Jeffrey Nash speaks to Nucleus
Downtown developer Jeffrey Nash, who also owns The Crown & Goose gastropub in the Old City, is passionate about two things: World Cup soccer and redevelopment projects.
He discussed both those topics Thursday night when Nucleus Knoxville, a group of young-ish professionals, held its monthly meeting at his establishment. “I am amazed at how much downtown has changed in the last decade,” Nash said. “I’ve never seen any environment change so drastically in 10 years. When I came here 10 years ago, you could lie down on Gay Street and not be run over.”
Nash said he hopes the next 10 years bring the same rate of progress. “Knoxville deserves it,” he said. “It’s a great environment for tourists and residents. I hope Knoxville moves to the next level.”
Nash, who is from England, compared Knoxville to his home continent. “In Europe, it never could have happened this fast.”
Nash said his next project is redeveloping the property he purchased at the corner of Gay Street and Jackson Avenue, the former home of the Volunteer Ministry Center. The property will be home to 30 apartments, he said. With the addition of those residences and the residences planned for the Tennessee Associated and Tennessee Armature buildings on Jackson (see previous post), Nash said the area centered around the intersection of Gay and Jackson will become downtown’s primary residential district.
Nucleus members Jennifer Holder and Robert Cathey. It's a friendly group!
“When distinct areas start to form, that’s how you determine the growth of a town,” he said, adding that 65 to 70 percent of all downtown residents will live in the area centered around the north end of Gay Street. The commercial district, he said, will be the south end of Gay Street where the office towers are. Entertainment and restaurant areas are becoming concentrated in the center part of Gay Street as well as Market Square a block to the west and the Old City, to the northeast. “We’ll see continued segmentation of areas,” he predicted.
Although many think of Nash as a preservationist because he has redeveloped a number of historic buildings, he said that not all old buildings should be preserved. This applies to the fire-damaged McClung warehouses, he said, suggesting that the portion of McClung that can be redeveloped be salvaged, but that other parts be demolished.
“Cities should have a mixture of architecture,” he said, pointing to London, which has old and new architecture mixed together. And he pointed out that, compared to London, all architecture in Knoxville is relatively new.
“You shouldn’t dictate what the architecture of a town should be,” he said. “Some new architecture is beautiful; the glass towers on Gay Street are beautiful buildings.” He said towns that have all the same architecture — he used the town of Bath, England, as an example — are boring.
During the question period after Nash spoke, someone asked him why a developer such as himself would decide to open a restaurant. “My wife and I have lived all over the world,” he said. “And we’ve complained about restaurants all over the world. So we decided to stop complaining and do one of our own!” They didn’t see a true English pub in Knoxville, so that’s what they chose, naming the Crown & Goose after a pub they frequented in London.
Regarding his passion for soccer, which he said he will continue to call “football,” Nash said he has been impressed by the interest in the World Cup he has seen here. His restaurant, which has been showing the World Cup matches on big-screen TVs, has been packed, he said. “I’ve been surprised by how enthusiastic Americans are about football and how much they know about it,” he said.
Since England is out of the running, Nash said he will be pulling for Spain, where his son lives, in the championship this weekend.
Nucleus Knoxville attracted a good crowd last night.
From left, Tierney Bates, Carol Reeve and Blake Valentine
Knick Myers, left, and Daniel Carter
Fiona McAnally, left, and Kim Henry
From left, Sara Hedstrom, Larson Jay and Kate Tucker
From left: Aaron Burchfield, Brian Strong and Chad Schollaert
Two downtown developers: Buzz Goss, left, and Jeffrey Nash
Another great post by the team at the Blue Streak which personifies our downtown!
Whether as developers, residents, or folks who simply enjoy patronizing downtown businesses, I continue to be pleasantly surprised at the commitment of non-native Knoxvillians to our downtown. We’ve likely all heard downtown referenced as “everybody’s neighborhood,” and in my mind, I’ve always thought of that as meaning that folks from all geographic regions of our city feel comfortable downtown and claim it as their home turf.
Recently, however, I think I’ve realized that the thought of downtown as “everybody’s neighborhood” is much larger than our East Tennessee region. And not only do transplant Knoxvillians enjoy downtown, but they have also taken ownership and have a vested stake in its success, as is the case with Jeffrey. I think that’s great to see, and I hope, as we all do, that the more we see that take place, the more it ensures the longevity and continued redevelopment of downtown.
The transformation of downtown has been great to witness. We are very appreciative of Jeffery for investing so much of his time, his money, and himself.