Gentrification taking over Nashville is laughable at this point

[AgentNorth]

Its very amusing to hear individuals talk about how all the city living is becoming hard to find and too pricey in Nashville. In addition, these same people cite how they now have to move to donelson, mt Juliet, Hendersonville, etc because they've been "forced out the city." It's especially alarming to hear "hip" individuals from East Nashville speak about how there are no more city areas to flock to and establish pre "full scale" gentrification communities. This post serves as a reality check. There is still plenty of affordable “city” land available. Its called North Nashville. There’s no need to have the mindset of “city living in Nashville is all priced up and gone, lets move out to Donelson” when you’ve got places like Bordeaux that have arguably the best views of the skyline and are less than 5 miles from Broadway. And if 5 miles is too long of a bike ride, what about living less than 2 miles from downtown, by living off Buchanan street, clay street or near TSU. Simply put, North Nashville has the same cool old houses and close travels to the city like East and 12 south. Come out North if you want to re experience East Nashville, Shelby, 12 south “pre super gentrification.” When there isn't TONS of land available with views of the city and less than 2-4 miles to the capital, THEN you can tell me Nashville is growing out of control. While attending TSU, it always took us 3-5 minutes tops to travel over to Centennial Park. However, that land is cheap and un touched. This city hasn't really grown ladies and gentlemen. When you go to Atlanta, nobody tells you that areas with views of downtown and 2-4 mile travels to everything(like North Nashville, Bordeaux), is "a low income and bad place to hang out." Then again, Atlanta actually has grown, and city land like Jefferson street and Bordeaux would be considered a jewel there.

[Will]

+1 on North Nashville. Woodbine, the neighborhoods north of 440 east of Nolensville, and the area around Trevecca are all places where you can still get an intown single-family detached residence of reasonable quality for less than $200K or in some cases less than $100K.

 

I am skeptical of the claims of anyone being "forced" out of their home. Yes, property taxes increase, but when you look at even a huge increase of, say, $1000 on the tax bill, which would be unprecedented for a home in this price range, that's less than $100 a month difference per year. Not exactly "skyrocketing" costs. And there are programs in place to freeze property taxes for the elderly, so I'm not sure how a longtime resident of any intown neighborhood on a fixed income would ever be"forced out".

 

Sometimes I think the people hollering about gentrification and nowhere to live and evil developers etc. etc. are like the teenager who looks in the fridge full of food, spies no frozen pizza or chicken nuggets, and says, "MOM! There's nothing to eat!"

[smeagolsfree]

The people that are being forced out are renters living in sub standard housing. The owners are just going to take the money and run.

A great example is what is happening at the James Robertson. Many have no place to go. There has to be some alternatives offered soon or we will have a crisis on our hands.

If you guys want to start a thread on gentrification, that will be fine with me.

[AgentNorth]

Soon? North Nashville is untouched. Massive amounts of land right off the river and/or super close to broadway. I mean, is there some huge redevelopment going on in North Nashville, that I can't see? What I see, is land available everywhere. I wouldn't mind a thread, because I believe all of this gentrification talk is invalid, in a city with so much available city land. North has had the redevelopment of Germantown and Hope gardens, that's it. Let me know when I can't find multiple empty lots and/or cheap rentals in North. I definitely believe gentrification exist, but it has not taken over Nashville. When you can travel 2 miles from Bridgestone and find affordable land everywhere, your not in a crisis.

[rookzie]

The people that are being forced out are renters living in sub standard housing. The owners are just going to take the money and run.

A great example is what is happening at the James Robertson. Many have no place to go. There has to be some alternatives offered soon or we will have a crisis on our hands.

If you guys want to start a thread on gentrification, that will be fine with me.

 

There seems to be more than sufficient sentiment for wanting such a thread.  That is a highly sensitive topic and includes more than the scope of context of what already has been touched on.  I'm for one, but I think that for the most part I likely would become a lurker and to do my best to weld my mouth shut (or at least stuff it with corn meal).  To be honest about the subject, there has to be an interjection of socio-economics, personal behaviors, perceptions, practices, codes, enforcements, policy, and then some.  That is, the whole tape needs to be played about the reasons people tend to view the subject from their respective vantages.  I'd be delighted to sit back and to watch with my remote control.

-==-

[AgentNorth]

+1 on North Nashville. Woodbine, the neighborhoods north of 440 east of Nolensville, and the area around Trevecca are all places where you can still get an intown single-family detached residence of reasonable quality for less than $200K or in some cases less than $100K.

 

I am skeptical of the claims of anyone being "forced" out of their home. Yes, property taxes increase, but when you look at even a huge increase of, say, $1000 on the tax bill, which would be unprecedented for a home in this price range, that's less than $100 a month difference per year. Not exactly "skyrocketing" costs. And there are programs in place to freeze property taxes for the elderly, so I'm not sure how a longtime resident of any intown neighborhood on a fixed income would ever be"forced out".

 

Sometimes I think the people hollering about gentrification and nowhere to live and evil developers etc. etc. are like the teenager who looks in the fridge full of food, spies no frozen pizza or chicken nuggets, and says, "MOM! There's nothing to eat!"

I will say this. When I watch the show "fixe upper" on HGTV, I always say to myself, "that show would never work in Nashville." Nashville raises a lot more than taxes to keep certain people out of certain neighborhoods. The property values.........People can't buy land or a poor conditioned house in a desirable neighborhood here, and rehab it for a reasonable price. Nashville keeps the property values extra high in certain areas, to prevent middle class workers from moving in and doing something like the show "fixer upper." I've seen some crappy houses in West Nashville that can't touch my House in Bordeaux, but I can't buy one and fix it up because of extremly high property value's.

[Nashville Cliff]

Nashville raises a lot more than taxes to keep certain people out of certain neighborhoods. The property values.........People can't buy land or a poor conditioned house in a desirable neighborhood here, and rehab it for a reasonable price. Nashville keeps the property values extra high in certain areas, to prevent middle class workers from moving in and doing something like the show "fixer upper.

 

Exactly how does Nashville do this?  The market sets property values, so, in effect, people being willing to pay more prices out people who can't pay more.

[Paramount747]

At this point, people who claim gentrification are ones who cannot find the property they can afford, or willing to live in. Do you you want a sweeping skyline view? The Apartments on 5th and Fatherland are $650 a month and have several units facing downtown, but you will live next to MDHA low income housing, of which some are burned out and Metro has never repaired them.

 

On the East Side, there are plenty of views of the city that are very reasonable, but they are near the Casey Homes. The more who move into these areas and take the risk, the more things will change quickly.  Ron is right, it's renters being displaced, and this happens in every neighborhood in the county at some point.

 

When we become Chicago, or NYC then complain about gentrification. Those who complain do so when they cannot get what they want. And for those of us who have the skyline view like me, we have a drug infested Citgo gas station across the street, a burned out MDHA apartment building down the block, abandoned buildings, homeless fighting, drinking, and urinating all over Main Street, and the interstate. 

[grilled_cheese]

OP seems pretty agitated over things that people "say". 

 

Are you literally saying that there are empty lots that people should be buying and building living spaces on?

[AgentNorth]

Goodmorning on this snowy day. Yes, I believe people should be buying empty lots and developing them here in North Nashville. Same type of development occurred on a large scale in parts of East Nashville and the Nations, that are no where near as close to Downtown as North. Also, as mentioned in the OP. I highlighted how North Nashville also has many "cool old houses." Is there something unsual about developing land here and rehabbing houses? I'm seriously working on getting a special HGTV "Music City" rehab addict episode done here in North Nashville for a family. Will be great attention for a prime downtown access area that locals continue to ignore.

[AgentNorth]

Exactly how does Nashville do this? The market sets property values, so, in effect, people being willing to pay more prices out people who can't pay more.

lol really? It's that easy?

Tell that to all the families in Bordeaux that have been buying and building massive 300k brick homes for years in Bordeaux, but the property value continues to be assessed low by the Metro property accessor office.

[TMcKay9]

The people that are being forced out are renters living in sub standard housing. The owners are just going to take the money and run.

A great example is what is happening at the James Robertson. Many have no place to go. There has to be some alternatives offered soon or we will have a crisis on our hands.

If you guys want to start a thread on gentrification, that will be fine with me.

 

Correct.  The majority of people being forced out are renters, I see it every day.  In the Nations houses that rented for $700 two years ago are now renting for twice that amount.  The substandard rentals are being sold and torn down and the rent has doubled on the houses that were decent rentals.  

 

And right or wrong I will tell you how people get done in by property taxes.  Its due to lack of planning on the home owners part.  Long time homeowners that have no mortgage pay their taxes once a year, not through out the year.  So instead of saving an extra $100 per month they get the tax bill and and its $2000 instead of $750, they then struggle to come up with the money.  So they panic and call one of the many low ballers that have been sending them letters in the mail and sell out.  

 

On the flip side of it, the rising values have been life altering for some homeowners.  I recently sold a guys house (a tare down) in the Nations for $270,000.  He was able to pay off his mortgage, all his bills, and pay cash for another house a little farther out Charlotte.  Also relevant to this thread when we started our search for a new home he told me to look everywhere besides Bordeaux and North Nashville.  No joke.  Ha ha.  He's an older black man and just seemed to have a strong disdain for those areas.

 

 

[Hey_Hey]

lol really? It's that easy?

Tell that to all the families in Bordeaux that have been buying and building massive 300k brick homes for years in Bordeaux, but the property value continues to be assessed low by the Metro property accessor office.

 

What a building costs to build and what it is worth are not the same thing.  The property assessor is legally obligated to assess residential properties at Fair Market Value.  The reality is that in the current market you could build a half million dollar house in Bordeaux but if it only sells for $250,000 (or whatever the number is) then the property assessor can only assess it at that level. The property assessor responds to market conditions, not the other way around.  Property assessors also tend to be fairly conservative in their values from what I have seen.  There are properties that are currently being lived in in my neighborhood that are assessed at half the value of the dirt that it sits on. 

 

For whatever reason the Nashville real estate market has priced Bordeaux lower than other neighborhoods. People are simply willing to pay more for a house in 12South or The Nations than Bordeaux at this time. That could change in the future, but for the time being that's the way it is. 

[rookzie]

 

Correct.  The majority of people being forced out are renters, I see it every day.  In the Nations houses that rented for $700 two years ago are now renting for twice that amount.  The substandard rentals are being sold and torn down and the rent has doubled on the houses that were decent rentals.  

 

And right or wrong I will tell you how people get done in by property taxes.  Its due to lack of planning on the home owners part.  Long time homeowners that have no mortgage pay their taxes once a year, not through out the year.  So instead of saving an extra $100 per month they get the tax bill and and its $2000 instead of $750, they then struggle to come up with the money.  So they panic and call one of the many low ballers that have been sending them letters in the mail and sell out.  

 

On the flip side of it, the rising values have been life altering for some homeowners.  I recently sold a guys house (a tare down) in the Nations for $270,000.  He was able to pay off his mortgage, all his bills, and pay cash for another house a little farther out Charlotte.  Also relevant to this thread when we started our search for a new home he told me to look everywhere besides Bordeaux and North Nashville.  No joke.  Ha ha.  He's an older black man and just seemed to have a strong disdain for those areas.

 

 

 

I'll crack open the door for split moment.  That client to whom you have referred very well could have been me ("me" sounds better than the correctly used subjective pronoun, "I"), except for the fact that you and I never have (knowingly) crossed paths.

 

I cannot readily determine whether or not I might be repeating what I might have stated elsewhere in some topic, but I'll say that I spent 18 of my first 24 years in North Nashv'l, the remainder of those having been lived out of state.  I was born in North Nashville, and not necessarily by choice, as back then, sadly, if one were not white in Nashv'l, then she had to have her child delivered either at 1) the former Riverside Hospital (near the National Baptist Convention on Whites Creek Pk (now Bapt. World Center Dr.) in the Haynes area, or 2) Meharry Hospital (which at that time also had maintained a veterinary school at the adjoining college campus).  That is, unless of course she bore her child at home.  It just was a sign of those times, that the VU hospital would not take in black patients.  Exactly the location where my parents had settled to live in North Nashv'l had been in part selected at that time, because of the fact that blacks still were not allowed to rent or buy in the nearly all-white sections due north of Jefferson Street, including Salemtown, Germantown, and Buena Vista (long before it was dubbed "Historic").  This had been the norm even up to mid-1964, with the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

 

Following the Interstate-highway butchering of the North ─ not referring to Bordeaux, which about 5 years prior had been officially annexed by the city, and which historically had never been considered North Nashv'l proper until the "yunguns" decided to include all of northwest county as "North" ─ North Nashv'l underwent steady deterioration and, in time and in part, social and economic change caused by a marked reduction of industrial and commercial activity, which had been second only to perhaps that of West Nashv'l (roughly considered bordering North along 40th Ave.).  Industry business models changed, most of the white population of the North took flight to sub-districts north of the Cumberland or to other then highly desirable areas of Inglewood, Crieve Hall, or Donelson/Hermitage.  During the '50s and '60s, even blacks themselves ─ the ones of "means", like the Meharry physicians and dentists and those in higher education:─ elected to build in what had been fashionable "College Hill" along Batavia St. Geneva Circle, 35th, and Clare Ave. (in the McKissack area), or (as that area filled up) in the "frontiers" of Bordeaux off Ashland City Hywy. in sub-districts locally known as the "Gold Coast", and Enchanted Hills, as well as more mixed-size developments along Clarksville Hywy. (all of which now is dubbed as [greater] North Nashv'l), rather than to remain within the traditional, original boundaries of North Nashv'l within the core (on the near side of the river).

 

Having been raised to interact within multi-ethnic environments most of my life, even during my early and latter formative years when it remained predominantly UNcool to do so, I, too, for personal reasons have preferred to live elsewhere in the city following my return from out of state during the early '90s.  This is not to say that that choice itself has not been without issues related to social restlessness,  and of course this also is not to say that North Nashv'l has not engendered ethnic "embodiment" during the last 40 years.  As stated elsewhere in the forum, residential redevelopment frequently has preceded a degree of residential homogeneity, w/r/t education and income levels, which arguably has been observed to be associated with less ethnic diversity.  But I have nevertheless found contentment and peace with my decision.  This may or may not be a cause and effect.  Much of my preference has to do with certain home structure styles, accessibility/mobility, affordability, and proximity to an aging parent, rather than to do with mere predilection.

 

If I ever were to consider returning to the North, then it likely would be as close to HBV or Germantown/Salemtown as possible, because of walking distance to DT, since for health reasons I will have to give up the car in a few years.

-==-

[AgentNorth]

What a building costs to build and what it is worth are not the same thing. The property assessor is legally obligated to assess residential properties at Fair Market Value. The reality is that in the current market you could build a half million dollar house in Bordeaux but if it only sells for $250,000 (or whatever the number is) then the property assessor can only assess it at that level. The property assessor responds to market conditions, not the other way around. Property assessors also tend to be fairly conservative in their values from what I have seen. There are properties that are currently being lived in in my neighborhood that are assessed at half the value of the dirt that it sits on.

For whatever reason the Nashville real estate market has priced Bordeaux lower than other neighborhoods. People are simply willing to pay more for a house in 12South or The Nations than Bordeaux at this time. That could change in the future, but for the time being that's the way it is.

The families have been purchasing the home's at these prices for years in Bordeaux. Over that span of time, that should raise the property value. I understand the simplicity of the market. That's why is hard for me to understand how when sales of 300k properties are snatched up in North, the property value doesn't go up. However, when individuals are buying 300k houses in 12 south, that demands a adjustment in the property values. I have come to a conclusion, that it will take the continued emergence of transplants moving to Nashville, for North to be re-discovered. The book on Bordeaux/North has been written and cannot be re-written in the minds of locals. We need the transplants and their diversity in this city ASAP. I hope Nashville next is correct on its population growth predictions. No true "it" city, lacks diversity and open minded personalities.

[vinemp]

Open minds are run of the mill these days.

 

The wide open minded are the ones to look for...

[grilled_cheese]

So, first time home buyers are supposed to buy land and then build a house?  As a recent first time home buyer I cannot and could not afford to do that.

[grilled_cheese]

Cruising Zillow this morning and there isn't much housing stock on the North or South sides of the river in "North Nashville".  Mostly, everything is 200k+.  Anything that is under 150k looks like it's not a real listing (ie, only has a google maps photo and very little information.) 

 

So, tell me OP, where should people live in North Nashville without having to purchase land and THEN build a house.  And remember, full reno's are expensive so those don't count either.  Unless you're talking about a empty nest Boomer couples.  You've claimed lots of "evidence" but have yet to produce. 

 

I appreciate your response.