The Southbound Group recently had the chance to see Mayor Megan Barry speak on the state of Nashville and where we’re headed. Titled “I Believe In Nashville,” Barry’s speech was focused on the following areas: Housing, Transportation, Education and Quality of Life.
Mayor Barry and Nashville’s residents know it’s an exciting time to be in Nashville. If there is a list of Best City Rankings, Nashville is on it. Here are some recent accolades, just to name a few: “Fifth-Best City in America,” “Top 10 Cities Americans are Moving To,” “Best Job Market for Women,” “Best Housing Markets in America,” and “Best Cities for Retirement.” (If you’d like to see more, click here.) Tourists are flocking to experience Music City and are creating revenue for the city and its businesses. Because of the rise in tourism and population, new properties are being bought and more property taxes are being paid as a result. All of this has allowed the city to avoid tax increases for its citizens. In Barry’s first 10 months in office, 4,000 jobs have been created and 32 companies have relocated to the area. $3.6 BILLION in construction permits have been issued (this is $1 billion more than 2015 and 50% higher than the peak before the recession!). Though it seems like Nashville is only moving forward, there are challenges, Barry points out. In this blog, we’ll discuss these challenges and what is currently being done to address them.
1. TRANSPORTATION: With population growth comes transportation woes. Improving infrastructure and getting the city’s residents, work force and tourists around are goals that the Mayor will be focusing on during her term. Nashville has made major strides toward making the city more bike-friendly. This includes investments in Nashville B-cycle stations throughout the city. The city has also made large investments in creating new sidewalks and bike lanes.
Mayor Barry strongly supports the creation of a light rail system that connects Nolensville Road, Gallatin Pike, Murfreesboro Road and Charlotte Pike. The city is currently working to create a partnership with ride-sharing services. According to The Tennessean, “The ride-share pilot project would link MTA’s bus system with Uber and Lyft in order to offer customers so-called ‘first mile/last mile’ services that city bus routes don’t reach. Under this arrangement, Uber and Lyft would be used to provide riders access to their final destination after they get off a bus or to take riders from their origin to a bus stop.” Mayor Barry’s goal is to change the general public’s negative feelings towards the bus system. Changing the marketing on buses and creating new Public Service Announcements will be part of this strategy.
A lot of work is being done to improve the traffic flow at some of the city’s busiest intersections. The goal of the $2.2 million project by Metro Nashville Public Works is to optimize the timing of traffic signals along 19 major corridors and to create a “green band” of stoplights. The city is also spending $3 million to upgrade stoplight hardware. Six hundred copper coils have already been replaced and there are 400 more to go by the end of the year.
2. HOUSING: Another major issue Mayor Barry will tackle during her term is affordable and workforce housing. (Affordable housing can be defined as residential housing units priced for families earning 60% or less of Nashville’s median household income, while workforce housing can be defined as housing priced for families earning between 60-120% of the area’s median income). As Mayor Barry points out, people who work in the city are unable to afford living there. If you look at AMI (Area Median Income) levels, people in the 0-30% level who are considered “low income” have received no new units in two decades. Renters in the 30-60% level are being priced out of their homes, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Mayor Barry is offering incentives for developers in Davidson County in hopes of creating more affordable and workforce housing projects. This voluntary approach would offer grants to developers. According to The Tennessean, “Qualifying developers would be eligible for a grant capped at 50% of the increase in property taxes collected from the new development.” The proposal, which will be voted on this August, will be capped at $2 million.
As a Council Member under Mayor Dean, Barry co-sponsored and passed legislation to create the Barnes Affordable Housing Trust Fund. This program offered grants to nonprofit housing developers. In its first year (2014), the fund created 40 affordable rental units for persons at or below the 60% AMI level.
3. EDUCATION: Nashville recently selected its new Metro Director of Schools, Dr. Shawn Joseph. Joseph has already hit the ground running in the new school year. His top goals include creating a strong team, strengthening student achievement and getting more involved in the community. This summer, Dr. Joseph and his board members made stops at schools throughout the district on his “Listen & Learn” tour. With change, he hopes to prevent families from moving away from the city’s public school system. Click here to view his plan.
Currently, Metro has an 80% graduation rate. The rising poverty rate is to blame for the 20% of students not graduating. Despite Nashville’s rising population, job growth and increased tourism, more than 30% of Nashville’s children live in poverty. Mayor Barry points out that these numbers are higher than other comparable growing cities where poverty numbers are trending down. According to Mayor Barry, the following three things HAVE to happen in order to reduce poverty in Nashville.
- Students must graduate high school.
- If not continuing on to college, graduating students must get jobs out of high school.
- Graduates must not have any children before they are financially stable.
Mayor Barry would like to encourage local businesses to invest in Nashville’s youth by giving jobs to 14- to 24-year-olds.
4. QUALITY OF LIFE: Quality of Life is defined as “the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group.” U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Nashville #22 on the list of 100 best metro areas to live. (Read the full report here.) Mayor Barry says what makes Nashville great is the general “What can I do for you?” mentality of the people, rather than “What can you do for me?”. Mayor Barry stands by this attitude and has vowed to make Nashville even greater because of it.
Please contact The Southbound Group for any of your home-buying or home-selling needs. We are here to answer any questions!
*Reminder: Seniors 65 and older who make $40,960 or less can qualify for a tax freeze before February! In addition, there is tax relief for elderly or disabled homeowners, disabled veterans and widows/widowers of disabled homeowners. Mayor Barry has asked that we make as many people as possible aware of this tax freeze. It’s a great way for those who are elderly, disabled or on a fixed income to prevent their taxes from rising in the future. Learn more about the Tax Freeze Program here.