SWIFTIES
LIPSCOMB BASEBALL UPSET
MAY 11, 2023 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 19
PAGE 4
PAGE 8
MNPD arrest teen who allegedly stole school bus, led high-speed chase STAFF REPORTS
Belle Meade Plaza rendering
PHOTO COURTESY OF AJ CAPITAL PARTNERS
Council advances rezoning for Belle Meade Plaza project BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS
The Metro Council Tuesday night voted to advance a specific plan rezoning request related to a high-profile development proposed for the Belle Meade Plaza shopping center. The vote on second reading came after about three hours of debate and citizen feedback, with the project having previously spurred significant community opinion — both positive and negative. Prior to the vote, a motion to defer voting on the rezoning bill failed by a 23-9 count. The vote follows the Metro Planning Commission having voted unanimously (8-0) in late March to approve the rezoning. With the commission having approved, a simple majority vote of approval from council was needed. The body will need to finalize approval on third reading. 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 is sponsoring the rezoning bill. Tuesday night’s meeting drew both proponents and opponents of the plan. Many of the people who have concerns about the future project live in Belle Meade, with the property to be reinvented not located within that satellite city. AJ Capital officials declined to comment after the vote. As the Post recently reported, and according to a multi-page Metro Planning Department document, the heights of all the planned buildings have been reduced. In addition, a Nashville Department of Transportation study shows multiple findings that AJ Capital said it plans to incorporate. These include the widening of a portion of
Stolen school bus
PHOTO COURTESY OF MNPD
Metro Nashville Police arrested a 14-year-old boy on the afternoon of May 6 after the child allegedly stole a school bus in Antioch and led a high-speed chase that ended just outside of Bellevue. According to an MNPD news release, the unidentified child has been booked into Juvenile Court on multiple charges after stealing a school bus from Kipp College Prep on Murfreesboro Pike in Antioch before “recklessly driving” into West Nashville by way of Briley Parkway and onto I-40 west. “The 14-year-old, who is in state custody and living at an Antioch residence, hit the diesel fuel pump at Casey’s Market on Centennial Boulevard just before 4 p.m. He is also alleged to have attempted to run over a person at the market,” the news release reads. Police said that the teen also hit a car
with the bus during the pursuit, which saw speeds of up to 65 mph before police attempted to disable the bus with a spike strip near the McCrory Lane exit. “The teen evidently saw the spike strip, slowed the bus, and attempted to turn around in the middle of the west bound lanes,” the news release reads. “Officers at that point ran up to the bus, broke out the door glass, and used a Taser as the teen was attempting to continue operating the bus. He was taken into custody without further incident.” The teen is now being held in the juvenile detention center where he is facing charges of vehicle theft, aggravated assault, evading arrest, reckless driving, driving without a license, leaving the scene of a crash and failure to report a crash. Due to the teen’s age, no further information has been made public.
Harding Pike and the alteration of signal light placements to improve traffic flow. The document shows maximum building heights of approximately 100 feet, 130 feet, 140 feet and 150 feet. Previously as envisioned, the buildings could have stood of 210 feet (12 stories), 140 feet (11
stories), 160 feet (14 stories) and 170 feet (15 stories). Each building planned for the site would stand shorter than the nearby 1 Belle Meade Place, which rises more than 150 feet and sits at 4400 Harding Pike. The original concept >> PAGE 2
THENEWS @ FWPUBLISHING.COM | 615.298.1500 | THENEWSTN.COM TICKED OFF: tickedoff@fwpublishing.com
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NASHVILLE, TN PERMIT # 338