NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Beverly Macklin is a loyal customer at Southern Thrift.
"We come just because we love the good deals and stuff," she said.
It's one of several businesses in Donelson Plaza — a shopping hub in the area dating back to the 1960s.
"You hear jackhammers now; they never sounded so beautiful to me," said council member Jeff Syracuse near the plaza's construction site. "It's a dream come true that it's finally happening."
The redeveloped plaza will be home to Metro's newest public library.
"When I first ran I heard from so many people say that 'we want new restaurants; we want new opportunities; we want revitalization of retail,' and it's happening," said Syracuse.
Holladay Properties purchased the property in 2016 and the transformation to Donelson Plaza began in 2018. But funding, a pandemic and supply chain problems slowed the project.
"Most of the people that used to rent in this is already moved or are gone," said Donelson resident Myla Roderick.
"My mom — she hates all the changes, and I tell her all the time it's progress," Macklin said.
Still, some worry that "progress" comes at a price.
"I know everything's going up and also stuff's closing down," said Nancy, an employee at Southern Thrift. "I don't know if they're being bought out or what."
The town center will also include new apartments, townhomes, parking spaces and a green space outside the new library where art will be displayed.
Syracuse thinks it's just the start of a business boom in the area.
"You have a daytime economy that is office-based and is right near the airport, a lot of hotels and motels, but then at night you have the locals that don't want to necessarily go downtown or out to Mount Juliet or whatnot," he said.
He expects the library will be completed by the spring of 2024.
Syracuse will host a community town hall where the plaza will be discussed. It will be held at 6 p.m. at FiftyForward Donelson Station on Tuesday, October 25.
