Nashville Council greenlights RiverChase redevelopment with 1,150 units

• The rezoning allows the construction of a 1,150-unit mixed-use development.
• Per a private community benefits agreement, the development will include 225 units at varying levels of affordability for 30 years.
• The plan's approval comes after months of tense negotiation around affordability and displacement of former RiverChase residents.

After nearly a year of deliberation, Nashville's council on Tuesday approved a rezoning request for the former site of RiverChase apartment complex, greenlighting plans to build a 1,150-unit mixed-use development in its place.

The bill passed with no discussion, 31-1.

Texas-based development company Cypress Real Estate Advisors (CREA) purchased the 212-unit property near Dickerson Pike in December 2021 with plans to demolish and redevelop the deteriorating complex.

Though the apartments were in disrepair and many were rented at market rate, the complex provided an accessible housing option for lower-income residents near downtown Nashville. Its redevelopment and the displacement of the families who lived there became recognized as an emblem of Nashville's affordable housing crisis.

"Displacement that occurs when functionally obsolete residential properties are redeveloped is hard for families who must relocate," CREA stated following the bill's passage, saying its vision is to provide "badly needed housing inventory" with affordable options.

The developer said its partnership with The Salvation Army and the People's Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment (PATHE) to help relocate residents and its community benefits agreement with The Urban League of Middle Tennessee to cement affordability and other commitments in the new development created "an unprecedented model for how urban redevelopment can be conducted in a way that delivers community benefit and care and compassion for residents."

Housing advocates have contended that any process that accepts displacement should not be used as a model.

More:RiverChase rezoning bill deferred again following public comment hearing

More:Pressure builds on RiverChase redevelopment negotiations amid Nashville's housing crisis

The new development will include 225 housing units at varying degrees of affordability in partnership with a yet-to-be selected affordable housing developer. The land now carries a deed restriction cementing those affordability levels for 30 years. "Legacy residents" of the former complex can return once housing is completed, with vouchers accepted, if they demonstrate 12 months of consistent rent payments.

CREA reported it has paid more than $550,000 to support residents' relocation, including $212,500 for housing navigation staff, and wrote off approximately $360,000 in delinquent rent. As of October, 12 of the 176 families who lived on the property had not yet found stable housing. CREA has said it will continue to work with those people and is committed to ensuring each resident receives the $2,200 in relocation assistance as required under the community benefits agreement.

Metro's Planning Commission approved CREA's application for rezoning in February, but deliberations over project details and a private community benefits agreement between the developer and community groups stretched on and the rezoning bill was deferred several times. In early October, CREA floated an alternative plan without the inclusion of affordable units as a "backup plan" due to lack of certainty around city support.

Months of negotiation between union-backed coalition Stand Up Nashville and CREA over ensuring affordable housing remained accessible to residents ultimately collapsed when Stand Up Nashville pushed for deeper affordable housing than the developer said it could provide.

Council member Delishia Porterfield, who works for Stand Up Nashville, cast the sole vote against the bill Tuesday.

CREA instead reached a community benefits agreement with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee in July, committing to affordability in 225 units of the new development, infrastructure upgrades along Dickerson Pike, a construction safety program, a $40,000 donation to the McFerrin Park Neighborhood Association and a $100,000 donation for neighborhood traffic calming.

Since the public hearing in October, CREA met with Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, another community coalition involved in efforts to preserve and create affordable housing, to address NOAH's concerns about the strength of CREA's agreement with the Urban League. That meeting resulted in several changes to the community benefits agreement, including:

• Measures to ensure 30 years of affordable housing at the site, regardless of any governmental affordable housing programs the owner may apply for
• The continuation of the community benefits agreement's commitments even if the Urban League removes itself from the contract
• A requirement that the land owner and Urban League enter a joint monitoring agreement together with a third party to ensure compliance with the community benefits agreement
• Provisions that any tenant evictions from the new property must be for "good cause" and reviewed by a third-party monitor to ensure they are due to "material violations"
• Clarity that area median income levels used to define unit affordability are maximums, not minimums
• A requirement that the land owner must notify the Urban League and McFerrin Park Neighborhood Association within 14 days of the sale of any parcel or building and provide contact information for the new owner