Flatrock Music and Arts Festival shows off neighborhood diversity

Coleman Park celebrates different cultures of communities with food and activities
The Tennessean-May 30, 2008

Several hundred people gathered at Coleman Park to celebrate the cultural changes of the past few years in the Woodbine, Glencliff, Radnor and Sadler Village neighborhoods at the first annual Hands Together in Flatrock Music and Arts Festival.
Musical artists included platinum country songwriter Irene Kelley, the '60s and '70s tribute band Boomerang, and Latin pop-rocker Danny Salazar. They performed at the event, which also featured a variety of ethnic foods vendors and the works of several Flatrock-area artists.
Woodbine resident T.C. Weber, who led the efforts to organize the event, said that the festival took on a life of its own as soon as he and a small group of Flatrock-area residents began to gauge interest in the event.
"I sort of become the de facto director, and the more we talked about this, everybody and their brother jumped on, including local businesses," he said. "I have never seen a project like this where someone didn't have to beg for money. It was amazing."
Weber said the event was also partially funded by Vanderbilt Medical Center and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.
"This is the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in Nashville," Weber said. "Glencliff has 45 different nationalities represented and a rich history of people who have lived there for years and are proud of that history. So we need to celebrate that history and the diversity we have."
Frank Feinstein is a Glencliff resident who was on the organizing board. He said he believes that holding the event each year will be a major factor in bringing the area's growing number of cultures and nationalities together.
"We have such an influx of people here, and all types of restaurants and businesses now," he said. "It's important to bring all the different people together, and an event like this is a great way to do it."
'It came from the heart'
Rubio Hernandez lives in Madison, but works in the Nolensville Road area. He and his family attended the event. He said he thought the idea of the festival was a good one in terms of getting residents of different nationalities together.
"I like it," he said, as his wife and three daughters looked at the works in the art booths. "I think it helps us all become one family."
Donna Pack of Wilson County attended the festival with her teenage daughter, Casey, who was helping run a booth for the Sudanese Community Center.
"Even though I don't live here now, I grew up in this park, playing on the merry-go-round," she said. "It's so multi-cultural here now, not the way it was when I was growing up. This is an awesome event, and my kids were all raised in a neighborhood in Mount Juliet, so this is so good for them."
Patricia Nalini Paiva is the former owner of the recently closed Aurora Bakery on Nolensville Road and is a native of Sri Lanka. As one of the event's organizers, she said she hopes that the event will cause more people in the area to get to know each other and to become more accepting of each other's cultures.
"This is an extraordinary event, and no one prompted anybody to do it," she said. "It came from the heart, from the people who live here. This is being done by many of the original residents of the area, and it's amazing and beautiful the way they want to welcome the new ethnic groups."
Weber said that, as the planning meetings for the event progressed, he knew the organizers were onto something. "We had Latinos, Kurdish residents and more represented at the meetings," he said. "It really looked like the neighborhood."

Williamson County trolleys to make a lot of kids happy and parents even happier

Summer deal allows kids to ride trolley for 50 cents
The Tennessean-May 30, 2008

FRANKLIN — With the start of summer comes the return of the Franklin Transit Authority's Tweens and Teens promotion. The promotion, which starts Monday and runs through July 31, allows 12- to 18-year-olds to ride the FTA's trolleys for half price — 50 cents per trip.
The trolley routes include stops stretching from CoolSprings Galleria to downtown Franklin, with many restaurants and shops in between.
The summertime trolley special for teens is now in its fourth year.
It started in 2005 and has seen steady growth since. The Franklin transit system last summer saw a nearly 10 percent increase in teenage riders, according to Debbie Henry, executive director of the FTA.
Henry attributes the growth in ridership partially to the rise in gas prices.
"With today's high gas prices," she said, "parents can save money, gas and time by having their children ride the Franklin trolley system."
Henry also attributed the program's success to the needs of parents and youth alike during the summer.
"Parents are seeking a safe and affordable mode of transportation for their children during the summer months. The youth want a mode of transportation that gives them independence and travels to all the 'hot spots' in the area, in addition to affordable transportation to summer jobs," she said.
The weekday trolley routes run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Saturday routes run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The trolley does not run on Sundays.
For route information and schedules, call the Franklin Transit Authority office at 790-0604 or visit http://franklintrolleys.org/.

Hidden Valley - A well kept secret

In Hidden Valley, change is taking place just out of sight
The Tennessean - May 28, 2008
Paul Locke was a Nashville teenager when his father bought a farm in Williamson County from Frank Scruggs.
That was about 1949, said Locke, now 75.
Scruggs ran a truck farm on the hilly property in the Grassland community. Locke says that when he and his brothers, Sam and Dan, first saw the farm, Scruggs was growing rhubarb, all kinds of berries, and beans, with many of the crops growing on the south side of a steep hill.
The Locke family gave up the crops on the slopes in the early 1950s, instead running white-face and Charolais cattle and cross breeds on the hillside and planting the place with fescue, orchard grass and clover.
Paul and Evelyn Locke also raised three daughters on the farm — Holly, Paula and Dawn.
In the 1980s, estate homes started going up adjacent to their property on Hidden Valley Road, an appropriately named street that runs from Manley Lane to North Berrys Chapel Road.
I've known a couple of people who lived on Hidden Valley, so I've driven through there three or four times a year. What I mean by "appropriately named" is this: I had no idea that there still was so much nonresidential land hidden back there. I guess I noticed Locke's road, but not the expanse of the farm.
It has been in cattle rather than crops for more than 50 years, so there now are trees on the slopes that once were covered in crops, interrupted by wide swaths of pasture grass.
The cattle left the land last year, after Locke sold 145 acres of it to The Principals Group, developers of nearby Lynnwood Downs and, more recently, Avalon, in the hills east of Cool Springs.
It is gorgeous land, destined to become Cartwright Close, a gated community. The Lockes will maintain their residence on the property.
"You hate to see it go, but you know it's got to," Paul Locke said last week.
From beans to bulls, from tall grass to large homes, the special place will be hidden once again in Hidden Valley.

Real Estate Tips: Selling your home

Real Estate: Multiple showings can lead to useless feedback
The Tennessean• May 28, 2008

In these times of high inventory, sellers are getting more and more frustrated as the showings have increased, and that forces the owners to prepare the house for the intrusion of the alleged buyers. This process can take minutes or hours, with the variable tied proportionately to the number of children that reside in the dwelling. Child erosion is a valid term.
Having invested the time to ready the home for the inspection, the sellers are curious as to the evaluation of the would-be buyers.
In most showings, the buyers wander about the home spending particular time on the areas of the house that are priorities for them: Large closets, updated kitchen, two-car garage, nine-foot ceilings, or any of a number of eccentric, eclectic, idiosyncratic, seemingly whimsical wishes or demands. However, these ideas are not whims. Some buyers will not purchase a home for reasons that defy logic. But, it's their money and they can buy what they like.
Soon after the buyers leave, the sellers begin quizzing their listing agent for feedback. They think they want it, but they don't. The only positive feedback is an offer, and sometimes even that is not so wonderful.
Anything negative is an attack upon the taste, the cleanliness or the fiscal acumen of the seller. "My client felt they would have to paint the entire house." Or, "The kitchen would have to be updated." Perhaps, "The ceilings are only eight feet tall." "It's not worth what they paid for it."
The sellers respond, "Who's buying the house, Shaquille O'Neal?" "The paint is fine. Besides everyone wants to paint a house when they move in." Or, "The kitchen has worked fine for us the last 30 years." "Who do they think they are, Donald Trump?"
Another obstacle to feedback from agents is the time required to receive it. As so many new companies have relocated to the area lately, along with thousands of other newcomers, Realtors are showing more and more "out-of-towners." In many cases, the Internet has served as an impediment to these buyers, as they have done their home shopping online before learning the lay of the land in Nashville.
All Realtors have heard the complaint from buyers that "I had all of these homes picked to see, and my Realtor only showed me what he wanted me to see." Therefore, the first day, or half day if the buyers give in, the Realtors show the buyers all of the properties that they, the buyers, have chosen.
After the first several houses, they beat a hasty retreat back to the office to regroup and allow the homeowner Realtor to show the buyers the properties that they actually want to see. Usually, the first homes were in some area foreign to the buyers' agent.
So, that evening after 22 showings, the buyer's agent checks her e-mail and voice mail and finds 22 Realtors clamoring for feedback. Needless to say, the information provided will be virtually worthless.

Efforts underway to make Nolensville more Pedestrian Friendly

Nolensville Trees and Trails Committee sees connectivity as key for town
Group seeks pathways to make town friendly for pedestrians
The Tennessean• May 21, 2008

NOLENSVILLE — The Bent Creek subdivision is less than a mile from downtown Nolensville, but the journey between the two usually requires a car.
That's because it can get a little dangerous walking on the shoulder of Sam Donald or Clovercroft roads, the main connectors from the neighborhood to the historic district. But with gas prices going up, and more people moving into Nolensville for its small-town charm, a movement is under way to make the community more pedestrian-friendly.
"We just had our baby two weeks ago, and my wife has been going through the neighborhood on strolls," said Brian Snyder, a Bent Creek resident.
But walking around the same neighborhood streets and trails can eventually get a little tiresome.
"It would be nice to go walk to the historic district," Snyder said.
To that end, the town recently formed a Trees and Trails Committee, which began meeting last month. The group is still in its infancy, but member Joyce Powers said they have some big plans.
"The goal is to establish trails, actually hopefully greenways and connectivity through the developments," she said. "We're hoping for a creek-side trail, along Mill Creek," land she noted belongs to the Williamson County Parks & Recreation Department.
Snyder would like to see a greenway system through Nolensville similar to what exists in neighboring Brentwood. "People are constantly out there jogging, walking with strollers," he said. "It'd be incredible to have that freedom."
The proposed creek-side trail, or greenway, may also eventually include a pedestrian bridge, connecting it to more walking paths on the other side of Mill Creek.
"There's been talk bounced around (for a bridge), but there are no plans," Powers said. "It's just something that's been mentioned."
The Trees and Trails Committee meets regularly to continue these conversations. It is also actively seeking potential grants that could help fund the projects.

Historic Church has new look

Historic church approaches milestone
The Tennessean• May 28, 2008

FRANKLIN — Lillian Stewart spends every Sunday sitting in a pew at Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church. The church is the only one she's worshipped in.
While growing up, the future mayor spent more time here than at home, though her family wasn't far away. Her mother and father worked as elders in the church.
"When I grew up, I felt like it was my extended family. Everyone knew my name and they were always supportive," Stewart said. "It was a serious kind of church."
On the eve of the building's 100th birthday, church members have recently completed an extensive, years-long renovation that has mixed preservation with modernization.
Supporters believe the updates can help new members make more memories for themselves into the new century.
Keeping the Romanesque Revival-style building's beauty intact during its renovation didn't come quickly or without great care. Members spent more than $950,000 to refurbish and update the building, taking great care to balance the church's history with modern touches.
The planning and hard work paid off earlier this month when the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County gave its "best overall" preservation award to the church.
The building's stained-glass windows were restored while designers used archival photographs to reproduce the historic carpeting found in the memorial hall, among other tasks.
"It was a carefully thought-out, extensive restoration that sensitively retains original materials and preserves the story of a significant resource in downtown Franklin," said Shanon Wasielewski, city preservation officer.
"It's a beautiful church," the Heritage Foundation's executive director, Mary Pearce, said. "They've been working on it for several years really hard, trying to stabilize it, trying to make it more usable for the new millennium."
It's been done before
Stewart is one of a handful of members who not only can recount the church's history, but also was present during some it.
Although the current building is celebrating its century mark, the birth of the Presbyterian faith in Franklin dates back to 1811, when missionary Gideon Blackburn came from New England to spread the word of his religion to Cherokee Indians, slaves and settlers.
The church's first location was at Fourth Avenue and North Margin Street. That congregation grew so quickly it built a new building in 1842 at the current location at 435 Main St., two blocks down from the original site.
That church would fight to survive.
During the Civil War, much of Franklin was taken over by Union soldiers. The church was used to house materials, supplies and soldiers, who occupied it for several months before moving on, but not without leaving the building in disarray.
Stewart says the building was in such bad shape that it was torn down in 1865. In 1888, a new building was erected.
"At that time, downtown was changing from a residential to a commercial area," Stewart said, and the church grew rapidly along with it, thanks to new settlers and those longing for a place of worship.
The year 1908 would most test the congregation's faith, however. A newspaper headline from that time shared the news: "Beautiful Presbyterian church destroyed by fire."
Although the headline read "destroyed," some historians and church members say the building was only gutted and later restored. Surviving were its first walls and the original pews, which are still in use today.
In 1993, the church would experience another history-making moment.
The congregation far outgrew its building, so a vote was taken and First Presbyterian Church moved to a new building at the intersection of Franklin Road and Mack Hatcher Parkway that could accommodate the congregation's size.
But of First Presbyterian's 875 members, 100 stayed behind, fearful the historic building would be lost. Today the congregation of Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church stands at 300 members.
"Franklin is growing fast and so is our church," Stewart said. "When people move here they tend to feel like our roots are their roots."

Franklin Streetscape to begin

Streetscape not just about looks
Crews to break ground today on first phase of 12-year project
The Tennessean• May 28, 2008

FRANKLIN — It took 16 years, but supporters of the city project referred to as streetscape finally have some momentum.
With years of delays behind them, city crews will break ground today on the $4.3 million road improvement project for Third and Fifth avenues north.
It's the first part of the city's Gateway Corridor and Connector Streets Economic Development Project envisioned as a 12-year project that will cost millions.
Project supporters are fending off criticism that the roadwork is purely cosmetic. Instead, they contend, it is crucial to downtown's streets and drivers and, when complete, will help the greater community.
After all the parts are done, more than nine miles of roads and 36 neighborhoods would be affected.
"Our streets downtown ought to have the same aesthetic sense as they do in the outlying areas, outside of the business district, and the core," said Ed Silva, an attorney and chairman of a committee of citizens and business owners appointed and charged by Mayor John Schroer to oversee the project.
Silva met recently with community members and city leaders to discuss the launch of the project's new phase and dispel the misconceptions of some in the community about the work.
Last project a boost
When the work gets under way, it will pick up just a few blocks from where the last streetscape project ended in 1992. That work began in the late 1980s.
Silva credits the sidewalk and infrastructure upgrades made back then in helping boost downtown Franklin's profile at a time when he said it was sorely needed. The work stretched from Five Points to the Harpeth River bridge.
At the time, Main Street wasn't the draw for tourists and businesses that it is today because of its condition, he said.
"It has been 16 years and a lot of the people weren't here when Main Street looked absolutely horrible," Silva said. "It clearly was a cosmetic disaster."
Figures released as part of a report on the project say there's been a $50 million new investment in the area, while occupancy in downtown buildings has risen from 35 percent to 90 percent.
Though the project may have the streetscape moniker, its expenses include improvements to roads and sidewalks that have not been addressed in years.
Citizens can help
Using the Third Avenue North and Fifth Avenue North project as a guide, consultant John Grossman calculates that 50 percent of the work's cost will pay for infrastructure that he defines as curbs, gutters, storm drainage, traffic signals and other basics.
Only 12 percent of the costs would go to the aesthetic items, such as brick pavers, new benches and historic-looking light fixtures.
"In its roots, it's not a beautification project," said Grossman, president of Akron, Ohio-based E.G. & G. Inc. "It's an infrastructure project and we're trying to do it comprehensively so that it can create first-class location."
The project's costs might be offset somewhat if there's greater participation of residents. Silva reiterated his call for private citizens to further help by purchasing ceremonial pavers and benches to save the city from buying those amenities. How much that might raise isn't clear yet, as the prices of those items have not been finalized.
Meanwhile, city leaders are speaking up for the work even as they are faced with a tighter-than-anticipated city budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Alderman Bev Burger says the project's completion helps the city as a whole.
"Not only does it benefit all of Franklin, it benefits our community elsewhere around us as well," Burger said.

$45 million dollar man

The SRS vies to be stakeholder in most costly construction project ever built in Nashville
Nashville Buisness Journal-May 28,2008
The new Music City Center convention facility is sure to put a new face on downtown Nashville.
Likewise, extensive planning regarding the proposed center has put a new face and renewed attention on Metro Government's hiring goals related to minority-owned businesses.
One of the businesses looking to make a significant impact, specifically on Music City Center, is SRS Inc., the largest black-owned construction management company in Middle Tennessee.
Since early 2008, SRS has been awarded construction management contracts for projects valued at about $45 million, according to Dewayne Scott, the Gallatin-based company's president and CEO.
The projects in Tennessee and the Southeast add to the firm's portfolio of more than 100 projects completed for government and commercial clients since its founding in 2001.
The Metro Development and Housing Agency plans to award a contract by late July to one of three multi-company teams that have bid to be the builder of the convention center in downtown's SoBro -- or South of Broadway -- district.
SRS is aligned with Nashville-based Hardaway Construction Corp., Atlanta-based H.J. Russell & Co. -- the nation's largest black-owned construction company -- and Hunt Construction Group of Indianapolis.
SRS is "at risk with the bonding, just like Hunt Hardaway and Russell," says Scott. "It's a true
joint venture."
That means SRS would enjoy any profit with the convention center construction effort or eat any loss according to its joint venture ownership percentage.
To bolster minority participation on the project, Scott says the SRS team recently held four workshops for minority and disadvantaged businesses. The workshops have covered marketing strategies, accounting, financing and bonding/insurance.

"We will continue such efforts if awarded the contract but also aggressively recruit M/W/DBE (minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises) companies by trade package during our preconstruction process," Scott says.
Trade packages refer to subcontracting jobs broken down by expertise, such as mechanical or electrical. Scott says the team would also "unbundle certain trade packages" to increase minority participation and success.
"If a trade package winner is not an M/W/DBE, we will ensure that they have M/W/DBE participation by way of second-tier subcontractors or suppliers via teaming relationships or mentor-protégé type arrangements," he says.
Though SRS has not worked on a convention center project, the company has built various civic buildings through governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The government contracts, in part, helped quickly elevate the profile of the 7-year-old, fully bonded company, Scott says.
SRS is growing rapidly but is still considered a certified 8(a) small disadvantaged business by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"We are also certified as a HUBZone business by the SBA, meaning that our principal offices are located in a historically underutilized business zone," Scott says.
Stan Hardaway, president of a construction company bearing his last name, met with SRS officials a few months ago. The results of
that meeting, in part, led to the alliance.
"We were impressed with the set-up of SRS...the fact that they truly wanted to be contractors and not just a minority-owned company that would obtain a contract and turn around and sub everything right back out to other subcontractors," Hardaway says.

A message for seeking homeowners

The American Dream of home ownership is still within reach
The Tennessean-May 23, 2008

In the midst of a challenging real estate market, it may appear that the American Dream of owning your own home is just that . . . a dream. But before you discount the possibility of homeownership, you should know about local opportunities available to help you reach that goal.
For the sixth straight year, the Greater Nashville Homeownership Coalition is conducting a region-wide advertising blitz next month to let everyone know about homeownership options.

The radio ads, in English and Spanish, and ads on MTA bus benches will run the entire month of June to coincide with National Homeownership Month.
The Coalition believes that every person should be able to buy a home, and it strives to make opportunities available. Its goal is to allow area teachers, firefighters, police officers and others to purchase homes in the communities in which they work.
The Coalition's efforts have been recognized nationally by the National Association of Realtors and the United States Conference of Mayors. And now, more than ever, its message is vital to our residents and communities.
So if you thought homeownership was only a dream, the Greater Nashville Homeownership Coalition has a message for you: Call 615-780-7000 to hear about programs and assistance available.
Since 2003, the Coalition has been communicating this message to our region, and it has paid off. Thousands of local residents have called this number and heard a message encouraging them to consider the purchase of a home.
Homeownership is not just an individual accomplishment.
We all win when residents put down roots in their community.
The Greater Nashville Homeownership Coalition is a public/private partnership made up of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Regions Mortgage, The Housing Fund, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and the City Paper.
Mandy Wachtler is president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. She can be reached at 714-0864.

Number of Realtors in Middle TN are dropping

No. of state real estate test-takers drops by 57%
Nashville Business Journal
The number of people taking state exams to be real estate agents has dropped 57 percent and Nashville area real estate schools are seeing enrollments cut in half.
Those signing up to use the Middle Tennessee Multiple Listing Service has also declined, down 43 percent from last year to 477 from 843 in the first quarter, according to Real Tracs.
Fewer are getting into the industry and there's been an increase in Realtors getting out.

Community diversity is the developer's challenge

Developers find new ways to make communities stand apart
The Tennessean• May 25, 2008

There aren't any homes yet in the Cartwright Close development off Berry's Chapel Road. In fact, there aren't even streets there yet.
But the undeveloped site already has hosted an old-fashioned barbecue supper complete with gingham tablecloths, Mason jars for sweet tea and hay bales decorated with old-fashioned quilts.
Developers with The Principals Group were willing to truck baked beans and barbecue up the steep hillside during the May 14 shindig in order to let potential buyers gaze upon the pristine hills while they grazed on corn on the cob.
It's all designed to build early buzz for the future 144-acre community, where a few of the 22 total home sites cost more than $1 million.
For Richard Johnson, a partner with the Brentwood-based developer, the spend-money-to-make-money approach is simply the norm. After all, a modest barbecue is small potatoes to the firm that threw a $40,000 party to introduce the Cool Springs neighborhood Avalon in 2003.
"It's an approach to advertising and marketing — more of a philosophy than anything else," he said.
More and more developers seem to be picking up on his approach. As subdivisions continue to sprout in Williamson County, developers are getting increasingly aggressive — and creative — in marketing their communities.
Some have opened storefronts on Main Street, where they sell the concept of their communities. Others wine and dine potential buyers at lavish parties. Some just launch a guy from a cannon.
The goal is simple: kick things off with a bang (sometimes literally) and set apart the community from myriad others across the county and region.
Movie launches McEwen"You can't con today's homebuyer," said Jim Cheney, a spokesman for developer Southern Land Co. "You've got to be on top of your game. You've got to be speaking genuinely and showing you've put the time and energy and thought into what you're going to offer them."
Earlier this year, Southern Land Co. produced a 17-minute documentary about the making of McEwen, the upcoming mixed-use development off McEwen Drive that aims to combine retail, office and residential space in a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Southern Land executives premiered McEwen: The Movie for more than 600 real estate agents, developers, city officials and potential homebuyers at Carmike Thoroughbred 20 in Cool Springs.
"Never in my 30 years of being a Realtor have I been to a function like this," said Donna Tisdale, a broker with Worth Properties in Nashville, at the film's premiere.
In the lobby of the movie theater, developers unveiled a large-scale 3-D model of McEwen that was displayed for several months so passersby and moviegoers could get a glimpse of the mixed-use development that will soon emerge behind the theater.
"You have to show them that you mean something different," Cheney said. "That's why we see the value in going that far over the top in presenting this to professionals and the public. If they've forgotten about this by tomorrow morning, we haven't done our job."
Southern Land Co. is no stranger to going over the top. Around this time last year, the company was launching the mixed-use Town Center section of Westhaven off Highway 96 West by launching David "The Cannonball" Smith out of a cannon.
Accessibility countsOther developers are counting on longer-term exposure by opening storefronts in well-trafficked pedestrian areas. On Franklin's Main Street, for instance, companies such as Deer Creek Construction and developers of the mixed-use project Jamison Station have opened storefronts meant to stop shoppers in between boutiques.
It's part of a move away from traditional on-site sales centers, where house hunters have to find their way to the under-construction neighborhood. The new concept allows out-of-towners or passersby to stumble upon sales centers amid other errands, said Crystal Brown, sales director for Jamison Station.
Jamison Station's storefront plays a documentary in its display window and uses outdoor audio to attract people as they're walking by.
"Everyone has seen the typical trailer on site or the first model home," Brown said. "Nowadays you do have to find ways to appeal to your target buyer by going outside the box."
Nearly 75 percent of Jamison Station's sales have come from people who have wandered into the storefront off the street, Brown estimates. Jamison Station will maintain its storefront for two to three more years — until the development is finished with all its phases.
"You might get walk-by traffic that has never even heard of Jamison Station, but they'll walk in the door and say, 'What is this place?' " Brown said.
Parties always popularWhile sales centers may be getting savvier, upscale parties will likely always be a popular way to sell new communities.
Days before developers broke ground last spring on the College Grove golf course community Laurel Cove, hundreds of prospective buyers and real estate agents packed a hall in The Factory at Franklin for live entertainment, dancing, celebrity appearances, and food and drinks.
For The Principals Group's infamous Avalon fete, invitations were hand-delivered by folks in medieval costumes, speaking in Old World vernacular.
The event itself included roasted pig and giant turkey legs, jugglers, wenches, knights on horseback and about $3,000 worth of fireworks.
"I don't know how we could have made it more grand than it was," Johnson said. "For weeks I was getting calls saying, 'That was the grandest event I've ever been to.' And that was our objective."
The party was responsible for about $18 million in sales, Johnson estimates.
"The most money that is spent on advertising every year is done on the Super Bowl. The best commercials are the ones that entertain," Johnson said. "A lot of people have told me, 'You can't do that kind of stuff with my clients — these are executives.' But executives love to laugh just like us."
Trend isn't newThe over-the-top trend isn't isolated to Williamson County, but may be thriving because there's more competition here, said Joe Horne, the county's community development director.
"What all these probably have in common is that these are not your father's subdivisions," Horne said. "These are pretty expensive developments, so the payoff on the back end would seem to indicate you can spend much more money on the front end rather than putting up a 'coming soon' sign."
It's also a trend based on the county's ever-changing development fabric, he said.
"This has been happening nationally for quite a while," Horne said. "As this market is becoming more national, you'll start seeing more techniques. What we think are new are just new here."
Developers might be responding to the sluggish housing market, Horne said, but that theory doesn't always hold up, given that the builder's bashes have come during both economic highs and lows.
"We've done this for 20 years," Johnson said. "It has nothing to do with where the market is right now."
Developers say they will continue finding ways to outdo one another, although lavish marketing ploys don't always spell success. Johnson remembers the most expensive invitation he ever created for an event, at $75 apiece. It fell flat, and developers netted no money from the event.
"You don't win every time," Johnson said. "But the key has always been to make it fun."

Murfreesboro tops 100,000

Murfreesboro's unofficial population tops 100,000
The Daily News Journal • May 23, 2008

Murfreesboro officials have submitted for state certification special census results indicating there are now 100,575 city residents, according to news release.
Based on the $111 per person paid back to the city from state collected and shared sales taxes, that translates into an extra $2.1 million for the city’s upcoming budget.
If certified by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development by the beginning of the state’s fiscal year July 1, that number will represent a 19,192 increase over the 81,393 certified population tabulated during the 2005 special census or about a 23.5 percent population increase during the three-year period.Murfreesboro planner and special census project manager Robert Lewis said he was gratified the tally reached six figures, adding that reaching that goal had been a team effort.“From the firefighters who relentlessly canvassed their zones to those who tabulated the results, it was a concerted effort to get an accurate count,” he said.“And we don’t want to forget the residents who participated by submitting their information,” he added. “In the end, they are the ones who will reap the benefits.”Mayor Tommy Bragg echoed the importance of the census’ success.“The popularity of our community continues to be based on job growth and opportunity,” he said. “Our residents and business community expect, and have built and maintained, a strong vibrant economy surrounded by educational, medical and recreational facilities, second to none.”

The real estate cycle

Real estate: What goes around will come around again
The Tennessean• May 21, 2008

It is that time of the month again and the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors has released its April sales numbers.
Once again, prices increased and unit sales dropped.
In April of 2008, unit sales were down 28% as compared to the number of units sold in 2007. Having read a blog or two lately concerning the reporting of the sales data, I have learned that, at this point, I should inform the readers that a drop of 28 percent is not a good thing. I understand that.
An increase would be good; decreases are bad. Got it.
Last month I noted that February's sales were higher than those of January, and March's higher than February.
Once again, I failed to mention that those increases are consistent with the sales every year for the last 13 years. Now, the May pending sales are down somewhat from April. Once again, that occurs every year.
What I missed the opportunity to mention is that when sales trend in a manner similar to the year before that and the year prior to that, then that is a good thing.
When trends continue, it reflects stability.
The market is not in chaos or peril. It is smaller. It has contracted.
Current unit sales numbers are quite similar to 2001.
Based on the historical data that shows that the Greater Nashville area sales increase in a normal economy approximately 4 to 6 percent per year, the chances are that the area will not see 2006 sales in 2009, not in 2010, not in, 2011, maybe not even 2012.
It is worth noting that 2001 was a record year, the most sales ever.
Then, from 2002 through 2006, there was record growth each year. If that growth continued, Pulaski would soon be a suburb.
The Nashville real estate market should catch its own tail in September, as September 2007 was the first month since 1991 that sales dropped over 20 percent from the same month the previous year.
Then, the area could post minimal gains, maybe 1 percent or 2 percent for until the end the year.
Remember, if sales in October 2008 increase 2 percent over October of 2007, that translates to a 22 percent drop from 2006. But, seeing the positive growth makes everyone feel better, consumer confidence, they call it.
So, in 2009, sales will be up 3 percent or 4 percent, and the market will have turned around.
I know the numbers will be less than 2006, 2005, 2004 and maybe 2003. However, the conditions that prevail today in the Nashville market define the Nashville market. It is smaller than it was.
And, we know why.
The reason is sub-prime mortgages. No one is looking through rose-colored glasses now.
Those tinted glasses produced the spectacle known as 2005 and 2006, when lenders, Realtors, title companies, inspectors, not to mention buyers and sellers, witnessed the impossible. Buyers with no cash and bad credit bought houses. It felt great at the time.
Now, lenders have tightened their respective belts, and it is painful. But watch what unfolds. In 2009, the market gains strength and the lenders hold firm.
In 2010, more sales increases, and it begins to feel like 2005. In 2011, everything is great, so the lenders relax the standards somewhat because they do not need to be as tight because prices are rising and the market stable.
In 2012, lenders lend more than the value of homes again and the market revels in joy for 2013 and 2014.
Then in 2015, it hits the fan again.
Darn cycles.

Spring Hill Aldermen ponder city's future

Board plans daylong meeting to examine city's future
Possible property tax among retreat topics
The Tennessean• May 14, 2008
SPRING HILL — The city's future — and its parks, projects, streets and the possibility of resurrecting the property tax — will be hashed out at a retreat later this month for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
"It's good for the board to get together and talk about what we see as priorities," Mayor Danny Leverette said. "We can't look at Spring Hill as a city of 7,000 people anymore. We've grown to about 25,000 in the last eight years. It's time to sit down and talk about what we all want for our city. We won't all be lock-step on a monthly basis, but it will be helpful to better understand each other."
The May 24 retreat at Lipscomb University will also be educational for Spring Hill's new city administrator and finance director, Kenneth Weaver and Jim Smith, respectively.
Alderman Rick Graham, chairman of the city's Finance Committee, said it's not likely the city can continue without a property tax given the predicament it faces; building fees are no longer sufficient to support the budget.
The board eliminated the city property tax rate of 19 cents per $100 of assessed value in August 2005.
Leverette said people he has talked to are starting to understand that the board faces some difficult decisions.
"I think it is paramount that people will be able to see how their money is being spent," he said.
"They need to be able to see a return for their investment, right out of the gate."

According to the Feds Nashville home prices are holding

Nashville continues to ride out bubble
5/22/2008 -The Tennessean
The correction in home prices has sped up in the cities that benefited most from the housing bubble, but the federal government still says Nashville’s valuations are holding up.
The latest figures from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight show that prices for homes sold in the first three months of 2008 dropped 3.1 percent nationally over the past year.
That’s a record, and adding in homes that were simply refinanced — but not sold — didn’t change the overall picture of declining values. The office’s pricing index of sold and refinanced homes dropped 0.03 percent, also a bad sign.
Reprising a familiar tune, though, the data show that price declines were pretty much confined to the bubble markets. Only 14 of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, experienced price declines, with the worst hit being California and Nevada. There, prices dropped by more than 10 percent.
In Tennessee, prices actually rose 3.9 percent, the OFHEO said, the 10th best performance in the country. In the Nashville area, the gain was the same 3.9 percent, placing our region in the top 20 percent among metropolitan areas.
Basically, the feds’ numbers depict the flip side of the boom, when prices were supercharged in a few markets but fairly consistent with inflation and population growth in most. Now prices in those once overheated markets are collapsing at breakneck speed, turning homeowners’ euphoria into angst.
But in the majority of markets, homes continue to be appraised and sell at values as high or higher than before.
That analysis is not much consolation, I know, to the thousands of local homeowners who have been waiting months to sell their homes for what they believe they are worth. But nearly two years into the housing slump, it’s hard to ignore a pattern that’s held up throughout.
The worsening economy may yet drag down the local housing market as well, as one prominent research firm, Moody’s Economy.com, now predicts.
As far as the popping bubble itself is concerned, Nashville and Tennessee appear to to have been spared.

Franklin Theatre restoration update

Lots of gold still needed to light up silver screen
The Tennessean• May 21, 2008

FRANKLIN — With a gift of $1 million waiting in the wings and the potential for even more on the way, representatives of Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County say renovation of Franklin Theatre might be under way later this year.
To be sure, formidable challenges remain before the 70-year-old Main Street cinema can be reopened — namely, raising between $4 million and $6 million just to retrofit the now-empty building into a modern, state-of-the-art performance space. Even more would be needed to pay for operations once work is completed.
Despite the challenges, Franklin's top elected and business leaders are lining up to support a project that's drawn architectural firms' interest and remains a popular local cause though a movie hasn't played on its old screens since 2007.
"People come by and stop every day, (saying) 'When's the next movie starting?' " said Marty Ozburn, a local general contractor overseeing the theater's interior demolition. "We're getting a lot of response."
The Heritage Foundation bought the building with the intent to renovate it into a multi-use performance theater. The extent of any restoration, however, is intertwined with how much money can be raised.
"There is so much you could . . . bring to this project and the more money you have, the more you can bring to it," the foundation's executive director, Mary Pearce, said. "We want to make sure that money is spent wisely."
If all goes smoothly, Ozburn estimates that designing and renovating the building would take about year. That would mean a new Franklin Theatre could open in the early summer of 2009.
As it stands, the Heritage Foundation has about $3.2 million on hand for Franklin Theatre expenses, said President David Garrett, who made the announcement last week during the foundation's annual preservation awards ceremony.
Thus far, the project's biggest supporters include former Dollar General CEO Cal Turner and a volunteer at the foundation who answers phones in the office.
Turner made a million-dollar challenge to find a matching gift to support the project. That taker was volunteer Emily Magid, 61, who can be found answering phones and doing other volunteer work at the foundation's office each week.
Magid agreed to forgive the million-dollar loan she made anonymously last year that allowed the foundation to purchase the 70-year-old Franklin Cinema.
"I'm really delighted to have the opportunity to give back to this community," Magid said after the meeting. "I've only provided the foundation on which they could begin the reconstruction of something that seemed to be a beloved part of their lives."
She described herself as someone who prefers the focus stay on the theater and the community and not on her own work. "I'm just a harmonious bagwoman with jewelry," Magid said.
Meantime, Mayor John Schroer, one of the project's earliest supporters, is meeting with Nissan Motor Co. officials to help the effort as well.
"I'm asking for a lot of money," Schroer said of Nissan. "I asked them for a sizable contribution. . . . If Nissan does what I've asked them to, they won't need to go to anyone else."
Julie Lawless, a Nissan spokeswoman, confirmed the discussions and said Schroer's proposal is still being evaluated.
Said Schroer: "So far, they haven't said no."
Schroer called renovating the project "one of the most important in downtown Franklin." But the mayor does not want Franklin taxpayers to cover the project's cost through a contribution from the city.
"If the city's going to put money in it, the city's going to want to have control over it," Schroer said. "I don't think the city should have any control over what goes on in that theater."
Architects vie for project
Even as the money is being raised, foundation officials still must decide which architecture firm will oversee the project.
Three firms — Hastings Architecture Associates LLC, Street Dixon Rick Architecture and Studio 8 Design — made pitches of rough, conceptual plans and presentations of their credentials.
None of the firms' presentations offered specific details about the building's final appearance yet. An announcement about which firm will get approval from the foundation will likely be made this week.
"We feel it is right up our alley," Street Dixon Rick architect Baird Dixon said. "We think this is a project that only enhances the community." His firm envisions dining tables on a restored balcony inside the theater as well as an elevator and a cafe area.
However, all three firms stressed taking cues for the theater's final renovation from public input.
Matt Taylor, an architect with Studio 8, noted his firm would incorporate "a big public process effort."
Architect William Hastings called the public presentations "a very healthy first step of any great community project."
More donations welcome
The Heritage Foundation and the Downtown Franklin Association are continuing with their Franklin Theatre fundraising efforts but face an unexpected phenomenon.
"Our serious problem right now is that people think it's done. We've made incredible progress, but we don't have everything yet. And we're seeking those funds from many sources," said Nancy Williams, director of the Downtown Franklin Association.
While Magid is forgiving the loan used to buy the building, the cost of renovating and operating the facility and the theater's costs continue to grow.
"We need to do just about everything, from paying utility bills to the architects," Williams said. "And the smallest to the largest amount in donations are welcome."

Nissan Americas Headquarters near completion

Nissan's name lights up Cool Springs skyline
With headquarters near completion, move-in starts July 7
The Tennessean• May 22, 2008

FRANKLIN — Finishing touches are being added to the 10-story Nissan Americas building in Cool Springs, with the first wave of employees scheduled to move in on July 7.
On Tuesday, the letters N-I-S-S-A-N appeared on the building's west side, which faces Interstate 65. The same 8-foot-tall red letters, which will glow at night, were erected Wednesday on the east side. It's a sign that this $100 million project is close to completion.

"Seeing the Nissan sign go up on the building is a big milestone," said Rob Traynham, director of nonmanufacturing facilities for the automaker. "It means we're one step closer to moving in and calling this world-class facility our home.
"Of course, we still have a few months to go, but we're coming into the home stretch. With a tremendous amount of help from our building partner, SKANSKA USA, and architectural partner, Gresham Smith and Partners, this project has moved along smoothly and we're excited to see our name proudly displayed."
Groups of employees will be moved into the building through August, until about 1,500 people occupy workspaces. Traynham said the second, third and fourth floors are close to completion. Furniture installation began May 1 and will continue through July. Crews are putting in wiring for communications and computer systems, and painting is in progress. An underground car salon, which will display Nissan's newest car models, is nearly completed, and flooring material in the three-story lobby is being installed.
The 460,000-square-foot building will include video conferencing centers, a cafeteria, coffee shop and merchandise store. A 10,000-square-foot fitness center in the building and the 1,135-space parking garage are finished. A covered walkway from the parking garage to the building is nearly completed. Grass and landscaping have been added.
Nissan officials said animals already have taken residence in a 2.5-acre wetland area the company restored.
"The plants are turning green, and we're seeing everything from geese to deer and frogs visit," Traynham said.

Hidden Creek Community in Gallatin will bring a college plus jobs

Hidden Creek Community to get development boom
The Tennessean• May 21, 2008

The Hidden Creek Community, a commercial and residential development on Big Station Camp Boulevard, will not only bring a new four-year college to Gallatin, it will create at least 400 jobs, according to developer Dan Downs.
The planning commission’s approval Monday of the development was the final consent Free Will Baptist Bible College needed to finalize the land deal to move its campus to the Station Camp area.According to Downs, the project will also feature a new Publix grocery store, retail shopping spaces, restaurants and a Walgreens, creating hundreds of new jobs in Sumner.“It is estimated that some 400 jobs will be created by the Publix Center on Big Station Camp Boulevard,” he said. “This does not consider the additional jobs that will be created by the college and the rest of the Hidden Creek community.”According to Clay Walker, executive director for Gallatin’s Economic Development Agency, Free Will Baptist Bible College’s decision to move its campus here brings new jobs to the area. Walker said he couldn’t say how many jobs the commercial area of the development would generate.“I certainly wouldn’t dispute those numbers. I know in our recruitment of Free Will that the project alone has the promise of three-digit employment numbers,” he said. “Free Will’s benefit is not only in job creation, it’s in the enhancement it brings. Any job created is an important job.”The revenues generated from commercial establishments like Hidden Creek help local governments balance the books without placing undue burden on the taxpayers, Downs said.“The Hidden Creek community will generate millions of dollars annually to Gallatin and the county from sales tax dollars and property taxes,” he said. “We all know that retail and commercial development makes the city money while residential development places a burden on city funds and services, which is not recouped from the tax dollars contributed by homeowners.“Communities like this are what every county and municipality are trying to create through their comprehensive plans and transportation plans. “It is a place where people can live, educate their children, work, shop, worship and recreate all in the immediate area without the use of an automobile. “The achievement of this type of community has long been the goal of insightful planners and has now become a necessity given the ever-increasing cost of fuel and the impact it is having on every budget and the overall economy.”Planning commissioners approved the rezoning of two separate tracts making up a total of 51.26 acres on the western side of Big Station Camp Boulevard. The growth-and-development advisory board had previously approved 408 acres on the northeast side of that road.According to city records, Hidden Creek will be constructed in three phases with the first phase consisting of the college and four areas of retail development. Future phases show the college’s growth plans.Free Will has on the drawing board plans for a natatorium, which is an indoor pool facility, and spaces where pre-kindergarten programs would be held. There is no estimated timetable for construction of these future plans, according to Col. Mark Johnson, the college’s full-time relocation consultant.“It would also be a teaching opportunity. We require our teaching-education majors to be partly in the public schools and partly in private schools. That’s one reason we think it would be a good addition,” Johnson said.Construction is slated to begin on the first phase of the Hidden Creek Community in 2010, with the second phase beginning in 2014 and construction on the final phase on track for a 2017 completion.




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Belle Meade Plantation will have a music fundraiser

Songwriter entertainment benefits plantation
The Tennessean, May 21, 2008
The 2008 Carriage House Music Series kicks off today at the Belle Meade Plantation.
All of the proceeds from the fundraiser featuring songwriters will benefit Belle Meade Plantation's preservation and educational outreach programs.
In a partnership with ASCAP, the lineup includes J. Fred Knobloch, "If My Heart Had Wings" (Faith Hill) and "Meanwhile" (George Strait); Tony Haselden, "It Ain't Nothin' " (Keith Whitley) and "Take It Like A Man" (Michelle Wright); Roxie Dean, "Why They Call It Falling" (Lee Ann Womack) and "My Sister" (Reba McEntire); and Dave Turnbull, "Lucky Man" (Montgomery Gentry) and "If Something Should Happen" (Darryl Worley).
The evening will also feature a social hour, with complimentary wine and beer, as well as dinner by Big Guns Catering, which draws its menu from the Bound'ry and South Street.
Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door. There will be another installment of the Carriage House series on Oct. 15.
Tickets for both events are available for $75.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/ or call 356-0501, ext. 40.
The event will be taped to air on Music City Connection: Heroes Behind the Hits (Channel 16), a monthly radio program produced by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau on XM Satellite Radio.

Nolensville is getting ready for big event

Nolensville: Add a new hue to red, white and blue of July 4
The Tennessean, May 21, 2008
Y'all are the best.
Linda Rowland called to let me know that town response to going green and making the town pretty has been great. A few people stepped up to volunteer to help her beautify Nolensville by planting flowers from Tant's Plants in the stone containers around town. "The volunteers helped make it easy work," she says of the job that was finished in a few hours over two days.
The recycling bags at our ballparks are being used well. Rowland says she had three huge bags of plastic bottles from one weekend at the soccer park.
Next goal: a litter-free Fourth of July event. Love it.
Speaking of, remember last year's inaugural Fourth of July celebration here? The Town Events Committee is working on this year's version and is enlisting volunteers. The celebration begins at 5 p.m. at Nolensville Park and closes with fireworks at dark. Volunteers are needed for one-hour shifts to help coordinate parking, pick up trash, assist with kids games and inflatables and do other miscellaneous duties. Organizations may trade volunteer hours for sponsorship. Several local businesses have stepped up to be sponsors. More are always needed. Forms are available at Town Hall and the town Web site, http://www.nolensvilletn.gov/.
Calling FHS Class of '74: Members of Franklin High School's Class of 1974 are working to locate fellow classmates for the 35th-year reunion in summer 2009. Contact Lynda (Farr) Winters at 615-478-3364 or e-mail nolensville@aol.com with your name and current mailing address.
Summer jam: The 29th annual Winters Brothers Band Southern Summer Jam will be June 14 at the family's farm just outside Nolensville. Bring a lawn chair to hear lots of Southern rock, country and blues beginning at 5 p.m. General admission on day of show is $10. Check out http://www.wintersbrothersband.com/.
Festival time: Nolensville First United Methodist Church members are planning their 34th annual lawn festival for 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 21.
A parade through Nolensville ending at the church starts at 10:30. Entrants are welcome. And local businesses are encouraged to sponsor childrens activities.

Rippavilla Plantation will host 2008 Preservation Conference

City's Historic Commission pleased to be part of preservation conference
The Tennessean• May 7, 2008

The state trust is a membership-based, nonprofit historic preservation education and advocacy organization. It puts out the Ten in Tennessee List, a yearly roster of the state's most endangered historic places.
Five years ago, it created the State Preservation Awards program to acknowledge work done to save historic properties.
The award will be given this year at Rippavilla, which is adjacent to hundreds of acres where the Battle of Spring Hill was fought on Nov. 29, 1864. This land is on the trust's endangered list and is considered one of the 38 most critical sites in the Civil War.
The trust hopes to preserve the land and incorporate it into the National Park Service. It has hired a consultant to look at ways to tie together battlefields and other historic sites for a Civil War heritage trail.
Property owners soughtAlderman Jonathan Duda, who is on the city's new Historic Commission, said the conference fits in well with some of the things the group wants to do. Members are working on an inventory of historic properties and will be soliciting those property owners.
"Some of the sessions are going to be real timely for what we are trying to do," he said.
Duda said he's especially interested in a session about how owners of historic properties may seek tax credits for their efforts.
"They either just don't know about it or (don't) know how they could benefit," he said.
"We need to educate and have available some tools and case studies where they can see it's a viable option for them."
At the conference, guests may pick and choose what sessions and events they attend, which range in cost from $20 for the preservation leadership luncheon to $140 for a membership that includes admission to the opening reception and a gala.
"This is our major fundraiser for the year and provides a major hunk of our survival for the work we do across the state," Brown said.
Learn more about the trust and the upcoming conference at http://www.tennesseepreservationtrust.org/.

The American Dream is still possible

The American Dream of home ownership is still within reach
The Tennessean, May 19, 2008

The radio ads, in English and Spanish, and ads on MTA bus benches will run the entire month of June to coincide with National Homeownership Month.
The Coalition believes that every person should be able to buy a home, and it strives to make opportunities available. Its goal is to allow area teachers, firefighters, police officers and others to purchase homes in the communities in which they work.
The Coalition's efforts have been recognized nationally by the National Association of Realtors and the United States Conference of Mayors. And now, more than ever, its message is vital to our residents and communities.
So if you thought homeownership was only a dream, the Greater Nashville Homeownership Coalition has a message for you: Call 615-780-7000 to hear about programs and assistance available.
Since 2003, the Coalition has been communicating this message to our region, and it has paid off. Thousands of local residents have called this number and heard a message encouraging them to consider the purchase of a home.
Homeownership is not just an individual accomplishment.
We all win when residents put down roots in their community.
The Greater Nashville Homeownership Coalition is a public/private partnership made up of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Regions Mortgage, The Housing Fund, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and the City Paper.

New loan policies for Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae to institute new policy on down payments
Nashville Business Journal, Monday, May 19, 2008

In an effort to help get the housing market back on its feet, Fannie Mae, the largest buyer of U.S. home loans, will begin following a new policy on down-payment requirements for conventional, conforming mortgages that it purchases or guarantees. The change takes effect June 1.
The Washington, D.C.-based company will accept up to 97 percent loan-to-value ratios for conventional, conforming mortgages processed through its automated underwriter system. For loans written outside the system, the maximum loan percentage will be 95 percent.
The down-payment requirements of 3 or 5 percent will apply to loans for single-family, primary residences. Down-payment requirements will vary for other types of occupancy, property and transactions, Fannie Mae said.
"This new down-payment policy reinforces our goal to support successful homeowning, not just homebuying, as we seek to bring liquidity to all communities and help the housing market recover," said Marianne Sullivan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president in charge of single-family credit policy and risk management, in a statement.
The new policy will replace the one that was adopted last December requiring higher down payments in markets where home prices are declining.
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) reported a $2.2 billion loss in the first quarter ending March 31, compared with a $961 million profit a year ago. On a diluted share basis, Fannie Mae lost $2.57 compared earnings of 85 cents a year ago.
The company said it is planning to raise $6 billion in new capital.

Old rock wall is worth it

Rock wall is worth it, commissioners say
Wilson Pike widening project will add turn lanes, shoulder to problem road
The Tennessean • May 7, 2008

BRENTWOOD — An old, crumbling rock wall is tacking an additional $85,000 onto a much-needed intersection improvement project at Old Smyrna Road and Wilson Pike.
But Brentwood leaders say it's worth it to make sure the historic wall doesn't disappear.

"I think people need to know that we probably could do this a lot cheaper if we just barreled the walls down," City Commissioner Anne Dunn said. "But it's important to the citizens and the government to maintain those walls."
The wall will be torn down and rebuilt about 75 feet away from the intersection so the city can widen the east side of Wilson Pike.
"We'll be adding turn lanes on Wilson Pike and a little bit of a shoulder and a left-turn lane on Old Smyrna Road," Assistant City Manager Kirk Bednar said. "It'll be an improved intersection, allowing for safer turning movements."
The road-widening project, including the wall relocation, will cost about $685,000. Bednar said the city is saving about $100,000 by tacking the work onto an existing contract with Civil Constructors for road paving in the area.
"Because of the escalating cost of road building and asphalt, we felt, for this project, the quickest and cheapest way to get it going was with a change order with Civil Constructors," he said. "That contract was originally bid in 2006, so we can take advantage of 2006 prices for a lot of that work."
The intersection is notorious for causing traffic backups during peak hours, and City Commissioner Betsy Crossley said the improvements should help keep traffic moving.
"Wilson Pike has its challenges with its narrow shoulders," she said. "And this has become a much busier intersection with Annandale," a new subdivision going up off Old Smyrna Road.
Crossley said it's important the improvements don't alter the street's character, which is why they opted to move the old rock wall.
"Wilson Pike is just a part of the history of the city. So much has gone on there," she said. "We just want to do the best we can to maintain the look of the areas like Wilson Pike."

Gallatin's rezoning discussion draws a crowd

Talks continue on future of East Main Street rezoning
The Tennesean • May 14, 2008

Worried residents from Gallatin’s three historic districts packed the city’s Planning Commission meeting Monday night. The high attendance was attributed to a recommended zoning change for seven properties along East Main Street, the city’s eastern gateway. Planning commissioners are expected to recommend to the City Council a zoning change for five of seven properties along East Main Street to protect the adjacent historic neighborhoods from future development. Although Dick Dempsey, planning commission chair, who initially had reservations about the proposed rezoning, ultimately supported the proposal, which originally came from the city’s historic district commission.“I don’t like the city rezoning, myself. We've never done it. It doesn't mean we can’t,” Dempsey said.Neighbors in the surrounding historic areas are worried that the forthcoming development – rumored to be a Walgreens or a CVS – could devalue their properties. Concerns about landscaping buffers between the commercial venture and adjacent neighborhoods have also been raised.The zoning classification under consideration is planned general commercial, a more restrictive commercial zone that requires a master plan offering the city more control over landscaping and the kind of businesses and structures that could be included in the commercial strip, which fronts the Woodson Terrace, East Main and Main Street historic districts.Another part of the recommendation was to keep the subdivision boundaries the same for the Woodson Terrace historical district since some homeowners have been concerned about commercial development encroaching into the neighborhood.“We want to make it clearly known that if the end game is to encroach into the historic district, we’re vehemently opposed to it,” Lewanne West told planning commissioners.The zoning change is being offered as a solution for vested residents like Tom Ritchie, who also serves on the city’s historic district commission.“What’s at stake? It’s tourists’ and residents’ first impression of Gallatin from the east,” Ritchie said. “It’s the city’s core of historic properties.”Dan Hoyle, owner of the Elizabeth Allen House, now being used as the administrative offices for drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation center Pathfinders, previously tried to sell his property. The buyer backed out of the deal after discovering the home had a historic zoning overlay.Hoyle is worried that a city-initiated zoning could drive away his current potential buyer.“It can be worked out without these demands,” he said. “We currently have a new contract and we don't want to lose that one.”The zoning oversight of the Elizabeth Allen house – which is one of the seven parcels targeted for the recommended city-initiated rezoning – spurred the public outcry from neighbors in the three historic districts. In 1993, Allen requested a historic overlay on her property and asked that it be listed as a local historic landmark, and both planning commissioners and the City Council approved her request, making the residence the city’s first local historic landmark.However, because no public hearing was held in conjunction with the final approval of the zoning change, the property has reverted to an unrestricted commercial zone. It offers no protection for homeowners in the adjacent neighborhoods, where some homeowners have spent thousands renovating and maintaining historic homes.“Not requiring stringent requirements is just leaving money on the table,” West told planning commissioners. “All anyone has to do is look down the road to Franklin (Tenn.) to see the benefit of design guidelines. We want any structure that is built to blend tastefully with the adjacent neighborhood.”Developer Mark Tarver is spearheading the development deal between the owners of five properties on East Main Street and wondered if the city could put zoning changes on hold.“I’m wondering if this can wait a few months and let me bring together a plan that might satisfy everybody,” Tarver said. “We could meet with the neighboring homeowners. I already know some of their concerns. We could put together a deal that makes everybody happy.”Planning commissioners are expected to make a recommendation to the City Council at 5 p.m. Monday. This meeting is the growth-and-development advisory board’s monthly meeting. It is a week early because of the Memorial Day holiday.

Crocket Park will host a summer of music

Pack the picnic and kids; it's concert time at Crockett Park
The Tennessean• May 14, 2008

BRENTWOOD — As the weather warms up, the green grass in the earthen bowl of Eddy Arnold Amphitheater beckons as the spot to enjoy evening picnics, soft ground dancing and live music.
The Brentwood Summer Concert Series begins Sunday for another year of free shows at Crockett Park.
Every concert begins at 7 p.m. Most are on Sundays except the Fourth of July event that includes a patriotic concert andfireworks.
Crockett Park is off Crockett Road just east of Wilson Pike between Concord Road and Moores Lane. Once in the park, follow signs to amphitheater and parking.
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Concert date: Sunday
Genre: classical music with strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion
Orchestra's story: Founded in 1920 as The Symphony Society and broke up due to the harsh times of the Depression. The orchestra was re-established in 1945. Its current home, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, opened in 2006 and is named after longtime music director and principal conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn, who died in 2005. Giancarlo Guerrero steps into that role for the 2009-10 season. It's become a tradition for the symphony to kick off the series and this year is no exception.
Dean Hall, blues band
Concert date: June 1
Genre: blues and rock
Band's story: Music flows through Dean Hall's family tree. His father, Country Music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall, wrote "Harper Valley PTA," a hit for Jeannie C. Riley, in 1968. But where the elder Hall is known as a "quiet storyteller," his son is an energetic performer playing hot, blues-based licks on his guitar.
This is the second year Dean Hall has played the Brentwood series.
The Tams
Concert date: July 13
Genre: beach music, old-school R&B and soul
Band's story: Originally formed in 1960, The Tams had a hit with "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" in 1968. But they also had several well-known songs from their catalog including "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am?)" and "Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me." The Tams are a familiar name to Brentwood and have been participating in the concerts since the late '90s.
John England & The Western Swingers
Concert date: June 15
Genre: western swing
Band's story: This six-piece band features leader and singer John England, Tommy Hannum on steel guitar and fiddler Gene "Pappy" Merritts, who worked with Patsy Cline and Roy Acuff. Attendees are invited to dance as if in a hoedown. This band is a regular at clubs around Nashville, this is the first time it's graced the Crockett Park stage.
Paul Ross Band
Concert date: June 8
Genre: big-band music
Band's story: Brentwood real estate agent and saxophone player Paul Ross leads this group of hard-working musicians. As the founder of The Kadillacs, Ross will be back in a month — same time/same place — to play the Fourth of July fireworks concert.
Ross is no stranger to the Eddy Arnold Amphitheater and neither is his band, which has played there multiple years.
The Original Charades
Concert date: June 22
Genre: local garage band from the '60s playing cover pop songs from that era
Band's story: Originally started in 1964 as The Charades, the band reunited about 10 years ago. They perform tunes popular in their 1964-71 heyday in four-part harmony.
Although they haven't been around the park lately, The Original Charades played the concert series in 1999.
The WannaBeatles
Concert date: June 29
Genre: Beatles tribute band
Band's story: Even though this band is a tribute to the Fab Four, its members are musically accomplished individually, too. One is a two-time Grammy winner, while another played with Billy Vera & the Beaters. Yet another is a Berklee College of Music grad, and the drummer is a music minister.
You may have caught their Beatles show among the salsa and chips at the Mexicali Grill in Cool Springs, their usual venue. But this is their inaugural journey to Crockett Park.
The Kadillacs, plus fireworks display
Concert date: July 4
Genre: American pop and swing
Band's story: Formed in 1985, the local band has played everything from Adelphia Coliseum's official naming ceremony to Gov. Ned Ray McWherter's birthday party to singer Lee Greenwood's wedding. The band also lent tunes to three presidential inaugural balls: twice for Ronald Reagan and once for George H.W. Bush.
No matter what's going on elsewhere, The Kadillacs try to clear their calendar to perform at the Brentwood Fourth of July celebration, something the group has accomplished for 14 years.

17 Homes in Rebel Meadows make way for expansion

Homeowners await their Mack Hatcher Parkway fate
The Tennessean• May 7, 2008

FRANKLIN —For more than 20 years now, Mark and Cindy Tumblin built their lives where a road — specifically, Mack Hatcher Memorial Parkway — would one day be constructed.
While life's road brought the Tumblins children and careers, the parkway remained incomplete, despite years of talk from city and state officials.
After all the years, Mack Hatcher's completion is now getting renewed attention from Franklin leaders who want to pay to finish the state road themselves. But doing that means finally condemning 17 Rebel Meadows homes, including the Tumblins', to make way for the road officials say will alleviate Franklin's traffic crunch.
While they're excited about the prospect of work finally beginning, residents here worry about the uncertainty of having their homes condemned.
"We know it's going to happen, we just don't know when," said Cindy Tumblin, a teacher. "Even though it's not anything fancy, my heart is here. My children have grown up here."
Plans for completing Mack Hatcher Parkway have languished for years. But after public meetings and discussions, state road officials in 2005 announced they had chosen a 7.5-mile path to constitute the western half of the bypass.
The road will begin south of Franklin at Columbia Avenue before running northwest to Carter's Creek Pike, where it will go north to Old Charlotte Pike and then northeast, connecting with Hillsboro Road just north of Victoria Drive.
Extension to be 4 lanes, Once completed it will be four lanes, divided by a median with intersections at Columbia Avenue, Carter's Creek Pike, Highway 96 West, Del Rio Pike and Hillsboro Road, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Since the route's announcement, there's been no visible progress, though the parkway has been the subject of much discussion. Right of way for the project can't be purchased until an environmental study focusing on the road's impact, currently under way, is completed.
Franklin Mayor John Schroer, who called the delays "ridiculous," said he wants to speed up the project's completion for the sake of drivers and Rebel Meadows residents.
"The people in Rebel Meadows deserve to have this done," Schroer said. "Their lives have been in some state of limbo since (the route) was announced. . . . They deserve to be able to get on with their lives."
Schroer said he plans to ask Gov. Phil Bredesen to allow Franklin to pay for building the remainder of Mack Hatcher Parkway rather than wait for state road officials to pay later. State road officials are facing the loss of millions in federal road-building dollars because of budget cuts.
"If you ask the state, they'll look at you and shrug their shoulders and say, 'We've got no money,' " Schroer said. "There is not a timeline established from an implementation of Mack Hatcher. We want to figure out a way to get that done quicker."
Schroer wants state road officials to pay the city back for completing work on the loop around Franklin — a project that could cost between $50 million and $60 million.
If the plan is approved by state officials, Schroer estimated that a "best-case scenario" might include buying right of way later this year with construction starting next year.
Regardless of what might come of Schroer's discussions with Bredesen, work on the road's extension could not begin until the environmental study is complete, said B.J. Doughty, a TDOT spokeswoman.
"You cannot move on to the right of way until you have the environmental documents in hand," Doughty said.
"We're willing to do whatever we can to help Franklin move this project ahead with the understanding that there are limitations that we can't work around."
Homeowners carry onMeanwhile, neighbors in Rebel Meadows aren't letting the potential loss of their homes slow them.
Homeowner Don Cates says he's planning on spending $10,000 in upgrades to his house after years of putting off the work.
"I've neglected the house since they chose the route, thinking they would condemn me at any time and obviously here we are, three years later," Cates said.
Cates said neighbors have had some casual conversations with an attorney about the condemnation but have not hired an attorney yet. So far, he's heard no word from the city about the start of the parkway's work or the condemnation proceedings.
Just down from Cates, David Pendley, 36, and his family just bought their house — one of the ones that will be torn down one day — in early 2008. He said he "definitely" will make upgrades on his house. He did his own research on the house and on imminent domain before he bought.
"I recognize that they have to put in new roads," Pendley said. "I recognize that is part of the development and part of the community process."
Amid the talk of losing the houses, the tug of home remains a strong one.
"I'm 50 years old and I can still go to Knoxville and drive by the house I grew up in," Mark Tumblin said. "Our boys will never be able to do that."

Unique style apartments being added to Nashville community near Vanderbilt University

$27 million complex going up near Baptist Hospital
Nashville Business Journal-May 14, 2008
Bristol Development Group will start construction this week on a $27 million apartment complex in Midtown near Baptist Hospital.
Developers hope to attract renters that want to live within walking distance of Baptist, Vanderbilt University, Centennial Park and West End.
The 170-unit community on State Street between 17th and 18th Avenues N. will be completed in August 2009 and have two four-story buildings.
The developer says it will blend its cutting-edge urban style into an apartment community offering a green room for recycling, a Zen courtyard with outdoor fireplace and a sky bridge connecting apartments with a fitness facility.
Apartments will range from 550 square feet to 1,225 square feet with 227 parking spaces.
"Nashvillians seek a wide range of high quality living choices, and with 1700 Midtown we add a completely unique style of apartment community to the mix," said Charles Carlisle, CEO of Bristol Development Group in a release.
Bristol is also developing the Velocity condominium project in The Gulch and the Icon condo tower, which will be completed this summer.

Changing the city's image with upscale urban living.

Housing projects poised to change city’s image
The Tennessean • May 14, 2008

Apartments, condominiums and townhouses are going up by the thousands in Gallatin, and more are on the way.The number of projects, and their proximity to one another, has begun to wave warning flags for city planners. The impact on the city, its image and quality-of-life by projected population growth and where newcomers will live, is giving officials cause for re-examination of its current development direction. Planning commissioners are concerned about the number of these projects being presented, proposed or that have already received approval and what that means in terms of the city’s overall growth.“This is where we need to start talking about where we want our density concentration. You have some major zoning decisions to make,” City Planner Jim Svoboda said.At Kennesaw Farms, a 300-acre development across from Fairvue Plantation, a 288-unit apartment complex is being built as part of the project, which also features single-family homes, retail and office space.Foxland at Fairvue has plans for 71 townhouses and a 300-unit apartment complex for property on the other side of Douglas Bend Road from the first phase of that project. Developer Charles Haynes is also proposing 300 apartments as part of an upcoming project on Douglas Bend Road.“That’s a tremendous amount of people in a quarter of a mile,” Mayor Jo Ann Graves said. “We haven’t spent any time talking about the impact to Gallatin, the impact to the road system.”According to city planning records, Gallatin approved 3,525 multifamily units from 2000 to 2006. Of that number, only 931 had been built. Construction on the remaining 2,594 units could begin whenever building permits are issued.“I know nobody wants to hear this,” Planning Commissioner James Robert Ramsey said. “We don’t even ask the school system. Can you imagine when those apartments go in? Man, it’s just overwhelming.”Ramsey said he was also concerned about the kind of impression having thousands of multifamily units built here would create.“Do we want to become an apartment community? It can happen,” he said.Planning Commission Chairman Dick Dempsey said he wondered how the city’s road system would handle increases in population resulting from the construction of so many apartments, townhouses and condominiums.“Let’s find out — Nashville Pike with the new connection roads to State Route 386 – how much can the present roads handle?” Dempsey asked.Planning commissioners are expected to schedule a special-called meeting focusing on population density. That meeting has not been set.One course of action that will likely be discussed is developing character areas, a concept that is being explored as part of the city’s initiative to update its land use and transportation planning maps.“Each character area will have recommendations for land uses,” Svoboda said.Another part of the dialogue would likely center on concentrated areas of density. Svoboda has previously said such an initiative could go a long way toward establishing public transportation. The Regional Transportation Authority is now proposing running two express bus lines from Gallatin to Nashville daily.

Census report concludes Franklin is growing fast.

Franklin's population climbs to 54,300
The Tennessean • May 14, 2008

FRANKLIN — City Planning Director Jaime Groce reports Franklin's population now stands at around 54,300 according to the latest special census results.
That number will likely increase later this week as census takers, firefighters and others complete the special census.
It is the third special census conducted by Franklin officials this decade. Tennessee cities get $100 per person in state-shared money based on their population growth.
That's slightly less than the 59,000 people Franklin planners estimate actually live in the city, but it is an increase compared to the 49,412 people recorded in the 2006 special census.
Groce, who announced the results Tuesday during a Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, credited the increase to the work of census takers, firefighter and calls to homeowners from a call center set up to call people at home.

Area home sales are down 28% from April 2007

Area home sales continue decline, down 28% from April last year
Nashville Business Journal, Friday, May 9, 2008

Home sales continued to tumble in April compared to last year, dropping 28 percent in Middle Tennessee.
New sales figures from the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors show 2,135 homes sold in April compared to 2,989 the year before.
GNAR president Mandy Wachtler says home sales declines have been consistent with previous months.
"That means the Greater Nashville market is performing with some consistency even in these times of change," she says.
Home sales are running at the same level as sales in 2001.
The median price for single family homes rose 1 percent to $180,000 from $177,900. The median price for condos dropped one percent to $162,000 from $163,900.
The number of homes on the market is 2,103 more than last April. The number of condos on the market is 361 more than last April.