Dear ,

As we are getting the first little stirrings of the coming spring, action in the Metro government is heating up too! Please see below for updates, and please let your friends and neighbors know they can sign up for them too at claycapp.com.

Naval Building Project Passes the Council!

Last night, the Council unanimously passed the proposal I sponsored for Friends of Shelby to lease and rehabilitate the Naval Building!

This was my first big legislative priority of the term and I am so enthusiastic about bringing this beautiful, historic building back to life, so it can host community events, performances, studio space for artists and makers who reflect the diversity of the arts in Nashville, and much more.

Next the project will move into the implementation phase: cleaning up the building, finalizing the design, and raising money to bring it all together. I look forward to continuing to support this all the way. Stay tuned!

Many thanks to Friends of Shelby and the Arts and Business Council for having this bold vision and working hard to realize it. And my thanks to everyone in the community who came to a meeting, wrote to me with their thoughts, or otherwise contributed to strengthening this marvelous idea!

The East Bank

Last weekend, D19 CM Jacob Kupin and I hosted a walking tour of the East Bank. A ton of people showed up in the cold for this and we had a great discussion and tour! I want to thank everyone who is adding their voice to this process. From my end, I am continuing to push for an East Bank that is a neighborhood (instead of Broadway 2.0), one with as much affordable housing as possible, and one that is built for transit instead of just for cars. And—during construction and after—I am focusing on keeping our connections across the river open and safe for all modes of transportation!

I expect we will see a formal proposal from the Mayor’s Office soon, for the first 30 acres of the area. I will bring the same priorities I’ve had all along to reviewing it. The timetable for it will be tight—the administration will ask the Council to vote on the proposal before budget season begins in late spring. That is why I have done as much community engagement as possible before we’ve even seen a lease, and I want to let you know about other upcoming opportunities:

• On 2/29, at 6pm, there will be a citywide community meeting on the East Bank at the 15th Avenue Baptist Church (1203 9th Ave N, 37208). I expect we will have a real lease in hand to discuss at this meeting.

• The East Bank Committee of the Council will meet on 3/4 and 3/20 at 4:30pm at the Historic Courthouse to discuss the proposal.

These will not be the only opportunities, so please stay tuned, but if you can’t make a meeting, calling or emailing me works just as well to give feedback and ideas!

Other Upcoming Meetings

• On 2/22, at 6pm, at Beyond the Edge (112 S 11th St), the Shelby Hills Neighborhood Association has invited CM Evans-Segall to discuss her proposals for creating missing middle housing around town. This meeting will not be the only meeting on this topic (see below), and the related bills have been deferred until April.

• On 3/20, at 5:30pm, there will be a second online meeting about the traffic calming project on Greenwood and N 14th.

• On 3/25, from 6-7:30pm, in the auditorium at Stratford High School (1800 Stratford Ave) D7 CM Benedict, CM At-Large Evans-Segall, and I are hosting a joint community meeting about CM Evans-Segall’s missing middle housing proposals, which are also called “NEST.”

E-Bikes soon to be allowed on the Bus!

One major friction point in our transit system has been that E-bikes have not, historically, been allowed on WeGo buses. But effective March 1, they will be! Biking to the bus is a great option for many areas around town, so this is a huge improvement — please see details here.

As always, please reach out to me directly at [email protected] or 615-864-0008. You can also use Hub Nashville for an array of city services and other Metro requests. 

Hope to see you soon. Yours in service, Clay