Dean Gives Riverfront to MDHA

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced today he will fund the riverfront redevelopment in this year’s capital budget. He’s also putting the Metro Development and Housing Agency in charge.

Dean says MDHA is well-suited for such a complex real estate deal.

“You’ve got public land. You’ve got private land. You’ve got undeveloped land and some land that’s already been developed. You need an agency like MDHA to pull it all together.”

MDHA has hired a principal at Gresham Smith and Partners, Ed Owens, to direct the development. Owens is a former employee of the Metro Planning Department.

In terms of funding, former-mayor Bill Purcell included 8-million dollars for the riverfront in last year’s capital budget, but the projects were put on hold. This year’s capital budget comes out later this month.