On December 25, 2020, a bomb exploded on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, causing significant damage and destruction to over 40 buildings, and displacing local residents and businesses. Second Avenue, originally known as Market Street, serves as a main historic thoroughfare in downtown Nashville, and since the city’s inception, has been at the heart of the Nashville’s development and growth. Its storied location directly adjacent to both Broadway and the Cumberland River, along with its historic architecture, mark it as a highly significant street in the city’s downtown.

The Metro Nashville Planning Department, along with the Metropolitan Housing and Development Authority and ULI Nashville, partnered to bring in a virtual Advisory Services panel, which made recommendations as how to best rebuild the Second Avenue area that was devastated by the explosion, in a way that pays respectful homage to its history while also looking forward as Nashville continues to develop and grow. The panel addressed questions relating to market conditions and economic opportunity along Second Avenue, improving circulation while maintaining historic design, and how to fund and implement the panel’s recommendations.

An Advisory Services panel visited San Antonio to provide strategic advice on the transformation of the eastern portion of the Hemisfair site downtown into an urban district with park space that serves as a focal point for the community.

The Hemisfair fairgrounds have lain underused for decades, limiting access and connectivity to the neighboring communities. As a result of nearly 50 years of inattention, what remained was additional isolation of the site caused by automobile-oriented superblocks without easy connections to the surrounding Southtown and Lavaca neighborhoods.

The redevelopment of Charity Hospital represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only catalyze its neighborhood but also establish a “New Orleans global example” of ethical and inclusive revitalization.

The Real Estate and Facilities Foundation (REFF) of Louisiana State University (LSU) asked the Advisory Services panel to find an adaptive use for the former Charity Hospital building. REFF asked the panel to consider this reuse as critical to the continued development of downtown New Orleans and the adjacent neighborhood.

Learn about recent updates regarding the panel’s recommendations:
LSU Approves Charity Hospital Redevelopment
Spirit of Charity Innovation District