Street View is a monthly column in which we’ll take a close look at development-related issues affecting different neighborhoods throughout the city.
Martin & Merritt is a residential and hotel development planned for the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood in the near future. The project from developer SomeraRoad is marketed as “the living room of Wedgewood-Houston” and a “future gateway to the heart” of the neighborhood.
The development went through several revisions before ultimately receiving Metro Planning Commission approval in July. SomeraRoad is currently proposing “up to 175 housing units” and a 150-key hotel from Hamilton Avenue to Merritt Avenue, according to the Martin & Merritt website.
But since Planning’s approval, the site has been a source of tension, spirited blog posts and significant neighborhood involvement. Some neighbors have requested the project be brought before the Metro Council so it can receive approval to be built. Recently, those requests have gotten more public and more pointed.
Last month, Earnest Morgan, a member of the Wedgewood-Houston community, published an open letter on the WeHo Social community blog. His “Open Letter to Council Member Terry Vo” says SomeraRoad made more than 1,000 modifications to its original plan in order to address community concerns. Then Morgan’s letter addresses Councilmember Vo directly.
“It has now been over two months since [Planning] approval,” the post reads. “Despite numerous attempts by the developer, community members, and the SomeraRoad team to contact your office, we have received no response. No explanation. No communication. No path forward.”
Representatives from SomeraRoad tell the Scene they have no affiliation with WeHo Social, South Nashville Action People (another Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood group) or the open letter. They do say, however, that they have “built relationships with SNAP and WeHo Social through years of community engagement on this project, partnered with SNAP to complete a missing section of sidewalk in front of their building in 2023, and have attended SNAP and WeHo Social meetings when invited to provide project updates.”
But Vo says this isn’t the whole story. She tells the Scene that she has been in contact with SomeraRoad, but the resident who wrote the open letter didn’t contact her before claiming the developers received no response. She also says she has checked directly with SomeraRoad on the “1,000 modifications” figure, which representatives have not substantiated. Vo says she won’t move forward until other concerns are resolved.
Vo also says claims of her causing a “delay” in the process are mischaracterizations.
“After the Planning Commission it’s a recommendation,” Vo tells the Scene. “That’s it — the council process is a separate process, and they are not tied to each other. The councilmember has the jurisdiction and the decision to sponsor [legislation] or not. I think portraying it as holding or delaying is not accurate. There is no law being broken. … It’s a completely separate process.”
Vo says she’s worked with SomeraRoad to resolve many of the community’s issues, including some revisions to the design. But their relationship with the wider community still concerns her.
One major sticking point? Consistent noise complaints about a SomeraRoad-owned property next to a residence. For one resident who regularly hears loud music at 5 a.m. nearly every morning, the noise has become a quality-of-life issue.
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“If my constituents have a reduced quality of life … that is important for me to address,” says Vo. She tells the Scene that issues like the noise complaint not being resolved make her concerned about approving a larger project. “With a massive project in this [specific plan], if we have a construction problem, I am very concerned that my constituents will not get their problem resolved.”
Vo tells the Scene that the resident has brought their noise complaint to the police, but so far the issue has not been resolved. Vo says she has been in contact with the developer to see if they can address it.
Representatives from SomeraRoad have said they are currently working to solve the noise complaint.
“SomeraRoad and their representatives are in regular direct contact with this neighbor,” reads a statement to the Scene from SomeraRoad. “To resolve the issue raised by the neighbor, we have engaged with Metro’s Office of Nightlife, MNPD, the Councilwoman, and the tenant. We are taking every action available but believe that any alleged noise violations are best addressed by Metro and to our knowledge no citation or violation has been issued. We will continue to work with all parties and hope that the Martin & Merritt SP can be moved forward while we work in good faith to solve this problem that is unrelated to the proposed zoning change.”
Other Wedgewood-Houston locals are hopeful about the project. Christina Hayes lives on Merritt Avenue and says she’s excited about the changes Martin & Merritt will bring. She says her family moved to the area because they wanted a walkable, dense neighborhood and the feeling of community fostered by thoughtful neighborhood design. She sees development as part of that picture — even if it sometimes comes with some inconvenience.
“For sure there are frustrations,” Hayes says. “But for our family, it’s all a growing pain that we’re excited to be a part of.”
Hayes says she appreciates SomeraRoad’s level of community involvement, and she likes some of the proposed improvements the development could bring — like better-connected sidewalks and a public park.
Hayes says these improvements made some of the initial criticisms of the development feel frustrating. “This project is talking about giving us some green space: major infrastructure improvements above and beyond what’s being required,” she says. “And they were being nitpicked over five feet of height.”
She tells the Scene she hopes the project will move forward. Hayes says she’s sympathetic to concerns like the noise violation, but she also feels some people will oppose development no matter what, and expecting Nashville to never change isn’t reasonable.
But Vo says she will continue to work until neighborhood concerns are addressed, even beyond the design modifications SomeraRoad has already made. In a constituent newsletter from Oct. 10 titled “Setting the Record Straight: Martin and Merritt Project Update,” Vo writes: “Accountability, responsiveness and follow through are the foundation of trust, and that’s what I expect from any partner seeking to invest in her district.”
Vo tells the Scene it’s important that her constituents see she will fight for their causes. To put it more simply, she says, “I want people to see that no, developers do not tell me what to do.”
