NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's one of the biggest projects the city of Nashville has ever undertaken.
The city plans to transform hundreds of acres across from downtown — along the Cumberland River — into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood.
Work has begun on the Titan's new indoor stadium but other projects along the East Bank still haven't broken ground and it appears their timeline has shifted.
I recently asked Bob Mendes, Nashville's Chief Development Officer, whether the project has been delayed.
"I wouldn't say there's delays. People have to realize the East Bank is huge, " Mendes replied.
While Mendes insisted there have not been delays, the start date for the first two buildings has been moved back.
A year ago, Metro posted on its own Nashville.gov website that the developer "should initiate construction in late 2024 or early 2025."
So far, that hasn't happened.
Months after Metro's post, the developer hired by Metro said the start date for the first two buildings would be early 2026.
"We'd like to see a hotel building and the first residential building which is an all-affordable building starting in early 2026," said Brian Awe, President of the Fallon Company, in April of last year.
And when we interviewed Mendes, he allowed even more time for work to begin.
"We expect those (buildings) to break ground sometime by the end of 2026," Mendes said.
He was surprised when we showed him the dates on Metro's website.
"I'm not sure where that came from exactly," Mendes said.
A spokesperson from the Mayor's office said the city needed to update the webpage titled "East Bank Development Timeline and Process."
"From the beginning, we assumed the buildings would be two years planning and two years construction," Mendes said.
The website timeline also stated that construction on the new TPAC building would start "in early 2025."
But the deal to move the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to the East Bank appears to be near collapse.
It was supposed to be built near the Pedestrian bridge. But in a public statement last month, TPAC said it was surprised the deal was still in "limbo" — and "due to the delays"..."we are compelled to consider alternate sites.”
Metro said it still hopes to "reach an agreement" and that "infrastructure costs" have been a sticking point — which is an issue for the entire development.
"There's no getting around the infrastructure challenges that we inherited, whether it's building a new road or James Robertson Parkway or figuring out where the East Bank Boulevard will go exactly, those are thorny, difficult complex problems where we trust the process, but we don't have timelines on those yet," Mendes said about infrastructure challenges for the entire project.
Go back in time to 1997, and the land right across from downtown was owned by a barge company.
The East Bank was an industrial area with very little infrastructure.
Metro bought some of the land to build the Titan's first stadium. Now construction on the second stadium is well underway.
It will become the focal point of the new East Bank neighborhood on some of the most valuable land Nashville has ever had.
The vision for the more than 500 acres includes a wide open East Bank Boulevard plus condos, parks, and a corporate headquarters.
All red areas are owned by Metro and will be developed first. Area G, to the right of the stadium, will be the very first — with a hotel and affordable housing.
"It's going to take a while for us to build out the East Bank to be everything that it will be," Mendes said.
Mendes said many of the pictures showing multiple buildings on the East Bank are years away from reality.
"Ten to 15 years to be able to get multiple high-rise buildings planned, designed built out of the ground and finished. It should be a 10 to 15 year timeline," Mendes said.
Commercial construction nationwide has stalled thanks to rising interest rates and inflation - now there are concerns over tariffs.
"Now we're entering an era of tariffs, maybe. I don't know. It depends on the day or the week. Tariffs on steel will make construction more expensive," Mendes said.
"Has anything happened in your time, that you've had this position that has pushed back the timeline?" I asked,
"I don't think so," Mendes responded. "You know Mayor O'Connell came into office in the fall of 2023, and by 2024, we had a development agreement. And again, the timeline there for the first couple of buildings would be a couple of years of planning and then a couple of years of building. We feel like we're on track for that."
