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The owner of the illegally demolished East Nashville structure formerly home to record store The Groove has been ordered to rebuild the structure as close to its original form as possible.
The Metro Historic Zoning Commission handed down the order at a Wednesday public hearing at which commissioners unanimously agreed with the recommendation from staff.
The building, built around 1921 and a contributing structure to the Lockeland Springs-East End Neighborhood Conservation Overlay, was demolished on Feb. 16 without preservation or codes permits. The owner, Ross Condit and Condit Properties, applied for a retroactive permit for the demolition, arguing that the condition of the building was poor.
“The owner created their own hardship by demolishing the building without permits,” Metro staff writes in a recommendation to the commission. “Staff finds because the house no longer exists and no evidence was submitted to show it was in such a state of disrepair that demolition was warranted, it is not possible to analyze the condition of the property.”
Instead, staff recommended that the owner apply to build a new structure, substantially similar to the demolished one, within 180 days, and commence construction within a year. The commission adopted the recommendation. It’s unclear what enforcement mechanisms are in place for the deadlines. Metro has flagged all properties owned by the company, preventing them from applying for new permits.
The demolition triggered intense reaction in East Nashville, especially in the historic overlay districts where residents say homeowners and local businesses have had to spend money and time complying with historic regulations for their own projects.
“This moment is critical,” resident Melanee Bandy wrote to the commission. “If you let this outrageous disregard go unpunished, every future owner will know they can also do the same without accountability. Your guidelines will mean literally nothing.”
Other public commenters bemoaned the local government’s inability to issue a fine of more than $50, a cap that has remained unchanged in the state constitution since the 18th century.
Condit appeared in person at the public hearing to offer an apology.
The Groove on Record Store Day, April 12, 2025
He called his own actions “ill-informed and reckless” and said he was unaware of the historic overlay. Still, an application for a standard demolition permit, which he or his contractor did not seek, would have raised a red flag about the historic protections.
“I’ve embarrassed myself, I’ve embarrassed my family, and I’m very humbled by this experience,” Condit said. “You can expect my full cooperation.”
Condit said there was “a window of opportunity” to consider an outcome other than a simple rebuild, but he and his attorney declined to comment when asked about the suggestion after the hearing.
While public comments about the demolition were overwhelmingly negative, at least a few espoused support for Condit.
Nicholas Schurman — owner of nearby creative event space Soft Junk, also a tenant of Condit’s — said he was “surprised and saddened” to hear about the demolition but that Condit is an “amazing landlord.”
“I know this is a really tough thing and everyone’s really upset, including me,” he said. “But I hope we don’t make an example of the wrong person, because this is not someone I think East Nashville wants to push out.”
Metro Councilmember Clay Capp, whose District 6 includes the property, praised Metro staff’s report and recommendations and, like some of his constituents, lamented state restrictions on fines.
“This is the right outcome,” Capp told the Nashville Banner after the hearing. “Metro’s got to uphold its own rules, and if something like this is allowed to happen with impunity, then you’re going to see it happen a whole lot more often.”
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
