Nashville's Hot Neighborhoods Over the Next Five Years
In 2009, Nashville was a shell of its current self. If you thought of East Nashville, you thought of drugs and violence and maybe Prince’s Hot Chicken (RIP). Today, you think of bachelorette parties, man buns accompanied with well-manicured beards, and Five Points Pizza. Wedgewood had Greer Stadium, which was basically the only thing attractive about the area. Now, it’s a hot spot for Belmont students to live, adjacent to 12 South, and will have a Major League Soccer stadium residing there within the next couple of years. West Nashville (The Nations as most of us hear it called) used to be auto-repair shop central. It is now the nation’s (punny) top spot to find your own tall and skinny home. Only kidding about that, but it’s probably true. The question is-especially in the real estate game- what is Nashville going to look like in the next decade, and what neighborhoods will benefit the most from the growth? This article will obviously avoid anything regarding downtown because no one that I know can afford to buy anything down there anyways, but there are some areas that I think are ripe for the growth that the majority of our city is currently seen.
The number one area, in my opinion, that will boom in the next decade is the Buchanan Arts District, or Buena Vista as it’s been called for the longest. Located northwest of downtown and west of Germantown, this is the closest that you can get to downtown currently for a reasonable price point. It is easily accessible from the Rosa Parks exit off the interstate or straight down Jefferson from Germantown or East. One of Nashville’s new favorite pizza spots, Slim and Husky’s, is already residing over there. And you’re only a five minute drive from all of Germantown’s great spots. The main reason, however, that this neighborhood is ready to take off, is the booming real estate market. With both commercial and residential real estate, the numbers for property value increases are pretty staggering. With it being only a mile from the Capitol and 3 miles from Vanderbilt, the neighborhood is prime for continued exponential growth.
This next neighborhood is where Hillary and I have been living for the last couple of years. For as long as can be remembered, Dickerson Pike has been the hub of crime on the East side. A couple of years ago, Metro posted a study that said the number one spot in all of town for drug busts of vehicles was the intersection of Dickerson and Trinity. Not exactly a stat that you boast to your grandma about. Fast forward a couple of years and some really exciting things are happening. Last month, the Metro Council passed new zoning ordinances that will hopefully allow for the revitalization of the corridor, while still allowing for use of affordable housing initiatives to keep families here that have planted roots, a very uncommon result of community growth. Over the next couple of years, construction is beginning on new high rise apartments that will line the corridor between downtown and Trinity, while the area between Trinity and I-65 will follow soon after. Like I said, as a current resident, pretty pumped about this!
Next year, Nashville will acquire it’s third professional sports franchise. As a pretty avid sports guy in general, this makes me extremely excited. Even more exciting is the boom that it’s going to give to a neighborhood I mentioned above in real estate and food-vendors alike. Wedgewood Houston, or WeHo, is already seeing a booming real estate market. Apartment complexes are popping up all over the area where you have to pay over $250,000 if you want more than one bedroom. The big thing going in this area right now is home-flips. A lot of homes that need a bit of TLC are being bought by contractors and turned in to beautiful homes. A few blocks from downtown,12 South and Nolensville Pike , WeHo is poised for continued growth which will drive it to be one of the more coveted neighborhoods to be in around the metro area.
For my last neighborhood that I think has a good chance to see a spike in development in five years, I am going to go outside of the immediate metropolitan area. Mount Juliet is out east of town, and is poised for a push toward the top of the list of best Nashville suburbs to live in. Only ten miles from downtown, and five from the airport, it is in a prime location. The town itself is really spread out and a lot of the homes take up big lots. The best thing about Mt. Juliet right now for people moving from other areas to MJ is the school system. Wilson county schools are very highly rated, especially compared to Davidson county schools. For buying in a great school system, getting a quarter acre lot, and being able to get a 3+ bedroom house for around $300,000, Mount Juliet is one of the last areas that you can do that in while still being within fifteen minutes of Nashville. If you have a young family and are beginning to consider your next move and the process involves thinking about good schools and a growing community, Mount Juliet needs to be at the top of your list.
While there are only four neighborhoods listed here, there are obviously great opportunities all over the Nashville area and surrounding suburbs. In fact, it’s such a hot market, that I do not think I could actually tell someone that there isn’t a smart area to buy. Every part of town has it’s different appeals, and it’s only going to get better from here as more companies, restaurants, breweries, etc. move in and take residence in a burgeoning city that is on the precipice of becoming a national player.