Mayor Briley proposes Greer Stadium demolition, plan to restore land to Fort Negley Park

Nashville Mayor David Briley on Tuesday proposed the demolition of Greer Stadium and the restoration of the land so it can be reincorporated into Fort Negley Park, ushering in a dramatic change of fate for the historic site just days into his new job.

In his first major initiative since taking office last week, Briley delivered music to the ears of historic preservationists, saying he plans to seek Metro Council approval for the $1 million needed to demolish the dilapidated former minor league baseball stadium and start the process of restoring the land as a park.

It marks a swift reversal from the onetime position of his predecessor, former Mayor Megan Barry, who for most of the past year pushed a controversial plan to redevelop the Greer Stadium site into a mixed-use project called Cloud Hill. Barry retreated from those plans in January amid growing resistance.

► More: Cloud Hill abandons controversial project for Nashville's Greer Stadium

"In about six and a half hours, I will have reached one week as mayor of Nashville, and I didn't want to let one week get away without making a significant announcement," Briley said, drawing laughs at a news conference outside the graffiti-stained ballpark.

New mayor calls Greer a 'perfect opportunity for green space'

Hailing Fort Negley Park as a "historic treasure" that can be even better, Briley said the new plan following the stadium's demolition would be to initially seed grass on the site of the stadium — a move he called the "right choice" for the property. The deteriorating stadium was built in 1978 but has sat empty since the Nashville Sounds left in 2014.

►More: Fort Negley named 'Nashville One'

While that happens, the Metro Historical Commission would finish a cultural landscape report to guide how to turn the 21-acre Greer site, which borders the Civil War-era Fort Negley, into "an active park that honors the history of the site." The plan is to commemorate the slaves who helped build the fort for the Union Army.

Briley framed the moment as "the end of one era" at the site, baseball, and the beginning of a new one, calling the site a "perfect opportunity for more green space" amid Nashville's rapid growth and development.

"It's an opportunity to give the residents of this neighborhood and other neighborhoods a place to relax, to come together and to build community," said Briley, who recalled searching for Civil War miniballs near the site as a child. "It's also a unique way for us to pay attention to the history of this city and what happened here more than 150 years ago."

Briley completes total shift from controversial Cloud Hill plan

Greer Stadium sits directly downhill from Fort Negley and a visitors center for the Civil War historic site.

Money for the demolition and early park creation would come from the city's "4 percent fund," a special reserve fund earmarked for city buildings and repairs. The Metro Parks Department is tasked with leading a new update of the Fort Negley Master Plan looking at recreational needs in a way that would still honor the site's history.

A timeline on the parks project has not been set, but the Briley administration intends to seek council approval of funds in April.

Briley's park plan comes two months after Barry backed out of plans for Cloud Hill, which was envisioned as maker space, affordable housing and retail with a smaller park component.

► More: Ethics complaint against Councilman Sledge over Cloud Hill project dismissed

► More: Kix Brooks jumps into fight against Cloud Hill project at Nashville's Greer Stadium

Cloud Hill — led by developer Bert Mathews, music producer T Bone Burnett and financier Tom Middleton — withdrew its plans in January after an archaeology firm hired by the city found it is "highly likely that human remains are still present" on portions of the city-owned site. Historical records indicate they could be graves of slaves who built the fort.

Although Barry had committed to reassessing how to "better honor and preserve the history" at the Greer site after the Cloud Hill debacle, it's unclear whether Barry would have pursued funding for stadium demolition this year. Barry resigned last week after she pleaded guilty to felony theft stemming from a nearly two-year affair with her former bodyguard.

Briley, the former vice mayor, credited Barry with "starting this process" before her exit.

"I don't want anybody to think that this is all David Briley," he said. "This is what our mayor's office did. This is what our city did. This is what we did together."

And yet he later acknowledged that it was his decision last Wednesday, less than a day after being sworn in, to move forward with the announcement.

Mayor wants park site to 'acknowledge, atone' for slavery

The debate over the future of Greer turned into a bruising political fight for Barry after her administration ran into unexpected and stiff opposition from historic preservationists. But Briley, who faces an election in August, could make the issue one of his administration's early wins.

He said the Cloud Hill plan "could be a great idea on another property in Nashville," but called restoring the Greer property as a park the "highest and best use of this site." He said he had always had questions about the "intensity of the development" at the location next to Fort Negley.

"This is a moment where community participation, where voices being here led us to the right result," Briley said.

►More: T Bone Burnett accuses Greer redevelopment critics of spreading a 'damned lie'

►More: Group including T Bone Burnett picked to redevelop Greer Stadium site

►More: T Bone Burnett eyes legacy project at Greer Stadium: 'This is my baby'

Briley made clear that a crucial piece of the park transformation would be to honor slaves who constructed the fort during the Union Army's occupation of Nashville.

"Our country, our city, has never really done what is necessary to acknowledge the sacrifice of the slaves in our country, to atone for what is and will be a great scar on our nation's history, or take steps toward reconciliations," he said.

'The right thing to do,' council members say

Parks advocates and other Cloud Hill critics had rallied around a parks-only concept immediately after Cloud Hill developers received a preliminary development contract with the city in May 2017.

Following Cloud Hill's withdrawal, country music star and Civil War preservationist Kix Brooks helped form a new committee that worked with the nonprofit group Friends of Fort Negley to advocate for a park.

"I think the whole community is jubilant," said At-large Councilman John Cooper, who was a vocal critic of Cloud Hill.

"We have something huge to celebrate here because this park speaks to how we become a great 21st century city."

► More: Mayor's office met with Cloud Hill a year before city kicked off Greer Stadium redevelopment

Councilman Colby Sledge, the area's representative who had supported Cloud Hill, said he backs the new mayor's vision He also called it the "right thing to do" but said the surrounding Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood still has needs that Cloud Hill would have helped fill.

"I think sometimes with progress what I've learned is you have to sometimes undo some things that maybe weren't done correctly in the past," Sledge said. "There are some things we need to honor that we haven't honored here regarding the history of the fort.

"What I want to see now is when people come to this site that they walk away knowing what Fort Negley was and is. That's the opportunity we have."

► More: 'Nashville Nine' now just one: Preservationists go all-in for Fort Negley

Long-term park cost is not clear

Fort Negley, built atop St. Cloud Hill from 1862 to 1864, was constructed by some 2,700 slaves and free black residents. Hundreds are believed to have perished because of harsh conditions, and they are believed to be buried on the hillside.

The fort is considered the only stone inland fort used during the Civil War. But the fort has been largely neglected by the city, and forgotten by many for most of the past century.

Total cost of the park restoration, which would be based on future amenities for the site, is unclear. Funding could also include federal, state and private sources in addition to city dollars.

Ben Page, a local Nashville architect, in a pitch to help make the case against Cloud Hill, drew up a pastoral park concept last summer.

His ideas included a large meadow garden that would have a new connection to the Nashville City Cemetery, which is currently separated by railroad tracks. He also mapped out space for a reflection pool to honor the slaves who died building the fort, an amphitheater, a multi-use pavilion, a large open lawn, and walking and biking trails throughout.

He also suggested relocating the city's Battle of Nashville Peace monument, created in 1927, to the top of Fort Negley Park.

“We look forward to engaging in a productive dialogue to create a more dynamic park landscape for neighborhoods out the 8th Avenue South corridor,” parks board chairman George Anderson said.

Mayor asks parks department to update Fort Negley Master Plan

In his park push at Greer, Briley has pointed to an advisory committee's 2007 update to the 1996 Fort Negley Master Plan that proposed demolishing the stadium once it was no longer needed and restoring the land to a park. That document was highlighted regularly by opponents of Cloud Hill but largely ignored by the Barry administration.

Briley has now asked the parks department to again update the plan to flesh out the new parks concept, including recreational features.

"We appreciate the history of the stadium and what it's meant to the city, but now it's time to move forward and create a new vision for this property," Parks Director Monique Odom said.

►More: Celebrated author, Civil War preservationist has new cause: Stopping Cloud Hill development

The city has allies in that effort.

Nearly 5,000 people signed an online petition prior to the abandoning of Cloud Hill urging the city to turn the Greer Stadium site into urban park land.

In an unprecedented move last year, the preservationist group Historic Nashville Inc., recast its annual "Historic Nine" listing of endangered properties into the "Nashville One" — Fort Negley.

For Briley, the park plan at Greer is one of multiple major ways he's found to distinguish himself from Barry during his first week in office. Briley has also came out in vocal support of Nashville General Hospital, the city's safety-net hospital. Barry had floated ending inpatient care at the hospital but abandoned plans earlier this year.

► More: Mayor David Briley: 'I'm committed to having a public safety-net hospital in our community'

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.