Ryman CEO Says $9 Billion Nashville Transit Plan ‘Scared the Living Daylights Out of Me’

Colin Reed

The CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties now says he was never on board for Nashville’s $9 billion light-rail plan, which went off the tracks at a May 1 referendum, the Nashville Business Journal said. The transit proposal came to a crashing halt after voters defeated it by 64-34 percent on May 1, The Tennessee Star reported at the time. Business supporters included McNeely Piggot & Fox, which handled the failed plan’s PR, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Predators. Now, the Nashville Business Journal says Colin Reed, CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties, had some misgivings. “I had some of the same concerns that the ‘antis’ had,” the Nashville Business Journal quotes him as saying. “The notion of tearing up the middle of Broadway for an extended period of time, building a tunnel underneath and bringing it up somewhere on Broadway, concerned the living daylights out of me. Building rail lines in the middle of highways concerns the life out of me. This was a huge amount of money. What we have to fix is morning-time rush hour and evening-time rush hour. That’s where our problems reside here. I felt like this whole evolution we’re seeing with self-driving…

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Ryman Hospitality Properties Plans Multi-Use Development Near Opryland

Ryman Hospitality Properties last week announced plans for a large multi-use development near Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Ryman owns Gaylord Hotels, which are operated by Marriott, as well as the historic Ryman Auditorium downtown and the Grand Ole Opry. The company also created the TV show “Nashville.” Ryman is partnering with Lincoln Property Company to develop 130 acres of commercial land across Briley Parkway from the resort at the intersection of McGavock Pike and Pennington Bend Road. The Donelson area development is set to include offices, residences and retail space. “As the owners of one of the few remaining large tracts of developable commercial land in the Metro area, we see a tremendous opportunity to bring a high-caliber project to Donelson that will be complementary to our existing assets and the surrounding community,” said Ryman CEO Colin Reed in a news release. “We believe this development has the potential to attract a regional or corporate headquarters that will bring additional direct and indirect employment to Donelson. We are also particularly excited about the planned multifamily housing so that people who work in these offices and surrounding businesses have the opportunity to live nearby.” Reed said the master…

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