geoephemera

All that I want for Christmas is..to see Donelson Pike glowing up @smeagolsfree dev map. I looked at the plans for the SP from epermits at 310 & 312. So glad! Priceless landmarking at this point! I really hope they'll incorporate the Donelson Station greenway & continue that greenway across Donelson Pike at the edge of the property. Even if it dead ends at the self-storage units, it'll build a beachhead to keep extending greenways--& let's dream bigger, maybe the property values grow enough to do the unthinkable: sell the self-storage for a teardown & build more walkable, rollable transit oriented design (TOD). And I hope we take take a Memphis approach to armoring up stroad crossings like the Shelby Farms Greenline does throughout High Point Terrace. Only better b/c unlike Graham in Memphis off of Sam Cooper, we have a commuter rail station at a growing multimodal transit center in the Downtown Donelson UDO 2 miles north of BNA at intersection Donelson & Lebanon Pike.

4 stations in Wilson County & Hermitage Station in Metro Davidson could benefit from more timed connections at Music City Star rail stations. I cannot understand how we don't already have a study showing Wilso Co riders would take rail of there wqs a dependable, consistent jobs connector route or private employer shuttle from rail stations to BNA area jobs down Donelson Pike connecting with WeGo Route 6, 18, 52B, & 55. How is Wilson County planning more TOD around stations than Nashville Metro. MJ is building more sidepaths to connect folks & added housing next to MJ Station. Hamilton Springs keeps adding housing. Lebanon Station has already built put recreation & greenways near their station. Martha is the least developed yet has jobs surrounding that stop. One major area employer would benefit from employees having options to get to work. However, this location could serve way more than one major area employer. BNA & nearby business parks have employees in public/private sector, airlines, labs, tech, freight, hotels, manufacturing, etc. Transit surveys are needed & teams to explore comments section to gather rider sentiment. I've gathered anecdotes from people who ride the employee shuttle at BNA, Wilson County commuters who would take the Music City Star if they could connect down Donelson Pike to BNA, Antioch commuters that could benefit by connecting from 52B directly to BNA if there was an alternative to go downtown then back out on Route 18. I know there are Route 55 riders that connect to the employee shuttle on Murfreesboro Pike & Donelson Pike. We are so close.

Received a yellow card for 310 & 312 Donelson Pike the other day for an SP with around 40 units. I am here for it. Donelson Pike seems like such an easy win to build around existing rail near a new library with more amenities coming around Donelson Station. Now, if we can connect a new Donelson Pike Connector from Donelson Station at the Music City Star & Route 6 down Donelson Pike to Route 18, BNA, Route 55, & Route 52 B at Ezell Pike, we could leverage an increase in homes by connecting transit to jobs at and around the airport--hotels, business parks, industrial parks, airlines, metro jobs, etc. I am hoping to see this idea about a Donelson Pike Connector giving Wilson County riders more opportunity to leave the car at home by taking the Music City Star to Donelson Station then connect using the Donelson Pike Connector. For now, this proposed development will have Sweet Milk, Cheba Hut, & Salerno Italia across the street & the food truck popup at McCampbell near JVI Secret Gardens & . So let's start small: Add traffic signals to Emery Drive for E-W pedestrians to cross the stroad.

Finery North at the northwest corner of Martin & Gray seems to have paused on the hotel plans. They have new stripes on a new gravel lot in the old junkyard turned pop-up Grassroots Art Park next to Fruits. I remember attending a neighborhood meeting years ago about plans for this parcel to be a combined hotel & music venue. I imagine they may have reconsidered with AJ proposing a venue north of Chestnut & Martin. Does anyone know what is planned after the parking lot? From left to right: Martin Flats, Fruits, T3, Diskin, the Finery

Does anyone find it odd that a hospital wants to locate an ER at 1000 Dickerson Pike next to the new 255 unit residential property at 900 Dickerson Pike? I feel like the developers at 900 Dickerson Pike & 903 Dickerson Pike would be livid that a loud ambulance stop may be located next to their brand new investments. I thought the density was going to have a great amenity with the bakery there on Dickerson Pike & Whites Creek Pike in Cleveland Park. https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/health_care/shugga-hi-owner-sues-for-right-to-buy-property-eyed-for-er/article_47196daa-b7a4-11ed-98c3-2bafb365e310.html

One of my favorite underrated views in the neighborhood. I wonder what's next for the optics warehouse to the east of Twelve60 Martin. I'm in my feelings now mourning Clawson's because I thought they were still coming back. I just now saw their IG post that they are moving to PA. I wondering what will get us a grocery store. Bento Bodega is nice to have. And InterAsian Market can be accessed via bike lanes on 4th/Nolensville Pike. But I still hope we get a grocery store on 4th & Bianca Paige or the Finery. Good to see this. I've been away from the neighborhood for a bit. I don't miss the blasting, but I wish I saw this in real time. Huge change.

Somera now straddles the WHCH UDO boundary in Wedgewood Houston by owning the northeast corner of Martin & Hamilton (inside WHCH UDO) & owning the southeast corner of Merrit & Martin (outside WHCH UDO). I am interested to see how that plays into the height of these projects. Will they focus on building a WHCH UDO project on Martin & Hamilton separate from a non-WHCH UDO project along Merritt? I do hope they will open up the alley from Martin to Pillow & minimize driveway curb cut around this area. The sidewalks they would be adding down Merritt, Martin, and the north side of Hamilton will be a great addition to the neighborhood and should give Metro more reason to minimize curb cuts.

Does anyone know what's next for that massive concrete retaining wall abutting the back? That thing held an entire concrete operation & and is now used for construction materials for AJC. I'm sure it is going to be a beast to dismantle with all the fill it is holding, but when is it coming down.

Thanks for confirming! I remembered seeing something like that & went looking for something more recent. I shared one of the updates about the Merritt Mansion development. I am still excited about everything they are doing. I just hope they can keep a pocket park at the corner of Houston & Brown like in the presentations and renderings that show the view looking south up Brown Street towards the realigned Merritt Mansion. There are going to be so many people in this area once the 3,500 units and office space are added that greenspace is going to be packed.

Pics around Wedgewood Houston Img 1: Looking west down Merritt Avenue. Twelve60 Martin building to the right of the sidewalk. E+Rose Wellness Cafe at Six10 Merritt at the intersection down the hill with Corsair Distillery across the street to the left from E+Rose. Down the street, you can see 609 Merritt & Thirty Tigers at 611 Merritt. Further down the street, you can see 4 stories of Standard Assembly being built. Just to the right of the stop sign warning sign and along the ridgeline in the distance, you can see the Historic 8th Avenue Reservoir and Gate House. This is a view people may not be thinking about as much yet. But everything along Merritt is changing from people parking along the hill to get to E+Rose, pH Cocktails, & Diskin to this being the sledding spot during snowfall. Img 2: Panorama along Hamilton Avenue. From L to R, views of downtown buildings along the ridgeline of Fort Negley, the new parking garage at Standard Assembly, the Fusion development along Hamilton Ave, a warehouse on the south side of Hamilton Ave, the warehouse parking lot, and construction equipment/crane getting started along the backside of the Hagan & Hamilton development along Moore Avenue. Img 3: Looking north towards downtown from the Twelve60 Martin parking lot. The Finery development clearing land along Martin Street across from Six10 Merritt & Diskin Cider. Img 4: Looking north at dusk. From R to L, the parking garage at Standard Assembly lit up with downtown buildings visible beyond the ridgeline of Fort Negley. Img 5: Looking northeast at dusk from the alley behind Corsair, 609 Merritt, Thirty Tigers, and McGraphics. From R to L, the alley, 609 Merritt getting the new design underway with Twelve60 Martin in the distance (right of center) just above the roofline, much further in the distance you can barely see the roofline of the Nashville Warehouse Co (left of center), a view of the white exterior of Martin Flats, then the Finery development, the Packing Plant that houses multiple art galleries &WXNA Radio, and then Thirty Tigers.

I'm with you on the massive HVAC units--maybe generators in that setup too. Do most hotels have this type of infrastructure hidden? I liked when you could take the back way and walk from the old loading dock/dead end at Brown Street to Parson's. I hope AJC opens up Brown Street as a pedestrian way to connect to Chestnut St & adds a crossing to the Nashville Warehouse Co north of Chestnut. I am not a fan of the tall wood fence being installed at the May Hosiery along the sidewalk at Houston St & Brown St. I get that Soho House is exclusive, but the fence seems like an odd choice to keep people out. The stairs to the central courtyard give me hope that AJC will do something cool to connect the May Hosiery side south of Chestnut to Nashville Warehouse Co on the north side.

I have to add that I always see people using Ft Negley. I see my neighbors, photoshoots, walkers, runners, picnics, hammocks, dogwalkers, etc. It is used quite frequently. The Nashville Chew Crew works better than weedeaters to control vegetation on the craggy imperfect surface of the fort ruins. For urban park users, the Chew Crew makes people feel like they have stepped outside the city. And as an aside, I like that Nashville has a program similar to Curitiba's environmentally-friendly urban sheep program. However, I do want to see improvements to create more foot/bike traffic through Ft Negley. There needs to be a bike path/greenway connecting Chestnut through the existing service road by the old Sounds Stadium crossing along the lower eastern ridgeline of Ft Negley to connect at Bass & Oak St on the northside of the Ft Negley Park. I am sharing a 2016 era interactive map from the walknbike plan with this connection mapped. This route would make bike commutes easier for those traveling in & out of the neighborhood, create recreational opportunities to use the existing bike lanes on Bass & Oak, tie in to plans for 6th Ave S & Chestnut bike lanes, and limit camp litter/open burning in the overgrown area on the eastern perimeter of Ft Negley by way of increased natural surveillance from riders passing through this proposed greenway. If the South Corridor Study created a new commuter rail line from Columbia to Nashville, I would hope that the southeastern edge of Ft Negley would be the site for a new train station to connect commuters to the new offices planned for Wedgewood Houston (along Hagan, Gray, Martin, Merritt, Humphreys, Chestnut, etc.), connect Vanderbilt staff to the shuttles at Lot 127 on Chestnut, connect riders to Route 25 crosstown, and connect people to a park before they commute home. I know it may never happen, but one has to dream--or at least write it down here for others to see. Finally, I agree with the part about 6th Ave S from Division, Mulberry, Carroll, & Oak St becoming a retail dead zone. A couple of breweries & a coworking space is not enough. The 6th Ave S & Oak St information on the development map looks like it will just be residential. I am hoping they are planning for more retail for that section of 5th Ave S/John Lewis Way south of the interstate in the New Heights District.

I value the response. I want to keep workshopping these responses for neighborhood meetings. I hear the "one less story reflex" prior to Zoning in the neighborhood meetings. I heard the one less story reflex during a session about 1414 4th Ave S & Bianca Paige Way proposing 6-7 stories. The "one less story reflex" did not make a lot of sense there since Bento Living was already 5-6 stories without any residential units--only hotel prices to market rate extended stay. The site is located along Route 52, one of the best BRT Lite routes in Nashville, creating an opportunity for market rate & affordable housing to serve those with accessibility issues. I heard the "one less story reflex" in a neighborhood group again with AJ Capital's Phase 3 project when a 4 story building was proposed--showing that the one less story reflex is arbitrary at the neighborhood group level. I want to have some thoughtful responses to support that taller buildings have greater potential for more affordable housing units--instead of build shorter with less units, but more affordable units. Developers keep fine tuning the initial ask to build tall enough to lose some stories as a negotiation tactic, in preparation for the "one less story reflex," to let people feel like they got something or got to kick something. If they propose to tall, outrage. If they propose too small starting out, the units will get taken away regardless. I am following what you are saying about the 70s with West End Ave. And while some 70s high rise housing may serve as a precedent that we can build taller, the experiment on how those units are filled & managed has not been linear. Hopefully, 6-10 stories within 2-3 miles of downtown can provide a decent balance of increasing units, increasing affordable units, & creating more units that are affordable for anyone with accessibility constraints. I wanted to bring up West End Ave because of the proposal for a 27 story tower at 2410 West End to replace a 2 story building. I support the taller building. I just want to know why is there pushback against not-as-tall residential buildings along a transit route or next to existing taller buildings. And finally, I read NIMBY arguments against the former Beaman properties on NextDoor. However, YIMBYs are making more thoughtful responses supporting 9 story buildings. Hopefully, the demographics of the latter will keep supporting more units at an agreed percentage of affordable housing resulting in more affordable housing units--versus the confusing build less but more. I also hope this helps with building taller at 1302 4th Ave S as well as 1414 4th Ave S.

Yes, & upzone Wedgewood Houston & Chestnut Hill too. Anything within 2 miles of downtown along 2nd Ave South & 4th Ave South should leverage the existing BRT Lite routes for more transit oriented development (Route 52). Why does West End Ave get to build tall but nearby Edgehill & Wedgewood Houston get arbitrarily stunted height? And why do Edgehill Towers, Trevecca Towers, & Vine Hill Towers not count as precedent for adding to building height? Or better, why does the SoBro storage building get to be taller than residential buildings?

Walked around Donelson Plaza to see what has changed so far. I thought about how this place will function when the new units get built on the west side on Old Lebanon Road near Knobview Drive & the new library gets build on the east side near Old Lebanon Road & JB Estille Drive leading to the commuter rail at Music City STAR Donelson Station. Sidewalks have been constructed in front of the Plaza to Benson Road & JB Estille Drive. One of the signs of change is the new YogaMuttz, the first yoga studio in the area. They were getting ready to host another yoga class in the new courtyard while their commerical space is completed. Img 1: Looking east at the new edge of the Plaza across the planned location for new Donelson Library & park walking distance to Donelson Station. Img 2: Looking north from the west side of Donelson Plaza where the building is being deconstructed to make room for new residential units. These units will be walking distance to restaurants, bowling, a bookstore, a yoga studio, pubs, pizza, catfish, birria tacos, & commuter rail. Img 3: Looking southeast from the northwestern corner of 2710 Old Lebanon Road with the massive parking lot in the back on the left and the planned location of the new residential unit in the deconstructed space in the middle. Img 4: Stairway to Donelson Plaza Courtyard Img 5: Donelson Plaza Courtyard has an interesting design for a stormwater planter bed. The courtyard is concrete and slopes down, allowing stormwater to be captured in this planter. Img 6: Donelson Plaza Courtyard. Initial programming includes yoga classes. Img 7: North Side of Donelson Plaza Courtyard looking south at the bleacher seating adjacent to the stairs. The sidewalk includes an homage to the past with the floor emblem. Chester's was the initial department store when Donelson Plaza was built in the 1960s. The new Donelson Library will be be located on the left side of the courtyard. Img 8: Looking west across the deconstructed space of the old department store and (L-R) the planned location of the new Donelson Library, the massive parking lot in the back, and the planned location of residential units near the realigned Cliffdale Road, making the community around Cliffdale, Crestwood, and Benson highly desirable for anyone who wants to take the commuter rail to work. In closing, people moving to Nashville do not realize we have a commuter rail, especially people I meet from Boston, Chicago, & New York. I have even met a Nashville native that grew up in the suburbs where there were no sidewalks, lived in New York for enough years to develop a walking culture, and then quickly forgot their New York ways when they moved back by dropping their habits of walking everywhere (with transit too). It is a single story, but this person did not believe we had commuter rail despite going to college in Nashville and despite the Music City STAR operating for well over a decade. I am interested in seeing what will be the tipping point for reverse commutes along the Music City STAR. What type of employers would need to be located here for people to take the train away from downtown? Maybe it won't be every day as remote work has changed transit in ways. And what type of traffic & parking constraints will influence people to give up and take the train out of convenience?

Some updates around Hagan Street near Merritt Ave & Hamilton Ave Img 1: From L to R: Standard Assembly parking garage & courtyard pool, looking east down the alley between Fusion WeHo & Standard Assembly, Fusion WeHo preparing more foundations Img 2: Standard Assembly courtyard pool. Img 3: Western corner of Fusion WeHo looking south (center) where the flats will be located with a view of the Reservoir to the west (R side). I am looking forward to the new sidewalks along Hagan & Hamilton. Let's hope a 4 way stop is added to Hagan & Hamilton soon.

I always liked the view from those windows. A multi-use building is better than a parking lot though.

I don't remember too much about that in my group. I was pushing for the bus stop realignment more. But I have heard people talk at SNAP meetings about changing up the one way direction on 2nd & 4th to avoid stopping traffic at the train. It would be cheaper than a train crossing. I agree that it needs to be discussed before WeHo Crossing's plans are set.

I'm sharing updates for AJ Capital's Nashville Warehouse Co. development (Phase 2 of May Hosiery) at 4th Ave S & Chestnut. They've started opening up sidewalks & have a new bus stop for Route 25 crosstown in front. It amazes me that AJ Capital still has a high rise to build here--and then Phase 3 across 2-3 more blocks just south of here along Houston, Brown, Humphreys, & Martin. And everyone can see they saved or rebuilt the old Sounds guitar scoreboard. I'm hopeful they find a way to connect their campus via greenways and pedestrian crossings across Chestnut & the northern terminus of Brown Street. For a short while, the neighborhood had a back entrance to Parson's via the old Fort Houston loading dock/stage where Brown Street ends. I am hopeful this will return with better landscaping & a crosswalk around the rail crossing. Img 1: Panorama looking west across 4th Ave S Img 2: Looking west along Chestnut St at front of Nashville Warehouse Co. Img 3: Looking northwest across Chestnut Street towards Ft Negley with Track One (far left), the old Sounds guitar scoreboard (center) & Nashville Warehouse Co. (right)

I attended early neighborhood design workshops on this one. They initially presented something 6-7 stories, which I liked. Some attendees asked for one less floor. I didn't understand this mindset as it seemed arbitrary. Do people just ask developers to do less out of habit? Bento Living is 6-7 stories. Residential towers in this area's viewshed are also above +5 stories (Trevecca Towers, Edgehill Towers, Vine Hill Towers, and even the SoBro storage tower). The 2nd/4th Ave S corridor would benefit from more height & density with 2 miles of downtown. The one thing I keep mentioning every time WeHo Crossing comes up is to realign bus stops from 4th & Rains outbound and 2nd & Hart inbound to Bianca Paige Way for Route 52. Currently, 4th & Rains outbound stops at a chain link fence with razor wire; 2nd & Hart inbound stops at a short term rental. Those stops could serve more people by being realigned. There was talk in neighborhood design workshops about this site aiming for a grocery store. If the grocery store idea happens, realigning the bus stops to Bianca Paige Way would make BRT Lite Route 52 bus line accessible to a grocery store, giving riders an opportunity to pick up groceries on a transfer. The "unactivated" side along the rail needs more balconies. People will be more likely to continue living in places with some outdoor space to themselves. I though the pandemic made this clear.

The webcam overlooking Hagan & Merritt with Hamilton in the distance has a great time lapse of the development at 715 Merritt. https://wedgewoodavenue.com/715-merritt-avenue/

City View South seems to have broken ground at 2176 Carson Street in the Woodycrest neighborhood off of the 2000 block of Nolensville Pike. The road was closed for infrastructure upgrades. I!t is going to be fascinating how this section of Woodycrest develops as it already has amenities like InterAsian Market, Tempo Coffee, South Side Kitchen, Azafran Park Farmer's Market, bike lanes, a pocket park, proximity to the MLS stadium, etc. I included pic of the closure at Coleman & Carson on the south (Img 1) and a pic of the closure on the north at Carson & Nolensville Pike across from the Accent development (Img 2).

I am sharing updates on infrastructure upgrades in Wedgewood Houston around Gray, Hagan, & Merritt. Merritt Avenue had some water infrastructure upgrades installed in 2020 when 640 Hagan/520 Merritt was breaking ground. It looks like they are moving up Hagan at this point with closures expected to continue (Img 1). Looking south across Gray Street after clearing, one has to remember Gray was a dark street with overgrown vegetation & illegal dumping issues. People would walk it between Diskin Cider & the Packing Plant during monthly art crawls, but some people found the dark street unnerving. This fire hydrant that used to be obscured by invasives & overgrown vegetation was found just in time because tree roots had wrapped around the hydrant. You can see 520 Hagan/640 Martin to the right, the tan building just left of center at 609 Merritt, & the edge of Six10 Merritt on the left (Img 2). The pic looking north across the Finery shows a pile of tires left from years of illegal dumping at this site. Another huge benefit of the development here is that, though there was a temporary loss of Hackberry trees along the edge of the property at the higher elevation on Gray, illegal dumping has finally been stopped along Gray. I will not be nostalgic that the last pile of tires in this area is in a pile at the Finery site waiting for disposal. And Gray will become more walkable with new street trees & sidewalks once the Finery is complete (Img 3). I don't know what technique is being used here. I get that the hydrants were being flushed, but it looks like more water infrastructure work at the southeastern edge of the Finery further down at Merritt & Martin. I don't know what this method is called when one creates a 20 foot geyser through a manhole (Img 4). And I had to see how far along Hagan & Hamilton is. They have cleared the open lot area of equipment & started removing fixtures on the warehouse area. Hagan Street seems like it will become a special place in this neighborhood with the live work units at Fusion along Hagan St add boutique shops & the mixed use planned for Hagan & Hamilton gets built to show off the views in every direction: downtown, Ft Negley, the Finery, May Hosiery, the Reservoir, & the hilltops around Radnor Lake in the distance to the South (Img 5 & 6).

I haven't seen it in person yet, just read comments about it in the Hip Donelson group. Donelson Plaza started demolition on the western portion of the structure along 2710-2720 Old Lebanon Pike. They are making room for new housing at Donelson Plaza within walking distance to the Music City STAR commuter rail at Donelson Station. https://www.donelsonplaza.com/updates/2021/7/19/phase-2-construction-begins-this-week https://www.donelsonplaza.com/updates/2021/7/19/phase-2-to-add-apartments-to-donelson-plaza I am hoping more transit oriented development for this area will increase transit ridership & bring back more trips for the STAR.

467 Chestnut Street from Capital Investment Group I'm sharing a few slides from CIG's presentation to South Nashville Action People (SNAP) concerning the planned mixed use development at 467 Chestnut Street in Wedgewood Houston. I am not sure how far along CIG is in the process. They have plans for including affordable housing in their unit mix of around 151 units with commercial space & mentioned they have reached out to the Mayor's Office with affordable housing questions. Access to the development will be off the alley. They do share the parking lot with the old United Record Pressing location at 453 Chestnut Street that may limit whether they will be closing all of the driveway entrances along 453-467 Chestnut. However, no new driveways off of Chestnut will support AJ Capital's planned bike lanes along Chestnut. Braxton Brewery is the planned commerical tenant for their development. Braxton expanded their distribution to the Nashville area in 2017. Braxton currently operates two locations in walkable & historic neighborhoods in Cincinnati, OH, & across the Ohio River in Covington, KY. The planned brewery for this Wedgewood Houston development will make three. More details can be found in the attached images.