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.