A Major Threat To Integrity of Nashville's Lower Broadway Historic District Looms on the Horizon
December 15, 2006
Arkansas developers, The Barber Group, and Sage Hospitality Resources from Denver have applied for a zone change to construct a 19-story hotel and condo development in the block between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, along the south side of Broadway. Their proposal has been approved by MDHA and the Planning Commission; their remaining hurdle is the Metro Council. The Westin as proposed cannot be built by right. It is also inconsistent with the General Plan and the new Downtown Community Plan.
The developers plan to demolish three historic buildings eligible for the National Register. One of those is a building type so endangered that the State Historic Preservation Office says it may be individually eligible for the Register.
The developers promise preservation of three storefronts on Broadway. But with the 19-story rear addition, the buildings will no longer meet National Register criteria.
The developers first approached city officials in December of 2005. They were told by Planning Commission, Historical Commission, and Civic Design Center staff members that maximum height in that sensitive location should be no more than eight stories. Those agencies have consistently expressed concern about incompatibility of scale and character of the proposal.
The property is within two redevelopment districts (Rutledge Hill and Capitol Mall) administered by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. At a meeting of the MDHA design review committee on August 15, the project was approved, 7-2. Rick Bernhardt and Ann Roberts voted against approval.
The Planning Commission staff reviewed the project and recommended disapproval at the Planning Commission meeting on November 14. Despite that, the Planning Commission approved the proposal with a 7-2 vote, though with several conditions.
In 2006, lower Broadway was included in the first district to be designated as a Preserve America Neighborhood, a program begun by First Lady Laura Bush.
WHY THIS IS BAD FOR NASHVILLE:
This is a very real threat to the character of Lower Broad. Broadway is, according to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, our “point of difference” in a world rapidly becoming homogenized. The CVB promises music “presented in an authentic, unique, friendly and unpretentious atmosphere.” If the country music phenomenon can be said to have a focus, that focus is on Broadway.
A quick internet search yields several blogs written by young visitors to Nashville – a new generation – describing the fun they have exploring the legend that lives today on lower Broadway.
While Brandon Barber, Chairman and CEO of the Barber Group, apparently doesn’t like country music (as quoted in Arkansas publication Cityscapes Metro Monthly), that industry has been and continues to be very important to Nashville. And we are proud of it.
We’ll also lose historic structures. The project block includes historic structures, some of which will be demolished for this project, others irretrievably altered. The oldest buildings of lower Broad were built to support the river trade in the mid-19th century. Since that time, these buildings have withstood natural and human challenges. Several of the buildings survived the Civil War; most were flooded several times. Still they have survived as remnants of our earliest days.
The concern is not just for these buildings. The importance of Broadway is not its individual buildings. Architecturally, the street is not as uniformly impressive as Second Avenue. They are, though, part of the urban, gritty character of Lower Broad. Broadway’s significance is its history, its sense of place, and its authenticity.
No part of our city is more historic, more tied to the river to which Nashville is now seeking to reconnect, than this small, fragile, human-scaled section of downtown. These buildings, worn and gritty as they are, tell the authentic story of our city’s development.
That block will be removed from the National Register if the Westin is built as planned. This will be the first reduction in size of any National Register district in the city and sets a dangerous precedent. If this is allowed, on what basis can other large-scaled development be denied, regardless of loss of historic properties?
This project is totally out of scale with Lower Broad. Broadway is a neighborhood of historic buildings that range from two to five stories; the tallest building is about 70 feet high.
The Westin (proposed) The Hilton (existing)
- 200 feet tall 125 feet tall
- 64 feet from Broadway 225 feet from Broadway
Think of the view as you descend Broadway – a sweeping vista ending in small old structures – or the view from the Shelby Street Bridge. That will change drastically. The Westin will be a much larger presence than the Hilton.
