Residents of West Nashville asked pointed questions to a developer during an appearance Wednesday on WPLN’s daily show This is Nashville.
Nashville developer AJ Capital is planning to turn the Belle Meade Plaza on White Bridge and Harding Pike into a mixed-use development with restaurants, shops, condos and a hotel. AJ Capital is behind several large developments around the city, including Soho House and May Hosiery Mills in Wedgewood-Houston.
Jack Richmond, a senior vice president with AJ Capital, said their goal is to transform the plaza into a walkable neighborhood with more greenspace.
“This shopping center, it dates back to the 1960s … it’s a little bit run down and could use some work. So we’re excited to create a more walkable, liveable community on this 10-acre site,” said Richmond.
The hour-long exchange included several tense questions posed by nearby residents to Richmond as well as Councilmember Kathleen Murphy. AJ Capital is currently seeking to rezone the property.
“Why did it take a radio show to get them to talk to us?” asked Kate Parrish, who lives in Sylvan Park.
Community members say concerns over density, height and traffic have been neither heard nor addressed by the developer or the city’s planning commission.
“I do not feel that the neighborhoods have been given the opportunity to give input,” said Trish Bolian, who also expressed concerns over nearby Richland Creek and flooding potential.
Parrish said she had taken to posting her questions about the project on the social media app Next Door out of frustration.
Councilmember Kathleen Murphy defended the city’s process, saying at least two meetings did carve out space for question-and-answer. So far, she said, four community meetings have been held and more are in the works.
“That is what the process has been. They present what their project is, and we ask questions,” said Murphy.
Murphy said part of their limitation was the number of people who would like to provide feedback, with several hundred people showing up to one recent meeting.
“That takes more than one meeting to get around and give everyone a chance to talk, and that’s why we have more meetings scheduled,” she said.
But Parrish pushed back on what she described as poor communication with affected stakeholders, at one point calling the project a “money grab.”
“It’s money. It’s money. If you don’t build up, up, up, you’re not going to make your investment back,” Parrish said. “That is a very expensive piece of property.”
Toward the end of the hour, host Khalil Ekulona posed a question he said was on the minds of many in Nashville, as development continues at a breakneck pace.
“Who is the city more dedicated to: residents or developers?” he asked Richmond and Murphy.
Richmond and Murphy say they would continue to take feedback on the project and that AJ Capital is currently incorporating new comments into the proposal. Their next meeting is currently scheduled for Feb. 15.
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