What’s in Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s capital spending plan? Largely infrastructure and education

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has filed his capital spending plan for 2025.

The annual plan contains the mayor’s recommendations for capital projects. They are selected from the capital improvements budget, which outlines possible projects over a six-year horizon.

This year’s $527 million plan marks an increase of $13 million from last year’s plan.

The plan’s top investment is transportation and countywide infrastructure. NDOT will see $103.6 million for things like road repairs, new sidewalks, traffic calming efforts, bike lanes and traffic signal upgrades. More than a third of their funds will be allocated toward foundational infrastructure improvements on the East Bank. WeGo will receive $21 million to replace buses, paratransit vehicles and to match state and federal grant money.

Metro Schools is next in line on the priority list, with $98 million in funding. This marks a slight decrease from the $105 million allocated last year, when three school construction projects were closed out. This year, the funds will go toward renovations at Glencliff High School, new turf fields for high schools, solar panels at three schools and, primarily, district-wide maintenance.

Other significant investments include:

• $89 million for general services: maintenance, building safety upgrades, new firetrucks, roofing, solar projects.
• $88 million for the final phase of the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment, the city’s new juvenile justice center. This project has received allocations from every capital spending plan since 2021.
• $27 million for Metro Parks. These will go toward projects that include ADA enhancements at Frederick Douglass Park, solar maintenance on various community centers, paving and roofing.
• $7.5 million to the planning department for East Bank Infrastructure program management and neighborhood planning studies.
• $5 million for the first phase — site, design and early construction — of the new Hadley Park library.

The capital spending plan is subject to Metro Council approval.