A river side scrap yard that many Nashvillians have called an eyesore and an impediment to progress may make way for development.

The Marks family has an option to buy land now leased the PSC Metal Recycling Center on the East Bank of the Cumberland. The facility is one of the last vestiges of a time when the river running through downtown was primarily used for industrial purposes. But while the scrap yard’s neighbor was once a barge company, now it stands next to LP Field and the Gateway Bridge. And it stands in the way of a plan to overhaul that section of riverfront into a recreational area complete with green spaces, a marina, and a man-made island.

The Marks family has bought about twenty other properties in Nashville for development, including the proposed site for a new convention center. It’s not clear what they would do with the riverfront property. It will probably take them about a year to hammer out a deal with PSC’s landowners.