Welcome to October, Nashville! It’s Thursday, October 1. New in Nashville’s neighborhoods: missing $5,000+ basketball machines lead to a citywide change, a $30 million bar lawsuit, plans to turn a residential property into a commercial space, and much more.
Weather
Sunshine today before rain and a cooldown begin tomorrow. High: 95, Low: 73.
Another failed execution
It happened again. For the second time this year, executioners at Nashville’s Riverbend Prison tried and failed to carry out the death penalty.
This time, Christa Pike, convicted of killing a classmate, survived two doses of the lethal injection drug. She was taken to the hospital last night, the AP reported, but her attorneys don’t know her condition.
Executioners “followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office,” the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement.
Back in May, Gov. Bill Lee called off Tony Carruthers’ execution after executioners spent more than an hour trying to place an IV for the lethal injection drug. Both Carruthers’ and Pike’s executions involved the same doctor, Pike’s attorneys told WVLT.
Lee told the AP that he canceled this year’s remaining execution and ordered a third-party review to figure out what happened.
Top neighborhoods for illegal short-term rentals
Nearly every day, I see a complaint about an illegal short-term rental operating in a Nashville neighborhood. So, I pulled a year’s worth of data to figure out where it’s happening most often.
First, here’s a heat map of nearly 400 alleged violations flagged by Metro Codes.
And here are the top 5 ZIP codes:
37207 - North Nashville and around Dickerson Pike - 51 cases
37208 - North Nashville and Germantown - 40 cases
37206 - East Nashville - 34 cases
37211 - Near Berry Hill/Crieve Hall/Cane Ridge/South Nashville - 29 cases
37209 - Sylvan Park/The Nations - 24 cases
Metro Codes’ enforcement often starts with simply issuing a notice to stop illegally operating, but if the owner refuses, I’ve seen Metro take the owner to court.
Think you have an illegal short-term rental in your neighborhood? Or even a legal one that’s causing issues? Here’s how you report it.
Legal short-term rentals are an important part of Nashville’s tourism economy. Tomorrow, I’ll share a shift happening in Nashville’s short-term rental market.
What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Germantown
Citywide change: After a tipster told Metro auditors they saw a longtime Metro Parks employee accept cash in exchange for recreation equipment at the Morgan Community Center, auditors said evidence “strongly indicates” the employee sold a machine to “two unidentified individuals” for $4,000. A second machine is also missing. Both were originally purchased for more than $5,000. You can read the audit here, which includes surveillance images. Because of this case, Metro Parks created a process to inventory and track sports equipment moving forward. The employee resigned earlier this month, and the investigation was forwarded to the district attorney and police.
Wedgewood-Houston
The Truth opens tonight: This new music venue at 440 Chestnut Street debuts tonight with country artist Miranda Lambert. If you’ve been to this area recently, you’ve probably wondered about the plan for traffic since the neighborhood was already busy… before adding a 4,000+ person venue. WSMV reported on how businesses are preparing for potential problems and here are some suggestions from The Truth. And here’s their lineup of shows.
More teardowns for housing: Developers applied to demolish three buildings at 1020, 1024, and 1026 3rd Avenue South. They plan to turn the property into an eight-story building with residential and commercial space, the Nashville Post reported last year. It’s the latest example of older commercial properties being redeveloped into mixed-use projects.
Antioch
Residential to commercial: Saffron Crossing, “a cultural event and retail space,” is planned for a residential property at 578 Benzing Road, according to a new filing with Metro. Here’s a look at the plans.
Hundreds of new homes: Developers applied for rezoning to build a new neighborhood called Couchville Meadows at 4109 LaVergne Couchville Pike. The plans include “109 multi-family residential units.” And just across the street, developers applied for rezoning to build Pin Hook Crossing. That application shows 200 new homes at 4117 LaVergne Couchville Pike.
New restaurant in Century Farms: Jim ’N Nick’s plans to open a barbecue restaurant on William Turner Parkway, according to a new building permit application. The application doesn’t give a timeline for the project, but here’s the menu.
Downtown (and nearby)
$30 million bar lawsuit: A man from England sued Lucky Bastard Saloon at 406 Broadway after he claimed a bouncer knocked him unconscious by dropping him face first onto the concrete sidewalk outside the bar while pinning his arms to his sides. The man had been dancing on a table in the bar with another patron or employee, the lawsuit says, when the bouncer suddenly held him in a bear hug and removed him from the bar without warning. The lawsuit claims he suffered a broken nose and concussion. I asked the bar for comment, but I haven’t heard back. You can read the full lawsuit, which seeks $30 million in damages, here.
Donelson
New French restaurant: Maminette at 104 Graylynn Drive opened this week. “The café will feature made-from-scratch sweet and savory crêpes, baguette sandwiches, quiche, pastries and specialty coffee,” Metro Council member Jeff Gregg said in his newsletter. Here’s a link to the menu.
Halloween yard decoration contest: Want to compete for the spookiest yard decorations in Donelson? Applications are due tomorrow. This link will take you to the application, rules, and key dates from Hip Donelson.
Hermitage
Another alleged codes violation: Curious about a property’s history with Metro Codes? You can search here. When you search for the Kwik Sak gas station at 4890 Lebanon Pike, more than 30 complaints come back, including a new one this week. A codes inspector told the owner to clean up junk on the property. The inspector is scheduled to be back for an inspection on October 20.
Demolition planned: An office building at 4733 Andrew Jackson Parkway will be torn down if a new permit application is approved. A listing calls the property a “redevelopment opportunity.”
Near Sylvan Park
New live music venue: The man behind the new Starry Night Lounge at 4708 Charlotte Avenue says he’s been “dreaming about opening a bar with live music since my college days,” and now that he’s turning 60, he’d “better get to it.” He is: a new permit application indicates he’s preparing to tear out some old elements of the property in preparation for opening. Several outlets, including the Nashville Post, previously reported the venue is scheduled to open in late fall.
A few final headlines…
Remembering Phil Ponder: The artist and former Metro Council member has died. My family was probably one of many that owned one of his prints of Nashville’s skyline. In this WKRN profile, you’ll see the attention to detail in his work.
What I’m following today: Whether a new state board will offer grants to restaurants and bars in Downtown Nashville after property tax bills quadrupled in some cases. A new state law says any grants would be funded with excess tax revenue tied to the Music City Center, and they’d be limited to businesses in the downtown area. The board meets for the first time today, but it’s not clear if they’ll decide on grants.
High school football shakeup: The TSSAA, the organization that essentially regulates middle and high school sports in Tennessee, will hold an emergency meeting today after two private schools in Nashville (and several other private schools across the state) decided their football teams will play independent schedules. A TV station in Memphis points out this is happening “as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) infiltrates high school sports.”
Restaurateur dies: Nashville native Joseph Ledbetter, a founder of West End restaurants Houston’s and BrickTop’s, died at the age of 81, The Tennessean reported.
Poll results: I asked nash.news readers yesterday whether they support re-electing Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell. 31% of respondents said yes. 69% said no.
Today’s quiz: Number Match
Test your memory of yesterday’s newsletter. Match the following numbers to the stories below: 89, 15, 200, 2.
Customers left without power in the January ice storm (more than, measured in thousands)
Miles of vegetation NES trimmed
Dollars (in millions) in new trimming contracts NES’s CEO may pursue
Number of Starbucks stores closing locally
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
I love this newsletter so much I’ve unsubscibed to all the other ones I receive. You not only cover all of Nashville, you provide links to get additional information. Thanks for the great job!
Oh wow, you always share such a great array of information! At 17, I was actually part of the opening crew at Houston’s. I worked there for four years during college before moving on, but I still remember how incredible their recipes were. I did back prep for a good part of that time and still make their honey mustard at home to this day. I also vividly remember Joe and the "suits" breezing through all the time. I even still have a bright green, very retro and gaudy varsity jacket with a huge Houston's emblem on it that they gave me! I was there for the closing in 2005 and saw some of the old crew.