Joelton Getting Long Awaited Community Center

Councilman Lonnell Matthews introduces longtime Joelton resident Norma Harvison. Image courtesy Metro Government

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said he was delivering on a five-year-old campaign promise Thursday. Elected officials broke ground on a community center in Joelton.

Officials acknowledged that the northern-most part of Davidson County has been underserved when it comes to Metro Parks.

Norma Harvison was born and raised in the pastoral landscape of Joelton.

 “Overlooked, totally. We’re probably the only community with this many people in it that don’t have a place to have a wedding reception or a shower. We don’t have any place that people can meet except at their churches.”

Harvison’s late husband was credited at the ground breaking with being the driving force behind making the community center happen.

The site is remote and owned by the state, formerly a rehabilitation center for youth. The project will include a new 99-acre park called Paradise Ridge. It’s expected to be complete in the spring.

The Joelton community center will cost Metro $2.3 million, though $350,000 will come from state grants.