自慰视频 University representatives began meeting with neighbors in the fall of 2024 as part of the planning phase for the university鈥檚 Innovation Neighborhood鈥攁 plan to reimagine the west side of our campus to become a world-class, mixed-use innovation hub over the next several decades.
Since our first meeting with neighbors, the university has made it a priority to listen to neighbors and incorporate feedback from the community in shaping our plans for a dedicated space for innovation 鈥� a space that will translate university research into growing businesses and partnerships that will benefit all who live and work in Nashville and the region.
The Specific Plan we propose establishes a clear, consistent set of expectations and sets a higher shared standard for design, form and neighborhood interface that will apply across all phases of development over time. The goal of this work and standards is for the Innovation Neighborhood to be a cohesive part of the fabric of Nashville.
Here is how we incorporated what we heard from our neighbors into the Specific Plan:
More green space and trees
- Adding approximately 300 percent more publicly accessible open and green space
- Increasing the tree canopy by roughly 175 percent
- Including a minimum of 3.0 acres of parks and accessible open space
Better connections to parks and open space
- Central to the plan, and inspired by the Hillsboro-West End Neighborhood鈥檚 鈥渟ecret sidewalks,鈥� is the Meander鈥攁n approximately 1.5-acre linear park that will wind through the site and strengthen connections from Dragon Park to Centennial Park to the broader neighborhood
Safer, more walkable streets
- More crosswalks on 31st Avenue, West End and Natchez Trace will enhance safety and connectivity
- Approximately 1.7 miles of new and improved sidewalks
A stronger, multimodal network
- Approximately 1.3 miles of new, protected bikeways
- Separated bikeways on Natchez Trace and Blakemore Avenue that connect to existing bikeways
Better traffic flow
- Improvements to the overall street grid to enhance traffic flow will include a new traffic signal at 31st Avenue, an enhanced West End/Natchez Trace signal to allow left and right turns, and more streets through the site
- The project lays important groundwork for the city鈥檚 transit improvements along West End through Choose How you Move, including transit stop improvements, more signalized crossings and potential assessment for a transit center
Elevated design and use standards
- The plan calls for enhanced design standards over what could be developed there today. These include building material quality standards, facade requirements and public realm requirements that encourage quality and long-lasting buildings. The mixed-use neighborhood will be a place for many users鈥攊nnovators, residents, workers, students, faculty members鈥攚ho will create a dynamic neighborhood.
- Retail and community-oriented uses will allow this neighborhood to become an integrated and lasting part of the fabric of Nashville.
Additional Changes and Concessions to Address Neighborhood Concerns
After incorporating feedback from our neighbors in the base framework of our Specific Plan, we have continued to work with Metro Planning, the Nashville Department of Transportation, District Councilmember Tom Cash and neighborhood leaders to further revise the plan.
Here are the additional changes and concessions 自慰视频 has made:
Reduced Height and Scaled Development Along 31st Avenue
- The maximum height of structures along 31st Avenue is reduced to 10 stories within 100 feet of the property line鈥攁 meaningful step down from what would otherwise be permitted.
- Height is further reduced at the street itself, with a 30-foot stepback required at or before the sixth or seventh building floor, creating a tiered profile that eases the transition to the residential neighborhood.
- A new linear park along the 31st Avenue corridor sets the buildings back approximately 20 feet from the property line and greatly enhances the streetscape to feel considerably more at home next to the neighborhood. Current zoning allows a building to be built 10 feet from the property line.
- Ground floor commercial spaces along 31st Avenue will be limited to no more than 5,000 square feet per retailer, keeping the scale and character of the streetscape aligned with surrounding neighborhood retail streets.
- Metro Planning has also called for specific building design and shape standards along the 31st Avenue edge, with the goal of preserving a look and feel that鈥檚 appropriate to the adjacent neighborhood.
Additional Aesthetic & Design Adjustments
- Open, standalone above-grade parking structures will be prohibited. Where parking is not below grade, garages visible from key public areas will be lined with active uses or habitable space鈥攅nsuring that what people see and experience at street level is engaging and human-scaled.
- 自慰视频 agreed to a number of additional enhanced design elements. For example, through working with Metro Planning, the proposed zoning includes additional specific ground floor articulation, and maximum tower lengths and floorplate sizes鈥攁ll of which prevent large, wall-like structures and keep the neighborhood streetscape varied and visually interesting.
- Quality building materials are required throughout, with standards that are intended to create higher-quality buildings than what is required today that integrate into 自慰视频鈥檚 campus and the surrounding neighborhood.
- For any structures identified as Worthy of Conservation, a pre-application meeting with Metro Planning staff will be required at least six months before any demolition permit is filed鈥攑roviding an opportunity to explore alternatives and, where appropriate, to document those structures before any decisions are made.
Further Prohibitions of Uses Incompatible with the Innovation Neighborhood
- In addition to limits of uses that are out of character with the neighborhood: check-cashing, beer and cigarette markets, alternative financial services, automobile services, car washes and flea markets, 自慰视频 has also agreed to prohibit liquor sales, bars and nightclubs anywhere within Subdistrict A (area closest to the neighborhood).
- Rooftop amenities will not be permitted in Subdistrict A (area closest to the neighborhood). In all other subdistricts, any covered rooftop amenities will count toward the overall maximum height.
- Short-term rentals will be capped at 120 total units across the entire 40-acre site, with none permitted in Subdistrict A (area closest to the neighborhood). Today, short-term rentals are permitted and unlimited on a large portion of the property.
Additional Traffic, Multimodal & Parking Concessions
- 自慰视频 has requested removal of parking maximums to help ensure ample parking within the footprint, reducing pressure on surrounding streets and the broader neighborhood. Under existing zoning, there would be limits to how much parking would be allowed on the site.
- With each phase of the development, 自慰视频 will be required to conduct a new multimodal traffic analysis. The Nashville Department of Transportation will determine the scope of these studies and review/approve the findings. Each final multimodal traffic analysis must also include an analysis of parking demand and supply to demonstrate that parking is appropriately accommodated and to identify multimodal strategies intended to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips. For the neighborhood, this means traffic and parking impacts cannot simply be evaluated once and forgotten. As the city grows and travel patterns change, each new phase of construction will be evaluated based on current conditions rather than outdated projections, giving neighbors an ongoing mechanism to ensure that the project accounts for current impacts.
- 自慰视频 has agreed to conduct a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study to evaluate vehicle traffic traveling through the neighborhood bounded by Blakemore Avenue, I-440, West End Avenue and 21st Avenue. 自慰视频 will repeat the study approximately every five years for 15 years. 自慰视频 has also agreed to work with the district councilmember and neighborhood leaders to support the findings of those studies.
- 自慰视频 has agreed to work with WeGo Public Transit to encourage and incentivize the use of Easy Ride passes by office tenants and retail users within the project.
- To further encourage parking on site and address the community鈥檚 parking concerns, the plan will include 90 minutes of free parking for retail customers for the first 10 years.
- 自慰视频 would be aligned with efforts the neighborhood may pursue to impose additional residential parking restrictions within their neighborhood.
Construction Planning Guidelines
- 自慰视频 outlined a parking framework reflecting its goal of relocating or absorbing existing parking capacity as each phase of construction progresses. This plan includes increased game day parking capacity on campus and within the redeveloped site that leverages the full network of existing parking facilities on campus or nearby and reflects careful phasing of construction to ensure that replacement parking is available throughout redevelopment.
- 自慰视频 is committed to maintaining safe and accessible pedestrian routes throughout construction, with any temporary closures accompanied by a clearly marked alternative and advance notice to the community, in partnership with NDOT.
Ongoing Community Engagement and Construction Communications Commitments
- 自慰视频 has agreed to meet with neighborhood leadership (Hillsboro West End Neighborhood association, Bristol West End, area merchants, etc.) quarterly to provide construction updates and preview plans.
- 自慰视频 has also committed to additional efforts to strengthen communication and collaboration with the neighborhood during construction. These include:
- Dedicated project website 鈥� this site will be actively updated with real-time information and resources.
- Interactive GIS mapping tool 鈥� this tool we are developing will give real-time accessible routes to easily navigate the area.
- Bi-weekly newsletter 鈥� VU will send a bi-weekly Sunday newsletter with a two-week look ahead for community members. This newsletter will include insights on the project, anticipated noise levels, any impactful work that may occur, etc.
- Real-time messaging 鈥� VU will use a messaging system that neighbors will be able to opt in to receive direct text messages or emails about any unexpected or urgent issues. Community members also can use it to ask questions and send feedback to get real-time responses.
- Dedicated staff to monitor neighborhood inquiries and respond rapidly.