March 11 Bell's Bend meeting notes

I just wanted to report in on the neighborhood meeting held last night at St. John's Methodist Church regarding the Bell's Bend development plans and, more specifically, the plans to build a bridge connecting Charlotte Park to the proposed "mini-city."

Tony Giarratana, the developer, started off by giving a presentation about the history of the project, now called the May Town Center, and outlining the proposed structure of the development. More about this can be found here. He also explained the focus of the project -- job growth (approx. 40,000 new jobs will be created), corporate retention, economic development, and land preservation.

In short, he said that of the 1500 acres controlled by the May family, 453 would be developed and 900+ acres will be preserved by the Tennessee Land Trust. Within the 453 developed acres, there would be a 113-acre core, where the bulk of the new structures will be; these will include offices, residences, retail, and hotels. This "mini-city" would accommodate approximately 44,000 people -- 40,000 workers and 4,000 permanent residents.

In his words, the development of the land across the river, comprising 1500 acres, "will happen one way or another." The issue now is access -- where to put a bridge. The attendees of last night's meeting, most of them residents of Charlotte Park and surrounding neighborhoods, including residents of Bell's Bend, strenuously voiced their opposition to the construction of a bridge through this neighborhood. Plans for the proposed bridge, located between Upton (in Beacon Square) and Annex, can be found here. Instead, neighbors encouraged Giarratana to build the bridge in the Centennial Boulevard area, near the prisons, where there are fewer homes which would be affected by the noise and traffic. He assured the neighbors that he and his partners would heed their request and investigate that possibility.

No plans were made for subsequent meetings, although several neighborhood associations, including the Charlotte Park Neighborhood Association, were present and will keep their neighbors informed. To receive updates from the May Town Center developers directly and/or to leave a comment/ask a question, go here to sign up.

The Charlotte Park Neighborhood Association has its next regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 20 at 7pm, at the West Nashville police precinct on Charlotte, located in front of Nashville West. These meetings occur monthly, on the third Thursday of the month.

Kate Wingate