Almost Friday, Nashville! It’s October 29.
☀️ More sunshine through tomorrow followed by rain chances through at least Tuesday. High: 80, Low: 50
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: a $140 billion question about Nashville’s toll lanes, parents’ concerns about alleged school abuse, the location of a Music City Loop station, changes to library parking, a teardown for a luxury home, and more movement on a high-profile project that stalled.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: NES still behind on tree trimming, more than 1,000 pounds of meth, and the last day of early voting.
🔒 New today for nash.news Insiders
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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Southeast
$140 billion question: TDOT announced it expects the companies that are building and financing toll lanes on I-24 from I-440 to Murfreesboro to pay the state more than $140 billion over 50 years of operations plus nearly $8 billion by 2035. I’ve asked TDOT to clarify the math behind that new number, including the average toll each year and the projected number of trips. TDOT said in August it “projected $24.8 billion in concession value to Tennessee,” and now says that amount is secured. I’ll let you know if I figure out how the numbers relate.
Hermitage
Abuse allegations: Two parents of former Dodson Elementary School students asked Metro’s school board this week to investigate alleged abuse in a special education classroom. WKRN reported in September on a former special education teacher who “said she witnessed verbal and physical abuse to special education students by paraprofessionals.” In public comment at this week’s school board meeting, a mother of a special education student said she found out about the allegations on TikTok, and the district has blocked her attempts to move her child to a different Metro school. Another mother, through a translator, said her son now “hides under the tables in fear and becomes defenseless because he fears that we will do something to him.” You can watch the parents’ full statements here. I asked a district spokesperson whether it had a response. The district previously told WKRN it placed the involved paraprofessionals on leave while DCS investigates.
Today at 4:30 p.m.: Another opportunity to give your input on renovations to the Hermitage Library. Here are details about the community meeting. The library said it’ll also have a survey at some point.
Near Donelson
Music City Loop station: The underground Tesla tunnel’s dropoff and pickup station at Nashville International Airport will be “located next to the front door of the terminal, in place of the taxi and limousine pickup area,” The Tennessean reported. I haven’t seen an updated timeline for when the tunnel from downtown Nashville to the airport will open, and the company didn’t respond when I recently asked how far it’s gotten with digging. Shortly after the project was announced, The Boring Company said it hoped to have part of the tunnel operational in early 2027. I reported earlier this month that The Boring Company said a third tunnel boring machine will launch this month, and a fourth should be in the ground before the end of the year.
Madison
Movement on stalled Madison Station project: I shared in September that a new developer was taking over at least part of this project first announced in 2022. It originally included apartments, retail, parks, and more, built over several phases at 721 Madison Square. The new developer said it planned to build 211 apartments after the original development team ran into financing issues, and now it’s filed for permits to build three apartment buildings. As of a month ago, the developer hoped to start construction in November.
North Nashville
Pilot program: The future of this Metro-owned property has been talked about for at least half a decade, and it looks like there will be some action in the next six months or so. A Metro Planning official said Metro plans to rezone its nearly 3-acre property at 2119 24th Avenue North so it can partner with a private developer to build affordable housing — likely a mix of single-family homes and townhomes. The city plans to release four other properties for development in the next six months, but the official didn’t say where.
New cigar lounge: Barrel and Leaf just received a permit to open a cigar lounge at 2022 Clarksville Pike. I haven’t been able to track down contact information for the owner, so I don’t have an opening date for you.
Downtown
Library parking: A change takes effect on Monday. “Customers can get 4 hours of parking for $4.00 plus a $0.99 fee, for a total of $4.99 at Nashville City Center (NCC), located at 220 6th Avenue North,” Nashville Public Library shared on Instagram. “Discounted parking at the McKendree Garage and the parking garage at 144 Rep. John Lewis Way North will be unavailable after November 1,” its post said. I reported last month that an NDOT official said he’s “not making a promise,” but he hopes a portion of the downtown library’s parking garage — about 300 spaces — can reopen by the end of the year. It’s been closed since a fire in 2025.
Expansion unveiled: Robert’s Western World shared this video of its expansion into the former Jack’s Bar-B-Que space on Broadway. The expansion allowed updates to the kitchen and “our front bar to horseshoe around to give more room for everyone AND a bigger dance floor!”
West End
Farmers market to storefront: You might recognize it from the Richland Park Farmers Market. Bellechasse Bakehouse, which describes itself as “Montreal trained, focused on quality and naturally leavened bread in Nashville,” just got its permit to open at 303 31st Avenue North. The business told me via Instagram “we are hoping for a late winter opening date. Possibly February.”
Green Hills
Old to new: I just reported last week on the top neighborhoods for home teardowns — often to make room for new luxury homes. I started looking into that story because of reports of a strong luxury home market, along with permit filings in Green Hills and Belle Meade. Here’s a fresh example. A home built in 1930 on Cantrell Avenue got a demolition permit in June. Just a little over four months later, a new permit application lists $4.25 million in construction to build a 7,467-square-foot home on the property. And speaking of demolitions, in Charlotte Park, permit applications indicate neighboring homes at 442 and 444 Thunderbird Court will be torn down.
Bellevue
Traffic calming: NDOT will host a virtual meeting tonight on its traffic calming plans for Somerset Place. It starts at 7 p.m. Here’s a link to the meeting information. Want traffic calming on your street? This website tells you how the process works.
Near Germantown
Demolition planned: I haven’t confirmed what’s next for the property, but a permit application requests permission to tear down the commercial building at 1033 Jefferson Street. The building next door at 1037 Jefferson Street is currently listed for sale.
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
Still behind on tree trimming: I’m surprised this is still an issue after the January ice storm (and the revelation that an audit warned NES months before that its backlog of tree trimming could worsen power outages.) Data shared by NES yesterday indicated the utility fell short again of its tree trimming goals in September. It trimmed 80 miles of vegetation with a goal of more than 120. As of October 23, the utility said it trimmed 62% of what it had hoped to trim at that point in the fiscal year. NES’s CEO said yesterday “there were significant strides made in onboarding additional planners and trimmers to increase output, and we’re seeing results.” For example, the utility said it trimmed 67 miles of vegetation just last week. Hopefully that pace will allow it to catch up before the next storm hits.
More than 1,000 pounds of meth: It’s a wild story from the Department of Justice. The feds allege two Tennessee prisoners helped run a Sinaloa cartel-linked drug operation in Nashville and throughout Middle Tennessee. This announcement details how the men worked with “The Office” in other countries, and the steps traffickers took to stay ahead of law enforcement, including “frequently changed vehicle ownership.” A grand jury indicted 24 people in the investigation. Law enforcement also seized more than 1,000 pounds of meth, along with fentanyl and cocaine. The drugs were “primarily from locations in Davidson County,” Metro Police Chief John Drake said.
Last day of early voting: Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Here’s a list of early voting locations. As of Tuesday, turnout in Davidson County paced 70% ahead of 2022 and about 13% behind 2018, according to data from Tennessee’s Secretary of State. Overall, more than 24% of Davidson County’s registered voters have cast a ballot in this year’s midterm. That’s better than the statewide rate of 21%.
Walk a shelter dog: I’ve had such good experiences with rescue dogs (I found our dog Troy at a shelter), and I love this idea from Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control. It’s inviting people to take a shelter dog on a two-mile walk at Mill Creek Greenway. It offers 10 spots per week. This post gives you more information on how to sign up.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan