LACROSSE CHAMPIONS
ALL THE CANDIDATES
MAY 25, 2023 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 21
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Nashville recognizes Hillsboro High School with historic marker
School also holds a ribbon-cutting for recent renovations STAFF REPORTS
Belle Meade Plaza
PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS
Council finalizes rezoning for Belle Meade Plaza project BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS
The Metro Council Tuesday night voted on third and final reading to approve a specific plan rezoning request related to a high-profile development proposed for the Belle Meade Plaza shopping center. The vote followed a second reading vote on May 3 that required about three hours of debate and citizen feedback, as the proposal has elicited robust positive and negative opinions. Nashville-based Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners plans to acquire the property, which includes a retail and office building hugging the White Bridge Road viaduct and recognized as the home of Agave’s Mexican Restaurant and Belle Meade Premium Cigars, among other businesses and the Kroger structure. The address is 4500 Harding Pike. The property sits within Metro Councilmember Kathleen Murphy’s District 24, with Murphy having previously noted the project proposal offers numerous favorable elements. Murphy sponsored the rezoning bill.
The council voted 28-1 to approve the rezoning, with Councilmember Thom Druffel voting against it and Councilmembers Zulfat Suara, Sharon Hurt and Courtney Johnston abstaining. AJ Capital officials declined to comment. Related to the propject, a Nashville Department of Transportation study shows multiple streetscape improvements AJ Capital said it plans to incorporate. These include the widening of a portion of Harding Pike and the alteration of signal light placements to improve traffic flow. The document shows four buildings between 100 feet and 150 feet tall. One of the proposed buildings will include 78 hotel rooms and 388 residential units. Smaller buildings would front Harding Pike. As previously reported, the incorporation of Richland Creek as a water feature and river walk are planned. About 60 percent of the site’s 10.5 acres will be devoted to green and open space. Opened in 1961, the two-level modernist
Belle Meade Plaza sits on roughly 10.57 acres. The building includes about 205,500 square feet and represents one of Nashville’s first mixed-use buildings (retail on level one and office on floor two) oriented in a suburban manner, with the structure separated from the street by surface parking. Nashville’s May family owns the property, seemingly having paid $14.5 million for it in January 1997, according to Metro records. The property also includes the Kroger structure, with the grocery business to eventually relocate to the former Belle Meade Theater building, the space last occupied by a Harris Teeter. Sources said the property could command a minimum of $80 million. Other tenants include Wells Fargo Bank, Ninki, Pho Ann, CVS, Starbucks, Office Depot and Katy’s Hallmark Shop. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.
On May 16, Mayor John Cooper, Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Dr. Adrienne Battle, State Sen. Heidi Campbell, and State Rep. Caleb Hemmer were joined by school, government and community officials at Hillsboro High School for the unveiling of a historic marker and a ribboncutting ceremony. The historical marker, which stands in front of Hillsboro, was recommended to the Nashville Historical Commission by Metro Councilman Russ Pulley, who represents District 25 in Green Hills. The marker will be dedicated to the school’s history, which dates back to 1939. Hillsboro is the oldest continuously operational school in Metro Nashville. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was the culmination of a $96 million remolding effort that was completed in 2021 but had its celebration delayed due to Covid. The improvements included a new library, the
Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Dr. Adrienne Battle PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASHVILLE MAYOR’S OFFICE
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