Metro Motel
Nashville-based Howdy Hospitality LLC has paid $873,000 for the Metro Motel in East Nashville and will reinvent the building, which was built in the 1950s, as a boutique property to open in late 2020.
The seller was Nashville Hotel LLC, which acquired the property (which was variously known as The Villa Inn) in 1998. The address is 1404 Dickerson Pike.
Owned and operated by Nashville-based 37urban’s Taylor Perkins and Chelsey Mortenson, Howdy Hospitality intends to restore the 18-room hotel to its midcentury-modern design under a new and independent flag.
Austin-based Joel Mozersky Design will oversee the interior redesign of the property. The company is known for having designed the interiors of Japanese restaurant chain Uchi.
In addition to a complete renovation and restoration, Perkins tells the Scene the future motel will offer contemporary amenities and an addition, though he declined to disclose specifics.
Security Federal Savings Bank in McMinnville provided the loan, with Howdy Hospitality not disclosing a cost to undertake the update. Bone McAllester Norton provided legal services, and Pfeffer Torode Architecture is handling architecture. Both are locally based.
The Metro Motel circa the 1950s
“We are excited to be a part of the Dickerson market with this great asset,” Perkins says. “We stumbled across a picture of the original property from the 1950s and fell in love with it.
“We have been wanting to acquire a boutique hotel in Nashville for some time,” he adds. “This opportunity came to us and was exactly what we had been waiting for. We think [Dickerson Road] will one day be one of Nashville’s most exciting districts.”
With the recent opening of The Dive Motel by a group overseen by Lyon Porter, Perkins said the evolution of northeast Nashville will be fascinating to watch.
“It’s fun being a part of what’s happening over here,” he says. “We’ve been longtime believers in Dickerson and West Trinity Lane.”
