ioa Hub: Nashville council approves $15M in infrastructure work for future home of Amazon hub

Amazon chooses Nashville to bring 5,000 jobs to downtown Michael Schwab, Nashville Tennessean

The Metro Council voted early Wednesday morning to approve $15.2 million for road, sewer and other work around Nashville Yards, the future downtown mega-development that's the planned home of the city's new Amazon hub and several other uses.

The action, which came by a 28-3 vote, signs off on the city's acquisition of interest in a parcel owned by four parties near the 16-acre Nashville Yards, which is at the site of the former LifeWay property.

The vote — which came on a final of three readings and more than six hours into the council's meeting — also approves participation, easement and license agreements between Metro and Uptown Property Holdings, which is tied to the development group that is building Nashville Yards. The agreements include the city reimbursing the developers $15.2 million out of $79.5 million they intend to spend on infrastructure work.

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Mayor David Briley's administration orchestrated the agreement. The three no votes came from At-large Councilman John Cooper, who is weighing a run for Nashville mayor against Briley, as well as council members Angie Henderson and Steve Glover.

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"Once again, we are using taxpayer money to subsidize the wealthiest, and once again we don't need to," Cooper said, adding, "We are handing subsidies out due to habit."

Councilwoman Angie Henderson called the proposal "cronyism" out of the mayor's office, slamming the transaction as more "special deals" for chosen developers. She said large developers should not be allowed to "jump to the front of the line" when other neighborhoods have capital needs.

But Councilwoman Sheri Weiner spoke in favor of the ordinance, saying Nashville Yards will increase tax revenue for the city, bring new jobs, and create additional opportunity for Nashville to "grow in the direction we want to to grow."

The council approved an amended version of the ordinance that includes an amendment in which the Nashville Yards developers have agreed to voluntarily provide updates on the participation of minority- and women-owned contractors with the project.

It must be considered a "voluntary" commitment because Tennessee law prevents Metro from applying the city's procurement guidelines — outlined in the recently adopted Equal Business Opportunity Ordinance — to private contractors.

The planned infrastructure work includes environmental clean-up in the public right-of-way, traffic signalization, street and sidewalk work at Church and Commerce streets as well as 8th, 9th and 10th avenues, the separation of water and sewer utilities and other utility infrastructure and upgrades.

The reimbursement, which would go to Nashville Yards developers, not Amazon, is separate from the $15 million in economic development incentives Briley has pledged to Amazon that the council will take up later this year.

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Nashville in November was named Amazon's pick for its new Operations Center of Excellence, which the company has said will produce 5,000 jobs that will pay an average of $150,000 annually.