NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A plan to build "micro apartments" in a Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood is causing a big stir among people who live nearby.
The project would tear down two single family homes at the intersection of Pillow Street and Merritt Avenue and replace them with an apartment complex with up to 39 units on less than a half acre of land. Planning commission documents say the units would be fewer than 500 square feet each.
"The proposed number of units is relatively high for a building of this size and this is being driven by the applicant’s desire to build “micro” units," the document reads.
"It's definitely the highest density project in the neighborhood," Emily Gray said. Gray lives a few houses down from the proposed site. "Just a couple blocks down there's one similar in unit size on twice the lot size. To think of that on half the space its definitely a concern."
Other concerns are traffic and parking on an already congested residential street.
"There's cars parked along the street all the time on any regular day," Gray said.
But in letters to the Metro Planning Commission, supporters of the plan say it will add more housing options to a fast-growing part of town, and can help provide a transition from residential to commercial areas. Supporters also wrote that the intersection has already seen dense developments; across the street there are rows of newly built townhomes. The builders would be required to add to the sidewalks on the lot and do street-scaping
Last week, the Metro Planning Commission gave their approval to a zoning change that would allow the project to move forward. Now that change heads to the Metro Council.
