EYE ON MAIN STREET
A new retail and office facility is expected on Jefferson Street next spring (Spring 2012).
Co-business owners Greg Sanford and Mario Hambrick are in the preliminary stages of their contribution to the revitalization of what once was a commercial hub for Nashville’s African-American community.
The men, who own Free At Last Bail Bonding and Free At Last Party Bus, plan to build 8,000 square feet of retail space and 2,000 square feet of office space on their corner lots at 10th Avenue North and Jefferson Street.
“We know what the future holds. This is our plan and the city’s plan,” Sanford said, “I am hoping it will create a whirlwind to get Jefferson Street revitalized and get new outside investors in there.”
Construction crews tore down two vacant buildings that were once home to a dentist’s office and a triplex. Signs announcing the new additions went up last week.
Sanford said they are marketing for 10 businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops and a business copy center that will appeal to both residents and students.
“We want this community to be a place where people can eat, walk, play and live. What we are trying to do is very small, but Green Hills residents have it, and West End residents have it. So why can’t the residents of Jefferson Street have it?”
The men, who have no mortgage on the five lots where the buildings will go, are paying for the project out of pocket.
“It is exciting to see those old buildings pushed down and cleaned up,” said Councilwoman Erica Gilmore, who lives on the block where the buildings were demolished.
“They were just a blight on the community with grass high and graffiti,” Gilmore said.
The retail and office space will be a “nice complement” to a new law office a block east on Jefferson Street, she said.
“Whenever you see building it is always a good thing for the community, and it will create more traffic for the restaurants that are already there — like Garden Brunch Café and Jefferson’s.”
Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership Inc. executive director Sharon Hurt said she hopes Sanford and Hambrick will bring upscale restaurants, small clothing boutiques and an eyewear shop to their space.
“The place where they are building has been vacant for 15 to 20 years, and now something new and beautiful brings an opportunity that we have not had,” Hurt said.
“We have got to fill the spaces where we have vacant and blighted property. The beautification of Jefferson Street will improve tremendously with this development,” Hurt said.
Add comment
Serving Middle Tennessee
