Future of Charlotte Avenue to Be Rolled into West Nashville Community Plan Update

Metro Planning recently sent out a letter to those who participated in the community meetings for the Charlotte Ave/Richland Creek DCDP. The "final" meeting became the next to final meeting when staff from Planning made it known that more time was needed to speak with property owners about the draft plan. Participants were told that the final meeting would occur sometime in the future and it was then the draft plan would be finalized once and for all.

However, the Community Plan for West Nashville (Subarea 7) is due for a revision and Planning thought it best to go ahead and roll the DCDP into this overall process. Below is the letter that was sent to participants:

Dear Participant in the Charlotte Avenue/Richland Creek Detailed Corridor Design Plan process,

Thank you for your participation throughout the Charlotte Ave./Richland Creek planning process. As Metro Planning staff has extended the timeline for completing the corridor study, we have reached the point where the larger West Nashville Community Plan Update (which includes Charlotte Avenue) is about to begin. In the interest of efficiency of time and resources, Metro Planning staff has decided to enfold the Charlotte Avenue corridor plan into the larger West Nashville Community Plan Update conversation. No additional meetings specifically on Charlotte Avenue will be held. Instead, Charlotte Avenue will be discussed as part of the larger West Nashville Community.

Your participation in the Charlotte Ave./Richland Creek DCDP process to this point is appreciated and the thoughts and recommendations from the DCDP process will not be lost. Rather, they will be incorporated into the West Nashville Community Plan Update process, allowing the staff to focus their attention on other portions of West Nashville.

The West Nashville Community Plan Update is scheduled to begin with a community education meeting on Tuesday, September 30 from 6 – 8 p.m. at St. Ann’s Catholic Community (5101 Charlotte Ave. – the site of the Charlotte Ave. meetings). This will be followed by a Kick Off, Visioning Workshop, Concept Plan workshop and additional meetings to allow an iterative process for establishing community character policies to guide future growth and preservation in West Nashville. You will be sent notification of these meetings regarding the West Nashville Community Plan Update in a separate post card.

If you have any questions regarding this delay, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards,
Jennifer Carlat
Community Plans Manager
Metro Planning Department

According to the Metro Planning website, West Nashville includes the neighborhoods of Beacon Square, Belle Meade Links, Charlotte Park, Croley Wood, Hillwood Estates, Hillwood Heights, Knob Hill, Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights, West Meade, White Bridge, The Nations, Urbandale, Robertson, Warner Park Valley, and The Highlands.

The Community Plan was last updated in 2000. A revision to each of Nashville's Community Plans usually occurs every 8-10 years. To view the information page for West Nashville and the current Community Plan, click here.

Below is a map of Subarea 7 (West Nashville). Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Planners Dream Big for Richland Park

As a result of the community feedback gained at the initial meeting for upgrading Richland Park, Hawkins Partners presented the early plans for activating Richland Park and making it a better place for all types of recreation.

The masterplan was well received and includes improvements in parking, sport courts, interior paths, and the playground. The "big picture" master plan includes sustainable elements as well. Some examples are removing a majority of the parking on the Charlotte side and turning it towards the park and replacing some of the surface with porous concrete. Also rain gardens and possibly harvesting the rain that hits the library roof and redirecting towards the grass and gardens.

Probably the most exciting addition in the plan is the return of the bandshell to Richland Park. When Richland Park began to morph into more of a public space for people rather than livestock back in the 1920's, a bandshell was constructed in the middle of the park that featured numerous performing acts.

The new bandshell would be sited near the current playground and would be facing a gently sloped green for audiences with majestic Cohn High School as its backdrop.

If and when these upgrades are implemented, it will no doubt be a positive influence on the future of Charlotte Avenue. A more active public space with such a close proximity will surely spark new and needed development along Charlotte.

More to come on the next steps for the plan. For now you can download the plan below and have a look for yourself. If you have any feedback for the Parks Department, you can email Tim Netsch (tim.netsch@nashville.gov) with any comments that you may have about the masterplan.

Richland Park Master Plan

Stay tuned for details.

Second Community Meeting for Richland Park Upgrades Scheduled for August 13

The Metro Parks & Rec Department held a community meeting a few weeks ago to gather feedback and suggestions on what could be done to improve Richland Park - one of the oldest public parks in Nashville.

A second meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13 starting at 6:30 pm. The location will remain the same in the Senior Renaissance Center on the first floor of the Cohn Adult Learning Center.

The design team and representatives from Hastings Architecture will present a masterplan and seek feedback from those in attendance.

Dog Days of Summer

As the days have gotten longer, so has the frequency of new posts on the ol Charlotte Avenue blog. There hasn't been much to report, and we still await a date for the "final" meeting on reviewing the Charlotte Avenue/Richland Creek DCDP draft plan. Stay tuned for dates once announced.

Our last post dealt with the initial meeting that Metro Parks & Rec hosted in order to gain feedback on proposed upgrades to Richland Park. I was personally unable to attend the meeting (appendicitis!) but the presentation has been posted on the Parks website. You can download it here:

• Richland Park Master Plan

Additional community meetings are planned throughout the process. Stay tuned for announcements on time and date.

Upgrades to come for Richland Park?

Metro Parks & Rec is holding a meeting this Wednesday (June 25) evening to gather feedback from the community on the future of Richland Park which fronts a good portion of Charlotte Avenue and is included in the study area of the DCDP. Staff will be seeking comments and ideas on what can be done to improve upon this long standing amenity of West Nashville. Comments and ideas from the meeting will eventually be integrated into a revised masterplan.

One issue at hand is the neglected pool that sits on the east side of the park. As of now, the pool is slated to be demolished in lieu of a new pool that will be housed inside the new regional community center that is planned to replace the current one at nearby McCabe Park. The park also features a library branch (pictured above), ball field, playground and tennis courts that are frequently used.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and is being held in the basement of Cohn Adult Learning Center located at 4805 Park Avenue.

One More Meeting and The CP Covers the Struggle With Charlotte

The final DCDP meeting held on May 12th, was in fact the next-to-last meeting that will be held for the Charlotte Ave/Richland Park DCDP. Some of the feedback that Metro Planning received from some of the property owners was that this was moving too fast. So they have compromised and allowed for one more meeting to take place to review the draft plan. The MPC staff has yet to reveal when that meeting will be held, but you can check their website for updates www.nashville.gov/mpc

Earlier this week, the City Paper online edition (which is unfortunately running print editions on just Mondays and Fridays now) ran a story that covered the on-going struggle that has defined the revitalization efforts for Charlotte Ave. In addition, the story also breaks news of an artist co-op being interested in purchasing the Charlotte Avenue Church of Christ property.

If the artists co-op was successful in their bid (it's doubtful - in lieu of the recent attention given to the deed restrictions) it would help solidify the branding of Charlotte Avenue as Nashville's unofficial arts district. Established businesses like the Darkhorse Theater and LeQuire Gallery are already lending to that characterization. A few video interviews are also included in the story. To read it go here.

Champion Ford Closing

If you have traveled west on Charlotte Avenue recently, you may have noticed something awry on the horizon. That void you see is the recent closing of Champion Ford on Charlotte Avenue as you approach White Bridge Rd.

This closing now leaves Nashville with only three Ford dealerships. It is unknown at this time what the future holds for this property. One would assume that another dealer would move into the property, but with the recent attention being given to Charlotte redevelopment, one would hope for a more sustainable solution. Especially since the property borders Richland Creek's west bank.

Read story here