Reconnecting Nashville’s Downtown and Midtown: Capping the Interstate

Initial Research Graduate Project Landscape Project

Thomas K. Davis FAIA University of Tennessee Spring 2012

Reconnecting Nashville’s Downtown and Midtown: Capping the Interstate Thomas K. Davis, Associate Professor University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Architecture and Design ARC 483 / 583 Spring 2012

Capstone Project: MBA Real Estate Program, Owen School of Management, Vanderbilt University

Interstate 40 / 65 (South East View Towards the Gulch)

Interstate 40 / 65 (North West View – Charlotte Avenue Exit)

Interstate 40 / 65 (South East View from Demonbreun Street)

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Nashville’s Civic Design Center: “The Plan of Nashville”

Nashville Civic Design Center: “The Plan of Nashville”

The Green Gully from the Demonbreun Viaduct.

Street Section and Detail of the Green Gully Plan

Plan of the Green Gully

More than 180,000 people, including 40,000 children live within just one mile of the proposed park

PARTNERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Philip E. Aarons Chairman Laurie L. Goldman President Alfred Fraijo, Jr. Vice President David Eads Secretary Terri Gerger Treasurer George Abou-Daoud Jeffrey C. Briggs Doug Campbell Scott Campbell Heather Cochran Betty Fraser Brian Folb David Gajda Cheryl Gaskill Phil Hart Alfredo Hernandez Helmi Hisserich Edward V. Hunt Coby King Jacob Lipa Jerold Neuman Susan Polifronio Don Scott Nicole Shahenian Thaddeus H. Smith Tom Trynin Christi Van Cleve

Senator Barbara Boxer Senator Dianne Feinstein Congressman Xavier Becerra Congressman Howard Berman Congresswoman Diane Watson State Senator Curren Price Assembly Speaker Karen Bass Assembly Member Kevin De León Assembly Member Mike Feuer Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa LA City Council President Eric Garcetti LA City Councilmember Tom LaBonge Caltrans, CA Dept of Transportation CRA/LA LA Bureau of Engineering LA City Planning Commission LA Dept of Recreation & Parks Southern California Association of Governments LA Area Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles Business Council ULI, Los Angeles Hollywood Neighborhood Councils: Central Hollywood, East Hollywood, Hollywood Hills West, Hollywood Studio District and Hollywood United Hollywood Arts Council Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Hollywood Entertainment District BID Sunset & Vine BID ABS Development Access IT Alliance Residential Company Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble, Mallory & Natsis LLP AREA Briggs Law Office Clarett Group Cooper Family Foundation First Financial Bancorp Galpin Motors Gatehouse Capital GO! Goldman Organization Hennigan, Bennett and Dorman, LLP Hudson Capital Kaiser Permanente Legacy Partners Madison Capital Ventures Marathon Communications Metropolitan Water District Millennium Partners/Argent Ventures Paramount Contractors Paramount Studios PSOMAS Roschen-Van Cleve Architects Safran & Associates Selma Avenue Hotel Sheppard Mullin Xerxes Studios

Hollywood has 0.005 acres of open space per resident as compared to 0.012 acres of open space within the City of Los Angeles and is one of the lowest resident-to-park space communities in California Two-thirds of children in Los Angeles do not live near a park, playground, or other safe place to play. By comparison, New York City’s parks are much more equitably distributed with more than 91 percent of its children living within walking distance of a park The median income for this one-mile area is $23,481—nearly half the region’s median income level. In addition, 75.2 percent of this one square-mile population is non-white minorities with 53.3 percent of Hispanic ethnicity Existing park space is disproportionately concentrated in the region’s wealthy neighborhoods. As a result, Latino, African-American, and Asian Pacific Islander youth are dramatically less likely than their White counterparts to enjoy access to open space, playgrounds, and other exercise facilities

COMMUNITY •

Promotes equity

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Provides green open space and recreational facilities to more than 40,000 children

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Promotes public health and encourages active lifestyles

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Reunites diverse communities and dense neighborhoods, separated for more than 50 years, by the Hollywood Freeway

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Provides an exemplary illustration of efficient and innovative alternative land use

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Strategies and outcomes serve as a national model for the creation of new green open space in a dense urban environment

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Creates 45,000 direct and indirect jobs, including 30% entry level and apprenticeship programs and local hire

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Provides an economic stimulus for investment in resource efficient infill development

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Increases tourism

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Improves air quality and reduces global warming

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Reduces automobile usage and fuel consumption, green house gas emissions and promotes energy efficiency and conservation

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Creates a transit oriented development

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Utilizes 21st Century cutting-edge environmental technologies

ECONOMY

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS •

Makes long-needed ramp improvements

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Streamlines freeway functioning

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Improves freeway overpasses

1680 N. Vine St., Ste. 1000, Hollywood, CA 90028 | T.323.464.8888 | F.323.464.1754 | hollywoodfreewaycentralpark.org

Big Dig Park Boston, MA

The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), known unofďŹ cially as the Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery (Inter‘ state 93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into a 3.5-mile tunnel. The project also included the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel (extending Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport), the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space vacated by the previous I-93 elevated roadway.

Klyde Warren Park Dallas, TX We're building common ground for Dallas and our visitors to enjoy in the heart of this city. Five acres of shared, public green space will deck over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway, bringing new traditions, shared experiences and FUN to the center of Dallas.

Public parks strengthen our communities and benefit our health, environment, quality of life, and economy. These are benefits that Dallas will enjoy for generations to come.

Initial Research Graduate Project Landscape Project

Thomas K. Davis FAIA University of Tennessee Spring 2012

Reconnecting Nashville’s Downtown and Midtown: Capping the Interstate Erin Gray Post–Professional Graduate Program University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Architecture and Design Fall 2011

ABSTRACT: The distinct nature of Nashville’s Interstate Loop as a corridor around the city has created a fissure in the topography of Nashville. Both the downtown and midtown districts are divided by the Interstate canyon. It is a significant urban fissure, in that it is a transitional zone where commuters and travelers arrive and depart the city.

Intense traffic entering and exiting the Interstate discourages pedestrians and cyclists from traversing the gap. The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) has designated almost all of this area a blighted Redevelopment Zone. Unfortunately, the site’s present condition forces its proximity and excellent views of downtown to be overlooked.

Initial Research Graduate Project Landscape Archt. Project

Thomas K. Davis FAIA University of Tennessee Spring 2012

It is the proposal of the Nashville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to explore platforming over 3,800 linear feet of the Interstate “Canyon,” south of Church Street and north of 12th Avenue, in order to develop an air rights linear green space.

Such a new urban amenity would be anticipated to serve as an armature for intense Midrise adjacent development. Such development within two blocks in either east or west direction would accrue very substantial property tax increases that could underwrite for this intervention. In addition, the federal and state highway funds would also be applied to this interstate investment.

The primary urban design priority of this project proposal is to stitch back together the fabric of the city adjacent to the western leg of the loop. This constitutes a counter proposal to “The Plan of Nashville” advocacy for renovating this Interstate trench into “The Green Gully,” which seems to be a half measure. The project proposal does however, further the four sequential steps for interstate remediation for Nashville, namely 1) cosmetic improvements, 2) retaining and rationalizing the on and off ramps, 3) bridging or tunneling the interstate ruptures, and 4) conversion to boulevards for local traffic distribution.

A linear park between Church Street and 12th Avenue would engage pedestrians and provide opportunities for new high density, mixed-use development alongside it. For this reason, in addition to the design of the linear park, it would also be a major focus of this design research project to qualitatively optimize the anticipated new urban blocks to be redeveloped.

Metro Nashville Transit Plan, with four sites identified

EXISTING SITE PLAN

Current Conditions

PROPOSED SITE PLAN

PROPOSED SITE PLAN

Proposed Redevelopment

0

100

200

400

Demonbreun Street

Proposed Redevelopment Along Demonbreun Street

Charlotte Avenue

Proposed Redevelopment Along Charlotte Avenue

Possible Redevelopment Along Church Street

Longitudinal Park Elevation

Church Street

Demonbreun Street

Division Street

12th Avenue South

Initial Research Graduate Project Landscape Project

Thomas K. Davis FAIA University of Tennessee Spring 2012

Reconnecting Nashville’s Downtown and Midtown: Capping the Interstate Michael Payne Graduate Landscape Architecture Program University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Architecture and Design Spring 2012

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 

 

              

                     

     



/KNG



  

  

/KNG

 



M CT

VM

9C



2 KPU

P6

Y &Q 6 /KF

Q

YP

 

P



QY



   



'FIGJKNN



 

GT

PF

8C

V DK N



  



Current Connections to Downtown / Midtown

 

      

      

      

    



Proposed Connections to Downtown / MIdtown



    

  

          

    

         

  



                            



  



  

        

 

 

   

 

 



     



   



 



   

  

 

  





                        



  

   



 



   



 



 





   









   



  



 



 

 

  



                        

                         

                              

                          

                          





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

                              