Category Archives: Nashville in General

Nashville: A Rising Global City

Well, just what is a “global city?”

According to Wikipedia:

A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.

It would be a lot simpler to call it “a place where the world wants to be!”

Nashville definitely falls into that category.

Global Trade Magazine just named Nashville among the top 50 cities in the US for Global Trade.  CLICK HERE

International Business is being conducted all around us and has become a significant factor in our area economy.  You will find a lot of information on the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce website HERE.

In my 13 years of selling new homes, I have been involved in many sales to international buyers, with each bringing new cultures to our region.  Many arrive because of political unrest in their home countries while others are here to pursue new opportunities.

Regardless of reason, Nashville is a true destination.  Nashville is where the world wants to be.

And when you get here, we have a brand new home waiting at one of our Ole South neighborhoods.

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 homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, Gallatin, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: Glad to be here!

We’re really blessed to live in a country that allows us to live where we want to.  I am glad to live in Nashville and happy to see more and more heading our way every day!  Aren’t you?

I think it is safe to say that Nashville has reached the status of being a “world class” city.  And the world is finding more and more about Middle Tennessee every day.

# 4 ranking in the US in economic strength?

Yes!  CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY

#1 ranking in the US for job growth?  

Yes!  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

#1 in Fun  (I think so anyway).   There’s never a bad time to be in our Music City, but the Fourth of July festivities are beyond comparison, and 2012 is no exception!  CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON “LET FREEDOM SING 2012”

There are fireworks displays and celebrations scheduled all over Middle Tennessee to celebrate Independence Day.  CLICK HERE TO FIND THE ONES IN YOUR AREA.

Simply put, Middle Tennessee is the place to be.  Get out there and enjoy it!

And drink lots of water too!

 

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 homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, Gallatin, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Metro Property Tax Increase – The Double-Edged Sword

It costs a lot to run the “world class city”  that Nashville has become and I don’t envy Mayor Karl Dean one bit!     CLICK HERE  to learn more about the Mayor’s proposed property tax increase.

Nashville businessman Lee Beaman contributed an interesting opinion with his letter-to-the-editor this past Sunday.  CLICK HERE to read his opinion.  (Please pay little attention to the class-envy comments that some made.  We can be assured the Beaman family pays more than their fair share in taxes to Metro.)

Karl Dean is right.  Nashville needs more revenue to continue and expand the services that we all demand and expect.  New schools need to be built.  Old school buildings are in disrepair.  Metro employees need raises.  Road improvements need to be scheduled.  Our aging infrastructure needs to be replaced in many areas.  We need more parks to add to our quality of life.

Most importantly, Nashville really needs a better and more boater-friendly Riverfront Park!   The riverfront areas of Knoxville, Chattanooga, and even Clarksville beat ours.

Lee Beaman is right too.  Increasing property taxes do make property values fall.  Maybe not all at once, but they will fall.  Look at Memphis and Shelby County. 

So, the average Nashville family will pay $192 more per year.   That $192 translates to approximately $3,000 in home purchase affordability.  Those that barely qualify for the “$145,400 median home value” in Davidson County will now only qualify for approximately $142,400 under the new tax rates.  Maybe not devastating, but enough to rattle the cup…especially when it may be yours!

The value of a piece of property is directly related to what a person or business can afford to pay for it.  Then, the more the value falls, the more the tax rate has to go up to generate the same revenue.  A vicious cycle.

What is the answer?  There’s not a good one.  No answer will  be popular to everyone, but it really is time to think outside of the box. 

The answer is simple.  We need a larger property tax base.  We need more families moving into Davidson County.  We need more businesses locating within the county limits.   We need people spending more money in Davidson County. 

It all starts with affordable housing, balanced with quality of life, and convenience.  Why wouldn’t someone working in Davidson County choose to live here?  We have got to eliminate those reasons to begin solving the problems.

Our surrounding counties do not have a football stadium to support, yet their citizens enjoy it.   They do not have the responsibility of a world-class arena, but their citizens pack it.  None of those counties have an international airport to maintain.  Some don’t have an airport at all!

Before you get the tomatoes, I am not advocating charging out-of-county residents more for airline flights, concerts, Titans, and Predator tickets.  We need every seat filled that we can get!  But it would be nice to have a “Metro Resident Discount.”

What about employers offering a “Metro Resident” pay incentive?  That incentive could come from TDOT, who could then slow down interstate constructon projects a bit!  

Then, if we could just make it less cumbersome for developers and builders to provide new, affordable housing in areas that already have needed infrastructure, we’d be off to a good start!

Nashville Homes Blog: Nashville, a true “world-class” city.

For those that don’t think that Nashville has yet become a “World-Class” city, here’s some more food for thought:

Just released, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena is the 6th most popular venue in the entire United States.  That’s NUMBER SIX, behind LosAngeles, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington DC.   Bridgestone Arena also places 8th in all of North America, and 20th in the entire world!

 

Click here for the full story in The City Paper.

And right across the street, the massive “World-Class” Music City Center continues to rise skyward for its 2013 opening.  And the world is taking notice too!  Over 600,000 room nights have already been confirmed!  See the full story here.

If you haven’t visited Downtown Nashville lately, GO!

You will be proud that you live here.  And if you don’t live here yet, you’ll want to make moving plans….soon!

It’s only going to get better!

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 homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Nashville New Homes: How did you ring in 2012?

We can now say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012.  It’s going to be a great year!  Period!

I made some grand plans for New Year’s Eve 2011, which is also our Blue Doberman Ruby’s first birthday.  Docking reservations for our boat were made at Nashville’s Riverfront Park.  Lynrd Skynrd would be there, right where the music note would drop.    Fifty-thousand people were going to be there too.  People would line the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge to see what we would be right in the middle of below.  Ruby was going to be excited that all of this was just for her. 

Beth wasn’t quite as excited about the new plans.  After all, Ruby is scared of fireworks.  And what about all those people on the bridge looking down on us?  In a crowd that large, someone would probably pee off that bridge.  Besides that, in past years, we had not stayed up until midnight anyway.  Hard to argue with common sense.

So, on December 26th, we took our boat back to Blackjack Cove Marina on Old Hickory Lake after an enjoyable stay with our friends at Rock Harbor Marina on the Cumberland River.  We would celebrate Ruby’s Birthday and the New Year at Blackjack Cove Marina and the Black Pearl Restaurant.   Ruby liked the idea because she had missed her friend Storm while we had been gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If increased activity along the Cumberland River is a sign of better times, the good times are on the way back to Middle Tennessee!

 

‘The Plan” for New Year’s Eve at the marina came together perfectly, and we actually managed to stay up past midnight too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever heard of Polar Bear Tubing?  That was the plan for noon the next day… so we set out to find them.

And we did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, they really were “Polar Bear Tubing.”

And we ended New Year’s Day 2012 with a feast among friends.  Cabbage, Black-eyed Peas, Cornbread, Pork Roast, Deer Meet, Beer Can Chicken, etc etc.

Yes, it looks like 2012 is going to be just fine!  Join us!

Nashville Homes Blog: Santa’s early visit to the Cumberland River

To many residents of the Waterford Subdivision in Nashville, Santa has already arrived in town, and he has set up shop on the Cumberland River.

View of Waterford from Upstream Cumberland River

Except this year, he didn’t arrive in a sleigh full of toys.  He arrived with barges full of gravel.

Choctaw Transportation Company Tow Boats

Many remember that the Waterford subdivision was devastated from the now-infamous May 2010 Flood.  Those homes you see overlooking the barges were actually underwater.  Many say this subdivision should have never been built, but that is hindsight.  It was built, and it suffered.  Take a look at the erosion that has taken place over the years:

In September of this year, work started on the Waterford Stabilization Project, in which plastic sheeting is attached to the riverbank and covered with rock, commonly called rip-rap.  Over 100,000 tons of rock will be used to stabilize this 1/2 mile stretch.

The May 2010 flood dealt a harsh blow to Nashville, and many areas are yet to recover.  This project is just one sign that good things can come out of bad situations.   Just ask one of those residents!

Meanwhile, further downstream in the Pennington Bend area, activity seems to be breaking loose.  Although many homes are still like they were after the flood, many have been totally remodeled, or are in the process.  I know of a totally renovated 3-bedroom, 2 bath ranch with a sunroom that will be available for rent in January.  And this is the view you will see every day from your backyard:

Ingram Barge's David K. Wilson

There are several new homes being built along the river, just upstream from Opryland:

New Home on the Cumberland River

And not just homes are being renovated on the river!  Lets check the progress being made at the old Nashville Bridge Company Offices in downtown.  Here is the story:  http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/10/04/daily20.html

And further downstream, an older renovation project is still moving forward, the former Neuhoff Packing Plant.  Remember Frosty Morn?    http://wikimapia.org/1560269/Historic-Neuhoff-Buildings

Here are pictures of the Neuhoff Building that I borrowed from another site:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/greystgirl/sets/72157608368624763/

Rivers and Lakes have always attracted people.  The risk of possibile flooding is outweighed by the certainty of a great lifestyle.  If you have ever wanted to live on a lake or river, now is a pretty good time to start exploring.  And guess what?  I want to help you when you do!

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 homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, and Spring Hill, Tennessee

Nashville New Homes: It’s brand new and everybody has it.

As I returned from church today, there was a neat message posted at the Harding Place exit ramp of Interstate 65.  It said:

“Brand New Day – Not Used.”

A vendor for “The Contributor” newspaper was standing close by.  He was not begging, nor harassing, nor intimidating.  He was just there with a smile.

  For those that do not know, “The Contributor” is a monthly publication of varying perspectives on homelessness and its many issues.  www.thecontributor.org

The vendors most likely are homeless, and they sell these newspapers all over town.  They pay 25 cents for each paper and sell it for $1.00, or whatever donation is given.  Whatever profit they make is theirs.  If you haven’t bought a copy of “The Contributor” lately, please do.  There is great information inside.  And the best part, you are looking directly at the face your purchase helps.

Each day, there are messages all around us.  We never know where the message will come from, or who will deliver it.  I am glad I saw this one today!  How are you going to use your new day?

 

 

Nashville New Homes: It’s DOG DAY.

The past few weeks, the number of people searching for a new home in Nashville has increased dramatically!  Interest rates have fallen further, and rental rates have begun to rise.  Perhaps all of the mess going on in Washington is a good thing!  Actually it is…for those that are ready to act now.

Enough of “the time to buy is now” recording.  We’ve all heard it.  We all should know it by now.  And those that don’t know it, can hear about it another day.  I want to laugh and I want you to also…right now!

Last night on Facebook, I shared a video clip from a friend’s posting…. and many of you liked it.  So, here it is again!

Pretty cool dog, huh!

Most of you know about Ruby, our Blue Doberman (which really isn’t blue but what the hell).  We got her in February when she was six weeks old.  Time has really flown by, and she has grown every minute of it too!

Notice her cute little floppy ears?  Not for long:

A lot of people think Dobermans are typically mean, at least I did.  I guess they just look intimidating.  Ruby has been real good at making dog-friends, especially at the lake with Hannah The Lab, and Storm The Dobie.

Back in February, I wasn’t too thrilled about Ruby’s arrival.  OK, I was pissed.  Now I look back over the past months and wonder how we would have gotten along without her.  I hope Ruby looks back and thinks the same thing.

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Every day is a new day with Ruby, and a new challenge for us.  Even this morning!

Which reminds me….every dog really should have a new home with a fenced back yard.  Find yours by calling me today!  In the meantime, enjoy DOG 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 homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, and Spring Hill, Tennessee