Dear ,

Happy Spring! I’m looking forward to seeing many of you later this morning at Shelby Park for East Nashville Athletics’ opening day! In the meantime, some district updates:

Airpark update

The Airpark is a beloved community space. I was disappointed and surprised to learn yesterday morning that a parking lot was being installed next to the old Administration Building, on the park side of that building, right where our kids learn to ride their bikes, and fly kites, and run free near the playground. There has been a long-standing plan for the Fire Department to renovate and occupy the building itself as office space temporarily while their new Headquarters is built, but this parking lot was a surprise.

I moved right away to raise this issue with the Parks and Fire Departments, so we could get this parking moved to a safe place outside of the park. CM Emily Benedict of District 7 and I met with Parks and Fire out at the Airpark yesterday afternoon, and I want to thank them for being receptive to the community need here. We’re meeting with the Departments again next week to find a better solution, and I’ll keep everyone updated. In the meantime, no cars will be in the park this weekend, so everyone can enjoy this beautiful spring weekend as usual!

CM Benedict and I recorded a little update video after our meeting:

The East Bank

As you know, after months of committee meetings and community meetings, Mayor O’Connell has submitted a proposed lease to the Council for the development of the first 30 acres (out of more than 500) of the East Bank. I’m bringing the same values to this as I’ve brought to the whole East Bank issue all along: That it should be a mixed-use neighborhood, with as much affordable housing as possible, instead of jumping Broadway across the river; that it should be accessible by and friendly to transit, pedestrians, and cyclists; and that our East-West connections stay open and safe throughout. Here are some key features of the proposal, on those points:

• 1,550 residential units

• 45% of the those would be affordable, including family-sized units, and all will stay affordable for the entirety of the 99 year lease. That’s historic for development in Nashville

• Space designated and designed for a children’s day care

• The pedestrian bridge will stay open during construction (a temporary ramp of the same or easier grade will be used for part of that time)

• A mobility hub will be constructed near the James Robertson Bridge, to promote crosstown bus travel and de-congest WeGo Central and downtown generally

• TPAC would relocate to the East Bank in a beautiful, new building, along the north side of the pedestrian bridge, and with a promising vision of expanded community programming

On the whole, I’m encouraged on all these fronts, and feel that the proposal, while not perfect, is far better than I had been expecting just a few months ago. But, there will be a few amendments to the proposal, and I will bring some myself, so please let me know your thoughts!

All the East Bank Committee presentations, legislation, and other info can be found here, but please let me know any questions.

3/25 community meeting cancelled

Because the “NEST” proposals have been withdrawn, the 3/25 community meeting at Stratford High that was about those proposals has been cancelled.

Instead of those proposals, the Council has asked our Departments to study our housing affordability issue on a countywide basis, and make recommendations about how best to address housing affordability and expand housing opportunities in town, and I look forward to the results of those studies.

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