Jump to content

Inner Loop - CBD, Downtown, East Bank, Germantown, Gulch, Rutledge


smeagolsfree

Recommended Posts


The Downtown Cultural District Overlay bill was ultimately disapproved by the Planning Commission last night.  There may be coverage in the newspapers.  NewsChannel5 was there that I know of.  Most of the Planning Commissioners were generally supportive of the idea, but were concerned that this item has not had sufficient vetting and discussion.  There were concerns about limiting non-country-themed retail and office uses on Broadway/2nd/Printer's Alley other than the existing uses that would be grandfathered in for their current locations.  One difficulty with or unintended consequence of grandfathering legally nonconforming uses is that landlords know that a business technically cannot relocate to another parcel and so they jack up the rent.

 

There was considerable discussion about changing one or more portions of the text, but ultimately the Commissioners (I think rightly) agreed that they can pass a rezoning with conditions but ultimately should not be rewriting zoning language from the bench.  They would have preferred to have the bill come back with revisions based on guidance from the Commissioners and some additional community meetings.

 

The parliamentary procedure problem was that the item was approved by Council on 1st reading, and so apparently there is a 30-day limit for a decision from the Planning Commission and the next Planning Commission hearing is not until after the bill is up for 2nd Council reading and public hearing on June 3rd.

 

So the Commissioners recommended disapproval as written, which means that the bill as written will require 27 Council votes to pass the public hearing.  But if the bill's language is approved on 2nd reading but then changed, the item will be referred back to the Planning Commission for another deliberation before the revised bill or a substitute bill is passed by the Council on 3rd reading. 

 

I learn somethin new at each of these hearings!

Edited by bwithers1
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Downtown Cultural District Overlay bill was ultimately disapproved by the Planning Commission last night.  There may be coverage in the newspapers.  NewsChannel5 was there that I know of.  Most of the Planning Commissioners were generally supportive of the idea, but were concerned that this item has not had sufficient vetting and discussion. 

 

I can't believe this bill is getting serious consideration and even more surprised that the PC is generally supportive.    I just think's it's bad law and bad precedent to legislate against entire categories of businesses.   This is our downtown commercial district, not a themepark.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would be ok with this overlay if the intent were to restrict the tenants to small businesses, but to restrict what types of businesses is not a good idea IMO. Many cities have ordinances limiting the ability of corporate chains to enter the market and I personally like it. In other words;

Drugstore- privately owned ok, walgreens not ok

Grocery- privately owned ok, Walmart not ok

Restaurant- private ok, margaritaville not ok.

But to say there can't be a drug store? What's next? You can't sell beer that's not made by InBev? You can't play music that wasn't recorded in Nashville?

I lived in Berkeley, CA and there was a massive focus on small business. It was wonderful. There was not a single big box store in the city. Sure, the boxes built up to the edges of the city in Albany and Oakland, but 95% (I made that percentage up) of businesses in Berkeley were privately owned. It made for a very tight knit community.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never had an apple computer.  look to the right of the f12 button.  there should be a print screen button.  hit ctrl+print screen.  then I usually just use paint to paste it and save it as a file.

 

 

No to all options.

I have no idea what the deal is, but pressing CRT. Print screen does not work and I do not have the other program.

I guess I'll have to rely on A Little Help From My friends as The Beatles sang.

 

For the record, capturing only the window with current "focus" is ALT + PrntScrn. I don't think CTRL does anything in that combination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Permit pulled for building @ 800 6TH AVE S for 1 million. I am not sure if the rendering below is the final product, but this is another rehab. I think the company that is going into part of it is Synergy Business Environments. This was announced a few months ago.

 

ehpqNpi.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe that the current proposal is based on legislation in San Francisco. 

 

Planning Commissioner LeQuire suggested studying legislation in Telluride, CO and Jonesboro, TN (story telling festival) as models.    She raised the valid point that Nashville is about more than cowboy hats and boots.  It may be possible to keep a certain character in terms of small businesses rather than limiting categories of merchandise. 

 

By the way, the existing language only limits merchandise for stores that have more than 11 identical locations nationwide.  So anybody with less than 10 national locations would have no limitations on their type of merchandise sold.  Once they hit the 11 identical nationwide locations, then the merchandise limitation kicks into effect.

 

I would be ok with this overlay if the intent were to restrict the tenants to small businesses, but to restrict what types of businesses is not a good idea IMO. Many cities have ordinances limiting the ability of corporate chains to enter the market and I personally like it. In other words;
Drugstore- privately owned ok, walgreens not ok
Grocery- privately owned ok, Walmart not ok
Restaurant- private ok, margaritaville not ok.
But to say there can't be a drug store? What's next? You can't sell beer that's not made by InBev? You can't play music that wasn't recorded in Nashville?

I lived in Berkeley, CA and there was a massive focus on small business. It was wonderful. There was not a single big box store in the city. Sure, the boxes built up to the edges of the city in Albany and Oakland, but 95% (I made that percentage up) of businesses in Berkeley were privately owned. It made for a very tight knit community.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting off the technical discussion and back to the built environment discussion, I thought that I would share some things that were clarified about the 1320 Lofts proposal at this week's MHZC hearing.

 

Most telling line stated by one of the Commissioners:  "I don't think that any of us would intentionally design a building to look like this, but it does meet the design guidelines." 

 

Just goes to show that the design guidelines help to shape buildings, but ultimately the Commissioners have to apply the guidelines to the zoning and physical constraints of a site.  Neither the Commissioners nor the MHC staff actually design the buildings.  It is up to the applicants to design the buildings working with staff to ensure that the design will meet the design guidelines.

 

The Rosa Parks garage entrance will specifically be for the retail stores, while the alley entrance will be for the lower-level residential unit garages.  The Commissioners acknowledged that this Rosa Parks garage entrance location is not ideal, but also acknowledged that requiring 100% of parking access be from the alley could hinder the success of the retail stores.  There is some (but limited) on-street parking nearby, and thankfully there are few surface lots in that area.  But requiring customers who arrive via automobile and may be unfamiliar with the area to drive around the neighborhood and find the particular alley to access this mid-block site is not necessarily practical, either.

 

I personally wish that all of this building were 4 stories and included residential all the way out to Rosa Parks with retail under that first floor.  As it is, this building will read very much like at least three separate buildings.  As many of you know, I am much more of a fan of the one-building look such as the actual Werthan building.

 

It turns out that the street setback along Rosa Parks is not required but was requested by the applicant.  The applicant will relocate the actual sidewalk by creating a greenway between the street and the new sidewalk, and will have a patio area with some sort of decorative pavers between that new sidewalk and the retail storefronts.

Edited by bwithers1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know someone was wanting to know what was going up on Rosa Parks in Metro Center. Here is the answer. This is from the Ikon Construction website.

 

 

2120 Metro Center
Nashville, TN Copy

This new "ground-up" construction contemporary retail center is situated on Rosa Parks Boulevard in Nashville across from the Crest Cadillac. The center will house multiple restaurants, a coffee shop and several other high-end businesses with an emphasis on quality and distinction.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since I'm the resident northwest of 65 north Nashville poster - thought I'd add some information.

 

Currently 5 properties in osage/north fisk and Elizabeth Park that are under contract for over 100k. One of those is a remodeled cottage on 22nd Ave N that's was listed at 140k. A remodeled art deco on Underwood just closed at 175k.

 

9 months ago, when I purchased my house and started work on it, I think only 5 houses had closed over 100k since 2006.

 

There's just not enough housing in this city for the number of people trying to move here. Absolutely insane things going on right now.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know someone was wanting to know what was going up on Rosa Parks in Metro Center. Here is the answer. This is from the Ikon Construction website.

 

 

2120 Metro Center

Nashville, TN Copy

This new "ground-up" construction contemporary retail center is situated on Rosa Parks Boulevard in Nashville across from the Crest Cadillac. The center will house multiple restaurants, a coffee shop and several other high-end businesses with an emphasis on quality and distinction.

Here's a link for a look at the building:

http://s.lnimg.com/photo/full/c3241dacbdd34ed992faaa2a85285583.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.