Metro councilmembers, local advocacy groups and McFerrin Park residents are joining forces to secure a community benefits agreement with Cypress Real Estate Advisors, the Texas-based developer behind a proposed redevelopment of the RiverChase Apartments in East Nashville.
The CBA would include requirements for affordable housing, well-paying jobs, worker protections and a path for some current residents to return to the housing complex. The RiverChase complex is located at the intersection of Dickerson Pike and Meridian Street in an area already undergoing major transformation related to development on the East Bank.
Stand Up Nashville, which previously secured a CBA in 2018 related to the new Nashville SC stadium, is helping lead negotiations with CREA. Representatives for the developer did not respond to a request for comment.
CREA has proposed a $300 million mixed-use project at the site, adjacent to Interstate 24. Current residents could be pushed out to make way for the development by May.
The advocate groups assisting SUN include Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, The Equity Alliance and labor organizations LiUNA and SEIU Local 205. Representatives from the groups and Metro Council are holding a press conference on Tuesday ahead of the Metro Council meeting.
According to SUN, the community organizations are aiming to protect RiverChase residents who could face displacement. The groups have been meeting with various ownership groups since 2019, according to a letter from SUN to members of Metro Council.
“We are hoping for what we call ‘high-road’ construction and contracting during the building process — that means workers have guaranteed pay, guaranteed protections, and safety standards (injuries on the job have been skyrocketing in Nashville for construction workers as we rush to build up the city) and opportunities for locally owned and minority-owned contractors,” says SUN communications director Katharine Heriges. “This isn't just about housing; it's about providing multiple pathways for Nashvillians to succeed."
SUN says in the letter to Metro Council that the organization and CREA reached a tentative agreement in February promising a CBA before the redevelopment can be undertaken. The letter notes that a plan for the site could see 100 units available to residents making 60 percent of the area median income and another 100 units for those making 80 percent of AMI. The goal is also for housing navigators to help RiverChase residents, with CREA financial support, find new affordable housing and offer a pathway for some residents to return to the redeveloped property without facing steep rent increases. The developer has held several community meetings in recent months.
“There are a lot of longtime East Nashville residents that helped build and contribute to this ‘It City’ that are being displaced by the redevelopment of RiverChase, so this CBA could go a long way to help mitigate the loss of those families and those affordable housing units,” Equity Alliance director of programs and special projects Tamika White says in a release.
Metro Councilmember Sean Parker, whose District 5 includes the development, says he is looking forward to seeing the results after the press conference today.
"I hope that the developer and Stand Up can get the CBA finalized and we can continue to move forward with this," Parker says. "The neighborhood has been super engaged in this process, both the RiverChase residents and in the McFerrin neighborhood. It has been tremendous team effort up to this point."
This story first ran via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
