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


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Actually, this article is a little bit disappointing.  It's almost an ad-piece for the Shoppes at Fatherland.  Not that I mind that per se.  With all due respect to Dan Heller, who is the man behind Riverside Village as well as the brewery location where Fat Bottom is locating, the idea that the Gallatin Road SP drove away Publix from East Nashville has been debunked for a long time.  Publix responded to East Nashville real estate folks that the demographics of East Nashville were "not even close" to their target demographic.  This is a socio-economic decision.  Besides, the Gallatin Road SP was actually the legislation that allowed a microbrewery to go on Main Street/Gallatin in the first place.  If the SP had not been there, Fat Bottom would not have been able to locate there.  Period.

 

The other fact is that the Shoppes at Fatherland fit the design guidelines for the Gallatin Road SP.  So the Shoppes at Fatherland could just as easily have gone on any available property on Gallatin Road/Main Street.  And in fact one is in the works that is called Hive that is proposed to go almost across the street from Fat Bottom.

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I wanted to post a brief list/description of some recent adaptive reuses in East Nashville that may have slipped under the radar screen of people who aren't over there a lot:

 

Olive & Sinclair Chocolate company has outgrown its space in Riverside Village (Riverside/McGavock) and will be moving into one of East Nashville's historic grocery store buildings that is located at the neighborhood center at 17th/Fatherland in the southern portion of Lockeland Springs.  Here is an article that also contains a photo.  http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130121/LIFE02/301210047/Olive-Sinclair-Chocolate-plans-relocation-by-summer

 

This particular building had been home to a woodworking/handmade furniture store that closed a little while back.  There had been neighborhood speculation about the use of the building with neighbors being pretty strongly opposed to a restaurant going in there that would be simliar in size/design to the Lockeland Table, which opened recently in another historic HG Hill grocery store building at the SEC of 16th/Woodland.  Yes, East Nashville has evolved to the point where neighbors are now protesting about local restaurants opening in neighborhood centers amidst the residential areas of our neighborhoods because of the parking issues that result when reviews in the New York Times and other publications bring in people from "across the river."   The Pharmacy Beer Garden has erupted a virtual war about parking in the Greenwood neighborhood.  And parking issues surrounding Sky Blue Cafe at 7th/Fatherland in Edgefield is almost literally a war.

 

The other corners of this particular neighborhood center intersection at 17th/Fatherland where Olive & Sinclair are moving contain an historic church at the SEC and a series of shops at the NEC that include a stained glass shop that offers classes and a martial arts instructional space.

 

Riverside Village is turning out to be quite the incubator. 

  • Bagelface Bagels outgrew their space in Riverside Village and moved into the former Bethlehem Christian Bookstore space at the SEC of 7th and Main a while back. 
  • Mitchell's Delicatessen has also outgrown its space at Riverside Village and will be moving to a larger spot on McGavock that is near the Riverside Drive intersection. 
  • I am also told that OMG (Old Made Good) outgrew the little house that they were in on McGavock and will be relocating to a business space on Gallatin Road. 

I am sure that Dan Heller has a solid pipeline of local businesses to lease his available spaces in Riverside Village since those spaces seem to attract quality businesses that grow. 

 

A very short list of some other East Nashville adaptive reuses include:

  • The Boheme Collectif http://bohemecollectif.com/ visual/performing arts venue that has opened inside a cinderblock warehouse building in the 900 block of Gallatin, 
  • A children's theater that has opened inside a strip mall space near the Margaret Maddox YMCA on Gallatin http://www.thetheaterbug.org/,
  • The Crossfit Gym that took over a cinderblock building across from the Eastland Kroger that had been home to Eastside Scooters and had previously been home to a car service station,
  • Logue's Black Raven Emporium cult movie theater/vintage store at the former veterinary clinic at Trinity/Gallatin.

 

Note that absolutely none of these developments involved new construction but rather all involved reuse of existing buildings (some I'm glad to keep, some that I'd love to see go away.) 

 

I know that we really focus quite a bit on new construction on this forum, but East Nashville has a ton of adaptive reuse going on besides the typical new leases in existing commercial spaces.  Don't take the absence of crains on the East Side as a lack of activity.

Edited by bwithers1
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Cool, bwithers, thanks for the update!  Yeah, EN is definitely its own beast in terms of, well, everything pretty much.  One unique area of town for sure.
 

Any news on the Hobson deal?  I saw somewhere that the church has refused to sell to the charter school.  Is this true?

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A couple of items that are more in the new construction vein:

 

-Walden (the development at Eastland/Chapel that includes Jeni's Splendid Icream, The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant, Silly Goose Restaurant, and Ugly Mugs Coffee & Tea with residential above) seems to have some work starting on Phase 1B (yes, all of that was Phase 1A).  The remaining portion of the former nursing home was demolished a little while back, but I think that construction will start soon on the next phase.  Rumor has it that this phase will include a Climb Nashville location.

 

-Porter East at Porter Road and Eastland recently finished up their renovation on the west side of their building and it is now fully leased.  Lord, it's got a custom tailoring store, a hat shop, a furniture store, and all sorts of things in there now.  It's like East Nashville's version of Green Hill's Grace's Plaza or something.

 

-The Hardaway Construction headquarters building in the 600 block of Main Street has renovation going on presently.  Ron reported this sale in I believe the Bits 'n'Pieces section a little while back (should we move that to this thread?).  The purchaser is Paro South Creative Suites, who had bought a 1960s brick medical office building next door and turned it into a shared office suites building that has been wildly popular with small business people.  I am thinking (but not certain) that this builidng will have a similar use and will do pretty well. 

 

-The lot that is next to 5th and Main has been sold.  I think that that has also been reported on here.  It was purchased by some sort of partnership not too long ago and has sold again.  So maybe that bodes well.  I just wish that they would plant grass or something for the time being because that weed-strewn lot is an eyesore.

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Cool, bwithers, thanks for the update!  Yeah, EN is definitely its own beast in terms of, well, everything pretty much.  One unique area of town for sure.

 

Any news on the Hobson deal?  I saw somewhere that the church has refused to sell to the charter school.  Is this true?

Sadly, that deal has fallen through. The asking price from the church was shockingly high considering the state of deterioration of the building.  I mean, when you have ceilings collapsing due to holes in the roof, and you put up drop ceilings, and THOSE drop through, and we're talking about the NEWER part of the building, it's bad.  And when you have plants literally growing out of the walls between bricks due to the mouisture seepage from gutters that haven't been repaird in, oh, decades, it's bad.  But the congregation I suppose has financial needs as well and the amount of money that the school could raise didn't meet that need. 

 

We'll see what happens with finding another potential tenant for this building.   I just worry about this becoming the next in line for the Charlotte Ave Church of Christ fate.  Sadly, East Nashville (and a lot of Nashville) has a lot of church buildings that are for sale or lease.  The congregations that used the buildings get older and poorer (such as living past their prime earning years and being on fixed incomes), and the younger congregations that are growing are more in the mega-church variety out in the suburban areas.  And then the buildngs fall into disrepair and even if another congregation wanted to use the buildings, the repair costs become too high.  That's why conversion to a school or other civic (noncommercial) use is such a promising option, if the finances can be made to work.

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The project on McFerin is still in the aprroval stage and there were a few things that have to still be appoved by Metro. The 703/705 project is still a mystery but we here that the developer is slowly moving forward with it.

 

Sad to say but there is not a lot going on in East Nashville.

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The project on McFerin is still in the aprroval stage and there were a few things that have to still be appoved by Metro. The 703/705 project is still a mystery but we here that the developer is slowly moving forward with it.

 

Sad to say but there is not a lot going on in East Nashville.

Actually, my point is that there is a TON going on in East Nashville.  It just doesn't involve crains or midrises.  But lots of commercial (as well as residential) renovation and adaptive reuse.  There is also a pretty incredible amount of infill housing going in all over the place in East Nashville.  But unlike Germantown, which is dominated by multi-family or zero-lot line developments, the East Nashville homes are primarlly detached single-famiy homes or the dreaded duplexes.  Planning is getting totally bogged down with lot subdivision requests in East, as well as businesses who are trying to flip residential lots over to commercial.  There are also a lot of residential teardown activity right now, which is a cause for concern more than something to celebrate.

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If you can keep us updated on here as to what all that is going on in East Nashville would be greatly helpful Bret. I get over there some but not as much as I would like to.

 

Infill items are great but many off us are not familiar with E Nash because it is so large. Anything you can add would be great.

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A couple of hints:

 

-There is another venue being added to the former Capitol City Mattress/Fluffo Mattress complex that houses Fat Bottom Brewery and Edley's BBQ.  I believe that it is called "The Filling Station," and it is an existing business that is in 12South that is adding a location here in E Nash.  This is a place that will fill a growler with something like 12 local brews on tap.  I am not a beer person, so I had to look up what a growler is.  The original plans called for 2 breweries in this location anyway, so this will be the 2nd.  Practially that entire block (900 block of Main and the 900 block of Woodland) is being redeveloped now that Fluffo has closed and sold the building.  There is a ton going on right in there (sorry, no crains).

-There is a residential townhouse complex proposed for Chicamauga Ave in the Greenwood Neighbors area.  I'm not sure if the design will be like the West Eastland ones at Eastland/McFerrin or not.  That portion of Greenwood is covered by a Conservation Overlay, so there will be a design review.  The developer is presenting at the Greenwood Neighbors community meeting tonight, but I can't go because I have to be at my own (Eastwood) community meeting tonight.  I will try to get details.

Edited by bwithers1
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A couple of hints:

 

-There is another venue being added to the former Capitol City Mattress/Fluffo Mattress complex that houses Fat Bottom Brewery and Edley's BBQ.  I believe that it is called "The Filling Station," and it is an existing business that is in 12South that is adding a location here in E Nash.  This is a place that will fill a growler with something like 12 local brews on tap.  I am not a beer person, so I had to look up what a growler is.  The original plans called for 2 breweries in this location anyway, so this will be the 2nd.  Practially that entire block (900 block of Main and the 900 block of Woodland) is being redeveloped now that Fluffo has closed and sold the building.  There is a ton going on right in there (sorry, no crains).

Great news for Main/Woodland. I'd love to see a few more things fill up that stretch (hopefully moving west, towards downtown). That could be a fairly large and vibrant commercial district in time (I mean, 5 points is right now...but Main St...not so much).

Interesting that a couple of 12th South businesses are opening up shop in EN. I always thought of 12th South as East Nashville-lite (and reading some of the geographically challenged New York articles, one might think 12th South was part of EN). I wonder how well these places will do.

Also, I LOL'd when you said you didn't know what a growler is and had to look it up. I think a lot of non-beer people don't know that. I just thought it was funny by the way you worded it..."it's a place where you can fill a growler, whatever that is."

**for anyone else out there -- a growler is typically a 64 oz "jug" that you fill with draught beer to take home. It's "fresher" than buying a bottled 6-pack, but generally slightly more expensive. But it's a lot cheaper than buying an equivalent amount of pints straight from the bar. Think of it as a to-go cup for your beer.

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I was making the point to WW today that there is so much rehab of buildings going on, I can't keep track. It is going to take you guys to keep us updated on what goes on in all of the small neighborhoods. Granted, I love to see the cranes, but I also love to see all of the infill of small business going into the older buildings as well. That is what makes Nashville a healthy thriving city. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do the threads by area of town.

 

At this point in time, it is all I can do to keep up with the construction that is happening all over the area. It Is MINDblowing and we are getting ready to have a lot more happen.

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I was making the point to WW today that there is so much rehab of buildings going on, I can't keep track. It is going to take you guys to keep us updated on what goes on in all of the small neighborhoods. Granted, I love to see the cranes, but I also love to see all of the infill of small business going into the older buildings as well. That is what makes Nashville a healthy thriving city. That is one of the reasons I wanted to do the threads by area of town.

 

At this point in time, it is all I can do to keep up with the construction that is happening all over the area. It Is MINDblowing and we are getting ready to have a lot more happen.

The rehab/reuse really is just as important as the new construction, IMO...especially in the neighborhoods.

And it seems that the news sort of ebbs and flows...but there does seem to be a pretty exciting buzz. After waiting on some of these developments for a while, we're starting to see more of them actually start. But some of them (like in EN and Germantown) go under the radar, and they just seem to sprout up.

I'm excited to see even more stuff announced and/or get off the ground.

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East Nashville continues to have some proposals for multifamily housing pop up in relatively unexpected places:

-Shelby Hills:  There is a proposal for something like close to 10 residences on a lot at 18th/Sevier in the Shelby Hills neighborhood near Shelby Park.  Killer views of the Vinnylinks golf course and the historic picnic areas overlooking the Cumberland River.  It's called Cathedral something. 

-South Inglewood:  There is also a proposal called Cahal Corners at 1621-23 Cahal Ave.   I don't have a good feeling about this one.  If you haven't been on Cahal, it has many fine older homes that sit way back from the street.  Demolishing one of those homes and cutting the land into a bunch of tiny lots (15?)would probably move that street backwards, not forward.

-In the Greenwood neighborhood, the Chicamauga Ave condo/townhouse proposal (5 townhomes with garages on a lot near Chicamauga/Gallatin) that I mentioned previously goes before the BZA this week.  That street is crazy convenient:  it runs between the Eastland Kroger on the east and Pharmacy Burger's beer garden and Mas Tacos on the west. If you get too many carbs from the beers/burgers/tacos/Holland House cocktails, you can work it out at the Crossfit Gym next door.  And it is steps to the Gallatin 26 (local stops) bus and the Gallatin 56 (BRTlite) bus.

 

All of these residential areas would be considered "urban pioneer" locations (less so Greenwood, more so Shelby Hills, definitely South Inglewood) that are doing surpisingly well in terms of infill housing.  None of these are confirmed yet, but they are a sign of things to come.

Edited by bwithers1
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MDHA announced today that they have selected EJP Consulting Group as a consultant for the Cayce Place public housing redevelopment.  The press release was sent out today from Mark Drury, MDHA Director of Communications.  Maybe the press release will be on their website soon. 

 

Others working on the project will be Duvernay and Brooks, a nationally-known financial advisory and development firm, Nashville-based Smith Gee Studios architects, Barge Cauthen engineers, another Nashville organization called Urban Blueprint, and Randall Gross/Development Economics.

 

In a related note, an organization has formed in the East Nashville community that is called Cayce Place Revitalization Foundation.  Their website is www.cayceplace.org.  The founders are well-known and respected East Nashvillians Bob Borzak and Randall Gilberd.

 

This is going to be a long-term but much needed process to better integrate the various ethnic and income groups into one community in the southernmost portion of East Nashville rather than the very divided area that exists there now. 

 

In other related news, that little corner grocery/drug store building at 6th/Shelby that HG Hill owns is being rehabbed for a tenant.  Word on the street is that it will be a Save-A-Lot, but I haven't confirmed that.

Edited by bwithers1
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