The process of creating a Cumberland River Waterfront Redevelopment Master Plan began in
September, 2005, when Mayor Bill Purcell appointed a 23-member Steering Committee to guide
the master plan process and ensure that Nashvillians had ample opportunity to share their ideas
and concerns about redeveloping the riverfront. In early December, 2005 a series of public
meetings were held to engage citizens in a discussion of what should be maintained, changed or
added to the riverfront in the Master Plan study area.
The Steering Committee charged with guiding the master plan process is made up of downtown
residents and business owners, Metro department heads and others with a stake in the future of
the downtown riverfront. The Steering Committee also participated in the selection process that
led to the awarding of a contract to create the master plan to Hargreaves Associates and their
team of local and national firms. The Nashville Civic Design Center has been providing
coordination for the steering committee and helped facilitate the public meetings held in
December, 2005. The Civic Design Center was chosen because of its connection to the Plan of
Nashville, which places high priority and emphasis on river amenities, public access and
neighborhood connections, and because the Center regularly provides community meetings on
development proposals in Nashville.
Funding for the creation of the master plan has been provided by a Planning Assistance to States
grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will be matched with funds for downtown
greenways planning allocated in the Metro Parks and Greenways Master Plan. The Metro Council
approved the agreement between the city and the Corps of Engineers at its August 3, 2005
meeting.
Additional information about the Cumberland River Waterfront Redevelopment Master Plan, the
results of public meetings and maps and photos of the master plan study area are available at
www.civicdesigncenter.org.
The site plan for H2O represents a tremendous
opportunity for creating a sustainable urban
development plan for lower Davidson Branch
tributary. Devising a rainwater management
strategy that looks the application of rainwater
as a long term environmental resource will help
to ensure that the site maintains a physical
connection with the natural surroundings.
The plan for H2O seeks to manage the inflow
of accumulated rainwater into the Davidson
Branch by using a distributed network of
water management devices and facilities. The
Environmental Protection Agency supports the
development of High Density Development as
a way to ensure regional protection of water
resources, even identifying that the placement
of high density developments can be an
effective best practice in and of itself.
Where as the H2O project is located at the bottom
of the 2,000 acre Davidson Branch catchment
area, accumulated rainwater will not have a
dramatic effect on upstream users, and in fact,
upstream users will have a tremendous impact
with regard to the natural resources of Davidson
Branch. Soils on the site are moderately well
draining making them applicable to a host of
on-lot infiltration and retention strategies. The
H2O site however is somewhat separated from
the upstream conditions as the US 70/Charlotte
Pike thoroughfares provide a restriction point
above. This allows the site to adopt a more
independent rainwater management approach.
storm water management strategy
The development team has identified four
principal goals that are consistent with Metro-Nashville water quality regulations and will allow
for the effective management of accumulated
rainwater in the H2O project.
• Stormwater management techniques will
be integrated appropriately and considerate
of the character and scale of the proposed
development.
• Contiguous open space, sensitive
ecological areas, and existing drainage patterns
within the watershed will be enhanced.
• Retention, fi ltration, treatment processes
will be replicated from natural systems without
sacrifi cing urban form.
• Rainwater management devices will satisfy
all regulatory concerns.
The following tenets are fundamental to the
planning and design of H2O’s comprehensive
approach to rainwater management:
1. Accumulated rain water must be reduced,
redirected, and slowed down starting at its
source of generation.
2. Spreading rain water around over a broad
area will help to distribute accumulation, velocity
and total volume.
3. Getting it into the ground will help maintain
even “base flow” from streams and wetlands in
and around the site.
Seven specific strategies are identified to
address stormwater concerns at H2O. These
strategies are applicable to local and statewide
regulatory intentions and use an approach that
includes a series of sequential interventions
by integrating specific elements of rainwater
management. They are as follows:
1. Green Roofing
2. Rainwater Planters (storage or flowthrough)
3. On-lot Rainwater Harvesting
4. Rain Gardens (Bioretention facilities)
5. Bioswales
6. Infiltration Gardens, and
7. Porous Material or Pervious Pavement
SITE HISTORY
Facing NW, at the kiosk for Kelley's Point Battlefield in Brookmeade Park
Overlooking the Cumberland River at Bell's Bend
At the time of the conflict, this location was nine miles W of Nashville
Confederate artillery commanded by Lt. Col. D. C. Kelley was positioned here
They effectively blockaded the Cumberland River from December 2-15, 1864 SOURCE:Battle of Nashville Preservation Society Driving Tour, Stop 25
Colonel Reverend David Campbell Kelley
Confederate Col. Rev. David Campbell Kelley commanded a two-week blockade of the
Cumberland River on this site in early December 1864. Also known as the "Fighting Parson,"
Kelley maneuvered his troops to convince the U.S. Navy they were facing a force four times larger than
the 1,200 soldiers under his command. Kelley's artillery was one of the few Confederate units to force
the much larger Union cavalry into retreat at the start of the Battle of Nashville on December 15, 1864.
Kelley, a Methodist minister, regimental chaplain, and missionary to China before the war, went on to
play a key role in the formation of Vanderbilt University in 1873.
Long a point of commerce, agriculture, and homesteading, Brookmeade Park now offers visitors an
accessible, paved trail with views of the Cumberland River and the plants and animals that depend
upon it. A wooded oasis in an urban landscape, this greenway provides a natural corridor for wildlife
as well as a brief respite from busy city life for visitors. SOURCE:Metropolitan Board Of Parks And Recreation
