Luxury hotel, music venue, high-end homes pitched for south Davidson County hilltop

A picturesque 20-acre hilltop bordering Brentwood in southern Davidson County would be transformed into a boutique hotel, music venue, spa, high-end homes and open space under an ambitious new proposal unveiled on Wednesday.

The Brian Paul Hotel, with an estimated construction price tag of $320 million, would be built on the 20-acre Summit Hill property on the other side of Old Hickory Boulevard from the Target complex.

The plan is the brainchild of Brentwood-based developer Brian Weissmann, prominent architect Wade Weissmann and property owners Advent Partners.

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There are substantial hurdles to clear for the project to come to fruition. It must go through the Metro Planning Commission and Metro Council. Financing has not been finalized. And significant infrastructure upgrades are necessary to pull the project off.

But, if the Brian Paul Hotel becomes a reality, it would provide a unique resort-style hotel option for visitors and add another independent venue to the city's stable of live music clubs.

'It will be iconic'

Metro Councilman Robert Swope, whose district includes the Summit Hill property, is already supporting the plan.

"It's been three years to put this together," Swope said, adding that he had a high standard for any project he would support on the site. "It will be iconic. And any (proposal) that was not iconic was off the table."

Brian Weissmann, a developer who relocated to Nashville six years ago, said he has envisioned a boutique hotel, spa and music venue project for decades. Once he moved to Nashville, where he had visited for many years on business, Weissmann began hunting for properties, but nothing quite fit his criteria.

The development team, which also includes partners Daniel Knopf, Jim Dahmus and Alexander Narod, is particularly excited about the project because of the panoramic views the hotel will provide. From the hill, which has an elevation of about 962 feet above sea level, a clear day provides views of downtown Nashville to the north, the airport, and Cool Springs to the south.

Hotel, music venue, homes and condos

Brian Weissmann calls the concept "amplified luxury." The 600-person indoor music venue and spa surround the hotel lodge. They would feature standalone bungalows that Weissmann believes could be used for creative space, where songwriters might collaborate.

The linchpin for the financing will be 22 upscale 3,800- to 5,200-square-foot "garden-style" homes, and 13 penthouse condos.

It would also include a small commercial building, some restaurants and retail space.

"My idea has always been to have a great, well-designed boutique environment that also had an emphasis and focus on music, and also incorporating a wellness and health theme with a spa," Brian Weissmann said.

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A search around the community yielded intriguing leads, but when he found the Summit Hill property, Brian Weissmann said he fell in love. He took his brother — whose impressive architectural portfolio primarily features an array of high-end residential projects — to breakfast at the Waffle House across the street.

"He said, 'All right, what do you got?' I said, 'Look across the street. You see that hill right there? Imagine this incredible hotel and music venue right there,'" Brian Weissmann said. "You can't find a hill like that anymore to build on, especially one located right in Davidson County and as the gateway to Williamson County."

To successfully pull of the project, the buildings will be built into the hillside, Wade Weissmann said. Facing the front of the hotel, with cascading waterfalls and seven standalone bungalows in the middle, design renderings are reminiscent of a European village.

"There's a challenge with trying to create a large enough footprint on a lot that's sloped so dramatically," Wade Weissmann said. "So for us, we will be able to take this program of wellness, and hotel, and hospitality and residence and music venue and break it apart and bring it along the sides of the hill.

"It gave us the opportunity to create this domed central park in the middle where a ring of residences and buildings carve into the upside slope of the property and then provide this incredible view out on the down slope of the property."

The property is owned by Advent Partners, which is led by executive Preston Adams, who said the obstacle had been prospective developers "fighting the hill, instead of incorporating it into their plans."

Developers eye fall start for construction

The development team, which has hired the lobbying and consulting firm The Ingram Group, pitched the plan at a small community meeting on Wednesday and will file its initial planning documents on Friday.

The goal is to achieve city approval so that construction can begin this fall and the hotel could open in late 2020 or early 2021.

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Adams pointed out that the property already has received appropriate approval for a tall office tower, which would generate substantially more traffic than the hotel and homes. Concerts held at the venue would begin at 8 p.m., after rush hour traffic on Old Hickory Boulevard, Brian Weissmann said. The venue will cater to rock, bluegrass, country, gospel and Christian music, he said.

Although the project won't seek incentives that other hotel projects have received, there are likely to be talks regarding the cost of infrastructure, especially the access road, utilities and sewer.

The development team provided an economic impact report, conducted by University of Tennessee economics professors Mark Burton and David Vogt, that anticipates the project will yield $87.7 million in annual revenues and employ 493 full-time staffers.

"This project is a unique, upscale development that not only captures the city’s brand but further develops the hospitality industry in an area of Davidson County that deserves the enhancements," Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. President and CEO Butch Spyridon said.

Developers have had discussions with several brands to operate the hotel, Brian Weissmann said.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.