Sharpe and Greenwood Avenues.  The low scale of the proposed buildings also should transition well toward the nearby 1-1/2-story mostly historic houses on Greenwood and Sharpe.

Another feature of having the parking area toward Gallatin is that the parking lot entrances are located as close to Gallatin and as far away from the residential neighborhood as possible.  This location will help to avoid placing parking lot entrances/exits next to or across the street from houses.  On the other hand, the Eastwood residents in particular will have a shorter distance to walk to this store, because it is located closest to their houses and not across a large (rear) parking lot.  Some details about pedestrian access paths and such are still being worked out. 

Of note:  the 56 Gallatin BRT stops are a few blocks away from this property to the north (at Douglas/Straightway) and south (at Eastland) respectively; however, there is a 26 Gallatin local bus stop adjacent to the site. 

To your point, while it is true that the grocery store building itself is not directly built to the street, there are restaurant/retail and apartment buildings surrounding it that are built to the street along all three sides.  So there will be some degree of framing of the street.  There are also generous sidewalk improvements and even a B-cycle station proposed to be located along the Gallatin frontage.  Accordingly, it is not entirely accurate to state that this will be strictly a suburban big-box development.  It could be argued to be a low-density development considering the land use entitlements that exist with present base zoning, not to mention the underlying NashvilleNext Community Character policy.

I was encouraged by most comments that I received at last night's well-attended community meeting and I look forward to continuing discussions in the Planning Commission and Metro Council public hearings over the next few months.  Once the zoning is in place additional detail design work can continue.

Edited January 11, 2017 by bwithers1

[WebberThomas4]

Thanks for the very detailed (as always) explanation, @bwithers1! 

In other news, two recently pulled permits stood out to me today: 

https://epermits.nashville.gov/#/permit/3306702?page=1&searchText=813 main st&searchCode=ADDR&searchType=permit&orderBy=fullAddress ASC - Water Services Sewer Fee at the proposed Holiday Jones hotel site. Does this mean construction is imminent?

https://epermits.nashville.gov/#/permit/3308270?page=1&searchText=931 Main st&searchCode=ADDR&searchType=permit&orderBy=fullAddress ASC - MPC Subvision (Final Plat) for 931, 941 and 943 Main Street. I'm not really sure what that permit is, but I found it interesting enough to share. 

 

 

 

[smeagolsfree]

^^^^^ Thanks Brett, that explains things a bit. I realize it is a little different when you are butt up against existing neighborhoods.

[Gracie]

First post from a periodic lurker...

Did anyone go to the community meeting in Inglewood about the proposed development at Riverside/McGavock (location of Fond Object, etc) or has there been a post about Lance Bloom's plans? Unfortunately I learned about the meeting too late. 

[Jamie Hall]

8 hours ago, markhollin said:

 

 

Building "C" has all the makings of a Starbucks.

[Nashtitans]

Call me ignorant but...why is everybody excited about this development? Looks like your typical suburban strip mall.

[nashvillwill]

31 minutes ago, Nashtitans said:

Call me ignorant but...why is everybody excited about this development? Looks like your typical suburban strip mall.

Most of us in East are pretty excited about this because of the lead tenant Sprouts. It would be a stretch to call Eash Nash a "food desert", but I think it's very accurate to call it a "fresh produce desert". Our Kroger offerings are abysmal. Aldi, Piggly, etc don't cut it. Turnip Truck is ok, but very expensive and not a "one stop shop". I know many people who drive out to the burbs for decent grocery stores.

I love East Nashville. There is a lot here to be thankful for. Our grocers are not one of those things. This will be a welcome addition. 

Furthermore, it's not another payday loan place, so that's a plus. 

Edited January 12, 2017 by nashvillwill

[Gracie]

58 minutes ago, Nashtitans said:

Call me ignorant but...why is everybody excited about this development? Looks like your typical suburban strip mall.

Indeed it is very suburban. Interesting too how in the presentation on the TOD page they state how they are putting in more parking than required. 

[Nashville Cliff]

23 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

Is that Gallatin Rd in the center? If so, I would have hoped everything would have been up to the street instead of parking.

This point was brought up at the meeting.  They said they looked at that, but in the end decided a lot in the back would have more of a negative impact (noise and light) on the nearby residential neighbors.  They instead pushed the tow auxiliary retail buildings to Gallatin and used the apartment buildings to transition into the neighborhood.

9 hours ago, Nashtitans said:

Call me ignorant but...why is everybody excited about this development? Looks like your typical suburban strip mall.

Because it replaces a worse suburban strip mall and adds several apartments right on Gallatin.

[Nashville Cliff]

On 1/11/2017 at 6:33 AM, Edgefield D said:

Cliff, was there any mention of timeline?

As Brett said, they are going through the permitting process through this summer.  Construction is expected to begin end of this year or early next.  Grocery is expected to open spring or summer of 2019.  Didn't say when they expected retail and residential to be complete.

[smeagolsfree]

10 hours ago, Gracie said:

First post from a periodic lurker...

Did anyone go to the community meeting in Inglewood about the proposed development at Riverside/McGavock (location of Fond Object, etc) or has there been a post about Lance Bloom's plans? Unfortunately I learned about the meeting too late. 

Welcome to the forum Gracie! We have a lot of members in E Nashville that post on the board and it is great to have another. I would encourage you to read as many post as you can and join us at the forum meets on the first Saturday of the month at the Perch in downtown at the corner of James Robertson and Third.

The meets start at 10 am.

[Edgefield D]

1 hour ago, Nashville Cliff said:

As Brett said, they are going through the permitting process through this summer.  Construction is expected to begin end of this year or early next.  Grocery is expected to open spring or summer of 2019.  Didn't say when they expected retail and residential to be complete.

Thanks. I saw the other posts after yours that addressed the timeline. Looks like Spring/Summer 2019 for the opening of Sprouts. I thought I would throw this out there too. There's been a recent permit pulled for updates to the Eastland Kroger. It says to replace refrigerated/heated cases. It's valued at $238,000 (approximately...I can't remember exactly). Seems like a lot just for that. There's a note down in the permit that says 62,000 sqft mercantile? I was confused by that? I had emailed Melissa Eads a while back asking why they let that store languish while they sink a lot of money in just about every other Kroger I go to. She said the Citi Trends lease isn't up til 2018....they would do a full remodel then. I posed the question why can't they build a new store at street level and knock the old one down. I didn't get a response to that. I know others question why we need another grocery store....but I have to ask...have you been in the Eastland Kroger? It's our primary full service grocer. It's so far beyond it's useful life...it's almost funny. Anyway....I wish Sprouts was being built to the street...but I can also see why they are trying to mitigate the noise for neighbors. I think they might have avoided that by putting the apartments at the back, retail in the front and parking in the middle. But...I'm not the developer and I have no say so in it. In the end...I will be happy with a new, clean, roomy grocery store that has fresh food that isn't rotten before it's even been sold.

[WebberThomas4]

@Edgefield D I am glad I am not the only one who has reached out to Kroger about that store. I emailed Zane Day (Nashville Division President) in June after the picture of the roaches and cheese was circulating social media and asked what their long term plans were for that store. Here was his response:

"Thank you for your interest in our Store 880 in East Nashville.  We have been hoping at some point we can take over the Citi Trends building next to us.  They have a lease through 2019 and we are hopeful we can work something out with them to end it sooner.   Our goal would be to have an expanded store by the end of 2018.  Just a note, we have spent 3.2M dollars in improvement since 2007.  This would include the fuel center we put in early 2011.  We are truly committed to the community and hopeful to have a newly remodeled, up to date store in the near future.  Thanks again, Zane"

 

[Musketeer]

I'm also a long time lurker and decided to finally get a handle to comment on the Sprouts development.  I live a few blocks away in Eastwood and personally am very excited about the project -- both to get a good grocery store in the neighborhood and to replace the existing ugly and worn-out shopping center surrounded by a massive and unused parking lot.  I like how they lined greenwood and sharpe with apartments to transition into the neighborhood and very much like the sidewalk improvements along gallatin, where there are currently none. It would be nice to have the sprouts it right up to Gallatin (perhaps with the parking structure located behind it instead of just surface parking), but this will be such an improvement on what is there that it isn't a big deal to me. The front-loading dock is also ugly, but If i lived right next to it I'd definitely not want a loading dock and alley right next to my house due to the noise, so I understand why it is like that. 

 I do think the parking structure across the street is a little weird and I doubt it would get fully utilized unless it is mainly intended for employee parking (similar to the parking structure behind the rite-aid across from eastland kroger, which I have never seen used much). Having a crosswalk there will be good and should help pedestrians on Gallatin generally.

If we got some inexpensive fast casual restaurants in there that would fill a niche in short supply in east nashville as well - though it looks like we are losing Cizar's, which is one of the best existing inexpensive places, so may be a wash. 

I do worry a bit about what Sharpe will look like as is often effectively one lane due to street parking on both sides, and frequent poor parking jobs. 

[Edgefield D]

 

31 minutes ago, Musketeer said:

I do worry a bit about what Sharpe will look like as is often effectively one lane due to street parking on both sides, and frequent poor parking jobs. 

Welcome Musketeer. I noticed a post on the East Nashville FB page the other day where someone got a parking ticket on their street for parking more than 18 inches away from the curb. There are bad park jobs all over East Nashville. My street doesn't have driveways....so I see lots of bad park jobs. People need to take a little extra time when they park....maybe tickets will be the incentive.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Edgefield D
merged my posts?

[Edgefield D]

41 minutes ago, WebberThomas4 said:

@Edgefield D I am glad I am not the only one who has reached out to Kroger about that store. I emailed Zane Day (Nashville Division President) in June after the picture of the roaches and cheese was circulating social media and asked what their long term plans were for that store. Here was his response:

"Thank you for your interest in our Store 880 in East Nashville.  We have been hoping at some point we can take over the Citi Trends building next to us.  They have a lease through 2019 and we are hopeful we can work something out with them to end it sooner.   Our goal would be to have an expanded store by the end of 2018.  Just a note, we have spent 3.2M dollars in improvement since 2007.  This would include the fuel center we put in early 2011.  We are truly committed to the community and hopeful to have a newly remodeled, up to date store in the near future.  Thanks again, Zane"

 

Thanks Webber. I had typed a response...but it merged it with another post? I'm still trying to figure out the way this site works?

It's odd that even Kroger doesn't seem to know when the least is up? If they've spent that much on the store...the bulk has to have been the gas pumps. I lived in Goodlettsville when Publix moved in and I know that Kroger's updates are reactionary....so I'm hoping the Sprouts is a catalyst for getting some things done to that Kroger.

[TnNative]

18 minutes ago, Edgefield D said:

Thanks Webber. I had typed a response...but it merged it with another post? I'm still trying to figure out the way this site works?

It's odd that even Kroger doesn't seem to know when the least is up? If they've spent that much on the store...the bulk has to have been the gas pumps. I lived in Goodlettsville when Publix moved in and I know that Kroger's updates are reactionary....so I'm hoping the Sprouts is a catalyst for getting some things done to that Kroger.

I would totally buy this. When the Publix was first rumoured to go where Sprouts is going, Inglewood Kroger all the sudden put in a sushi bar and fancy mushroom bins. When that never happened any more upgrades seemed to have stopped although I'm glad the sushi bar was put in.

Edited January 12, 2017 by TnNative
More info

[Musketeer]

1 hour ago, TnNative said:

I would totally buy this. When the Publix was first rumoured to go where Sprouts is going, Inglewood Kroger all the sudden put in a sushi bar and fancy mushroom bins. When that never happened any more upgrades seemed to have stopped although I'm glad the sushi bar was put in.

East Kroger has some ongoing renovations right now and had a sign up, if I recall correctly, stating that they were putting in a sushi bar and something else.  They have been steadily making minor improvements to that store mostly for dedicated space to sell higher-dollar items, but it really just needs to be bigger and to have better management (I have to think the bad smells, sometimes rotten produce, and periodic dirtiness reflects management as well. The other day I was buying milk in there and they had 2 or 3 milk gallons that were covered with dirt or grease sitting right in the front row of the case.  Never seen such a thing in a Publix, or at other Krogers.  

[tragenvol]

1 hour ago, TnNative said:

I would totally buy this. When the Publix was first rumoured to go where Sprouts is going, Inglewood Kroger all the sudden put in a sushi bar and fancy mushroom bins. When that never happened any more upgrades seemed to have stopped although I'm glad the sushi bar was put in.

Similarly about to happen in Cookeville; the Kroger in Cookeville is woefully lacking.  Now back to this thread....

[grilled_cheese]

1 hour ago, Musketeer said:

East Kroger has some ongoing renovations right now and had a sign up, if I recall correctly, stating that they were putting in a sushi bar and something else.  They have been steadily making minor improvements to that store mostly for dedicated space to sell higher-dollar items, but it really just needs to be bigger and to have better management (I have to think the bad smells, sometimes rotten produce, and periodic dirtiness reflects management as well. The other day I was buying milk in there and they had 2 or 3 milk gallons that were covered with dirt or grease sitting right in the front row of the case.  Never seen such a thing in a Publix, or at other Krogers.  

I use all the nearby grocery stores pretty often (East, Inglewood, Madison Krogers, Donelson Publix, East and Madison Alidis) and the Krogers seem to be the most poorly run, specifically the Madison and East Kroger locations and I agree it comes down to management not motivating staff to be customer first minded.  The, what I believe to be, 1990s style of those Krogers don't help either.  Compare the checkout and deli experiences at Krogers to Publix and it's worlds apart.  I can't tell you how many times I've stood in line at the Kroger deli while only 1 out of 3 workers helped us whereas at the Publix I've seen workers come from other departments to assist if a line builds up.  I also attribute this to the 24/7 nature of the Krogers vs the Publix.  I sometimes wish that they would reopen the Dickerson Rd Kroger to relieve some pressure off of the Inglewood location.

[Rockatansky]

4 hours ago, Musketeer said:

inexpensive fast casual restaurants

I'm cool with this as long as they are local businesses and not chains. We've got enough chain fast food places in EN as it is.

[bwithers1]

7 hours ago, Edgefield D said:

Thanks. I saw the other posts after yours that addressed the timeline. Looks like Spring/Summer 2019 for the opening of Sprouts. I thought I would throw this out there too. There's been a recent permit pulled for updates to the Eastland Kroger. It says to replace refrigerated/heated cases. It's valued at $238,000 (approximately...I can't remember exactly). Seems like a lot just for that. There's a note down in the permit that says 62,000 sqft mercantile? I was confused by that? I had emailed Melissa Eads a while back asking why they let that store languish while they sink a lot of money in just about every other Kroger I go to. She said the Citi Trends lease isn't up til 2018....they would do a full remodel then. I posed the question why can't they build a new store at street level and knock the old one down. I didn't get a response to that. I know others question why we need another grocery store....but I have to ask...have you been in the Eastland Kroger? It's our primary full service grocer. It's so far beyond it's useful life...it's almost funny. Anyway....I wish Sprouts was being built to the street...but I can also see why they are trying to mitigate the noise for neighbors. I think they might have avoided that by putting the apartments at the back, retail in the front and parking in the middle. But...I'm not the developer and I have no say so in it. In the end...I will be happy with a new, clean, roomy grocery store that has fresh food that isn't rotten before it's even been sold.

I am not a Realtor or a builder, but I suspect that one major reason for not demolishing the Eastland Kroger store and building a new one to the street is the high cost of demolishing that building.  And again, what would result from building a grocery store to the street is that there would be mostly blank walls facing the street and pedestrians would get off at the bus stop (assuming that the interest is in pedestrian accessibility) and then walk all the way entirely around to the "back" of the building to get to the grocery store entrance.  The information that I consistently receive from those in the grocery store business is that grocery stores must have parking in front of the door, wherever that is located.  This may not be the case for a grocery store located in the base of a multi-story building, but it is quite difficult for me to foresee a multistory building with an immense parking garage going up at Eastland and Gallatin unless Kroger wanted to sell the lot entirely.  Even in that scenario, there are some constraints on the lot and Kroger does not own the entire block.  I am also not certain about the level of community support for such a large structure going up at that location.  This is all speculation on my part, because, again, I am not a commercial realtor or a builder.  But these are some observations that I would offer.

Edited January 12, 2017 by bwithers1

[bwithers1]

7 hours ago, Musketeer said:

I'm also a long time lurker and decided to finally get a handle to comment on the Sprouts development.  I live a few blocks away in Eastwood and personally am very excited about the project -- both to get a good grocery store in the neighborhood and to replace the existing ugly and worn-out shopping center surrounded by a massive and unused parking lot.  I like how they lined greenwood and sharpe with apartments to transition into the neighborhood and very much like the sidewalk improvements along gallatin, where there are currently none. It would be nice to have the sprouts it right up to Gallatin (perhaps with the parking structure located behind it instead of just surface parking), but this will be such an improvement on what is there that it isn't a big deal to me. The front-loading dock is also ugly, but If i lived right next to it I'd definitely not want a loading dock and alley right next to my house due to the noise, so I understand why it is like that. 

 I do think the parking structure across the street is a little weird and I doubt it would get fully utilized unless it is mainly intended for employee parking (similar to the parking structure behind the rite-aid across from eastland kroger, which I have never seen used much). Having a crosswalk there will be good and should help pedestrians on Gallatin generally.

If we got some inexpensive fast casual restaurants in there that would fill a niche in short supply in east nashville as well - though it looks like we are losing Cizar's, which is one of the best existing inexpensive places, so may be a wash. 

I do worry a bit about what Sharpe will look like as is often effectively one lane due to street parking on both sides, and frequent poor parking jobs. 

Musketeer:

These are good points that you have made and thanks for your comments.  I want to make sure that the concerns of my Eastwood neighbors are addressed to the greatest extent that is feasible and you are welcome to contact me directly at my Metro Council email ([email protected]).  I also hope that you will feel comfortable participating in the Planning Commission and Metro Council public hearings that are scheduled for this project.

The parking structure across Gallatin (described as a podium or something like that) is indeed dedicated to employee parking in order to leave the other open parking spaces available for patrons.  I appreciate that aspect, since businesses often want their parking available for paying customers - of course - and so employees then park on neighborhood streets instead.  For example, Russell Street in Edgefield is becoming a tension point with employees from the Woodland Street businesses parking there.  On-street parking is always a territory battle in East Nashville, and even moreso in Edgefield in particular.  For this project, having dedicated off-site parking for employees located nearby is, I believe, a plus.  That off-site, covered parking structure availability should help to reduce the addition of on-street parking spilling over onto Greenwood and Sharpe, both of which, as you mention, are pretty narrow already.

The tenants for the Gallatin-facing buildings are not yet determined but I believe that at this point plans are for only one of those spaces to include a restaurant.

As someone who can see Cizar's out my kitchen window, I can safely say that I will miss them and I hope that the business is able to find a new home somewhere nearby.

Edited January 12, 2017 by bwithers1

[Gracie]

Just an FYI.. Maybe we aren't in DC's league yet. But here is what the "Social Safeway" in Glover Park (upper Georgetown) looked like not that long ago and what it looks like today. It's much more pedestrian and transit (bus) focused. And, of course, now there's lamenting that housing wasn't put on top.

[AronG]

I appreciate the efforts of Brett, Cliff, etc. on this, but I'll weigh in as well with disappointment on the car-focused design here. I don't understand the thing about the loading docks; they're closer here to the neighbors than they would be if the building was next to Gallatin. And as far as how to address the sidewalk, the Turnip Truck is a fine example that provides good parking access without making pedestrians cross a giant parking lot to get to the front door. If these guys had done something similar, maybe including a few smaller retail spots along the side of the building fronting Gallatin, this would have had a big encouraging welcome mat for pedestrian/transit customers, who do not contribute to traffic and excess parking.

But I guess we are who we are. This is certainly an improvement to what's currently there, and it's cool that they're including the residential component.