Briley Says Demolish Baseball Stadium to Redevelop Fort Negley Park

Nashville Mayor David Briley has made his first major announcement on the job — a proposal to demolish Greer Stadium and restore the land for reintegration into Fort Negley Park. The Tennessean reported the story Tuesday, adding the new mayor needs to ask Metro Council for $1 million to demolish the old stadium and begin restoring the property as a park. Briley’s predecessor, Megan Barry, had made a controversial push to redevelop Greer Stadium into a mixed-use project called Cloud Hill. Barry abandoned those plans in January amid strong resistance. The funds “would come from the city’s 4% reserve fund through a request to the Metro Council in April,” according to a statement on the city’s website. “Following the demolition, the property will be seeded with grass while the Metro Historical Commission produces a Cultural Landscape Report that will help inform decisions by the Metro Parks Board about how best to turn this space into an active park that honors the history of the site.” Learotha Williams, a professor of black history at Tennessee State University, hailed Briley’s move. On Twitter, he said, “this is, without doubt, a tremendous first step at honoring those Tennesseans who first tasted freedom here.”…

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Cloud Hill Withdraws from Controversial Fort Negley Re-Development Project After Archaeological Report Finds ‘Likely’ Graves

The Cloud Hill real estate development partnership announced Friday in a short statement it has withdrawn from the Fort Negley/Greer Stadium mixed-use project, citing concerns over an archaeological report which found that there is a great likelihood that the graves of slaves who build the historic fort are still resting on the grounds. At issue is a final report released by Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research (TVAR), a “consulting firm is located in Huntsville, Alabama [that works] closely with State Historic Preservation Officers and their staffs . . . to provide clients with an efficient process to comply with historic preservation laws and regulations,” which found that among the undisturbed soils along the periphery of the property indicate “that impressed slaves were likely buried in these areas during the construction of Fort Negley, it is highly likely that human remains are still present in these areas.” The proposal submitted by the Cloud Hill Partnership “accepted by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry to redevelop Fort Negley Park calls for affordable housing subsidized by government programs including tax credits and Section 8 vouchers,” The Tennessee Star reported in July, noting: The plan by Cloud Hill Partnership has already drawn fierce opposition because of concerns about historic preservation.…

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Fort Negley Park Supporters File Lawsuit Alleging Metro Nashville Violated Laws in Choosing Developer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Metro Council member Steve Glover and a handful of other supporters of Fort Negley Park announced Tuesday they were filing a lawsuit alleging Metro government did not follow its own laws and procedures in selecting the Cloud Hill Partnership to redevelop the historic park. The group, which included an Abe Lincoln impersonator, stood on the steps of the Metro Courthouse downtown for a press conference before filing the suit in Davidson County Chancery Court. “This process needs to start over,” said Attorney Jim Roberts. Roberts said secret meetings led to the selection of Cloud Hill and that the process needs to be redone in a more transparent and public way. Bert Mathews, whose real estate firm founded the Cloud Hill team, held a fundraiser for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry when she was running for mayor. Barry spearheaded the efforts to select Cloud Hill. The proposal to redevelop Fort Negley Park has been controversial across the Nashville area among various communities and has draw national attention. The main concern is historic preservation. Cloud Hill’s plans call for building affordable and workforce housing, shops and restaurants and creative spaces for artists. The fort would remain intact, but critics say the…

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Development Proposal For Nashville’s Historic Fort Negley Park Includes Plans For Welfare Housing

The proposal accepted by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry to redevelop Fort Negley Park calls for affordable housing subsidized by government programs including tax credits and Section 8 vouchers. The plan by Cloud Hill Partnership has already drawn fierce opposition because of concerns about historic preservation. Located south of downtown, the land is home to a fort built during the Union occupation of Nashville during the Civil War and also includes Greer Stadium, where the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team played until moving to a new stadium north of downtown in 2015. City officials have not yet entered into a formal agreement with Cloud Hill and negotiations for the public-private partnership are stalled pending a protest by a competing developer whose bid was turned down. In addition to affordable and workforce housing, Cloud Hill’s plan includes green space, creative spaces for artists, offices, and shops and restaurants. It also calls for preserving the fort and honoring and protecting history. The residential component includes plans for 294 apartments. They would include 87 studio, 68 one-bedroom, 119 two-bedroom and 20 three-bedroom apartments. At least 80 of the 294 apartments would be reserved as affordable units for those earning less than 50 percent of the…

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