Two new lease agreements will authorize the developers of the construction-in-progress Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum to renovate Commerce Center Park and build a Metro fire station in the adjacent parking garage.
The Metro Council Thursday night — its meeting delayed two days due to Tuesday's 7th Congressional District primaries — approved the agreements. Those will allow PNH Properties to lease the downtown park — located at 211 Commerce St. — for up to 30 years, complete about $2.5 million in renovations to the property and build a gift shop. Renovation efforts will include more seating, planters, a ramp and the addition of color and other aesthetic improvements to the space.
In exchange for the lease of the park, PNH properties will construct a 2,155-square-foot Metro fire station in the hotel’s parking garage at no cost to the city. Build-out of the station is an estimated $1 million.
The hotel is set to operate from what was formerly an office building accommodating, among other tenants, the Baker Donelson law firm. PNH properties bought the building for $75 million in December 2023 and has since been working on about $45 million in renovations. A spring 2026 opening date is currently set for the hotel.
Legislative body also OKs vape shop regulations, advances Dolly Parton Hotel lease agreement
In other business, the council approved an ordinance that will establish sets of regulations for seated sightseeing vehicles like trolley and bus tours.
The regulations differ from those related to party buses and similar entertainment transportation vehicles. Specifically, the ordinance will allow the sightseeing vehicles to operate downtown from 4 to 6 p.m. (which is not currently allowed) as long as they follow fixed routes approved by Metro and keep up with the speed of traffic.
Tension mounted at Thursday night’s meeting during public comment as Nashvillians spoke both for and against a proposed resolution to condemn “acts of the United States Government and the State of Israel that contribute to a continuation of the genocide of the Palestinian people” — an effort that was ultimately withdrawn by the resolution's sponsor, Councilmember Ginny Welsch.
Supporters said they believe Metro has the obligation to denounce Israeli violence in Gaza and stand up for Palestinians living in the area. Others, including several Jewish Nashvillians, criticized the resolution and said it failed to recognize Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel and was inappropriate given that the proposal was filed the day before Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
Welsch said at the meeting that her reason for scrapping the resolution was due to recent ceasefire agreements. A meeting of the council’s Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee earlier that day resulted in a vote to recommend the indefinite deferral of the proposal, meaning it likely would not have passed if brought before the council.
Committee members including Councilmembers Erin Evans and Tom Cash said the council should focus more on issues they think directly affect Nashville. Councilmember Kyonzté Toombs, who also sits on the committee, said the language in the resolution was inflammatory. Several members said that, while it’s important to acknowledge the violence in the region, the resolution was divisive among the council and the community.
