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Lionstone Development


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Well if Lionstone builds the planned development around her property, she will not even get 60,000 for it after all is said and done. She evidently is not a very smart business woman. Maybe they can turn it into a pocket park like the one on Church street. Of coarse then you would have a lot of vagrants hanging around.

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I'm not very comfortable with the city forcibly taking property to the benefit of a private developer, but I can also see that these people could relocate their business and memorabelia into a new structure and not be harmed.

I wonder if MDHC could condemn the air rights so the new development go over this property? The mere rendering of such a building may lead to the owner "giving in" and selling outright without the city having to condemn the whole business.

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Apparently she doesn't need the money and it's a matter of principle. You're right though, get now while the getting is good. Some of it stems from a previous developer's attempts to bully. I think the Lionstone reps have tried a nice approach. Yet still she won't sell. The US Supreme Court reaffirmed a city's ability to do this for economic development purposes. Going to court again may be a lost cause.

Well if Lionstone builds the planned development around her property, she will not even get 60,000 for it after all is said and done. She evidently is not a very smart business woman. Maybe they can turn it into a pocket park like the one on Church street. Of coarse then you would have a lot of vagrants hanging around.
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^ When Ms. Ford said "I'm as important to this city as the Capitol" in the WSMV report, any sympathy I had for her was lost. Give me a break, lady! She has all these old Billboard clippings and LP sleeves hanging on the walls, but shows nothing to support her supposed current relevence to Music Row. No locatable web presence. Old Nashville, for sure. Most of the real value to her is sentimental, which is understandable. However I try to imagine myself owning that small plot of land and facing this situation, and I would not be content selling it for $600,000. That really is a slap in the face considering how much the developer will spend on and eventually gain from this property.

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^ When Ms. Ford said "I'm as important to this city as the Capitol" in the WSMV report, any sympathy I had for her was lost. Give me a break, lady! She has all these old Billboard clippings and LP sleeves hanging on the walls, but shows nothing to support her supposed current relevence to Music Row. No locatable web presence. Old Nashville, for sure. Most of the real value to her is sentimental, which is understandable. However I try to imagine myself owning that small plot of land and facing this situation, and I would not be content selling it for $600,000. That really is a slap in the face considering how much the developer will spend on and eventually gain from this property.
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  • 5 weeks later...

When she looks at the numbers, $900,000 from Lionstone vs. $650,000 from MDHA vs. whatever she can get if Lionstone builds around her, I think she will settle. IMO MDHA is only using this tool to get her to the table, if she truly wants to recoup anything she will settle. Lionstone has plans from what I hear, to build this with her still sitting there. That would render her parcel virtually useless to anyone in the future.

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Friends,

Nobody desires quality urban development for Nashville more than I do. Lionstone seems like a reputable operation and ESa should deliver a quality design.

But I have some concerns about MDHA stepping in on this. Eminent domain is best used if a property is a health/safety hazard or if the replacement development is civic oriented (a school, museum, zoo, fire station, etc.). Ms. Ford's property is very unattractive but it is not harming the community. And this is a private development. As such, it would be best if MDHA were not getting involved. I wish Lionstone would simply build around her property. Alas, now things might get ugly.

ESU/William Williams

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Friends,

Nobody desires quality urban development for Nashville more than I do. Lionstone seems like a reputable operation and ESa should deliver a quality design.

But I have some concerns about MDHA stepping in on this. Eminent domain is best used if a property is a health/safety hazard or if the replacement development is civic oriented (a school, museum, zoo, fire station, etc.). Ms. Ford's property is very unattractive but it is not harming the community. And this is a private development. As such, it would be best if MDHA were not getting involved. I wish Lionstone would simply build around her property. Alas, now things might get ugly.

ESU/William Williams

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  • 1 month later...

It seems to me she's playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse on this one. The mouse may be clever, but the cat's got bigger claws. I'm with producer. I think Lionstone will go ahead and build regardless of the outcome. I believe Mrs. Ford is going to blow her window of opportunity. She should take the money and run. No one ever heard of Country International Records or never mentioned it before now without some hint of giggle in their minds. Lionstone will probably design a portion of their building with a wall built right up to the CIR building. When Mrs. Ford discovers that her property is now worthless in its singleness, Lionstone can knock down that wall, put up tables, and have outdoor dining.

Of course, she may not sell. Then, we'd have this beautiful $100 million development with this little brick place, surrounded by barbed wire which will catch every bit of litter and trash blown in its direction, the weeds will grow, and vermin will multiply. She'll be the hero then. Right?

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It seems to me she's playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse on this one. The mouse may be clever, but the cat's got bigger claws. I'm with producer. I think Lionstone will go ahead and build regardless of the outcome. I believe Mrs. Ford is going to blow her window of opportunity. She should take the money and run. No one ever heard of Country International Records or never mentioned it before now without some hint of giggle in their minds. Lionstone will probably design a portion of their building with a wall built right up to the CIR building. When Mrs. Ford discovers that her property is now worthless in its singleness, Lionstone can know down that all, put up tables, and have outdoor dining.

Of course, she may not sell. Then, we'd have this beautiful $100 million development with this little brick place, surrounded by barbed wire which will catch every bit of litter and trash blown in its direction, the weeds will grow, and vermin will multiply. She'll be the hero then. Right?

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Dave is right, what is this woman losing? I would be all over it if they were trying to take her home or even an office that truly needed that location and could not EASILY be replaced with money left over with the offer that has been made by Lionstone. I do not understand how this is a misuse of power since the area has been designated for this for over a decade. Deja Vu will be the next to go with the same designation. If all MDHA wanted to do was take this womans property they would have done it years ago with one of the several offers made by others over that period of time. They let it go until it came down to the very last piece of property in this whole redeveloped zone. We should not forget what the area was like before the redevelopment happened.

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For me, there is a big diference between condemning property that the owner absolutely wants to keep and condemning property that is ostensibly for sale but for a rediculous asking price. I think Ms. Ford made a big mistake sometime back when she was quoted as saying she would sell for $12 million. Maybe she was kidding to make a point about her deep appreciation for her property, but if she really is ready to sell for $12 million then the $11.1 million above the MDHA offer is a naked attempt to extort Lionstone. I certainly think her property is for sale. And I think local government has a role in negotiating the sale, heavy handed as the process has become, for the sake of both parties as well as for area business.

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I do not disagree with any of you, but she has the right to not sale if she wants to. Just because someone wants to buy it, and just because most of us want her to sell so we can see a better development there, she doesn't have to, and shouldn't be forced to.

It truly is a slippery slope to allow eminent domain in this case and I'm sure she's trying to prove a point because someone with the city or with Lionstone used the word "eminent domain" with her in the past when she tried to play hard ball and it ticked her off.

I agree that she stands to lose all the value of that clunky old building and should eventually sell, but if she wants to sell it for more than $900k and is willing to sit on it til she gets what she wants, that's her prerogative.

If I were Lionstone, I'd just build around her and leave that portion as "future" development. When she realizes it's then only worth a fraction of what it used to be, buy it from her then. Take the high road and you'll probably get it for pennies on the dollar later.

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I do not disagree with any of you, but she has the right to not sale if she wants to. Just because someone wants to buy it, and just because most of us want her to sell so we can see a better development there, she doesn't have to, and shouldn't be forced to.

It truly is a slippery slope to allow eminent domain in this case and I'm sure she's trying to prove a point because someone with the city or with Lionstone used the word "eminent domain" with her in the past when she tried to play hard ball and it ticked her off.

I agree that she stands to lose all the value of that clunky old building and should eventually sell, but if she wants to sell it for more than $900k and is willing to sit on it til she gets what she wants, that's her prerogative.

If I were Lionstone, I'd just build around her and leave that portion as "future" development. When she realizes it's then only worth a fraction of what it used to be, buy it from her then. Take the high road and you'll probably get it for pennies on the dollar later.

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^ When Ms. Ford said "I'm as important to this city as the Capitol" in the WSMV report, any sympathy I had for her was lost. Give me a break, lady! She has all these old Billboard clippings and LP sleeves hanging on the walls, but shows nothing to support her supposed current relevence to Music Row. No locatable web presence. Old Nashville, for sure. Most of the real value to her is sentimental, which is understandable. However I try to imagine myself owning that small plot of land and facing this situation, and I would not be content selling it for $600,000. That really is a slap in the face considering how much the developer will spend on and eventually gain from this property.
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