Restaurant Wednesday

tayst Restaurant and Wine Bar
As Nashville's first and only certified green restaurant tayst provides primarily local, sustainable food served in a playful manner. This little neighborhood restaurant with the fancy food lives the motto, "Eat local, drink global."

location
2100 21st Avenue South
Nashville

taystrestaurant.com

Nashville Mayor adds 3 aides to make city healthier, greener

Mayor Karl Dean has hired three young aides focused on making Nashville a healthier, greener and even more volunteering city.
One is an attorney, a French horn player and, like Dean, a Boston Red Sox fan. Another is a one-time "Nashville's Most Beautiful People" recipient and has led a radio station's outdoors program since 1997. The third is a veteran city planner who was already in charge of Dean's efforts to add bike lanes and sidewalks around Nashville.

In the past month, Dean has named a director of healthy living, Toks Omishakin; a director of the new Mayor's Office of Environment and Sustainability, Chris Bowles; and a chief service officer, Laurel Creech.

Each of them will be paid with federal or private grant money, not city tax dollars. But at a time when Dean has asked Metro departments to prepare for 7.5 percent budget cuts and potential job losses, he'll have to work to explain that his office isn't eating caviar while others chew chopped liver.

"It's just a timing issue," said Councilman Erik Cole, an ally of the mayor. "It's a harder job to communicate that to the council and constituents. It's a difficult task for the mayor to talk about these initiatives when we're in this budget climate."

Dean, who will release his budget recommendations Thursday, said he's accustomed to explaining which pools of money are eligible to pay for which jobs, services and projects. He said his administration rightly applied for grant funds that will allow the city to do more than its own tax revenues can pay for.

"If we didn't do this, we'd be leaving money on the table, which I don't think is my job to do," he said Thursday.

Funds fight obesity
The largest pot of money comes from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which awarded Nashville $7.5 million to support public health efforts to reduce chronic disease and childhood obesity. While the Metro Health Department will administer the two-year grant, Omishakin will coordinate the work of other departments, Dean said.
The work will include creating safer routes for children to walk to school, putting fresh fruits and vegetables in neighborhood markets and increasing awareness about the need for motorists and cyclists to share the road.
Omishakin, 33, has worked as a planner for Metro for about eight years. For more than a year he has been Dean's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, a job he'll continue to hold.

In an e-mail interview — Dean's office declined to make the aides available by phone or in person — Omishakin said he was looking forward to the challenge of "creating a paradigm shift in a city this large."

"We want Nashvillians to take steps towards walking and riding buses and bikes," he said. "It would be great to see families and neighborhoods throughout the city more committed to a healthier lifestyle. This paradigm shift starts with informing and educating the community at large about healthier options, but we have to continue to build the infrastructure to support this lifestyle, as well."

Metro also is getting a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to develop and implement a plan to increase volunteerism. Nashville is one of 10 "cities of service" that won the money under a program initiated last year by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

As chief service officer, Creech, 35, is in charge of the volunteerism plan, which will focus on education, the environment and disaster preparedness. A student of Irish poetry and African-American studies in college, she created and ran Lightning 100's Team Green outdoor adventure program.

"She's a real healthy outdoors person who knows a lot of people who are involved in a variety of efforts to make Nashville a better place to live," Dean said.

Volunteers wanted
Creech also has advised the mayor on environmental issues and increasing bicycle and pedestrian activity.

"My goal is to create easier access and offer more selections for our community to volunteer in an area(s) that they are passionate about," she wrote. "... Having passion about the environment that surrounds Nashville and a greater sense of working together will only further improve our community's lifestyles both individually and as a whole."
Bowles, 29, was an environmental attorney at Bass Berry & Sims for about two years after graduating from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2008. He co-founded and edited an environmental law and policy review at Vanderbilt.
He'll be responsible for implementing the recommendations made last year by Dean's Green Ribbon Committee, as well as implementing a $6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant if Nashville wins it. Bowles' salary will be paid out of grant funds the city already has received.

Bowles, who worked as a freelance musician in Wisconsin for two years after college, said he was grateful for an opportunity to "make a difference for Nashville in an area that I am passionate about." He said he wants to create a culture in which thinking green becomes second nature.

"I believe that Nashville will have succeeded in its mission to become a truly green city when we also regularly ask ourselves whether the choices we make as individuals, family members, citizens and professionals will help ensure that our resources will also be available to future generations and whether those choices will enhance the quality of life in Nashville," he wrote
Dean said it was important to have someone on his staff coordinating the city's environmental work.

"You've got to keep moving forward, and that's why you need somebody in this office leading that effort. The mayor's office, the strength we bring to something is, when we want to do it, it's pretty clear that's a priority of the government."

Column: Wow, what a weekend ahead of us!

What a lively week we’re having in Nashville and with an action-filled weekend on the horizon.

With tax day behind us, we have spring fever, we’re lighter of heart, a little less serious.

With that in mind, today’s Davidson A.M. offers an at-a-glance rundown of community events, some annual and some special this year.

And, while we always hope for lovely weather for the Iroquois Steeplechase (May 8) and the Bellevue Picnic (May 15), those traditional spring activities that help define life in Davidson County, let’s keep a good thought for sunshine for Earth Day Saturday. Have fun.

Let’s start with Natural Areas Week that continues today.


Friends of Radnor Lake, the environmental organization that protects one of


Davidson County’s most scenic and serene spots, has been busy. Head to the lake area today at 9 a.m. to visit with the turtles, at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, walk the Lake Trail for bird watching at 7:30 a.m. and learn about snakes at 10:30 a.m. On Sunday, meet at the Visitors Center at 4 p.m. for a short hike to Netherton Point to honor the group’s award winners.
www.radnorlake.org for more details.

NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
The festival is ongoing through April 22. It’s a major event of films, workshops and more with a huge schedule we can’t reproduce here, but we can tell you it’s held at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16, 3815 Green Hills Village Drive, near the Mall at Green Hills. Expect Green Hills’ restaurants to be packed. For more information, visit www.nashvillefilmfestival.org.


EAKIN SCHOOL CARNIVAL
Eakin Elementary’s annual carnival is 5:30-8 p.m., on campus at 2500 Fairfax Ave. Activities will include carnival games, prizes, a giant slide and obstacle course, bake sale, wall climbing, popcorn and face painting. Tickets are $5 per child with a $15 max per family. Parents and chaperones are free. For more information, call 615-298-8076.

HIGHBALLS & HYDRANGEAS
Cheekwood opens its doors 7-10 p.m. for a party, rain or shine. Cocktails, wine, live music by The Pat Patrick Band. $15 in advance or $20 at the door. www.highballsandhydrangeas.com.

PROMS
Expect to see nicely dressed young people in Davidson County’s ballrooms, party venues and nice restaurants. Schools having proms this weekend are: on Friday, Nashville School of the Arts, and on Saturday, Harpeth Hall, Hume Fogg, USN, Hillwood and Ensworth. Donelson Christian hosts its banquet on April 17.

PEDAL THE PARKS AND PARKWAY BIKE TOUR
Friends of Warner Parks host the tour 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The tour includes 25-mile and 50-mile rides through Williamson County, the Natchez Trace and along Harpeth River with a rest stop at Loveless Café. Registration is $25 on April 17 at the Warner Park Special Events Field at Old Hickory Boulevard and Vaughn Road.

CAPTURE THE FLAG CLASSIC
Games for all ages serves as a benefit for Preston Taylor Ministries. Register at 10:30 a.m. with games 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 4815 Franklin Road. Proceeds from the sale of balloons and concessions help the Ministries. For more information, call Chan Sheppard, 615-596-4386.

WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES
The Key Alliance raises funds for the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and sponsors the one-mile walk. Sign-in begins at 9 a.m. at LP Field in Lot R at the entrance of the Shelby Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. The walk begins at 9 a.m. Donations of $25 are requested.


RED SHOE PARTY FUNDRAISER
CASA of Nashville hosts its 11th annual Red Shoe Party fundraiser as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This year’s Light of Hope: Red Shoe Party is 7 p.m. at the W.O. Smith/Nashville Community Music School. CASA trains community volunteers to advocate for children in the court system.

Tickets are $10 and available for purchase from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Summer Classics parking lot located at 2600 12th Ave. S. Tickets are free for members of the U. S. Forces and the Metro Police and Fire departments and their spouses who present official ID. For more information, please visit www.12southtour.com, email twelvesouthtour@me.com or call 500-5571.



BABY FAIR
The Baby Fair is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Baptist Hospital, 21st Avenue entrance, in the GSO Education Center. Admission is free. Parking is free in the 21st Avenue Garage.

The fair features tours, educational seminars, exhibits and demonstrations about infant safety, education, health and nutrition, exercise, maternity wear, baby clothing, furniture and more.
For more information, call 615-256-2158, ext. 139.


2010 NASHVILLE
EARTH DAY FESTIVAL
With the theme of, “Strike a Chord, Go Green,’’ the annual day-long celebration is 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave. It’s free. There’s live music, with Bela Fleck as the headliner, food and farming workships, children’s events, educational programs, recycling, food and drink. New this year will be the Merchant Village, a place to buy green products from small businesses.


Here’s the music lineup: Homemade Water 2 p.m.-2:45 p.m.
The Apache Relay 3 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Sara Watkins 4 p.m.-5 p.m.
Béla Fleck, Acoustic with Friends 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.


For more information, call Claudia Schenck at (615) 336-5646 or visit www.nashvilleearthday.org.

COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE
Christ the King’s annual Community Garage Sale is 7 a.m.-3 p.m. at the school, 3105 Belmont Blvd. Hundreds of families have donated items such as furniture, housewares, lawn and garden, crafts, sporting equipment, books, DVDs, kids items and more. After 1 p.m., all items are half price with a special fill-a-bag of clothes for $5. Go to www.ctk.org for more information.
BELLEVUE COMMUNITY CLEANUP
Help Metro Beautification with this neighborhood clean up 9-11 a.m. Meet across from the Boone Trace subdivision. Call 862-8418 for more information.

TIM TEBOW’S PARENTS
Bob and Pam Tebow, parents of ex-Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, will speak on ‘‘Bringing Up Tim Tebow: Raising Children to Love God & Serve,’’ at Lipscomb University at 2 p.m. in Allen Arena on campus. $5. For more information, call 615-966-5850.


RAGIN’ CAJUN
CRAWFISH BOIL
All-you-can-eat New Orleans style crawfish available 4-9 p.m. at Riverfront Park. Price is $28 if you buy a ticket today, $30 at the door. Must be 21. The event is a fundraiser for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee and NJC Charities. For more information, got to www.ragincajunboil.org.

VILLAGES IN BLOOM
Ten Thousand Villages at 3900 Hillsboro Pike will host its annual garden event “Villages in Bloom” with planting demonstrations at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. The store’s collection of gardening products includes planters, wind chimes, bird houses, whimsical candleholders and patio décor handcrafted by artisans in Haiti, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

THE BIG STITCH 6
Knitters and crocheters are needed to make chemo hats, baby blankets, helmet liners for deployed soldiers and lap blankets for soldiers and veterans in hospitals. Work and fun is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at FiftyForward Knowles, 174 Rains Ave. near the entrance to the Fairgrounds.

Bring a lunch, drinks are provided. Instruction is available, call Deborah Stillwell at 615-579-1857, if you wish to learn. Otherwise, just show up.

IS PLUTO A PLANET? VOTE SATURDAY AT ASTRONOMY DAY
Get ready to discover the planets, stars and many more destinations on Astronomy Day at noon Saturday, April 17, at the Adventure Science Center, 800 Fort Negley Blvd.


Members of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society and Austin-Peay State University Physics Club will use Space Chase exhibits to demonstrate Newton’s Laws of Motion, build scale models of the solar system and answer visitor questions.
Astronomy Day is included with regular admission.
The day will end with a free Star Party, weather permitting, 8-10 p.m. in front of Adventure Science Center.
Members of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society will be available with telescopes to provide views of Venus, Mars, Saturn and the Moon.
Call AstroLine at 615-401-5097 or follow the center on Twitter @adventuresci for updates.



WHAT’S
HAPPENING SUNDAY

LIVE IT UP!
DOWNTOWN
HOME TOUR
Sponsored by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the self-guided tour of residential buildings downtown shows off urban living noon-6 p.m. Tour stops are Art Avenue Lofts, Viridian, Church Street Lofts, 211 Printers Alley, Hotel Indigo, The Stahlman Building, Ireland28, 905 Phillips St., Row 8.9, Harrison Square, District Lofts and Encore. Ticket holders can pick up an express shuttle. Cost is $10. For more information, go to www.nashvilledowntown.com.

MARCH FOR BABIES
A walk fundraiser for the March of Dimes begins with registration at 12:30 p.m. and the two-mile walk at Centennial Park’s Center Lawn at 2 p.m. For more information, 615-399-3200.


ALL-STAR CELEBRITY BASKETBALL GAME
Celebrities play hoops at 6 p.m. at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center to raise money for the Dr. Diane Greer Walker Memorial Fund and the Steve McNair Foundation. Hosted by Dr. Joseph W. Walker III. $15, students $10 with ID. www.josephwalker3.org.


LINKING HANDS
FOR LIFE
The first annual statewide event is part of National Donate Life Month at the Church Street Greenway at 1:30 p.m. rain or shine. Join hands to support organ and tissue donation. More information is at www.TnDonorRegistry.org.

Realtors® Remain Leading Advocates for Fair Housing Laws

As outspoken supporters for fair housing issues and homeownership, Realtors® will join the nation in recognizing “Fair Housing Month” this April.

Signed into law in 1968 and amended in 1988, the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin. Realtors® work tirelessly to support this law, as well as ensure the benefits of homeownership are available to everyone.

“Realtors® are committed to bringing America home,” said National Association of Realtors® President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz. “NAR’s members work hard to build communities and an environment where everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, sex or disability can choose where they want to live.”

Through the years NAR has developed education on diversity and fair housing laws for its members. These programs and resources have educated Realtors® on the importance of inclusive housing practices and the promotion of minority homeownership.

One program, At Home with Diversity®, is a comprehensive diversity training course for members. The program provides demographics and statistics that help participants understand their local areas, marketing strategies and guidelines, as well as exercises to build diversity awareness. In celebration of Fair Housing Month, NAR will waive the course fee during the entire month of April for any local or state Realtor® association that sponsors the course.

NAR will also implement a new course that examines the role Realtors® can play in affordable housing. The course will provide guidance on how to expand opportunities to benefit home buyers as well as entire communities. The course will be available to Realtors® in May during NAR’s Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C.

“NAR has expanded and implemented fair housing education, programs, and resources for members because Realtors® believe homeownership is an investment in everyone’s future,” said Golder. “And Realtors® across the country pledge to stay committed to this cause.”

Realtors® also strongly support programs that help improve the quality of a neighborhood as a whole while also promoting diversity. As a sponsor of the School of the Future Design Competition, NAR encourages middle school students to redesign their schools to create better learning places that are environmentally responsive and are assets to their neighborhoods. Realtors® serve as mentors to students and as judges at the regional and national level.

In addition, NAR provides funds to state and local Realtor® associations that promote diversity, housing opportunities, and smart growth. The Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants are awarded to state Realtor® associations to promote workforce housing initiatives. The NAR Diversity Initiative Grant Program provides up to $5,000 in matching funds for activities that reinforce the role of Realtors® in diverse communities. Grants for programs that support the mission of NAR’s Realtors® Housing Opportunity Program are available through the NAR Housing Opportunity Fund. Associations can also receive financial resources for programs and activities that promote Realtors® as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth.

Restaurant Wednesday

Bound'ry

Featuring a menu specializing in contemporary global cuisine with a Southern twist, Bound'ry offers an extensive beer and wine list and traditional or tapas-style dining. Try the wood-fired artichoke, tuna nori roll, wood oven pizzas, planked trout, double pork chop, fresh seafood and our exclusive Creekstone USDA Prime all-natural steaks. Enjoy seasonal outdoor seating.

location:
911 20th Avenue South
Nashville

615.321.3043
pansouth.net

Restaurant Wednesday

At Noshville, Authentic New York Delicatessen, the goal is to prepare and serve the highest quality food in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere. Noshville has four convenient locations, and the house rules are simple: "Check your cares at the door, order with reckless abandon, and indulge your senses in the life that is Noshville"

Breakfast is served all day, along with robust delicatessen sandwhiches, hearty homemade soups, refreshing salads and delicious desserts. Voted Best Delicatesssen since 1996. Noshville's friendly professional staff, comfortable atmosphere and great food will keep you coming back for more. "Make Your Mother Happy...Eat and Enjoy!"

Locations:
Cool Springs, Green Hills, Midtown, Noshville Airport
noshville.com

Gwyneth Paltrow Loves Nashville!

Please check out this blog for Gwyneth's best pick's in Nashville!

Restaurant Wednesday

Sunset Grill

Located in the heart of Hillsboro Village, Sunset Grill is the jewel in the triple crown of Nashville's most successful independent restaurateur, Randy Rayburn. The California-influenced cuisine has remained contemporary and fresh for almost two decades with daily specials that lure diners off-menu. Sunset serves 65 wines by the glass and 500 by the bottle. Offering free shuttle service to downtown hotels.

2001 Belcourt Ave
Nashville

615.386.3663
sunsetgrill.com

Rumba

Tropical flair and low-lit intimacy combine with top-notch Latin, Asian and Caribbean cuisine at rumba, where globe-trotting tastes have found a home on West End. Sip a hand-muddled mojito or caipirinha on one of the double patios or at the main bar, then relax in a secluded booth with a meal for afar.

Location:
3009 West End Ave
Nashville

615.321.1350

Restaurant Wednesday!

Ombi is a warm, modern space on Elliston Place, bringing contemporary dining to Midtown Nashville. Chef Jason Love and bar manager Terrell Raley serve inventive and flavorful food and cocktails.

Location:
2214 Elliston Place
Nashville

615.320.5350
ombirestaurant.com

Tennessee foreclosure rate ranks No. 26

Residential foreclosures in Tennessee jumped 6.8 percent in January, and the state ranked No. 26 for its overall foreclosure rate.

There were a total of 3,911 foreclosure filings in the Volunteer State in January, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to January 2009 but a decrease of 17.8 percent compared to the previous month, according to RealtyTrac Inc.’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

One in every 705 Tennessee homes received some type of foreclosure filing — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — during the month. That ratio is lower than the national average of one in every 409 U.S. homes receiving a filing in January.

Nationally, foreclosure filings fell 9.7 percent from the previous month, but rose 15 percent compared to January 2009.

“January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10 percent drop in January,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, in a statement. “If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs nor the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works.”

Topping the list with the highest foreclosure rates are Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida.

Mississippi ranked No. 45 and Arkansas No. 20.

Baja Burrito

Baja Burrito is a locally-owned, no-nonsense burrito shop in the eclectic neighborhood of Berry Hill, a community of artisits, musicians and merchants. In business since 2000 Baja is Nashville's hometown favorite for mission-style burritos, award-winning fish tacos, and build-your-own salads.

location:
722 Thompson Lane
Nashville

615.383.2552
bajaburrito.com

Jobs take top bill in governor’s race

The governor may be changing, but the issues have not.

At least they haven’t in the opinion of Nashville-based business groups, who say issues such as unemployment, education and business recruitment remain top priorities.

“This is a very important election,” said Bradley Jackson, vice president of government affairs for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Businesses have gone through a lot, and who the governor is matters a lot to us.”

Despite the most wide-open race for governor in years, the candidates uniformly responded when asked what their No. 1 economic priority would be: job creation.

“All the candidates say they’re pro-business candidates,” said Dan Haskell, chairman of the Tennessee Jobs Coalition. “Some time between now and November, that will define itself.”

With the candidates in agreement on what they want to do, the focus turns to how they propose to do it — and business groups are watching closely.

“There is a bit of a courtship going on between the gubernatorial candidates and the voters,” said Jim Brown, Tennessee state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

Some candidates have suggested the state’s budget woes speak to a need for a reorganization of state government. If that’s the case, Brown said he would like to see the departments of Revenue, Commerce and Insurance, and Labor and Workforce Development addressed, because those are the divisions of state government his members run into problems with the most.

Debby Dale Mason, chief community action officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, said the organization wants to see a governor who embraces metropolitan areas, which she says are the drivers of the state’s economy and need to be recognized as such in policy and budgeting decisions.

Haskell said he wants to know how candidates would address the state of Tennessee’s Unemployment Trust Fund.

Mary Ann McCready, co-chairwoman of the Nashville Music Council, said she hopes the next governor will assist with the council’s goals, which include making Nashville’s live music scene the best in the nation.

“We have a mayor who really understands” the music industry, McCready said. “It would be great to have a governor who understands that as well. ... Unfortunately, from a state level, the industry is taken for granted.”

Carothers Crossing faces financial troubles, but developers determined

The prognosis for Carothers Crossing, a traditional neighborhood development underway in Nolensville, looks grim.

A fraction of the planned homes have been built; two banks have foreclosed on portions of the 700-acre project and a third bank planned to do the same on the day developers filed for bankruptcy; no lots have been sold since mid-2008 and a lender says the developers lack the necessary cash to go forward.

But developer Don Smithson said going forward is exactly what the project will do, though two of his companies — Wood Ridge Development and Wood Ridge Investments — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 15, the same day GreenBank was poised to conduct a foreclosure sale on 111 lots and more than 190 acres of unplotted land. Cadence Bank and Pinnacle National Bank have already assumed ownership of more than 200 acres at the development, located in southern Davidson County.

Smithson originally planned for Carothers Crossing to be a traditional neighborhood development, or TND, where a variety of housing options are offered in dense clusters while also providing commercial and communal town centers. Completed TNDs are essentially new towns, complete with tree-lined streets, parks, places of worship and retail shops.

“None of the vision has changed at all,” Smithson said. “Like any new community, we needed momentum, and we just got started at a rough time.”

Smithson and Mike Delvizis, the project’s engineer, said they have several investors ready to step up and resume activity — even forecasting they could start a five-unit condo building this spring.

The prediction is bold in its optimism. According to a motion filed by GreenBank in which it seeks to reclaim Wood Ridge’s property despite the bankruptcy proceedings, the developers haven’t sold a lot in Carothers Crossing since July 2008. The filing also claims that, in addition to owing GreenBank more than $7.3 million, developers are in default of both their 2008 and 2009 county ad valorem taxes.

The filing argues that the Carothers Crossing parcels aren’t integral to a reorganization by the Wood Ridge entities because their “ability to develop, market and sell the property is not viable as an on-going concern.”

“... The debtor has no operating capital to fund any improvements on the property, and the debtor lacks ability to obtain financing to fund such improvements.”

Smithson, however, said he has investors on the sidelines ready to get involved. Citing nondisclosure agreements, he declined to divulge how much they plan to invest, how many investors there are or where they are from. After investors come on board, though, Smithson said he was confident “that Mike and I will stay involved.”

Smithson said it could take 13 years to realize the original vision. Of the 3,400 units planned, 55 are completed or under construction. Thirty-four are occupied, including two occupied by Smithson and Delvizis.

David McGowan, president of Regent Homes — the developer behind Lenox Village, a TND along Nolensville Pike in southern Davidson County — said Carothers Crossing will be “a good community down the road,” but said it faced several hurdles out of the gate.

For one, McGowan said it doesn’t have high visibility from a main thoroughfare, which would allow an inquisitive public to monitor progress.

The land itself is attractive, McGowan said, but its rolling hills make it less accommodating of a TND without costly grating work. Rolling lots may not be a huge concern in a typical, cul-de-sac style neighborhood, but it can have dramatic impact on a TNDs streetscape — which is usually one of the prime selling points.

“What you are buying is front doors and front porches,” McGowan said.

Finally, McGowan said the project’s price points, with homes starting at $180,000, were “fairly high for the area.” For comparison, Lenox offered condos for $89,000 and townhomes for $129,000 as a starting point.

“Then you add on top of it that he opened at the beginning of a recession,” McGowan said.

Traditional neighborhood developments grew in prevalence in the 1980s, particularly in Florida, though they are a relatively recent phenomenon in the Nashville area. Though the cost-per-lot to a developer for TNDs can be cheaper because of the density of such projects, the additional infrastructure — having to pave both the streets and the alleys that give access to each home’s garage, for instance — makes the communities more expensive than a suburban neighborhood. The expenses also tend to be front-loaded, leaving developers on a limb for a time.

“You’ve got a ramp up period there where a lot of people are just circling,” said Jim Cheney, vice president of communications for Southern Land Co., the developer of Westhaven, a traditional neighborhood development in Franklin. Of 2,600 units planned in Westhaven, 800 have been built.

While the housing crunch has slowed sales, Cheney and McGowan said the TND model seems firmly entrenched. McGowan’s company, in fact, has negotiated to purchase all the townhome lots in Boyle Investment Co.’s Berry Farms, a TND in Franklin, where McGowan said dirt should begin moving late this year.

Seth Harry, the Maryland-based architect that designed Carothers Crossing, said he’s continuing to work with new TNDs across the country, though he said most are “waiting out the market” — getting their designs and permits ready while the housing and lending markets recover.

“Long-term prospects for Carothers are very good, if they can get through the immediate downturn,” he said.

He recalled a traditional neighborhood development in the Washington, D.C., area that was taken back by its primary lender in the 1990s, but the developer stayed on as its primary consultant, leading it to a successful build-out.

“It turned out to have a very happy ending,” he said.

Nashville Business Journal - by Eric Snyder Staff Writer

Medmart developers say Music City Center approval accelerates plans

The developers of the proposed 2-million-square-foot medical Nashville Medical Trade Center issued a news release this morning praising the approval of Music City Center.

The developers plan to reuse and vertically expand the existing Nashville Convention Center downtown.

“With the approval of the Music City Center, we are accelerating our reuse plan for the existing convention center as an open-daily trade center,” Bill Winsor, president and CEO of Market Center Management Co., said in the news release. “The new convention center is essential for attracting global health care trade events that will welcome tens of thousands of visitors to Nashville. And the trade center will offer both permanent and temporary exhibition space complementing the Music City Center. The synergy between the two facilities will create the most attractive health care exhibition option in the U.S.”

Nashville’s Metro Council approved the financing package for the $585 million Music City Center project, 29-9, yesterday. The project totals 545,000 square feet of exhibit, ballroom, meeting and retail space and also includes a 1,800-space parking garage. It will be built on 16 acres south of Broadway downtown.

After last night’s council vote, Mayor Karl Dean said Metro will begin more serious negotiations with Market Center Management Co. on government incentives and the terms of a master-lease of Nashville Convention Center and its underlying land.

Dean also said he expected the approval of Music City Center to add certainty to the developers plans for a medical mart and assist their efforts to pre-lease space in the facility.

As proposed, the $250 million Nashville Medical Trade Center would include up to 1,200 permanent showrooms for health care product manufacturers, distributors and information technology companies; 200,000 square feet of temporary trade show space; and conference facilities.

A study by University of Tennessee professor LeAnn Luna predicts the center, if it is built, would employ 2,760 people, generate $390 million in economic activity a year and produce $21 million a year in state and local taxes by 2019.


Nashville Business Journal - by Brandon Gee Staff Writer

Restaurant Wednesday

The Acorn features two floors of dining, private rooms, two full bars and a large outdoor patio. The Acorn offers Americdan cuisine with a global flavor. Independently owned and conveniently locatd in the West End District.

Location:
114 28th Ave North
Nashville

615.320.4399
theacornrestaurant.com

Nashville businesses rush to help Haiti

The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12 has invited a wave of giving. In the first 48 hours hours after the crisis, the American Red Cross raised $5 million thanks to people texting “HAITI” to 90999, which results in a $10 donation that will show up on the donor’s phone bill. Nashville businesses are supporting the relief efforts in a variety of ways. Here are some of them:

HCA Inc.: The Nashville-based hospital operator said it will match employee contributions in order to make a total contribution of $1 million to organizations such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. Employees, physicians, facility volunteers or others affiliated with the company can give directly to a special relief fund, "The HCA Haiti Relief Fund," administered through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tax-deductible donations to this fund may be made by either check or credit card at www.cfmt.org/HCAHaitiReliefFund. The company also is coordinating medical supply donations from its facilities across the country through its East Florida Division, based in Ft. Lauderdale. Working with Food for the Poor, a South Florida relief organization, facility supply officers are arranging for collection and delivery of supplies. HCA's temporary staffing agency, All About Staffing, is also accepting the names of HCA clinical staff and disaster-trained employees who are interested in volunteering, and will apprise them of opportunities once the situation in Haiti has stabilized. "The devastation in Haiti is almost incomprehensible," HCA Chairman and CEO Richard M. Bracken said in a statement, "and some members of the HCA family have been personally affected. We wanted to act quickly to provide assistance from the company and to establish an effective mechanism by which our people could fulfill their desire to help."

Dollar General: The Goodlettsville-based company has donated $100,000 to International Red Cross to aid in the recovery effort, and is encouraging employees to make donations at www.redcross.org.

Fifth Third Bank and United Way of Williamson County: The bank is working with the United Way of Williamson County to solicit relief supplies, which can be dropped off at the bank's branch at 5000 Maryland Way branch in Brentwood or at United Way's office at 207 Gothic Court Suite 107 in Franklin. Most needed are donations of water, baby formula, medical supplies and blankets. Pain relievers, flashlights and batteries, and personal hygiene products are also needed. You can reach the bank branch at (615) 377-5384 or the United Way office at (615) 771-2312.

Nissan: Franklin-based Nissan North America has donated $25,000 to the Red Cross and $52,000 to Habitat for Humanity. It is also offering to match employee contributions up to a total of $25,000. Nissan Canada Inc. donated another $5,000.

Soles4Souls: The Nashville-based charity is working with donors to send shoes and relief supplies.The charity already had 30 cases of shoes in shipment to Haiti when the earthquake struck. Now it is working with partners to deliver at least 1 million pairs of shoes, as well as an aid package of food, bottled water, medical supplies, tents, blankets, flashlights and baby products. Nashville's Hopepark Church and KIWI Shoe Care are assisting in the effort. On Sunday, Soles4Souls' Founder Wayne Elsey will be present at Hopepark to discuss the charity and raise money for relief efforts. Soles4Souls announced Friday that beginning today, Shoe Carnival customers will be invited to make a donation at checkout.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee: The Community Foundation is establishing a Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. Grants from the fund will be made to nonprofits and aid groups for response, clean-up and restoration efforts in the aftermath of the disaster. Donations to the fund can be made online at www.cfmt.org or by mail to the Community Foundation.

Restaurant Wednesday

Midtown Cafe is known as the place for a power lunch as well as a favorite choice for couples wanting an intimate romantic evening. Midtown Cafe offers great, unpretentious food under the precise eye of Executive Chef Brian Uhl. Fifty wines by the glass and 150 by the bottle keep Midtown on the top of every "Best of" list. Free shuttle services for downtown hotel guests.

Location:
102 19th Avenue South
Nashville

615.320.7176
midtowncafe.com

Music City Center enters home stretch

As the proposed Music City Center convention hall enters a final week of debate, activists on both sides of the issue are fortifying their positions.

Also, Metro Council members continue to educate themselves on the $585 million project that would replace Nashville Convention Center with a new downtown venue.

Both the Music City Center Coalition and opposition group Nashville’s Priorities have sent e-mails in an effort to galvanize their troops. In a message this morning, the coalition urged supporters to attend a rally on the steps of the Metro Courthouse today “to show community wide support for the Music City Center.”

“The Music City Center will create thousands of new jobs and strengthen our local tax base at no cost to local taxpayers,” the e-mail states.

The latest study of Music City Center predicts the proposed new downtown convention hall would generate $134.9 million in new annual spending in Nashville by 2017 and support 1,524 jobs.

In a Friday evening e-mail, Nashville’s Priorities President Kevin Sharp seized on the results of a public opinion poll commissioned by WSMV-TV. The poll of 401 Davidson County registered voters found that 26 percent support the project, 50 percent oppose it, 21 percent are undecided and 3 percent are unfamiliar with the proposal.

In addition to noting the poll results, Sharp encouraged Music City Center opponents to sign a petition urging a public vote on the proposal, contact their council members and attend a public hearing tonight to voice their concerns.

Related upcoming events:
Today, 3 p.m.: The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau are holding a briefing for their members at the DoubleTree Hotel downtown. Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling will speak and take questions.

Today, 4:45 p.m.: The Music City Center Coalition’s rally begins at 4:45 p.m. on the Metro Courthouse steps.

Today, 5 p.m.: A joint meeting of the budget and finance committee and convention, tourism and public entertainment facilities committee of the Metro Council at the Metro Courthouse. The meeting will begin with a question-and-answer session for council members. That will be followed by a public hearing on the project that is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, 6 p.m.: Souncil members Frank Harrison, Jamie Hollin, Mike Jameson, Erik Cole and Karen Bennett will host a community discussion of the project at the Metro Police Department East Precinct.

Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Council members Kristine LaLonde, Jason Holleman and Sean McGuire will hold a community discussion of the project at West End Middle School.

Thursday, 5 p.m.: at the Metro Courthouse, Metro Council’s budget and finance committee and convention, tourism and public entertainment facilities committee will deliberate the proposed financing package for Music City Center.

Jan. 19: A final vote on the financing package is scheduled for a full council meeting.

Nashville Business Journal - by Brandon Gee Staff Writer

Free wireless network planned for downtown

Businesses will be able to extend Tech Council's coverage beyond core
Email | Print By Erin Lawley


01-07-2010 2:32 PM —
The Nashville Technology Council is planning to create a free wireless Internet network in Nashville’s central business district that could eventually be expanded through the city.

Council President and CEO Tod Fetherling told NashvillePost.com today that the organization wants to implement a wireless mesh network from networking company Meraki. In its pilot phase, the system should provide a free outdoor signal within a 0.9-mile radius of the system’s main transmitter, which would be located at the Tech Council’s headquarters at Third Avenue and Commerce Street. That roughly encompasses the area between Interstate 65 in the east, Interstate 40 in the west, Bicentennial Mall to the north and past Korean Veterans Boulevard to the south.

Businesses on the outskirts of that coverage area then could buy smaller transmitters, or “nodes,” that would mesh with the network to extend the signal outward. Companies would connect the transmitter to their existing network and partition off as much bandwidth as they’d like to contribute to the public network, Fetherling said.

“So as we go out the corridors – West End Avenue, Gallatin Road, Murfreesboro Road – businesses every mile or so can put one of these units in and it extends the WiFi circuit out there,” Fetherling said.

Businesses stand to benefit from providing free connectivity to Nashville’s visitors, Fetherling said. For one, business travelers will be able to work remotely without having to search for a coffee shop, and all visitors will be able to find a coffee shop or any other business more easily when they’re out and about.

“We build streets to connect people to do commerce. It’s the same reason we need a WiFi network – to do commerce, to connect people and make it easier for them to get from point A to point B,” Fetherling said.

To start, the program will go through a month-long pilot period that will begin later this month or in early February. The launch will cost about $3,100, which covers a couple of main transmitters and a solar-powered unit that could be used for outdoor events. Participating businesses would pay a one-time fee of $200 for a node to connect to the network.

Nashville-A Great Place to Live!

Corporate relocations, industry growth define decade of transformation for Middle Tennessee
Nashville Business Journal - by Brandon Gee Staff Writer

From an economic development perspective, the first decade of the 21st century in Middle Tennessee was marked by blue-collar losses and corporate relocations. Could the next 10 years be defined by solar energy and electric cars?

Recent years have been dominated by bad economic news. Middle Tennessee has lost jobs in nearly every occupational category. In this final year of the decade alone, the metropolitan area lost about 30,000 private sector jobs. The metro area’s unemployment rate, which stood at 3.4 percent when the decade began, now hovers above 9 percent.

But despite a gloomy close, local officials say the decade overall was a good one for the region and has left Nashville well positioned for the future.

“I think you would have to say, overall, Nashville’s story has been a very positive story,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said. “... There is a strong story to tell, and I love doing it.”

Proposals for a new convention center and a medical trade center downtown are being touted as boons to the existing health care and tourism industries going forward, and growth industries such as higher education, renewable energy and professional services have gained a foothold here as well.

Losses have centered around the manufacturing industry, including major downsizing at the General Motors Corp. plant in Spring Hill and the loss of Peterbilt’s truck assembly plant in Davidson County.

Those two losses alone represent about 9,000 jobs, but the long-term statistics back the positive assessment of the decade. From January 2000 to October 2009, the number of non-farm jobs in the metro area has increased from 683,700 to 727,500, a gain of 6.4 percent.

Manufacturing was the most glaring exception. Jobs in that category fell 33.4 percent, from 95,400 to 63,400. But manufacturing losses have been covered by gains in other sectors. Employment increased 39.4 percent in educational and health services, 20.4 percent in leisure and hospitality, and 9.8 percent in professional and business services.

By near consensus among officials interviewed by the Nashville Business Journal, the biggest economic development coup of the decade was the relocation of Nissan North America’s headquarters from California to Williamson County — if not in terms of jobs, then certainly in terms of notoriety.

“It’s marketing you could never pay enough for when a company makes that kind of decision,” said David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University.

The move was announced in 2005, and the relocation was completed in 2006. After working out of temporary facilities in downtown Nashville, the company opened its new Nissan Americas campus in Franklin in 2008.

Previously, in 2004, the Nashville area added 31 company headquarters and major facilities representing more than 11,000 new jobs. That list included two companies with annual revenue of more than $100 million: industrial filtration products maker Clarcor Inc. (NYSE: CLC) and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX).

In the intervening years, Nashville twice was named the “hottest” city in the United States for business relocation or expansion by Expansion Management magazine, and the state ranked third on Site Selection magazine’s 2007 Governor’s Cup rankings.

Keith Herron, Mid-South region president for Regions Bank and co-chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Partnership 2010 economic development initiative, said the national attention was unprecedented.

“What’s happened is you have an economy that’s made up of really a bunch of industries across the board,” he said. “The city is attracting so many bright people with great ideas.”

Regional growth
Matt Largen, director of the Williamson County Office of Economic Development, said five corporate relocations alone — Nissan, Mars Pet Foods, Healthways, Community Health Systems and Verizon Wireless’ state headquarters — have created 5,700 jobs that didn’t exist in Williamson in 2000.

The county also has suffered some losses. Some examples include PlusMark, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Greetings Corp., closing a Franklin plant in 2004 that 750 people worked at; Worthington Precision Metals closing a manufacturing plant in 2006, idling 117 workers; and Plastech Engineered Products doing the same in 2008 at a plant that employed 220 people.

But overall, Largen said it was a great decade for Williamson County, and he agreed that Nissan’s move was the most important. In addition to the 1,300 high-paying jobs it brought to the county — which joined thousands more that already existed at the automaker’s Smyrna manufacturing plant — Largen said the high-profile move has put Williamson County on the lists of other companies evaluating relocations that it never could have attracted before.

Wilson County also experienced tremendous growth over the course of the decade. Its population grew from about 89,000 in 2000 to more than 110,000 today. The growth occurred despite the loss of 1,000 Dell Inc. jobs to Nashville and Toshiba America Consumer Products closing a 1978 plant that employed as many as 1,200 people at its height.

But losses have been offset by industrial announcements from the likes of Kenwal Steel, Leviton, TACLE Seating U.S.A. and Permobil Inc., and gains in other sectors.