High-profile tenants leave Marathon Village for new North Nashville development

 

Davidson County Property Assessor

This dated photo shows the property at 904 Buchanan St., owned by Kelly Bonadies, that will soon be home to Emil Erwin.

In North Nashville, where Garfield Street turns into Buchanan Street, the city has placed a blue street plaque welcoming you to the Buchanan Street Business District.

But business on the street, which is 0.6 miles from the ever-booming Germantown neighborhood, is almost non-existent. With the exception of Hair World, many of the commercial properties along the corridor are boarded up and vacant.

But not for long.

At least two high-profile Nashville startups, Emil Erwin, a high-end leather goods maker, and Otis James, a company that handcrafts ties and hats, are moving their studios and production to a new development taking shape on Buchanan Street. According to sources, a handful of other home-grown creative businesses are slated to join them.

The redevelopment of Buchanan illustrates two tensions brewing simultaneously in Nashville. On one hand, creative startups and solo entrepreneurs are in need of more affordable studio space, as areas in the urban core have been rapidly marked for luxury condos and Class A office space. On the other hand, gentrification has become a hot-button issue in the city, as lower-income residents are increasingly being priced out of revitalized neighborhoods like East Nashville, Germantown, Salemtown and The Nations. For similar reasons, many are watching how development plays out in Wedgewood-Houston.

In the case of Otis James and Emil Erwin, both are leaving Marathon Village, the high-profile creative/maker neighborhood just outside of downtown. Marathon Village owner Buddy Walker confirmed this week that both businesses are on their way out. He already has a tenant signed up for at least one of the soon-to-be-vacant spots.

It's easy to see the beginning of the redevelopment, which will impact multiple properties, that is happening on Buchanan Street. When you first cross over into the stretch of street, what used to be a boarded-up Super Saver grocery store that the city had marked for demolition has gotten new life with a fresh exterior and a set of new windows. The property, located at 904 Buchanan St., is where Emil Erwin is slated to move (you can take a look inside the new studio on the company's Instagram account).

Both retailers declined comment for this story, though Otis James blogged about the move last month.

"While nowhere in Nashville currently seems safe from the unimaginative, overpriced development that currently plagues this 'it' city, so far this area has maintained a certain sense of desirable 'grit.' And I hope it stays that way for some time," Otis James wrote. "For me, it offers a quiet, unhip and easily accessible destination where I can focus on creativity and sincerity. Off the beaten path is most often where the best treasures await, so come see us in the new location; it will be worth the trip."

The driving force behind the Buchanan project is a resident of the neighborhood named Kelly Bonadies, who could not be reached for comment this week. According to Metro records, Bonadies applied to repair the building, which Metro dates back to 1935, in June 2014. According to property records, David Crabtree, of Nashville-based Brookside Properties Inc., also is involved in the project, though it is not clear to what extent. Crabtree could not immediately be reached for comment.

Metro records show that Bonadies has bought at least six other parcels on the street, a mix of empty lots and vacant buildings, with some transactions as recent as last month.

E.J. Boyer covers the Music City's tourism, hospitality and music business.