Nashville Mayor David Briley proposes altered Church Street Park land swap plan

Joey Garrison | The Tennessean

Nashville Mayor David Briley is moving ahead with much-debated plans to swap a city park near the downtown Main Library with a prominent high-rise developer who would help build a new service center for the homeless elsewhere downtown.

But the Briley administration has now altered the proposal to offset the loss of green space following a backlash from park advocates and others in recent months.

Briley, in an interview with The Tennessean on Thursday, said he intends to seek action by the Metro parks board as early as August for the altered land swap, which he first rolled out in April.

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He called the deal a "significant financial win for the city" that would address a park that's historically been a refuge for the city's homeless population. He said the new plan is "an acknowledgment that we're listening to people."

Altered proposal calls for new park

The city would trade the 0.27-acre Church Street Park — where homeless often sleep and congregate, making it difficult to access — to the company of heavyweight developer Tony Giarratana, who would build a high-rise condo tower on the land estimated to be a $200 million private development.

In exchange, Metro would acquire a 0.26-acre, triangular-shaped property that Giarratana owns at 301 James Robertson Parkway that is currently used as surface parking.

Under the revamped plan, the city would use a $2 million payment from Giarratana to build a new park at the James Robertson Parkway site, which is one block from Nashville's downtown public square park and courthouse. Prior plans did not include any new park element, leaving some questioning why the city would get rid of one of downtown's few park options.

"We would be trading park for park, really," Briley said of the latest proposal.

Metro would then build the new service center for the homeless — which would feature 100 units of permanent housing — at land the city owns at 505 2nd Ave. N, directly north of the new downtown jail under construction. The earlier plans targeted the James Robertson Parkway property for the center.

Plan accomplishes multiple goals, mayor says

Mayor David Briley speaks at the State of the Metro address Mayor David Briley spoke at the State of the Metro at the Nashville Public Library

The Second Avenue property, which sits next to a fire hall and other sheriff's office buildings at the intersection of Gay Street, is currently being used to stage construction trailers for the jail project.

With the Davidson County Sheriff's Office set to open a new administrative headquarters on Fifth Street in East Nashville, Briley said existing sheriff's office buildings that occupy a four-acre footprint on Second Avenue will soon become vacant. He said the plan is to work with the nonprofit Nashville Civic Design Center and seek community input to find a new use for this area.

He said the new homeless center would be adjacent to "a big, important future opportunity for the community."

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The Church Street Park land swap with Giarratana was first negotiated under former Mayor Megan Barry.

Briley, who inherited the project when Barry resigned in March, said concerns about Church Street Park have existed since he served on the council beginning in 1999. The city has unsuccessfully tried multiple strategies over the years for it to stop being a magnet for the homeless.

"In Nashville, I don't think we just want to close the park and sell it," Briley said.

"We felt like this was an opportunity both to address the quality-of-life issues associated with the park and, at the same time, address some of the underlying concerns that have created the issues with the park."

Details of land swap

The one-block park parcel at 600 Church Street has been appraised at $3.65 million, according to an independent appraisal conducted for the city. Under the plan, Giarratana would also pay for $5 million in street and sidewalk upgrades in a push to activate Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard.

Giarranta said options could include a dog park, outdoor benches and even restaurants and cafes lining the street, which connects the library to Legislative Plaza.

As part of the land swap, the mayor's office says Giarratana "at no charge" would provide the city with project development and construction oversight of the new $25 million housing and service center. That means Metro would not pay a developer's fee.

"We've already begun designing a building, and we're prepared to follow through and develop that building," Giarratana said. "If somebody else in Nashville would like to step in and develop that building for no consideration, we would be pleased to help them achieve that goal and develop the building for no fee. I don't think there's going to be a lot of takers for that."

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As for his plans for the new residential high-rise on Church Street, Giarratana said he intends to seek a zone-change to allow it to be built between 50 and 60 stories, or 750 feet, making it the tallest in the city. He's not unveiled formal deigns.

He pointed to his history developing more than a dozen Church Street properties, dating back to 1996, including the Cumberland Apartments, Viridian condos and most recently 505 Nashville, a luxury condo tower.

"We as a company would like to complete the transformation of Church Street," he said.

The property at 301 James Robertson Parkway is appraised at $3.37 million. In addition to the $7 million paid collectively by Giarratana, the city would also use an estimated $2 million in annual tax revenue from Giarratana's new skyscraper project on Church Street to cover debt service for the homeless center on Second Avenue.

"I think it's a good thing for the city," Briley said of the project. "It's financially good and it meets a really critical need that we have in terms of providing permanent supportive housing for the homeless in our town."

Plan has faced criticism

In addition to the parks board vote, the project needs approval from the Metro Council to move forward. That includes the new homeless center, which would be paid for by $25 million in general obligation bonds that requires council authorization.

Besides concerns about losing park space, leaders of the National Baptist Convention Publishing Board, which owns a building on downtown Charlotte Avenue, had expressed concerns about the homeless center being located at the James Robertson Parkway site.

Others have questioned why the city did not issue public request for proposals before picking Giarratana for the project.

In response, Briley said he's pledging to include $25 million in his administration's upcoming capital-spending plan for affordable housing development that would be available to developers through an RFP process.

"Everybody who is interested in building something for the city along these lines will have an opportunity to submit their proposal," Briley said.

Council members weigh in

Councilman Freddie O'Connell, whose district includes each of the properties involved in the proposal, said he tentatively supports the project, but will be reviewing details as they come.

"It's a pretty good outcome," he said, listing off the additions. "Overall, if you add up the package and list the pros and cons, the pros are pretty impressive."

But At-large Councilman John Cooper, who has questioned several land deals involving public property, said he's not sure why the city would bring in an outside developer, Giarratana, to build with city dollars on city land.

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And despite the commitment for a new park, he said he's concerned with any proposal where the city would give one away.

"We've given away or sold too many of our downtown assets, and this is almost the last one in the core of Nashville," Cooper said.

"We'll have to step back and really examine this," Cooper said. "Is this part of the same pattern of developer-friendly arrangements that are needlessly complicated?"

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