NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Darla Brown moved to The Lofts at 160 on 2nd Avenue in 2018. She loved the street for its charm and the way it reminded her of home in New Orleans.
“I felt like it was its own little world,” Brown said. “It was a community, it was not Broadway, it wasn’t West End or East.”
Instead, it was a perfect picture of Nashville’s past.
“It still had the charm of the old buildings, and exposed brick, hardwood floors, rod iron, it was amazing.”
Christmas morning, the renowned turned to rubble. Seven buildings on the street have been deemed unsafe for use by Metro Codes.
One of those businesses affected is Sandy Lee’s ‘Simply the Best $10 Boutique.”
“We want to duplicate what we had,” Lee said, adding she’s not holding out hope.
“Honestly, I think they’re going to be knocked down, and you’ll see bars and boutiques, hotel boutiques, finance, companies and big names, I think. We’ll lose the allure of the oddity and fun of 2nd Avenue.”
Of course, it’s all speculation, but it’s a fear shared by many.
“I’m actually glad to see this public concern, I think that will be very valuable moving forward,” said Elizabeth Elkins, President of Historic Nashville.
Thankfully for Elkins, there is a historic overlay that was put there in the 1990s. Elkins says it would take a lot to overturn the zoning that has height restrictions and codes that keep it similar to how it was before the bombing.
Even if the zoning was overturned, Suri Ramanna, a local engineer says structurally big changes wouldn’t make sense.
“You are bound to rebuild the same way because the load has to flow the same way and that is why you can’t just go and do something radically different,” he said.
Metro Codes Director Bill Herbert said all permits for both rehabilitation and demolition will be reviewed and approved by both the planning department and the historic commission.
“There’s really an effort to put back the pieces together that can be put back together and for it to be restored as historically intact as possible,” Elkins said.
