District rises to historic LEED Neighborhood status

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Music City is topping the environmental charts with news that The Gulch is the first neighborhood in the South to receive "LEED for Neighborhood Development" certification from the United States Green Building Council.

The Gulch is now the 13th neighborhood internationally - including the Olympic Village in Beijing - to become certified in the LEED ND program. Until now, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification was limited to individual building projects. In 2007, the USGBC launched LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Congress for the New Urbanism. Roughly 240 projects from 39 states and six countries competed for the certification, based upon the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green building.

Mayor Karl Dean remarked about the historic announcement: "Nashville is showing the world that we can be a leader in environmental action, and that we can become the greenest city in the Southeast. The Gulch is a historic gem in our city, its revitalization is crucial to our very fabric and to enhancing the economic vitality of our Downtown. I am pleased and proud of the tremendous accomplishment and distinction the Gulch has achieved in becoming LEED ND Silver certified."

A bustling railroad corridor in the early 1900s, by the late 1990s The Gulch had become a blighted and forgotten area of downtown Nashville. Thanks to a strong public-private partnership between the city and master developer MarketStreet Enterprises, a decade later The Gulch surges with new life. One of the city's most vibrant dining and entertainment districts, the neighborhood offers a growing range of options, among them Tennessee's first Urban Outfitters retail store set to open in April, Urban Flats Flatbread & Wine Co., which opened in January, and upscale Mexican restaurant Cantina Laredo, opening in May. Every day, new residents are making their homes in Gulch loft apartments and condominiums, which offer sweeping Nashville skyline views.

MarketStreet Enterprises - the designated master developer of The Gulch by Nashville and Davidson County's Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) - has worked with the agency to lead the redevelopment of the environmentally and economically sustainable neighborhood. The Gulch has been planned and developed to foster a sense of community and provide residential, dining and retail options at a variety of price points, encouraging socioeconomic diversity. Since the redevelopment began, MDHA has completed an approx. $7 million infrastructure improvement program, revamped public sidewalks, streetscape, landscaping and public utilities in The Gulch.

"The Gulch is a testament to what can be accomplished when the private sector works collaboratively with public entities," said Jay Turner, Managing Director of MarketStreet Enterprises. "Becoming LEED ND certified is such an honor to everyone who has worked toward creating this revitalized urban neighborhood. By no means is our job done, but this underscores how far The Gulch has come since we started ten years ago."

Applicants for the LEED ND process were graded on four key categories: Smart Location & Linkage, Neighborhood Pattern & Design, Green Construction & Technology, and Innovation in Design. Through the credits awarded in those categories, The Gulch achieved a LEED ND Silver certification, a distinction shared with only three other LEED ND neighborhoods worldwide. The Gulch earned especially high marks in the Smart Location & Linkage category, with its proximity to the downtown central business district, public transportation, major rail lines and prominent traffic corridors to downtown. With more than 1,100 daily bus stops within a quarter-mile area, The Gulch also scored high for reduced automobile dependence.

The Gulch also received LEED "Innovation Credits" for developing high density, mixed-use buildings that will support a healthy network of public transit and proximity to employment, with more than 6,000 within a quarter-mile walk from the center of the neighborhood. In addition, the district earned high marks with the USGBC for its tree-lined streets with storefronts, on-street parking and sidewalks, preservation of historic buildings and adaptive reuse of existing buildings.

About The Gulch
The Gulch is located in downtown Nashville near the central business district and is comprised of approximately 60 acres of land lying west of the CSX Railway, bordered by McGavock St. on the north, 8th Ave. on the east and I-65 on the west and south. In conjunction with MDHA, The Gulch is being developed under a comprehensive master plan originated by MarketStreet Enterprises in 2002. MarketStreet has led the way in igniting the redevelopment of this once-blighted area of Nashville's urban core, offering a new urban experience where it is truly possible to live, work and play among a host of residences, offices, retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues. Local development firms and area businesses have joined together to form The Gulch Business Improvement District (GBID), formed to foster a livable community in Nashville's urban core. The Nashville Downtown Partnership handles day-to-day management of the GBID, which includes such initiatives as neighborhood signage and identification, a comprehensive Clean & Safe program, and streetscape/landscape maintenance. For more information, visit www.nashvillegulch.com.