Council tables Nashville Junction conditional nonresidential rezoning to refine permitted-use list with applicant

The Town of Nashville council opened a public hearing March 4 on a conditional nonresidential rezoning request for the Nashville Junction property (723 Barnes Street) submitted by Hirt LLC and then tabled the item for further negotiation.

Staff said the request would rezone the parcel from I-1 (Industrial 1) to a conditional nonresidential district (CZNR) with a tailored list of allowed uses. The applicant requested a broad set of nonresidential uses in the conditional application, including retail, distillery/brewery, leather goods manufacturing, banquet and meeting facilities, and a range of other commercial and community uses. Staff noted the planning board had unanimously recommended approval at its February hearing.

At the council discussion, members and the applicant debated which specific uses should be allowed. Council members emphasized that the town’s 2021 inducement and public–private partnership expectations for Nashville Junction were focused on generating new commerce, jobs and a tax base in downtown; they expressed reluctance to allow uses that might not align with that vision or that could convert the building primarily to unrelated office or noncommercial institutional uses. The applicant said multiple prospective tenants were in negotiation and that a broader list of permitted uses would speed leasing, but he also agreed to further meetings to arrive at a mutually acceptable permitted-use list.

The council voted to table the rezoning and asked staff and the applicant to produce a narrowed and more targeted list of allowed uses that honors the inducement agreement’s economic-development goals while accommodating the applicant’s leasing needs. The planning board’s unanimous recommendation remains on the record; the council’s action preserves that recommendation while seeking additional specification before final action.