2614 Hemingway Drive
Quite an interesting bunch of buyers and sellers this month, including the founder of country group Sawyer Brown (selling on Sawyer Bend), a pair of hit-making songwriters, a respected producer and a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
And there are some notable homes as well, including one of Nashville's first modernist homes and land once owned by the infamous Tony Alamo.
Also, Yoda is possibly involved in one transaction.
As always, these are the top 10 single-family homes sold in Nashville and surrounding counties for May, ranked by price.
1. 2875 Sawyer Bend Road, Franklin, 37069
Buyer: Ashley Glenn Gorley
Sale price: $3.5 million
Sellers: Mark A. and Lisa Marie Knight Miller
Sellers' agent: Drew Luna, Williamson County Realtors
Buyer's agent: Greg Cooley, Chateau Properties
The lead singer of Sawyer Brown sells this home, oddly enough, on Sawyer Bend. Songwriter Ashley Glenn Gorley, who has penned 19 No. 1 singles for the likes of Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, picks up this 8,725-square-foot home on 10 acres in northern Williamson County.
The property includes two barns with 21 stalls, a riding ring, an in-ground pool, a full gym and a full recording studio. The home spent nearly a year on the market and was originally listed at nearly $8 million.
2. 1809 Pace Haven, Franklin, 37069
Buyers: David D. and Lucinda M. Baier
Sale price: $3.25 million
Sellers: Richard and Kimberly B. Shallcross
Sellers' agent: Bill E. Henson Jr., SilverPointe Properties
Buyers' agent: Louis Belote, Fridrich and Clark Realty
This Laurelbrooke entry checks in at 14,197 square feet, including a double-hearth great room, a theater, a billiards room, a bonus room, a bonus bonus room, a conservatory, an owner's suite and a wine cellar described as a "connoisseur's dream."
Lucinda Baier is the CFO of Brookdale Senior Living. Her husband David is an attorney. Richard Shallcross is a CFO himself, holding that position for the Western Group of HCA. The Shallcrosses bought the property for $399,900 in 2005 and built the home the next year.
3. (Tie) 5335 Stanford Drive, Nashville, 37215
Buyer: Deepwood Land Trust Agreement, Cromwell William Griffiths, trustee
Sale price: $3 million
Seller: Jason Wayne Owen
Seller and buyer's agent: Mary Beth Thomas, Parks
Built in 1938 for Vanderbilt neurologist Cobb Pilcher — who founded VU's Division of Neurologic Surgery after graduating from med school at 22 and was the scion of one of Nashville's oldest families — in the then-new International style by famed architect Edwin Keeble, Deepwood was one of the first modernist homes in Nashville.
It is now owned by Cromwell William Griffiths, a British businessman.
3. (Tie) 1002 Tyne Blvd., Nashville, 37220
Buyer: Jason Wayne Owen
Sale price: $3 million
Sellers: Garry and Tammy Tallent
Sellers' agent: Mary Beth Thomas, Parks
Buyer's agent: Unknown
Owen breaks even and forces a tie at No. 3 with his sell-and-buy. Built in 2000, the home sits on land once owned by the (in)famous imprisoned religious leader Tony Alamo and his wife Susan (who, contrary to an urban legend, was not kept embalmed in the Alamo home; her body was kept instead at church property in Arkansas). The land was bought by Tony Brown in 1998, and the MCA Nashville Records president built the current house, which most recently was owned by E Street Band founding member Garry Tallent.
5. 105 High Meadow Drive, Franklin, 37069
Buyer: Dagobah Trust, Kate Rosenthal, trustee
Sale price: $2.999 million
Seller: Carl R. Hampf
Seller's agent: Steve Fridrich, Fridrich and Clark Realty
Buyer's agent: Courtney Cooper Jenrath, Fridrich and Clark Realty
Given the trust's Dagobah name, one wonders if Yoda himself is moving to rural Williamson County. If so, the Jedi Master gets a 5,766-square-foot home on nearly 39 acres, complete with paddocks, a lighted riding arena and a six-stall barn.
Seller Hampf is a Nashville neurosurgeon.
6. 704 Brass Lantern Place, Brentwood, 37027
Buyers: Mark and Deborah Degner
Sale price: $2.7 million
Sellers: Charles and Shanna DuBois
Sellers' agent: Shane Holt, Botsko Properties
Buyers' agent: Elizabeth Crockett, Benchmark Realty
Built just nine years ago, the home underwent a recent major expansion and now contains six bedrooms, six bathrooms, two studies, a storm room and an elevator that must be impressive, because the listing mentioned it twice, putting it in all caps both times.
Buyer Mark Degner is the new chief investment officer for Southern Land Co. Seller Chris DuBois is a noted songwriter with 15 No. 1 hits.
7. 2614 Hemingway Drive, Nashville, 37215
Buyers: Richard and Kimberly B. Shallcross
Sale price: $2.375 million
Sellers: Robert and Janet Ezrin
Sellers' agent: Starling Davis, Fridrich and Clark
Buyers' agent: Bill E. Henson Jr., SilverPointe Properties
The Shallcrosses make their second appearance on the list, this time as new owners of this five-year-old home with a shiplap cathedral ceiling.
Seller Robert Ezrin is a famed Canada-born producer, once described by Alice Cooper as "our George Martin." He also wrote and performed the piano solo on the KISS hit "Beth."
8. 4365 Chickering Lane, Nashville, 37215
Buyer: E and A Trust, Michael Sontag, trustee
Sale price: $2,220,719
Sellers: James and Rebekah Woodard
Sellers' agent: Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich and Clark
Buyer's agent: Jessica Averbuch, Zeitlin and Co.
If the folks behind E and A Trust (we'll call them "E and A" for convenience's sake) want to add a pool on the upper terrace level of this home, the plans to do so have already been drawn up.
With walnut floors and a theater already, that could be the perfect addition.
9. 2013 John J Court, Franklin, 37067
Buyers: Mark Alexander and Joann Palazzo
Sale price: $2 million
Seller: W Real Estate Trust, Sulliven Marsden, trustee
Seller's agent: Andrew Day, Benchmark Realty
Buyers' agent: Jani Bohanan, Crye Leike
This 9,120-square-foot home in Hooker Hills (on John J Court in Hooker Hills; get it?) sits on 3.6 acres with a lake and a pool.
10. 117 Treemont Lane, Franklin, 37069
Buyers: Chris and Linda Taylor
Sale price: $1.94 million
Sellers: Leslie and John Calloway Couch Jr.
Sellers' agent: Tonna Heath, Tonna Heath and Co.
Buyers' agent: Erin Taylor, REMAX Elite
Quite a descriptor from the listing: "This house is farmhouse meets Northern California in style. ... If you understand quality and want a house that will take care of you instead of the other way around, this house will speak to you."
