Key takeaways from Nashville's sprawling downtown expansion plan
The first draft of "Imagine East Bank: A Vision Plan for Nashville's Next Great Neighborhoods" paints a picture of a future downtown riverfront brimming with dazzling luxury towers, park plazas and clusters of restaurants and shops.
It envisions a future with limitless possibilities brought by decades of sustained rapid growth.
The plan seeks to harness the flood of investment into tangible community benefits as Nashville's profile ascends toward being one of the nation's most prominent cities.
Transforming East Bank: Finances, timeline, parking: What we don't know about plan to transform Nashville's East Bank
Here's are the key things to know about Imagine East Bank.
It's a vision
It's the culmination of 18 months of work by Mayor John Cooper's administration and state leaders. It's a dynamic, complex model that presents a best-case-scenario for Nashville's long-neglected Cumberland River downtown.
The proposal promises to solve some of Metro's biggest growth challenges in one sweeping redevelopment plan that remakes Nashville's urban core and expands the tax base to fund a major increase in public services and downtown amenities.
But the robust proposal still leaves key questions unanswered. Not least of which are the full cost and financing strategy.
"For the first time in the modern history of Nashville, we have an opportunity to comprehensively plan a core part of our city from the ground up," Cooper said. "This is the largest-ever community-driven planning process ever for Nashville, and the result will be something that protects us from haphazard, piecemeal development and sets the stage for an East Bank that provides transportation solutions, affordable housing, parks, civic space and all the features of great neighborhoods."
Taxpayers own valuable real estate
What's clear is that the downtown riverfront's east bank contains extremely valuable Metro-owned real estate that could be used to enlarge the county's tax base.
"This is a $1 billion asset held by the public," Cooper said. "This whole plan is allowing the public to derive benefit from this high-value land."
Oracle Corp. announced plans to build a 65-acre headquarters campus, similar to its Austin facilities, in March 2021.
Since then, investment interest surged in East Nashville, where construction projects seem to touch nearly every block.
Near Oracle's campus, where a pedestrian bridge is slated to be built to Germantown, developers are constructing communities of apartments, offices, stores and entertainment venues.
Metro owns 113 acres of the 338-acre east-bank stretch. Most of those are asphalt parking lots around Nissan Stadium, which is undergoing its own redevelopment process.
Metro officials intend to retain the east-bank land and lease it to tenants who will develop offices, apartments, shops and other attractions. That will not only create a new and lucrative revenue stream, it will give Nashville officials power to shape how the land is used.
This plan is multifaceted
Middle Tennessee's rapid growth is expected to continue for about two decades and add 26% more cars on area roads by 2045, according to the Greater Nashville Regional Council.
Cooper said this plan will help the region move farther down the road to accommodating so many people and vehicles because of its proposed extensive improvements to local routes through downtown and increased transit connections.
Though a parking plan for the redeveloped area and Titans stadium has not been studied, officials hope to use shuttles to move people to and from events in the district.
A mix of housing types and prices would be accomplished with Metro incentives to developers and as part of lease agreements, according to the plan.
A major infrastructure overhaul is the underpinning of this next phase of planned growth, including new streets, stormwater management, utilities and parks.
Metro Council's must decide whether to renovate the existing Titans stadium or to build a domed NFL home from scratch slightly farther from the river. Planning officials said a relocated stadium would allow for the most attractive urban parks with walking and biking paths, and a larger cultural district.
The plan must be approved
The Imagine East Bank plan will go before the Planning Commission in the fall, officials said. Then, developments will be approved by Metro Council members if zoning changes are requested.
The proposal is meant to be used as a guide to ensure "smart growth," or interconnected planning and development strategies, as the east bank is rebuilt.
Residents can give feedback
Residents are asked to share their thoughts and suggestions at a series of public events through September:
Aug. 23: East Nashville Farmers Market, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., 511 Woodland Street.
Aug. 24: In-person drop-in office hours from 2 to 4 p.m. at Metro Planning Offices, 800 Second Ave. S.
Aug. 25: Virtual East Bank Vision Plan open house, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Aug. 26: Virtual drop-in office hours, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Aug. 27: In-person at Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Cornelia Fort Airpark, 1199 Shadow Lane #1093.
Aug. 29: In-person East Bank Vision Plan Open House, 6 to 7:30 p.m., First Church of the Nazarene at 510 Woodland St.
Aug. 30: In-person at East Nashville Farmers Market, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., 511 Woodland St.
Sept. 1: Virtual East Bank Vision Plan Open House, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2: In-person drop-in office hours, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Metro Planning Offices, 800 Second Ave. S.
Sept. 6: In-person at East Nashville Farmers Market, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., 511 Woodland St.
Additional Planning Department events, including virtual meeting information, is available at https://eastbankstudy.nashville.gov.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Key takeaways from Nashville's sprawling downtown expansion plan
