Good morning, Nashville! It’s Monday, November 9.
☀️ Fog in some areas, then sunshine. High: 69, Low: 40
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: a council member’s concern about worsening homelessness, a speed limit change, a pedestrian safety change to a major road, a debate over plane noise, a new Italian restaurant, a private club for families, and much more.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: a plan to attract more long-haul flights to Nashville and one of the biggest drops in the country for Nashville’s housing market.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Bellevue
Homelessness concerns: Before the Metro Council approved a $500,000 contract with a company to manage services for homeless people, Metro Council member Sheri Weiner said the number of homeless people in Bellevue has “gone up to roughly between 160 and 170 unhoused, way higher than it has been.” She complained to a representative of the Office of Homeless Services that private property owners are being told to clean up their properties, while Metro “won’t lift a finger” with encampments on its property. Metro Council member Zulfat Suara questioned why homelessness numbers aren’t improving when new funding is being approved “every meeting.” A representative for the Office of Homeless Services told council members “we as a community in Nashville have an encampment strategy, an outdoor homelessness strategy that was adopted by a large group of stakeholders” and “it’s kind of the central document that we use to guide this sort of work.”
Brentioch
Speed limit change: The speed limit on Hill Road between Franklin Pike Circle and Old Hickory Boulevard will drop from 35 miles per hour to 30, if a proposal from NDOT is approved today by Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission. More: Nashville’s top times and places for traffic stops + the rising cost of traffic school.
Donelson
Pedestrian safety: NDOT wants to install a pedestrian hybrid beacon — essentially a crossing that stops traffic for pedestrians — in the 2500-block of Lebanon Pike. Here’s a video of what the crossings look like. NDOT installed one near my apartment a year or two ago, and it seemed to help with people running through breaks in traffic on 8th Avenue South. Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission is set to decide today whether Donelson’s project moves forward.
Antioch
Changes to school entrance fail: I reported last month on traffic concerns with a new school coming to the intersection of Rice Road and Bell Road. Metro Council member Joy Styles has been pushing to move the entrance off Rice Road. She argues the road can’t safely handle school traffic, and arrival and dismissal could block neighbors (and potentially emergency vehicles) from coming and going. She hoped to fund the entrance change by amending the mayor’s $544 million capital spending plan, but she indicated fellow council members used a procedural tactic known as “calling the question” at last week’s council meeting. That allowed council members to approve the mayor’s plan without any discussion of her amendment. School board member Cheryl Mays told the Metro Council she opposed the amendment because it would shift money away from “critical maintenance and repairs” in the school district. She said the district is committed “to identify practical solutions to improve traffic flow and safety along Rice Road.”
Community meeting tonight: Metro Council member Deonté Harrell will talk about proposed rezonings for projects on Mt. View Road and LaVergne Couchville Pike at a community meeting tonight. It starts at 6 p.m. at Hamilton United Methodist Church (3105 Hamilton Church Road). More info here.
South Nashville
Airport’s neighborhood impact: The Metro Council has no authority over flight paths at Nashville International Airport, but it still voted last week to formally ask Nashville’s airport board to share neighbors’ concerns about plane noise with the FAA. A group called Course Correct Nashville has raised more than $20,000 to fund a lawsuit against the FAA. It claims a flawed process shifted more than a hundred flights a day over a small corridor in South Nashville. Metro Council member Ginny Welsch, an opponent of the resolution, shared an interesting concern from her district, which sits east of Berry Hill. She said she’s heard from people who’ve gotten “somewhat of a break” from flight noise because of the new paths, and they’re worried the lawsuit could send more flights back over their homes.
Downtown (and nearby)
Rebuilding after fire: Back in September, the owner of the La Danse Nightclub at 142 Rosa Parks Boulevard was charged with setting the building on fire after two separate shootings at the club. WKRN got a look at the damage and spoke to the property’s owners who said they were betrayed. Now, a rebuild is in the works. A permit application asks Metro for approval of “phase 1 of rebuilding a burned down building.” That includes replacing the roof and part of the floor structure. I haven’t seen any plans for the building.
Construction noise: I told nash.news readers last week that renovations to the downtown library’s courtyard were about to start. Starting today, “patrons and visitors will likely experience construction-related noise,” the library warned. “For the next several weeks, some phases of the renovation will require jackhammering and other demolition work throughout the day.” This note from the library will give you an idea of what the new courtyard will look like.
Green Hills
Parking concerns: This reminds me of neighbors’ dispute with Cheekwood about traffic. In this case, neighbors were upset about spillover parking from the Seven Hills Swim and Tennis Club at 1317 Hildreth Drive. Neighbors successfully argued that a 1960 zoning permit allowed only 500 member families. The club had grown to about 640. A club representative said it thought the limit was not binding based on an earlier zoning opinion. Last week, Metro’s Board of Zoning Appeals gave the club permission to have up to 650 families so it wouldn’t have to drop any members, but that approval came with conditions. The club is required to have a parking plan with an overflow parking site, a parking attendant for big events, and a minimum of one parking space per six families.
New Italian restaurant: It’s the second new Italian restaurant I’ve covered in Green Hills since August. Prato, based in Florida, says it’ll open in Green Hills in spring 2027. It didn’t share an exact location. The restaurant will have “house-made pastas, wood-fired pizzas, classic Italian mains all rooted in tradition and elevated with seasonal ingredients,” its website says.
Wedgewood-Houston
Making room for affordable housing: I reported last month on a pilot program that would allow private developers to build affordable housing on under-utilized Metro property. I just confirmed a second place where that’s happening. The Metro Council advanced rezoning for a little more than a quarter-acre at Hagan Street and Merritt Avenue. That’s in addition to a property in North Nashville I covered last month. All together, the city plans to release five properties for affordable housing in the next six months.
East Nashville
Demolition planned: A construction company has filed an application with Metro to tear down an office building at 926 Main Street. I haven’t found what’s planned for the property, but it sold for $4.7 million last month to a Florida-based company called “PNC Nashville, LLC.” It has links to a real estate development company that’s worked on a wide range of projects from gas stations to banks. I’ll keep watching for any filings on this property.
New place to work out: HOTWORX, a “24 hour infrared fitness studio,” just got its permit for renovations to open at 1411 Gallatin Avenue. It already has three other locations in Nashville.
West End
New restaurant: Noko Yaki, which calls itself a “high-energy, Asian-inspired steakhouse,” opened Friday night in the former Tin Angel space at 3201 West End Avenue. Here’s a link to the menu. And here’s a video on what you’ll find at the restaurant. One more thing I found interesting on its website: its “People Over Profit” program for employees. The restaurant says its turnover rate is less than a fifth of the industry average.
Berry Hill
Private club for families with children: Strategic Hospitality, the company behind local restaurants that’ve gotten national attention like The Catbird Seat and Locust, announced its plans for the Carousel Club. “Carousel Club is a new private members club bringing together dining, play, fitness, wellness, and time together,” it said in an Instagram post. “A place kids look forward to visiting and parents look forward to staying.” It’ll be in Berry Hill, but an exact location hasn’t been announced. The club is set to open in early 2028. A waiting list is already open at this link.
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
Attracting more long-haul flights: A direct flight to Hawaii? A Nashville airport committee will consider this week whether to increase incentives for airlines that add trans-oceanic flights, including to Hawaii. Under a proposal from airport staff, an airline that adds year-round service could have its landing and facility fees waived for two years plus up to $1.5 million in marketing over two years. It also offers incentives for seasonal service.
Housing market check: The Nashville metropolitan area ranked #5 in the country for its 3.9% drop in the median home sales price. Redfin’s data compared the four weeks ending November 1 versus the same period last year. For renters, Zillow reports rents dropped 0.1% in the past month and increased 1.5% over the past year.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan
Nashville used to buy bus tickets to send homeless people back home. Do they still do that?