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Happy Monday, Nashville! It’s October 19. Glad to be back in your inbox after taking time off for fall break. New in Nashville’s neighborhoods: possible changes to street parking, a speed limit change, a major step toward voting on a proposed racing ban, traffic impacts from roadwork, an old vet clinic reopening, and the future of the Kenny Rogers estate.
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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
12 South
Neighborhood parking changes: I reported last month on a business owner who said parking issues in the neighborhood are “strangling” businesses — with a consultant’s parking recommendations not due until April. Now, legislation that could impact paid street parking spaces across Nashville appears to be in the works. Before Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission denied a request to turn paid parking spots into permit-based residential parking for a building near Music Row, Metro Council member Sean Parker said he anticipates legislation “in the coming months.” He repeatedly mentioned his support for “some kind [of] blended approach where there’s zones that residents can have access to a neighborhood area or a few blocks or whatever is going to be a lot more convenient.” More: the Nashville Scene’s profile of the fight over parking rights in Nashville.
Future of 12 South Taproom & Grill property: It’s another chapter in 12 South’s shift toward national chains. A new building permit application for 2318 12th Avenue South indicates the property’s transformation into retail is in the works. The Nashville Post previously reported that the clothing stores Ralph Lauren and Alo are expected to move in.
Antioch
New speed limit: The speed limit on Blue Hole Road from Tusculum Road to Bell Road will change to 35 miles per hour after Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission approved a recommendation by NDOT. The commission also approved a new multi-way stop at Una Antioch Pike and Oakwood Forest Drive.
Wedgewood-Houston
Voting on racing ban: It’s looking more likely that voters will decide next year whether to ban racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The Davidson County Election Commission validated enough petition signatures on Friday to put the question on the ballot. The petition needed about 40,000 signatures (10% of registered voters) to move forward. Out of more than 70,000 signatures turned in, more than 47,000 were verified. A lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges canvassers who collected signatures for the petition misled “many” people about what the petition does. Then, the lawsuit claims the group behind the petition made “unreasonable and burdensome” requests when more than 2,000 people asked to remove their signatures. A representative for the anti-racing group said it worked to verify removal requests were legitimate.
Donelson
New veterinarian takes over closed clinic: It was Two Rivers Veterinary Hospital before closing. The property at 2614 Old Lebanon Pike will become Harmony Veterinary Care. The new vet clinic and kennel received a permit for $1.75 million in renovations to the building. Its website says it’ll open in mid-2027. You can read more about its offerings here.
New restaurant: Lotzen’s Chicken & Custard plans to open at 329 Donelson Pike, according to a new building permit application. It’ll join several other restaurants on the Emery Commons property.
East Nashville
New apartments and daycare: Developers just applied for a permit to move forward with a new mixed-use development at 100 Meridian Street. The project includes 266 apartments, a daycare center, and space for retail and/or restaurants, according to plans filed with Metro. More: multiple new developments on Meridian Street + my reporting on Nashville’s child care shortage.
Green Hills
Busy property sells: The strip mall that includes the Starbucks at 3706 Hillsboro Pike sold for more than $10.8 million, according to a new filing with Metro’s Register of Deeds. With so much new development in the area, I’ll keep watching for any filings that might give a clue as to the property’s future.
Downtown (and nearby)
Plan for roadwork: Resurfacing was scheduled to begin last night on parts of 4th Avenue South, Korean Veterans Boulevard, and Rep. John Lewis Way. “The roadway resurfacing project will require lane closures; however, no full road closures are anticipated,” NDOT said. Work is scheduled for nights. More details on affected streets here. Also, from today through Thursday, NDOT will work on traffic signal improvements at 4th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street.
Managing future growth: Metro projects 5,100 new apartments will be built in the eastern part of Midtown by 2040, along with 750 condos, 850 hotel rooms, and more than 1 million square feet of office and retail space. To get ahead of that growth (on top of what’s already happened), Metro’s Planning Commission is looking at creating new zoning options for the neighborhood, which you can read on page 52 of this document. Metro Planning says exceptions have become the rule under current zoning regulations, including developers asking for taller buildings to make a project more financially feasible. It says its proposal would make approval processes more consistent.
New 51st Deli location: In an Instagram post, 51st Deli said it’s planning to open a location in the Gulch. It didn’t share an exact location, but an LLC formed in June called “51ST DELI THE GULCH” was registered to the former Fat Kat Slim’s property at 730 8th Avenue South. I reported last month that the deli also plans to open in East Nashville at The Jesse, a new short-term rental development, at 730 Main Street. Here’s the menu if you’ve never been — I love the chicken Caesar wrap.
Hermitage
Future of Kenny Rogers estate: I reported last month that a zoning change was in the works at Copperline Ranch (1 Copperline Road) to expand what’s allowed on the property. Now, I have more specifics thanks to a conceptual plan included in a Planning Commission document (page 38). It shows a cafe, event barn, distillery, helicopter landing pad, and more. Metro staff recommended conditions on the rezoning such as a ban on live music after 8 p.m. and a buffer wall on the property line that’s next to a neighborhood.
Madison
Cutting parking: With more public transit in the works nearby, developers won approval to have fewer parking spaces at a new apartment complex at 120 West Due West Avenue. Metro’s Board of Zoning Appeals granted an exception to a rule that requires 1.5 parking spots for every unit. Now it’ll need only 0.5 parking spots per unit, pending approval from NDOT and WeGo Transit.
Near North Nashville
Skate park timeline: The second phase of a skate park at Watkins Park will open late this year or early next year, Metro Parks said. This phase was designed with input from local riders, and it has a “beginner-friendly layout of ramps and rails.”
Bellevue
Home to medical office: A home at 6970 Highway 70 South could be torn down to make way for a two-story medical office with 29 parking spaces, according to plans up for review by Metro’s Planning Commission.
📰 A few final headlines…
Early voting surge: Four days into early voting for the midterm election, the number of ballots cast in Davidson County is pacing more than 600% higher than the same point in the 2022 midterm, according to data released by Tennessee’s Secretary of State. As of Saturday, 37,758 people had voted. That’s down nearly 24% compared to 2018, which also had an open governor’s seat. More: early voting times and locations.
Toll lane lawsuit: One of the losing bidders for the I-24 toll lane project accused TDOT of illegally allowing the winning bidder to renegotiate its offer after the other bidders were eliminated. Among the claims: that TDOT allowed the winner to “reduce, defer, or stretch” payment of more than $24 billion in concessions that helped it win the project, which will run from roughly I-440 to Murfreesboro. You can read the full lawsuit here.
Rent drops: The typical rent in the Nashville metropolitan area has dropped 2.6% since September 2025 to $1,506, according to new data from realtor.com. That’s a steeper drop than the national average of 0.4%. Also, a reminder to consider negotiating if you rent: the data says nearly 70% of leases included a concession like free rent.
Lots of news at the airport: New renderings show the future Southwest Airlines lounge that’s scheduled to open at Nashville International late next year. Also, autonomous Waymo cars expanded service to the airport. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects rideshare drivers because the airport recently reported more than 4 million paid rides to and from BNA in the most recent fiscal year. That includes cabs, Uber, Lyft, and other services. And the airport’s board is considering another step toward direct flights to more distant destinations like Asia. It’ll decide whether to terminate Metro’s lease of office space at 1415 Murfreesboro Pike to make way for a runway extension over Murfreesboro Pike. That would allow bigger planes.
🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville. And here’s a list version.
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan