Developers blindside small 12South businesses by pushing up their deathline

The developers at H.G. Hill Realty Co. and Southeast Venture continue to sow a little ill will in a community where they stand to make a financial killing:

Blackbird Tattoo & Gallery, Rumours Wine & Art Bar and Middle Tennessee Roofing Co. had a deadline of today to shut down their 12th Avenue South operations to make way for construction to begin on a high-end apartment building/retail project.

Construction is expected to begin by April on the project ... on the 2300 block of 12th Avenue South in the 12South neighborhood. H.G. Hill originally had given the businesses until March 15 to move out, but recently pushed up the deadline to today, said Shannon Wages, Blackbird’s co-owner ....

Wages said she was blindsided by the sudden mandate to move.

“We were told to leave with really no warning,” said Wages, 32. “At first it was, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the greatest location ever and we’re about to lose it.’ We had no idea what to do.”

I can't say why the developers would be in such a sudden rush to push these small business owners off the land two weeks ahead of plans. Perhaps they are trying to get a head start over organized popular opposition that has been growing since January to their plans. Jump to my recent post for the background on this development and the community backlash.

HT: Jamie Hollin