Category Archives: Area Information

Nashville New Homes: An active riverfront adds to quality of life.

Nashville is very fortunate to have a navigable waterway running right through the middle of downtown.  For many years, the civic importance of this feature was overlooked to concentrate only on its commercial benefits.  In the early 1980’s former Mayor Richard Fulton realized this waterway was a jewel to compliment our quality-of-life.  In January of 1983 he dedicated Riverfront Park, much as we see it today.

Since that time, the cityscape surrounding Nashville’s Riverfront Park has changed considerably.  Downtown Nashville is vibrant, the east bank of the river now houses LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, and areas that once were industrial now lie dormant for the most part, waiting for their next purpose.

In the mid-2000’s, a commission was formed to explore re-development of Nashville’s riverfront.  Many feasible ideas came from this “open-to-the-public” forum, and also a few ideas that will probably never see the light of day.  But so what…. aim for the moon and hit a few stars!

Under the leadership of Mayor Karl Dean, progress is underway for the first phase of Nashville’s riverfront redevelopment.  Read the full story on the groundbreaking this past October:

http://www.nashville.gov/mayor/news/2010/1005.asp

This is exciting news for Nashville, especially during lackluster economic times.  Take a look at what we can expect this summer on the east bank of the Cumberland River:

And there is even proposed docking for boats along the east bank as well, making Titans games all the better!  (Hopefully they will have electrical service for overnight docking)

The re-development of our Riverfront Park even has its own website.  View first hand the great improvements that are coming in the future!    

http://www.nashvilleriverfront.org/    While checking out that website, don’t miss taking a look at what other future improvements will look like:

http://www.nashvilleriverfront.org/downloads.html

Even without the future improvements, Nashville’s Riverfront Park still has a lot to offer.  There is docking for boats on each side of the river.  Boaters can dock on the east side and enjoy a Titans home game, or dock on the west side and enjoy the sights and sounds that downtown has to offer.  Electricity (30 & 50 amp) and water services are only available on the west (downtown) side.  Docking reservations can be made by calling 615.862.8472.

I do have one major beef with Metro Parks & Recreation, who oversees Riverfront Park.  For years, boaters were allowed to make reservations for dockage during holiday festivities.  These reservations were extremely hard to get.  The first year we secured a reservation to enjoy July 4th fireworks,  we were elated! 

Then Mayor Bill Purcell, through Metro Parks, cancelled all docking priviledges at Riverfront Park during holidays due to “homeland security concerns.”  The docks remain closed to boaters on most holidays and special events to this day.  “Homeland security concerns” my ass. 

But all is not lost.  We do live in America and can still throw out our anchors above the Korean Veterans Bridge, or the Woodland Street Bridge…which is exactly what we do.   Hopefully, new re-development plans will be more boater-friendly, like they are now in Knoxville and Chattanooga!  Take a look at what those cities have done:

Knoxville’s Riverfront Park is pictured above.  Chattanooga’s Riverfront Park aerial view below:

Speaking of July 4th, Nashville’s fireworks displays are among the highest rated in the nation.  Here is what we have in store for July 4, 2011:

http://nashville.about.com/b/2010/06/15/2010-music-city-july-4th-fireworks-spectacular-let-freedom-sing.htm

Our riverfront is there for your enjoyment!    This redevelopment project deserves participation from all Nashvillians, so please communicate support to Metro Council members every chance you get!   

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee

Nashville New Homes: The lights are on & somebody’s home!

Something is different about 882 South Curtiswood Lane.  Very different.   For the past nine years, no one has lived there.  It has been fun driving on Curtiswood without having to watch my speed, because no one was there to care.  There is now! 

The home that has served as the “Executive Residence” for all of Tennessee’s Governors, from 1949 -2002, was all lit up again!  There was even a State Trooper at the main gate flashing his lights for me to slow down!  Welcome to Nashville, Governor Bill Haslam and family!

Tennesseans, especially the family of our new Governor, are greatly indebted to the efforts of former Governor Phil Bredesen and his wife Andrea Conte.  They unselfishly took on the challenge of organizing and executing the first major renovation/restoration of this historic 80-year old home since the state purchased it in 1949.   Of the 18 million dollar project cost, 9 million was raised from private donations. **

(**Politicos – I have not fact-checked the accuracy of these exact figures and am only using those ascertained from media articles on the subject.  Go jump on someone else.)

Also added was an underground facility that will seat 160.  That addition was very controversial, but will prove to be an asset to the state.  As a child, I always knew when the Governor was having a party because there was a huge circus tent on the front lawn, connected to the residence.  Sometimes there were porta-johns too, if my memory serves correctly.   

If you do the math and compile the entire cost of the whole addition and restoration project, the taxpayers are not affected.  The cost of the underground “Conservation Hall” was fully funded by private sources, and the restoration funded by the state, which honestly had let the facility go far too long without performing desparately needed repairs and alterations.   Try letting your home go for 53 years and see how you come out!

Thank you Governor Bredesen and First Lady Andrea Conte for sacrificing your residency at such a cool place to live for the benefit of future leaders!

Enjoy this overview with former First Lady, Andrea Conte:

Since 1949, there have been a few changes to the Executive Residence over the years.   Perimeter fencing and entrance gates were added in the early 70’s, Lamar Alexander added a swimming pool during his term, at no cost to taxpayers.  (I cannot imagine an estate of that caliber not having a pool in the first place.) 

One Halloween many years ago, after a successful visit to Minnie Pearl’s house, a group of us decided we would head next-door to “Trick-or-Treat” at the Governor’s Mansion too.  As we approached the gates, they suddenly opened…without us saying a word.   A voice came over the intercom…. “BOO!  Come on up!”   And we did.

We arrived at the back door of the mansion to be greeted by First Lady Betty Dunn.  She invited us in, the whole time apologizing for not having any halloween candy on hand.  No one had ever “trick-or-treated” at the Governor’s Mansion before. 

She served us cookies and refreshments and then took time to show us around the place.  What a gracious and charming lady!   Then, and now.    And for those that may be asking….. No, we did not roll the yard when we left.  (Not that one anyway!)  

Here are some interesting links regarding this historic Tennessee home:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Governor’s_Mansion

Here is an aerial view of the property.  http://wikimapia.org/4168812/Tennessee-Governor-039-s-Mansion

And here are a few scenes of the residence that all Tennesseans can now be very proud of:

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Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, www.OleSouth.com, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee

Nashville New Homes: Santa is coming to town.

Actually, Santa recently passed through Nashville.   And he brought a lot of great things to the Greater Nashville area with him!   And not to worry, he will be back again… very soon!

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Nashville now celebrates the opening of Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in the downtown business district.  Everyone knows that Margaritavilles only locate in the most popular of tourist destinations!  Here you can learn more about this new iconic venue from the Nashville Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2010/11/22/margaritaville-opens-in-downtown.html

And another spectacular event happened earlier this month, the re-opening of Opryland Hotel – transformed from $200 million in flood damage to a collection of over 2 million Christmas lights! 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40197429/ns/travel-news/

Another holiday spectacular you will not want to miss is the Season of Celebration, at Nashville’s Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.  The Arts are alive in well in Nashville, Tennessee!

http://www.cheekwood.org/Art/Season_of_Celebration.aspx

These events are just a few of the many things that Santa has brought to Nashville this year.   Back in 1986, he brought Ole South Properties to Middle Tennessee and we have been building the very best new home values in Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill ever since!   From 89,990 to $299,990, we have a brand new home to meet your needs.

Santa can’t bring a new home down your chimney, but he certainly can point you in the right direction to find one – www.OleSouth.com.   Join us on Facebook too!  www.facebook.com/olesouthproperties

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee

Nashville New Homes: Go and tell.

Yesterday’s blog topic was about students from Cane Ridge High School’s Construction Career Academy visiting the new home construction site of Rivendell Woods of Cane Ridge.   Yesterday, the students got to see first-hand examples of the trades they have been studying.   ( Photos are posted on yesterday’s blog thing.   Home Center Network will be airing excerpts on Comcast Channel 49 at 9:00 am and 9:00 pm daily.)

Ole South has had involvement with Cane Ridge since its opening and have watched the Career Academy concept evolve into a successful program format.  And it is getting better each and every day.  With guidance from educators such as Harold Cunningham and Lance Lott, even better things are on the horizon for Cane Ridge.

Which leads me to another subject … involvement in our local schools.  There are many wonderful things happening in schools all across Middle Tennessee.   We need to constantly find out what these things are and spread the good news to all that will listen!   There may be one disfunctional student that carries a knife to school, but there are thousands more carrying books, notebooks, and pencils. 

Everyone can help in some way, even if it is just talking positive.  Our quality of life is directly impacted by the quality of our schools, so we each really do have skin in the game!  The better our local schools perform, the better our local economy performs. 

Parents want to raise their families where there is a great quality of life.  Employers want to locate their businesses where they can attract great employees.  The benefits of quality education go on and on and can never be underestimated.   

 About the quality of education in Metropoltan Nashville,  did you know that US News & World Reports publishes a list of the “Best 100 High Schools in America?”   Guess what?  There are only TWO Tennessee High Schools on this list.  BOTH of them are Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools!   Tell people about that!

 http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/sections/education/high-schools/index.html

 There are great things going on with education in Nashville.  Let’s all get more involved whenever we can and see if we can add even more area schools to that list next year.

Then watch the value of your new Ole South home in Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro and Spring Hill climb even more.

Have a great day!

 

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Good News Everywhere You Look!

There is a lot of good news out there, especially about Nashville, Tennessee being the perfect place to live!  Forbes Magazine has recently ranked Nashville in the top ten slots of several lifestyle categories:

According to Forbes, Nashville is the 5th most affordable place to live.  They also rank Nashville #7 in the top places to call home.  Folks, the Greater Nashville area is happening! 

Everone has got to remember that the national news is just that – news from all across the nation.  To apply the national news scenarios to every city would be like having one national weather forecast.  I can just see us now dressing for a snowfall in Denver when it is 75 and sunny in Nashville!

So, if you live in Nashville, you need to feel good about your choice!  If you don’t own your home yet, give home ownership serious consideration.  Don’t just rely on my advice …there’s more out there.  Check out the Top Ten Reasons To Buy A Home that was recently published in the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703376504575492023471133674.html

Convinced yet?  Why not visit one of our Ole South new home neighborhoods in Greater Nashville?  Whether you want to live in Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, or Spring Hill… you will certainly find the right home in the right neighborhood for you!

Today, if you are trapped at work, or just hanging out on the couch at home with nothing planned, tune in to Talk Radio 99.7 FM today at 12:00 noon and you’ll have even more knowledge about today’s market!

Buying a home is great.  Buying a new home is even better!

 

 

 

 

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include, but not limited to, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: And what a week this is going to be!

Forbes Magazine just released a list of the most affordable places to live in America and Nashville ranks #5!  However, the list is somewhat perplexing to the mind because Birmingham is rated #11.  Seriously folks, who would pay MORE to live in Birmingham when they could live in Nashville for less?  I just don’t get it.

We at Ole South continue to do our part in making these great rankings possible. With brand new town homes from $89,990, traditional neighborhood new homes (with garages too!) from 119,990, up to all brick masterpieces with 3-car garages under $300,000 and all points between – you simply will not find a better new home value than with Ole South.

You owe it to yourself to visit our website, http://www.OleSouth.com. Even better, pay a visit to one of our 20+ neighborhoods in the Greater Nashville area, to include Cane Ridge, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill. Eat an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie or two while you are there.

It is just now Monday, and so much is happening that I cannot begin to tell you all about it…so I won’t. Stay tuned though.  A new home in Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County will soon be more affordable than ever.  

Folks, tomorrow is Election Day and I truly hope that everyone will exercise their right to vote.  And regardless of the outcome, each one of us should make an effort to get involved in matters that are vital to our future.  If we don’t voice our opinions and concerns openly, our elected dummies have no choice but to vote for what benefits them the most.   So let’s all vote, become more involved, and earn the right to bitch!  :0)

That said, last week while cruising on the Carnival Triumph, I discovered what just might be my second favorite place to live, right behind living in a brand new Ole South home in Greater Nashville.  That place is Roatan, Honduras.  Carnival Cruise Lines just spent a zillion dollars developing the newest cruise port on the Caribbean, Mahogany Bay.   Check out John Heald’s Blog for the details.  

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/12/13/mahogany-bay/

And here are pictures from our visit:

Roatan is almost like Disneyland for adults.  There is a lift-chair thingy that carries you from the ship to the beach areas.  The beachfront rivals anything you have ever seen.  Air-conditioned cabanas are available for rent to those that have more money than good sense.  Food and bar service is everywhere and the place is super-clean too!  I wish I had more pictures to show of this awesome place.  Actually, I do, but you can’t see them.

Remember, it is only Monday.  Check back often for exciting updates that are sure to be revealed this week! 

Happy Monday!

 

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Excitement is building!

What an exciting time of year to live in Nashville, Tennessee!   The Tennessee Titans are having a great season, The Nashville Predators hockey season is underway, and there is something exciting happening every day!

Ole South is bringing added excitement to LP Field this coming Sunday.  Not only will the Tennessee Titans defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, but someone is going to win a 2010 Scion – courtesy of OleSouth – Tennessee’s #1 Home Builder!

 

Marketing is fun!  Rather than give away a cheap set of steak knives, we decided to do something different this year.  We not only wanted to attract potential home buyers,  but also show appreciation to those who have shown support for Ole South in the past – our area Realtors, and those that had already purchased an Ole South home.  We wanted a contest that everyone would be eligble to win!   The result:  “Win in 2010.”  Nice rhyme too!

After one visit to Beaman, the 2010 Scion was deemed the perfect selection for our contest.  The eye-catching graphics and the all-encouraging “Yes” ball brought the car to life.  Since the contests introducton, the Scion has visited all of Ole South’s neighborhoods and has also been seen at events all around town…. 

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 And now, it has just been delivered to the LP Party Deck at LP Field to meet it’s new owner at Sunday’s game!  Who will it be?  John Betts, John Black, Kelly Ford, Glenda Garriott, Brenda McMillan, or J.J. Love?  Each of these contestants, and their guests, will be hosted by LP Building Products on the LP Party Deck.

Now that the Scion is there, they are now getting the field ready for Sunday’s game!  This is the view of LP Field from the LP Party Deck:

The six individuals listed above were chosen at random from almost 2000 eligible entries!   The drawing was “scion-tific” and used the integer services of www.random.org.      

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this exciting event.   Travel plans with family and friends were made before the NFL 2010 schedule was released so, on this Sunday, here is the view we will have (unless Hurricane Richard gets in the way):

 

In closing, I would like to personally thank everyone that participated in “Win in 2010.”  Special thanks to LP Building Products and The Tennessee Titans for making this contest possible.  Congratulations to each of the winners too!

Even though this contest is nearing the finale, everyone can still “Win in 2010” by purchasing a new home from Ole South.  We truly do offer the very best values in new home construction in every neighborhood we build.

So, what’s next for 2011?   There’s got to be a rhyme somewhere!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: More good news!

Hi Folks!

Every day, we are blessed that we live in such a great area of the country!  Nashville truly is a “world-class” city, but without “world-class” problems.  We have a great quality of life here and Forbes is letting others know too….look what just came out: 

 http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2010/10/19/nashville-is-7th-most-popular-city-in.html

Well, I beg to differ.  Where can you see a beautiful downtown skyline like this?

Or see scenes from your back yard like this:

You see, Nashville really is the #1 place in the US to live.  But for now, we’ll have to settle with being #7 according to Forbes!  Another unique factor, the Greater Nashville area, including Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Spring Hill, has a vast supply of affordable, high-quality, brand new homes… thanks in no small part to

You just knew that was coming, didn’t you!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: A neat Christmas Gift!

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Very few cities around the country have such great architectural examples as Nashville, Tennessee.  One particular architectural firm is celebrating 100 years of design and has published a wonderful book detailing the many contributions they have made to our city’s landscape.  Here is the link for more information on this great Christmas gift:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101014/DAVIDSON/101014071/New-picture-book-portrays-Nashville-s-unique-buildings-?GID=CUwLbLWjEcza8zrl41A2b3u4mHej0xs83K0D1SSsp4I%3D

There is nothing like the contrast between the old and the new.  You will enjoy the link below, which will take you back in time for views of what Nashville’s landscape was like long ago.  Click it and see for yourself!

http://nashville.about.com/cs/nashvillephotos/l/bloldpics1.htm

Isn’t it cool to reminisce?   Now that you have done that, why not take a look at what the future has in store for you by visiting the new homes and communities offered by Ole South Properties?  We have a home for every lifestyle.  See for yourself at www.OleSouth.com.

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.