A quarter-acre patch of grass dressed with a few trees, bushes, benches and a fountain is the source of big controversy in downtown Nashville.

Church Street Park is a battleground for the forces of old and new Nashville, as the city is transformed for more and more residents, tourists and workers.

City leaders want to turn the park at Sixth and Church, where residents and workers in the area have complained for years about feeling unsafe, over to a developer.

The mayor's office privately negotiated a deal with tower builder Tony Giarratana to erect what he says would be the city's tallest skyscraper.

But homeless advocates, urban park proponents and government watchdogs are outraged by the plan, passed on to Mayor David Briley by the former administration.

The dispute heated up since the proposal was first publicly debated late last year by the Metro Board of Parks and Recreation, which approved it 4-3 after eager encouragement from Briley's office.

Four months later, Metro Council members have yet to take up the contentious matter for final approval.

An alternative proposal

Now, the nonprofit Nashville Civic Design Center and the historic Hermitage Hotel, which owns most of a block facing the park, have drawn up alternative proposals to save the rare downtown open space.

They say they were blindsided by the city's contract with Giarratana.

"We would want to purchase the park," said Dee Patel, general manager of the Hermitage Hotel. "Why would we not be given any opportunity to weigh in on this? How was one private entity able to engage in this unusual bartering process?"

The hotel proposed another vision, with tables for outdoor dining, a waterfall fountain, and a rectangular patch of grass surrounded by decorative paved walking areas.

Meanwhile, the Civic Design Center published a series of blogs on its website detailing the city's missteps. It says the park was set up for failure and that all it needs is a makeover to become a thriving public space.

“The current narrative that Nashvillians must choose between the status quo or a new high-rise tower lacks the imaginative courage of visioning a downtown in which Church Street Park is an elevated asset by which all of Nashville is welcome, safe, and celebrated,” the blog states.

Food trucks, live performances at lunch hours and games could make it a haven amid the surrounding urbanization, Civic Design Center officials said.

The American Institute of Architects Middle Tennessee also issued a statement asking Nashville officials for an "open and transparent" debate about the park's future and saying that “sufficient time should be allotted to consider multiple options for the future of the site.”

"With the growing population, we need that space downtown," said Civic Design Center CEO Gary Gaston. "We need more public spaces."

'It's not a fair process'

The city plans to make up for the lost open area by developing Giarratana's similarly sized parking lot on the outskirts of downtown into a park.

"Mr. Giarratana owns the lot on 301 James Robertson Parkway, which is why we would be able to make the land swap, resulting in no net loss of downtown park space," said Thomas Mulgrew, Briley's spokesman.

Critics call it an attempt to mask growing numbers of homeless people and say it doesn't make sense to remove a park where green space is badly needed. The new location would be right next to Public Square Park.

"The problem with the park is Nashville's neglect of the homelessness issue," said Jim Hoobler, curator at the Tennessee State Museum. "You can't just bar a part of the public because you don't like them. That's pretty cold-hearted."

More than 1,000 people living downtown are homeless, according to the Metro Homeless Impact Division. Church Street Park is a draw because it's next to the main library's public restrooms.

The city is only now beginning to gather hard data on how many Nashvillians are experiencing homelessness, but shelters report booming demand.

City officials committed to building a $25 million homeless services center with 100 transitional-housing apartments when they announced this plan. Increased property value from the development could help fund that center at 505 Second Ave. N., they said.

'Reimagine Church Street'

For Giarratana, the deal is a chance to build his tallest tower yet. His 45-story 505 Church tower, across from the park, was originally conceived as a 60-story high-rise.

He says the new tower will be 65 stories of condominiums, though the 505's 550 units had to be divided between condos, apartments and short-term vacation rentals.

Since opening in 2017, about 90 condominiums remain unsold. But Giarratana expects those to go quickly as the 505 absorbs demand from new corporations moving to town, including Amazon and AllianceBernstein.

Giarratana promised to pay the city $2 million cash, as part of the land-swap deal. He would be given rights to develop Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard, between the park and Legislative Plaza, in exchange for making undisclosed renovations there "not to exceed $5 million."

He said he is considering building a public dog park on the boulevard.

But he has otherwise released few details on any of the plans, though he is working with Chicago architecture firm Goettsch Partners on the tower.

"The contract is vague," said Patel, of the Hermitage Hotel. "The only commitment is turning a parking lot into a park for $2 million. We're looking for a fair, open process. We want to consider preserving our block. We shouldn't just give it away."

Metro officials haven't said when the plan might go before council members.

A group called Citizens for Church Street recently debuted a website promoting Giarratana's plans. The domain name is registered to public relations firm Calvert Street Group.

Ads from the group are circulating on Facebook, seeking petition signatures supporting the 65-story tower.

"Reimagine Church Street with restaurants, green space and neighborhood amenities," the ad states. "Sign the petition to help Downtown Nashville thrive!"

Reach Sandy Mazza at smazza@tennessean.com or 615-726-5962 and on Twitter @SandyMazza.