Melrose Pub now ML Rose, releases few tidbits on new location

Austin Ray, dropped an "E" from Melrose to become ML Rose, since his storied pub will now have a little brother on the west side in an area not named Melrose.

Roughly a month ago demolition began on the old tudor style building which housed Lavender Motors (which was at one time the West Nashville fire hall). The building has been hollowed out, leaving only the exterior walls and not much of a clue as to what the final structure will look like.

However, with the announcement of the name change, a few details came forth on the new watering hole.

• Same menu as original location
• Opening this summer
• Seating capacity of 175
• Plenty of HDTVs and there will be a patio

Stay tuned as more details emerge!

Melrose Pub owner confirms new pub coming to Charlotte Ave

We can now officially say that the former used car lot at 4408 Charlotte Avenue will soon be a restaurant/bar for nearby neighbors of Sylvan Park and Historic West Town. William Williams submits this brief report in the Nashville Post:

Nashville-based restaurateur Austin Ray announced Wednesday his company has purchased the former Lavender Motors site at 4408 Charlotte Ave., on which he plans to operate a neighborhood bar.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ray is best known for his involvement with the long-closed and very edgy nightclub BarTwenty3 in The Gulch and his popular Berry Hill bar The Melrose. For this latest project, construction has begun on the renovation and expansion of the Tudor-style brick building that was originally a 1920s service station and more recently a used car lot.

In March 2011, 4408 Charlotte Pike Partners bought the property for $400,000, with George Spiva as the lone listed general partner. Spiva has fronted a number of hip retail and restaurant projects, including The Melrose.

“I’m excited to bring my newest project to West Nashville and I’m confident the neighborhoods nearby, including Sylvan Park and Historic West Town, will welcome new business to the area and the revitalization of a vacant building,” Ray said in a release, adding he is still finalizing plans for the project.

The stretch of Charlotte Avenue from 44th Avenue on the east to White Bridge Road on the west has garnered media headlines the past few years as it continues to be redeveloped. Mainstays include Bobbie’s Dairy Dip, Rhino Books, Las Palmas, Southern Thrift and the Darkhorse Theater. Among the relative newcomers are Miel Restaurant, the West Nashville Metro Police Precinct, The Great Escape, Stone House BBQ, Harmony Yoga and Boa Clothing.

This is great news for the corridor.

Is IKEA finally coming to Nashville?

It was recently announced that Northwestern Mutual is now tapping Cool Springs developer Boyle Investment Co. for consulting and development for the 30 acre site it owns along Charlotte Avenue near the Capitol. This area has been commonly referred to as the North Gulch.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the article states that IKEA, Target and Publix are in negotiations to anchor the mixed use development with more details to come within the year.

Crosland was originally the developer that Northwestern Mutual had selected to help create a vision for the property, which had gotten as far as developing a simple site plan which can be found here. The new developer, Boyle Investment Co., is responsible for the Meridian development in Cool Springs.

To read the full article go here.

UPDATE:
According to a recent Tennessean article on potential downtown retail, a regional spokesperson for Target has stated that they no longer have any interest in the former Greyhound bus terminal property. So that now leaves Publix and IKEA as potential anchors for the development (as far as we know).

$30M apartment project planned for NE corner of 28th & Charlotte

More good news for Charlotte Avenue.

Just announced yesterday in the NBJ, Alliance Residential Co. plans to develop a 235 unit, mid-rise apartment complex. Construction will take place at the northeast corner of 28th and Charlotte Avenues (see photo above) which is across the street from Abbott Storage.

In addition to the Alliance development, HCA recently purchased the 9.2 acre vacant lot across Charlotte Avenue for $10.2M (which is adjacent to their campus). The property belonged to LUI Nashville which is part of Houston based Lionstone Group. HCA says it currently has no plans for the property.

Along with the announcement of the ONEc1ty project, and now a residential development, it only makes sense for an increasing amount of retail development to emerge along Charlotte.

The name of the complex will The Broadstone at Centennial. The full story on NBJ.com is readable for those with a subscription.

We'll be sure to post a rendering as soon as we get one. In the meantime, here are some photos of some apartment complexes managed by Alliance Residential.

UPDATE:
Unfortunately, it has been announced that this project has been scrapped.

Progress moving along on Eleven North apartments

The apartment complex being built by Tri-Bridge Residential at 11th Avenue and Charlotte has been showing steady progress with more visual details on their website going live. Leasing is scheduled to begin next spring.

Health Care REIT unveils first renderings of mixed-use development

The 28th/31st Avenue Connector project officially broke ground less than six months ago, and we are already seeing the impact this project will have on the area. We learned about the Healthcare REIT project earlier this spring, but are just now seeing the details of what will be a massive mixed-use project focused on healthcare.

The project is called oneC1ty - an appropriate name since the development will be along the connector which will "bridge" two very different socio-economic areas of Nashville. There is a website that has gone live with a few renderings and testimonials, but not much else. The description below is from their Facebook page:

"oneC1TY will be a multi-building, mixed-use development that will cater to the healthcare, life sciences and technology sectors of the global economy – all of which are growing dramatically. It will create a space for those industries to connect with higher education, research and development, and other related disciplines in a collaborative, interactive campus near the center of Nashville’s urban core."

Again, no details as of yet on when this project will break ground and what businesses will be involved. Nonetheless, this is an encouraging sign of things to come for Charlotte Avenue.

WSMV story reveals a stagnant future for abandoned Public Works building

You've driven by it a hundred times - and probably just as often wondered why it's in such disrepair. The former State of Tennessee Public Works building at the corner of 22nd and Charlotte has sat vacant for as long as I can remember, and while the back side of the property is still used by the state for government vehicle parking, the front of the building has become one of Charlotte Avenue's biggest eyesores.

According to the report, since the state owns the property, Metro Codes has absolutely no power when it comes to enforcing action on the property. Furthermore, a spokesperson for the state says there are no plans to rehab the property that they some day hope to sell. Unfortunately, selling the property does not seem like an option in the forseeable future.

Hopefully this report will light a fire under someone's you know what, and get the state to possibly put it on the market.

To see the story, click here.