Tag: Fort Negley

Briley Says Demolish Baseball Stadium to Redevelop Fort Negley Park

Jason M. Reynolds

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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Secret Meeting Between Nashville Mayor’s Office, Developer, And City Councilman Sledge Raises Questions About Fort Negley Development Deal

Tim Dukeman

Controversial Nashville City Council member Colby Sledge admitted in sworn testimony at a Metro Council Board of Ethical Conduct hearing earlier this month into conflict of interest complaints filed against him that he participated in a secret meeting between “a top Barry aide and two partners who would later form Cloud Hill” in late 2015, The Tennessean reported on Wednesday. Talks between leaders of Cloud Hill — the controversial development proposed for Greer Stadium — and Mayor Megan Barry’s administration took place more than one year before the city formally kicked off the process to redevelop the site and began accepting bids. But the mayor’s office maintains informal meetings about Greer Stadium during this period were not unique to Cloud Hill and did not influence decisions. They say the city had an open ear to all suggestions. Details of a 2015 private “informational” meeting emerged during sworn testimony from Metro Councilman Colby Sledge, who appeared this month before the Council Board of Ethical Conduct. The meeting raises questions on the depth of early communications between the mayor’s office and leaders Cloud Hill, which has been roundly criticized by preservationists who want Greer to be reclaimed as an accessible park. “In…

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‘Save Our Fairground’ Lawsuit to Stop Soccer Stadium Construction Dismissed

Admin

Chancery Court Judge Ellen Lyle agreed with the City of Nashville’s Motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the city’s plans for a Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville. The decision cleared the way for the professional soccer league to decide if, indeed, Nashville is to be included in its planned two-team expansion. The ruling comes as Save Our Fairground – represented by local attorney James Roberts – filed a lawsuit in late November arguing Metro Nashville’s plans to develop a professional soccer stadium and surrounding amenities would put in jeopardy the land’s original use, as defined in the city charter as modified by referendum in 2011. Metro Nashville lawyers answered with a motion to dismiss, saying the claims made by Roberts were either premature or did not have standing because even if the claims were true, they did not meet the standards requiring legal review. In a 10-page decision (see below), Judge Lyle agreed with the city, writing: After studying Tennessee law and the Amended Complaint of the Plaintiffs, and considering oral argument of the attorneys for each side, the court concludes Metro is correct. This lawsuit must be dismissed. “This decision affirms what we’ve known all along:…

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Friends of Fort Negley Files Petition with Tennessee Historical Commission to Stop Redevelopment Plans

Wendy Wilson

A preservation group is asking the Tennessee Historical Commission to protect Fort Negley Park from Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s redevelopment plans. The Friends of Fort Negley filed a petition Monday asking the commission to include the property, which includes the abandoned Greer Stadium, in the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2016, reports the Nashville Business Journal. The petition names Metro government as the respondent. Barry’s plans have drawn fierce opposition from a variety of groups who say they don’t honor the area’s history. She wants the Cloud Hill Partnership development team to build affordable housing, shops and restaurants, green space and creative spaces for artists on the land. The stadium has sat abandoned since the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team moved to a new stadium north of downtown in 2015. The fort was built during Union occupation of Nashville during the Civil War. It was constructed with the forced labor of slaves and free blacks, a quarter of whom died from sickness in the winter of 1862. The United States Colored Troops, 13th Infantry Regiment, were among those stationed at the fort during the war and the Battle of Nashville, and reeanactors have relived their stories. “The city attempts to justify the…

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Developer Files Ethics Complaint Against Metro Nashville Officials Regarding Fort Negley Development Plans

Wendy Wilson

  A Nashville developer has filed an ethics complaint against Metro officials for allegedly ignoring his request for more information about the process used to choose a developer for Fort Negley Park. In May, Mayor Megan Barry chose the Cloud Hill Partnership as the developer for the historic site, which includes Greer Stadium, although there is still no formal agreement. Bert Mathews, whose real estate firm created the Cloud Hill team, held a fundraiser for Barry when she was running for mayor. Devinder Singh Sandhu, who lost out to Cloud Hill in the bidding process, previously wrote a letter to city procurement officials protesting the process, saying it “was not equitable to all submitters and information required to make a proper presentation was not complete” and that there was a “lack of transparency.” In his ethics complaint Monday, Sandhu noted that he has “requested answers to questions, documents, requests for meetings and clarification.” The Procurement Appeals Board was set to consider Sandhu’s case Wednesday, but he sent the board a letter late Tuesday saying he had decided to dismiss his appeal. “We are forced to take this action because you, the Metro Procurement Office and Metro Finance Department established the August 30, 2017 hearing date…

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Opposition Grows Against Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s Plans To Redevelop Fort Negley Park

Wendy Wilson

  Opposition is growing against Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s plans to open Fort Negley Park to private development. Part of Fort Negley Park was home to Greer Stadium from the late 1970s until 2015, when the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team moved to a new stadium just north of downtown. Barry has accepted a proposal from a development team called Cloud Hill Partnership, but Metro has not yet formally entered into an agreement. Plans for the Metro-owned property call for including affordable housing for workers, shops and restaurants, green space and creative spaces for artists. Under the proposed deal, Metro would retain ownership, with the development team investing private funds and sharing revenue. Critics include African-American groups, Councilman John Cooper, a national nonprofit devoted to protecting cultural landscapes and many native Nashvillians. “They shouldn’t even be considering this,” Nashville native Doug Jones told The Tennessee Star Friday. “That is sacred ground out there.” Jones, a local attorney, is a past president of the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society. He told The Star that Ft. Negley Park is a site of national importance and that “this is not just some local thing that the mayor can do in a back room…

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