Image Credit: Ron Cogswell / CC
The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
Nashville’s Metro Council plans to continue to keep close tabs on East Bank public spending with a new ad hoc East Bank Committee.
The group will build on work done last council term by Metro Nashville’s East Bank Stadium Committee, then led by at-large Council Member Bob Mendes, who is now part of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s development team.
The new committee will be chaired by District 5 Council Member Sean Parker after it was called by Vice Mayor Angie Emery Henderson. Both Parker and Henderson were skeptics of the deal put together for more than $1.2 billion in public funding for the construction of a new $2.1 billion Titans stadium that includes a projected $3.1 billion tax capture during the life of a new stadium lease.
Both Parker and Henderson voted against the deal, along with O’Connell.
“The stadium subsidy is a settled matter, but now we must ensure that our investments on the East Bank are strategic and benefit the city as a whole,” Parker said. “We’ve heard loud and clear that Nashvillians don’t want to just expand the downtown party district across the river. I am committed to conducting a transparent and collaborative process with the administration, the council, and the public, including engagement with communities most impacted by the project.”
A development proposal from Fallon shows the city bonding $75 million for infrastructure at the site of a development outside the new stadium.
The committee’s first meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 8.
Other committee members include” At-Large Council Member Quin Evans Segall, District 2 Council Member Kyonzté Toombs, District 6 Council Member Clay Capp, District 15 Council Member Jeff Gregg, District 17 Council Member Terry Vo and District 19 Council Member Jacob Kupin.
“This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for our city, and I am committed to incorporating affordable living and a multi-modal transportation network that will make the East Bank a neighborhood that all of Nashville can be proud of and enjoy for generations,” said Kupin, who represents the area that includes the East Bank.
The state already committed $200 million for the relocation of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to Nashville’s East Bank and a $65 million incentive for Oracle’s new $1.35 billion campus nearby.
About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.
