Nashville’s Beaman Park Expansion Will Preserve 568 Additional Rugged, Wooded Acres

Beaman Park in northern Davidson County — one of Metro’s most rugged swaths of land for deep woods recreation — could soon expand by 568 acres.

A subcommittee of the Board of Parks and Recreation will consider a 568-acre land acquisition next week, which could boost the Metro park to more than 2,000 pristine acres.

“
It’s an area that is primarily wooded,
” said Metro Parks Director Tommy Lynch
. 
“
This is a perfect fit from our standpoint.
“

The expansion would be the latest in a string of improvements at Beaman and the county’s fourth parkland expansion of at least 400 acres since 2011.

At Beaman, the 
Tennessee Parks and Greenways
 Foundation gifted 
13 acres to the city in fall 2014 to protect against development near the popular Ridgetop Trail — which highlights the 

rugged landscape, narrow hollows and waterways of the park. 

The 
Friends of Beaman Park
 are also raising money to restore a century-old barn that became part of the park in a 188-acre land donation in 2008.

  
For the new 568-acre acquisition, Lynch credited the Land Trust for Tennessee for helping negotiate a 
“
bargain basement
“ 
price of $1,000 per acre. The city would use existing money in its open space plan, Lynch said.
  

Countywide, the expansion would rank among the largest in recent years. Metro also acquired:

• the 135-acre Cornelia Fort Airpark as part of Shelby Bottoms in 2011;
• the 181-acre Ravenwood
   Country Club in Hermitage in 2011;
• 
  the 600-acre Stones River Farm and 100 surrounding acres in Madison in 2011;
  
• 
  448 acres for Warner Parks in fall 2014;
  
• 
  and 591 acres near Cane Ridge High School in May.
  

All told, Lynch said the city has added 4,000 acres in eight years. The city plan calls for these acquisitions to protect lands in the bends of the Cumberland River and to expand the parks and greenways network, he said.

“Sixty-five years
ago, we had plenty of parks and open space and plenty of clear blue streams. 
They’ve all been impacted by our growth and our development,
” Lynch said. 
“
It’s not just buying the land to expand the parks department, but to make sure and ensure we have parks and adequate space for our children and grandchildren … and anyone who moves into Nashville in the next 50 years.
“