Melrose Plan Announced
Lofts, chef-run restaurants, an art gallery and ballroom are planned for The Melrose
by Kay West
When developer Rick English swings open the back door of the building that was built as the Melrose Theater in the 1940s, and for the last 20 years had housed the production facilities for Scene Three Inc., the view is of an overgrown, weeded, cracked asphalt parking lot, enclosed by tall hurricane fencing topped with three rows of barbed wire. But what English sees are two restaurants with outdoor seating, a row of shops and a two-story building of loft apartments, surrounded by greenery.
It's all part of the ambitious plan English, owner of Boston English Properties, and his partner Matt Berman have for the seven acres at 2600 Franklin Road, where the Melrose Theater, Melrose Billiards and Melrose Lanes once made the art deco strip a center of entertainment for Nashvillians. While speculation has been rampant about what will be developed at the strategically located site—in the city of Berry Hill and at the southern end of the evolving stretch of Eighth Avenue South—Boston English finally announced a list of committed tenants and future plans for The Melrose.
As expected, when Melrose Lanes' lease expires at the end of July, it will not be renewed, and developer will take over that end of the building, which will be partially razed and rebuilt for an anchor tenant, with several smaller shops to be built on the south side of the building.
Odell Wiley, who owns the business, declined the developer's offer to relocate a 16-lane alley in a new retail area to be built in the rear of the center. English is optimistic, though, that another tenured tenant, Johnny Potts, will move his 30-year-old live music club, The Sutler, to the Biloxi Avenue end.
Melrose Billiards, the third tip of the triangle, will remain in its basement location, which will be fully renovated, maintaining the curving staircase that descends to the large room and bar.
Three brand new tenants will anchor the new development: a freestanding Starbucks with a drive-through window will be constructed between the south end of the building and the Associated Salvage building. Moving into the 17,400 square feet of space—on a ground floor and mezzanine—that once showed first-run movies will be Melrose Gallery and Events, formed by Chad Hollingsworth and Daniel Lonow. The lobby of the theater will house the art gallery, and the theater will be transformed into a ballroom with seating capacity for 500 to 600 people—the answer to the long-time pleas of Nashville party planners and event organizers.
In the middle, taking over what is now office space and The Sutler, will be a 4,700-square-foot restaurant created by acclaimed Nashville chef Kim Totzke, most recently of Yellow Porch and Wild Iris.
Other prospective tenants who have signed letters of intent include a bakery and a salon, and Boston English Properties and Scene Three have been fielding calls regarding availability since reports have been published about the plans. Judge Beans Bar-B-Que reneged at the last moment on the slab at the southeast corner of the back lot, but other commercial clients have expressed interest. A second story is being built onto the southern end of the building for office space.
Completing the reinvention of the landmark center will be the construction of 12 contemporary residential lofts/flats with attached garages that will be rental units.
Construction will be in phases, and is expected to begin Aug. 1, with some tenants in operation as soon as the fall of this year, and a completion date for the first two phases in mid-spring of 2006. Construction of the lofts will begin in early 2006.
English, a Boston native who has spent more than 30 years working out of Chattanooga, chose an architectural firm with strong feelings about the site. Colleen Atwood lives just blocks from The Melrose, and Jim Craig used to ride his bike to the movie theater when he was a kid; they are the lead designers with Design and Engineering Professional Corp.
Finally, Boston English isn't the only dog in the hunt for the next big thing on Eighth. At the northern end, New Urban Village Development has announced plans to build The Lofts at the northeast corner of Wedgewood and Eighth Avenue South. They have already broken ground, and sales will begin in January for the 22-unit condominium building at 760 Wedgewood Park, with plans for an additional 12 town homes next door. And neighborhood dwellers have watched with interest the razing of the Cone Oil gas station on Eighth. Sources say Tom Cone has plans for a mixed-use development on the site.
Glenn Yaeger, general manager of the Nashville Sounds and the leading proponent of moving out of Greer Stadium, the team's 28-year home at Chestnut and Eighth, might want to take a good look at this rapidly redeveloping artery before taking another swing at a new downtown home.
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