Entire City of Nashville Is Called 'Endangered'---From Developments Far and Wide Here, Including Those Such Abe's Garden In My Neighborhood

 BY TONY GONZALES @ TENNESSEAN

THE ENTIRE CITY OF NASHVILLE tops a new list of endangered historic places announced today by the Tennessee Preservation Trust.

By being named to the "Ten from Tenn" list, the sites across the state will get more attention this year, and perhaps new protections, as preservationists deal with the kinds of tensions familiar in Nashville.

"Growth brings a lot of opportunities around every corner," said Tim Walker, head of the Metro Historic Zoning Commission. "Preservation and development can go hand-in-hand, but we need to make some tough decisions. And do we want to allow everything to be demolished? Its sense of place? If you lose that unique architecture to our city, you don't know where you are, and you're kind of faceless."

An iconic landmark of the civil rights movement, historic schools, mansions and mills, and a well-known hotel and railroad station, are also on this year's list.

Nominated by preservationists across the state, the chosen list identifies properties that the trust will try to protect in the coming year, including by pursuing grants or protective ordinances.
"When the economy turned around, and dollars started to flow, that can be a boon to historic resources, and other times that can be a threat," said David Currey, trust executive director.
Currey said a string of high-profile disputes over historic Nashville sites — Studio A, Printer's Alley and the Cordell Hull building among them — prompted the trust to make its declaration.
He said the city has an inconsistent "preservation ethic," leaving a spotty track record. The trust also cited deterioration, development, the push for a denser urban core and too few protective measures as threats.

Related: Nashville Nine endangered list announced

City officials countered that Nashville has twice as many protected properties as other large cities in Tennessee, and a capable historical commission.

"As Nashville faces pressures that come with the unprecedented population and job growth it is experiencing today, we will continue to improve public land use policies to provide a balance between historic preservation, sustainable development, walkable communities, transportation needs, economic growth and affordable living," said Doug Sloan, deputy planning commission director.
Last year, the trust brought national attention to some of its endangered sites, including the Cordell Hull state building and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg. The 1878 Moye-Green home in Portland, Tenn., benefited from a state grant
.
In 2012, more than half of the listed properties got rehabilitation grants totaling about $5 million.
Reach Tony Gonzalez at 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @tgonzalez.