As Nashville reshapes Cayce homes into mixed-income housing, concern among some residents persists

Nashville’s public housing agency broke ground Thursday on the latest stage of the Cayce Transformation plan.

Cayce homes is historically a subsidized housing complex, located across 63 acres in East Nashville. But, in the last decade, the city has embarked on an ambitious overhaul of public housing — including Cayce — working to break up concentrated poverty by creating a community where people of all income levels live together. The effort has involved replacing the community’s aging structures, with a goal of building a total of 2,390 units.

The latest development, Park Point East, will feature 203 units. 115 of those are designated for current Cayce tenants, while the rest are meant for Nashvillians who earn higher incomes.

The city officially began the planning process back in 2013, and broke ground on their first mixed-income building in 2017. Since then, 271 former Cayce Place families have moved into new units. Park Point East marks the eighth new residential construction at Cayce.

At the groundbreaking, Mayor Freddie O’Connell celebrated the progress that has been made.

“We have seen a lot of what is possible at the site,” O’Connell said. “This started as a conversation with Casey’s residents. The city has been listening, and now we are doing it on behalf of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Davidson County, and the Office of the Mayor.”

Still, some residents expressed hesitation. Cayce tenant John Zirker, the president of the residential association, said there are lingering concerns about transitioning into a mixed-income community.

Cynthia Abrams WPLN News

Cayce resident John Zirker attends the groundbreaking of Park Point East.

“You know, we have a culture here,” Zirker said. “We need to know our new neighbors.”

Cayce’s redevelopment hasn’t exactly been smooth-sailing. The community has faced the shuttering of a grocery store, the loss of a preschool program and messy relocations during demolition. Cayce was also the location of the police killing of Jocques Clemmons in 2017 and the focus of WPLN’s six-part series, The Promise.

And Zirker says there are things the community still needs including better transportation and wraparound services that can improve safety.

Some of these services should eventually be constructed — a pharmacy and a grocery store are two of the amenities included in the Cayce Transformation Plan.

Jamie Berry, the chief of staff at the Metro Development and Housing Agency, says she thinks some of Zirker’s concerns can be solved with transparency. She points to a recently created Resident Services Department.

“While we want to build new units, we also realize that we need to invest in our residents,” Berry said. “The vision is for them to serve residents for and to look for services that are needed.”

Park Point East construction is expected to begin in 2024.