The Metro Council has approved a resolution that requests written notice of any Metro Nashville Airport Authority actions to demolish, relocate or permanently alter the historic Colemere Mansion.
Located at 1400 Murfreesboro Pike, Colemere is owned by MNAA and previously housed the restaurant Monell’s at the Manor. Monell’s served its last meal at Colemere in April after MNAA told owner Michael King it would not renew the lease.
Councilmember Russ Bradford — whose District 13 is home to the airport and the manor — brought the resolution forward because he said he has not received a commitment from airport leadership on future plans for the building.
“One reason I wanted to file this legislation was [for] ongoing accountability to BNA,” Bradford said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “We’ve seen so many stories over our city’s past where developers have gone in the middle of the night and bulldozed historic structures without waiting for proper due diligence. And so, there’s a serious concern within my community that this might happen with the Colemere.”
Bradford tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post that airport leaders have said there are no immediate plans for demolition but adds they would not give further explanation about a timeframe for their plans. He says MNAA could be open to allowing purchase of the building for its preservation, which is why hope remains.
Metro Council passes resolution urging preservation of MNAA-owned historic building
MNAA did not reply to the Post’s request for comment in time for publication.
In March, and when asked if there are plans to demolish the building, BNA president and CEO Doug Kreulen said the building is in “bad shape” and MNAA will “prepare” the property for accommodating flight activity. He gave no indication the airport would take action to save the building and said that airport funds cannot be used on costs that do not benefit passenger transportation.
The council passed a resolution just one day before Kreulen’s March comments asking MNAA to preserve the building. Tuesday’s council resolution goes one step further, asking MNAA and the Metro Department of Codes to provide written notice of any action related to demolition of Colemere, its entrance gate or its wall, and once again urged MNAA to relocate the building.
Additionally, any demolition request would have to be approved by the Metro Historical Commission, with the body having 90 days for review, Bradford said. That’s because Colemere is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Tennessee Historical Commission.
“I feel like this is a good opportunity for us to go on the record again requesting Metro Codes to keep an eye on any potential actions to be taken by the airport and for that notice to be given to us so that we can have an opportunity to try to work with the airport to try to save the building in some way,” Bradford says.
Monell’s had operated at Colemere Mansion for more than 16 years. From 1977 until 2008, the building accommodated New Orleans Manor, a buffet restaurant. Before that it housed the Colemere Club, a private club known for hosting powerbrokers and an annual community Easter egg hunt.
The estate, built in 1893, started as a mansion for L&N railroad tycoon Edmund William Cole. The 19th-century house was designed by architect William Crawford Smith, who designed the Parthenon in 1897. The original home burned in 1929 and was rebuilt in 1931, becoming the Colemere Club in 1948.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
