On September 25, 2005, Sprawl-Busters reported that one of the oldest homes in Nashville, Tennessee, the Evergreen Place, had been demolished by an overeager developer, to pave the way for another Home Depot. Yesterday, Home Depot ran up against a little home-wrecking of its own, when the city’s Planning Commission turned down their proposal. City planning staff had also recommended a thumbs down on Home Depot. Planners noted that the Shopping Center Regional (SCR) zone requested by Home Depot was incompatible with the subarea 5 plan, which recommends residential low-medium zoning for this neighborhood. But Home Depot may win out in the end, because City Councilman Michael Craddock told the Nashville City Paper that he wants to approve Home Depot, regardless of the current subarea plan. Craddock said most neighbors want the Home Depot. But those people apparently didn’t bother to come to yesterday’s hearing, where many neighbors said the project was too big, and would create too much traffic. The Home Depot project became controversial in Nashville, because it is the site of the Evergreen Place — also known as the Jim Reeves Museum — which was built in 1794 by settler Thomas Brown Craighead, and was likely Davidson County’s oldest home. The developer demolished the home, even though the city had ordered that the home not be taken down.
This is just a bump in the road for Home Depot, but likely one they did not expect. When this project comes before the city Council, all the area plans in the world may not protect the neighbors — unless they threaten to take the city to court. Either way, Evergreen Place has already been destroyed. For an earlier story on this subject, search Newsflash by “Nashville.”
