Nashvillechick

The city has been pretty dirty for some years now (not storm related, just litter), but I have hope that the new mayor will make cleaning it up something of a priority. They did a much better job this year of protecting Bicentennial Mall’s grass and cleaning the area up quickly after the big New Year celebration. They’ve also got many more people downtown cleaning the streets and sidewalks.

Since you appear to have trouble sorting it out, I’ll remind you that this was in response to the Schermerhorn losing support. Much of that comes from the “sweater tied over their back” crowd.

I know a number of educated well-off people who used to support Schermerhorn and loved going to the Ryman and other music venues, but rarely go downtown anymore. I live within walking distance, so see downtown up close on runs/bike rides. Drunks and syringes aside, it’s ridiculously crowded, dirty, some areas smell, and the noise level can be offensive. All valid reasons for not spending time and money going there. Sometimes it feels like I had a bad dream about Nashville, then woke up and found that it was reality...

I live within walking distance of the Monroe Kroger -- service is often poor, they don’t carry a lot of what I buy, and the parking lot can be scary some nights. I do most of my shopping at Turnip Truck, but their prices are very high. Haven’t been to Hill’s Urban Market yet, so thanks for the mention. Hoping that the new Publix will stock more healthy products than middle of the store boxed stuff, but time will tell... They will if they cater to areas like Germantown, the Gulch, and downtown.

Question for those of you who understand zoning better than I do. ​The Charlotte Park area is beginning to get more attention, as there's little else left that's truly affordable. The neighborhood is mainly brick ranches on 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots, and it looks like they're all zoned R10. Does this mean that duplexes or two tall-skinny homes could be built on each lot? If so, what's the chance that home owners would be successful in downzoning the area to RS in order to avoid financially motivated teardowns and the kind of infill that's haunted other areas of the city?

In response to that change, a house on River Rouge recently sold for $360,000---and it needed work.

I believe a Panda Express is going in there. I wish someone would have the courage to build something more ML Rose-ish instead, but I guess the area's not there yet---so more fast food...

I've had a realtor look at my house, and based on his estimate, I wouldn't lose money---until I paid the 6% fee. I actually love the house, but have found that the back slope to the river is more difficult and expensive to keep up than I'd anticipated. I'm strong, but I'm still only one woman. You're right that the river houses are awesome. You don't feel like they're in Charlotte Park when you're out back looking over the river and rolling hills of Bells Bend, which the sun sets over. It's truly beautiful, and with one major exception (which happens to be next door), the homeowners along the water take good care of their properties. I've had a realtor "stalking" me recently, trying to talk me into selling my house to a client of hers. My gut tells me to wait until prices come up a bit more, as I'm at a point in life where I can't afford any avoidable financial losses. A house down the street is about to go on the market and I think the initial asking price will be $385k. It has a full apartment/guest suite in the walk out basement and, believe it or not, a sound-proof pistol range in the ground under the driveway. If it was in another part of town, it would sell for at least 1/2 million. It's zoned single family, but the downstairs could be rented out for income. And no, I'm not her realtor--or a realtor at all.

Thanks for the welcome and reply! The Blue Moon is a fun place during the summer. I love to catch Annie Sellick when she plays there, and it's also a great lunch spot to kayak to from my dock. The food is average and a little overpriced, but I go for the atmosphere. And drinks :-) I absolutely agree that Charlotte needs to be cleaned up and made more attractive to walkers and bikers. Work is planned for the Nashville West area, and Planet Fitness was a good addition, but the area between the two is what borders my neighborhood, and the only thing going on there is additional paycheck and title loan businesses, which really cheapen the feel of the area. I moved here from Hillsboro Village where we had a great council-woman, but district 20 has Buddy Baker, who hasn't been responsive to any of my emails or calls and is not popular with the neighbors. He did relent at the last minute and vote in favor of backyard hens---but only after getting his Sunday beer bill passed. The man has priorities... I've worked with UCAN on the hen bill, and also with Hillsboro Village when they downzoned to keep additional duplexes out, but again, there were responsive council people involved with both issues. Drive down Ashwood (between Natchez and 21st) in the Village and you'll see what happened when the historical conservation overlay wasn't extended past Blair until this year. Builders came in and did their thing, destroying the charm of the street---which is one of the reasons that I moved. 9 new $800k to over a million dollar houses totally changed the personality of the street I moved to 15 years ago. What kind of overlays did you have in mind when you mentioned them? Robertson Road is also in need of some cleaning up. It's got sidewalks and a handful of well cared for homes, but it's not a street that feels safe at night or is attractive to drive down. Given its great proximity to Briley and I40, and even White Bridge Rd, it's a very convenient area to get around the city from, so I'm surprised that nothing has happened with it. The main drawback is lots of truck traffic from Reostone Quarry, but that's less intrusive than living along train tracks.

This blog name begins with Charlotte Park, but I don't see any mention of the area other than the fact that the area of Charlotte between WBR and Walmart will be difficult to develop because it's only two lanes. I have to admit that it's not a very exciting part of West Nashville, but the former Ford Glass plant area does have some good points: sidewalks on many streets, low taxes, affordable/durable brick homes, quiet, low traffic... I know it's all speculation, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts about how the Charlotte Park area will do in the near future. I own (and live on) riverfront property that overlooks the Cumberland River and Bells Bend and am seriously considering a move, but since I did a fairly extensive reno on the place, it will be hard to get all of my money out of it. My dilemma is whether to sit tight and wait or get out now and take my losses.