Nashville, TN

On December 25, 2020, a bomb exploded on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, causing significant damage and destruction to over 40 buildings, and displacing local residents and businesses. Second Avenue, originally known as Market Street, serves as a main historic thoroughfare in downtown Nashville, and since the city’s inception, has been at the heart of the Nashville’s development and growth. Its storied location directly adjacent to both Broadway and the Cumberland River, along with its historic architecture, mark it as a highly significant street in the city’s downtown.

 

The Metro Nashville Planning Department, along with the Metropolitan Housing and Development Authority and ULI Nashville, partnered to bring in a virtual Advisory Services Panel, which made recommendations as how to best rebuild the Second Avenue area that was devastated by the explosion, in a way that pays respectful homage to its history while also looking forward as Nashville continues to develop and grow. The panel addressed questions relating to market conditions and economic opportunity along Second Avenue, improving circulation while maintaining historic design, and how to fund and implement the panel’s recommendations.