3rd and Chestnut Apartment Building

[MTFAN]

Nice infill.

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[BnaBreaker]

Very nice looking project. Nashville needs more proposals like this. I know developers have to make money and I know they all want to hit a grand slam with every development, but if Nashville really wants to rebuild it's urban streetscape, it will need lots of small projects like this to fill in the gaps. I fear that if every new proposal is a giant mega condo block, it will begin to stifle demand and reduce the overall potential for rebuilding the city. And yes, I do personally look at this urban revival as a long, slow rebuild, because the urban renewal efforts that took place in Nashville may as well have been an earthquake or hurricane.

By the way, I'm just assuming, though I probably shouldn't since this is Nashville we're talking about, that this building is being built on one of the two empty lots on this corner, and not taking the place of the lovely old two story brick building that is on the northeast corner?

[Nathan_in_DC]

According to Google Maps, this is just across Chestnut from that building. Which, might I add, is just screaming to be turned into a coffee shop or small cafe. Would be ideal for this corner once that apartment goes up.

On a sidetrack, I think that the key to establishing these neighborhoods is a gathering spot like a small pub, a coffee shop, or a neighborhood cafe. Something with local flair that people living within walking distance will visit. Seeing your neighbors out like this helps build cohesiveness, and adds a sense of community.

[NashRugger]

According to Google Maps, this is just across Chestnut from that building. Which, might I add, is just screaming to be turned into a coffee shop or small cafe. Would be ideal for this corner once that apartment goes up.

The first floor would be a good use for that since the 2nd floor and backside is a private residence. I've been in it before and not 100% sure if the entire building isn't the residence.

[MTFAN]

I agree with you BNA that Nashville needs more of these small infill projects througout the city to create the dense urban environment we long for. Large projects are nice but the small projects are much more feasible for these types of areas.

[Nathan_in_DC]

The first floor would be a good use for that since the 2nd floor and backside is a private residence. I've been in it before and not 100% sure if the entire building isn't the residence.

Hmm, well, this is a good chance for the owner/tenant to make some money!

[UTgrad09]

Very nice looking project. Nashville needs more proposals like this. I know developers have to make money and I know they all want to hit a grand slam with every development, but if Nashville really wants to rebuild it's urban streetscape, it will need lots of small projects like this to fill in the gaps. I fear that if every new proposal is a giant mega condo block, it will begin to stifle demand and reduce the overall potential for rebuilding the city. And yes, I do personally look at this urban revival as a long, slow rebuild, because the urban renewal efforts that took place in Nashville may as well have been an earthquake or hurricane.

By the way, I'm just assuming, though I probably shouldn't since this is Nashville we're talking about, that this building is being built on one of the two empty lots on this corner, and not taking the place of the lovely old two story brick building that is on the northeast corner?

Agreed on all fronts. I think we all know Nashville needs more urban housing options...but we need a variety of different options, to appeal to a wide variety of needs and price ranges.

I've noticed a few newer urban developments down on 2nd in the Cameron-Trimble neighborhood. Good for them. My hope is that one day they will tear down those nasty projects (Napier and Sudekum) and build a real urban neighborhood there. South Nashville needs that. Eventually I would like to see all of our periphery urban neighborhoods (Germantown, Hope Gardens, Midtown, The Gulch, SoBro, Rutledge/Rolling Mill Hill, Cameron-Trimble, Edgefield & the East Bank) run seemlessly into one another and give our center city a truly urban feel.

[bwithers1]

BTW, this neighborhood renamed itself Chestnut Hill during the mid-2000s when they worked with the Civic Design Center / Metro Planning on their community plan. Their stated goal is to have street-level wherever possible along Chestnut to connect their neighborhood, Greer Stadium/Fort Negley et al, then on to Edgehill Village/Music Row and on to Vanderbilt as one long walkable route.

Indeed there is a lot of infill going on in this area. I would compare this area to the Edgefield neighborhood in East Nashville, which is also an historic first-ring neigbhorhood that grapples with projects and tries to balance historic and new construction housing.

Indeed, a pub or restaurant at 3rd/Chestnut would be great for the area.

[maury_county]

I took 10-15 minutes to drive through the Chestnut Hill area not too long ago and I was surprised with how much history is still in the area.

Looking past these new infill apartments, the modern condos off 2nd and Mildred Shute, and the other newer builds, there's historic landmarks (the Nashville City Cemetery, etc), a great diversity of religion (historic St Patrick Catholic Church, Islamic Center, Baptist, Methodist, Church of God), and outdoor space with Dudley Park.

Seems like if there wasn't so much light industrial (and such close proximity to public housing), this neighborhood could be a great place for Germantown-style 2-4 story townhouse developments. It's just opposite the interstate of the core and easily accesses all of downtown (and RMH, and East Nash). I'm not super-familiar with the area, but is there any reason that people aren't more excited about building here (or at least starting the conversation about redevelopment between Lafayette/MBoro Pike and 4th) in anticipation of SoBro's buildup?

[smeagolsfree]

This is a work in progress and will take some time. There is more happening than meets the eye in this area and all of it seems to be good.

[NashRugger]

This is a work in progress and will take some time. There is more happening than meets the eye in this area and all of it seems to be good.

Speaking of WIP, the thread title should be one since it is misspelled.

[smeagolsfree]

Speaking of WIP, the thread title should be one since it is misspelled.

Thats pretty funny. Real easy to do and yet I looked at it a dozen times and did not notice it. It is now repaired.

[timmay143]

I took 10-15 minutes to drive through the Chestnut Hill area not too long ago and I was surprised with how much history is still in the area.

Looking past these new infill apartments, the modern condos off 2nd and Mildred Shute, and the other newer builds, there's historic landmarks (the Nashville City Cemetery, etc), a great diversity of religion (historic St Patrick Catholic Church, Islamic Center, Baptist, Methodist, Church of God), and outdoor space with Dudley Park.

Seems like if there wasn't so much light industrial (and such close proximity to public housing), this neighborhood could be a great place for Germantown-style 2-4 story townhouse developments. It's just opposite the interstate of the core and easily accesses all of downtown (and RMH, and East Nash). I'm not super-familiar with the area, but is there any reason that people aren't more excited about building here (or at least starting the conversation about redevelopment between Lafayette/MBoro Pike and 4th) in anticipation of SoBro's buildup?

When I hear Lafayette and Chestnut, I think of projects (and maybe Sound games ). I dabbled a bit in the area in my younger (and naive) days. My friend had an uncle who owned a convenient store off Layfayette. Had some interesting experiences for sure. However, that was 12-14 years ago and from what I gather on here the area seems to be slowly changing due to Nashville's overall transformation or maybe evolution is better.

[fieldmarshaldj]

When I hear Lafayette and Chestnut, I think of projects (and maybe Sound games ). I dabbled a bit in the area in my younger (and naive) days. My friend had an uncle who owned a convenient store off Layfayette. Had some interesting experiences for sure. However, that was 12-14 years ago and from what I gather on here the area seems to be slowly changing due to Nashville's overall transformation or maybe evolution is better.

That's the neighborhood where I went to school in the mid '80s. Johnson Middle from 1984-86 and Cameron for the summer of '87. We'd sometimes go on walks nearby, both to the Old City Cemetery and to a very spooky and decayed Fort Negley (which was then completely covered over in trees and technically closed to the public, which folks paid no mind to). We were regaled with stories of a mysterious tunnel or tunnels that ran from the fort to the cemetery or to the river or some such, but probably these were myths... or are they ?

[bwithers1]

Seems like if there wasn't so much light industrial (and such close proximity to public housing), this neighborhood could be a great place for Germantown-style 2-4 story townhouse developments. It's just opposite the interstate of the core and easily accesses all of downtown (and RMH, and East Nash). I'm not super-familiar with the area, but is there any reason that people aren't more excited about building here (or at least starting the conversation about redevelopment between Lafayette/MBoro Pike and 4th) in anticipation of SoBro's buildup?

This one has been bubbling under for quite some time. The 2nd Ave S area has a ton of renovation quietly taking place in historic homes in addition to the new-construction townhomes that you mentioned. I have been bullish on this area for quite some time. But there are a few problems with this area.

• The Napier/Sudekum homes off of Lafayette are a tremendous source of crime, not so much from the people who live there, but more from the drug dealers who congregate there and hold the people who live there in terror. This project is in the territory of the Hermitage police precinct and is one that I hope gets moved into the new Midtown Hills precinct to see if closer proximity helps with that problem.
  
• The same goes with the awful little neighborhood east of 2nd Ave South between 2nd Ave South and Tevecca. It's awful (economically depressed, historic housing in terrible shape and in need of more repair than the market will presently allow, low-quality non-historic housing other than the very, very recent townhomes, poor selection of businesses other than auto businesses, loan places and liquor stores, etc). At the same time, it's a tremendous investment opportunity for those who are willing to wait it out ten years. There is a lot of potential there.
  
• 2nd Ave has a lot going for it other than the 2nd/Lafayette/Interstate intersection, which is a little frightening at most any time of day, but that niceness fades with each block as you go away from 2nd. At the same time, the accessibility that 2nd Ave provides going north will eventually be a problem if speeding is not kept in check.
  
• 4th Ave South's problem isn't the light industrial uses, it is the crime that occurs related to the population that walks 4th Ave and the area around the city cemetary and even over toward the Adventure Science Center. Some of these men most likely filter down from the Rescue Mission. But there is a persistent problem over there with male prostitution and drug dealing/robberies. The police do crack down on this and it dies down for a while but then springs back up.
  
• The trains are a major problem with accessing this area. The train line the cuts across Chestnut also cuts off 4th Avenue South and can tie up traffic for 15-20 minutes at a time with few alternatives. The trains frequently block off traffic on 4th near the top of the hour when people are trying to get to work south of there. There is also noise and vagrancy associated with the train lines.
  

I know that these comments make me seem to be anti- this neighborhood, but most of these problems aren't anything that haven't been managed by East Nashville (particularly Edgefield). It will take a few more pioneers moving into the area and working with the good people who currently live there to drive out the bad people who rent there or pass through there. Continuing to develop a stronger identity and community and neighborhood watch presence can work wonders. Otherwise, you will continue to see developments and new houses plopped in the middle of this area without any sense of community building, and with noone walking to the proverbial coffee shop.

[barakat]

That's interesting. Reminds me of a story which I believed appeared on the Daily Show, where they interviewed a guy who said there's some type of pyramid buried under the state capitol building. He either said it was put there by aliens, or to communicate with them.

That's the neighborhood where I went to school in the mid '80s. Johnson Middle from 1984-86 and Cameron for the summer of '87. We'd sometimes go on walks nearby, both to the Old City Cemetery and to a very spooky and decayed Fort Negley (which was then completely covered over in trees and technically closed to the public, which folks paid no mind to). We were regaled with stories of a mysterious tunnel or tunnels that ran from the fort to the cemetery or to the river or some such, but probably these were myths... or are they ?

[timmay143]

Forgot about those darn railroad tracks. I definitely feel an East Nashville "vibe" from this area. I remember when you heard East Nashville and people would go, oh....yeah, East Nashville...

[Nathan_in_DC]

That's interesting. Reminds me of a story which I believed appeared on the Daily Show, where they interviewed a guy who said there's some type of pyramid buried under the state capitol building. He either said it was put there by aliens, or to communicate with them.

If you could ever find a link to that clip, I'd be very indebted to you.

[smeagolsfree]

This is another samll project in the 3rd and Chestnut area that is under construction.

Safe Haven Shelter.

[bwithers1]

I was wondering what that was! I'm pretty happy with this rendering. It has more of a circa 1910 look than a lot of the more modern stuff that is being built down there. It will also be good to add some sort of a wall on 3rd facing that park to give it more of a sense of place. Right now, the park mostly looks like a large, amorphous undeveloped tract (like a lot of Nashville parks). Other than this project, there are just a few houses and small, random churches on 3rd facing the park at present.

[smeagolsfree]

Not much gets past me, but sometimes it happens and I saw that one on the building permits and the news. I like all that is being done on Houston Street too. William took me down here several months back and I was blown away with the potential this area has. However, you still have to deal with the homeless guy approaching your car wanting money and a few rough areas too. Overall this area is in transition but it is going to take some time for this area to come around. Reworking the Fairgrounds would be a great way to start. There have been a number of apartments and rehabs on 2nd Ave going back toward town, but a lot more has to happen.