Details for a new development called The Brian Paul Hotel on the Davidson and Williamson County line were released after years of planning for the undeveloped, 20-acre area.
The property on Summit Hill is right off of I-65 at the Old Hickory Boulevard exit, and the hotel itself would feature 171 rooms, a rooftop pool, a spa, and a 600-seat entertainment venue.
The property would also feature penthouse condos, a commercial building, multiple restaurants, curated retail, and private homes for purchase. The development would reserve about 7 acres of the property for parkland and walking trails.
Developers for the plan have spoken with city leaders as well as members of the public to amend their plans to be the best fit for all parties involved, and many are excited about the project. Others have their reservations.
Brentwood city officials said while the property falls outside of their jurisdiction, they do have concerns.
Brentwood Mayor said there are obvious traffic concerns at Old Hickory Boulevard, and she’s worried about the entertainment venue and the location of the property: On top of a hill.
“In Brentwood we have limits on what kinds of building can take place on our hillsides and how high up the hill it can go,” Jill Burgin, mayor of Brentwood, said.
On the city’s website, it says: “The new HP Hillside Protection Overlay protects both the scenic vistas and the natural terrain within the City along the higher ridges of the City through specific development standards. These new regulations minimize the impact of building construction and land disturbance activities in steep hillside areas, addressing unsafe geologic disturbance, soil erosion and surface water runoff, excessive removal of trees and other vegetative cover, as well as severe cutting, physical scarring and visual modification of the natural terrain.” Burgin continued to say. “It would be great if this prominent hill near the gateway of our city limits could be left undisturbed, but since that’s not realistic, I would hope that whatever goes there has the least negative impact possible on surrounding infrastructure.” Burgin continued to say she has had no communication with the developers and declined to meet with them because it’s not in her jurisdiction, but her staff is monitoring the proposal’s progress in Metro Nashville.
In a statement from Brian Weissmann, lead developer for The Brian Paul, he said in part:
“What’s unique about the Brian Paul as opposed to previously approved projects on the Summit Hill property is that we have a real commitment to working within the topography of the hillside and minimizing the impact on traffic. The hill will remain largely intact as we sculpt the development into the land, and we
intend to preserve 7 of the 20 acres of the property for parkland and keep as many trees as possible.”
Previously approved projects would have chopped the top of Summit Hill off and would have been taller than the Brian Paul, according to the development group. Plans included office towers that would have added more than a thousand travelers that would have been concentrated at peak travel hours, whereas hotel and resort traffic largely falls outside of those peak times, especially with their busiest days being
on the weekends.
Burgin’s other concern was the entertainment venue, which would bring hundreds to the area and see hundreds leave at the same time.
The development group has stated that no concert or event will happen at the entertainment venue until at least 8 pm in order to let rush hour dissipate.
The development group said they still have plenty of steps to take, including getting their traffic study completed, but they anticipate the study will show a minimal impact to the area, and they said they’re looking forward to working with the community on the project.
There is no completion date listed for the project at this time.
