Salemtown: now a neighborhood of service bays and easy interstate access

Technically, Salemtown extends into MetroCenter, since Dominican Drive (which runs past Starbucks to Rosa Parks Boulevard) is our recognized northern border. And we are getting a new car dealership as a neighbor, according to the Nashville Business Journal:

The 58,000-square-foot planned retail and service center is set on a 7.2-acre parcel. It will offer 61,540 square feet of outdoor display area, an 11,640-square-foot enclosed sales area and 42 service bays. The dealership will include a full line of new and pre-owned car sales as well as a Lexus service center and parts sales.

"Lexus bought this property about four years ago, and their development plans play perfectly into the major new interchange in the immediate MetroCenter area," said Todd Alexander, principal for Southeast Venture, which is the property owner. "It's a great location. You'll be able to see the dealership from the interstate, and MetroCenter's proximity to downtown and Interstates 65 and 40 will give potential buyers easy access into the new dealership."

Southeast Venture brokers Jimmy Pickle and Alexander and brokered the original deal.

"This is the first time that Lexus will have a retail and service center in Nashville's center, and we're very excited to bring Lexus sales inside Nashville's urban core," said J.R. Roper, general manager of Lexus of Nashville. "The finished dealership will provide 80 potential jobs to the area."

Thankfully, the interstate, itself a monument to automobile culture, sits between what remains of the mostly residential bulk of Salemtown and the increasingly commercialized northern section now dedicated to the great American love affair with cars.

Full disclosure: the Salemtown neighborhood association voted to approve the move of a resident's house several years ago to make way for the Lexus dealership. The homeowner requested the move and so we voted to support the request.