A New Park on Chadwell Drive
By Taylan Tekeli, Design and Research Assistant
5 min read As Madison keeps growing, the need for more public space gets even more important. A new park on Chadwell Drive would not only provide community benefit to new residents, but existing Madison community members. The idea was proposed to the Design Center by developers of an adjacent property, and we wish to continue these types visualizations—working ahead of developments to create more public space in our Nashville neighborhoods.
Working with Developers to provide more community benefits
The Civic Design Center and ZMX, Inc. worked in partnership to design a proposal for a future park on Metro Property on Chadwell Dr. in Madison in Nashville, TN. We created a design vision that involves analyzing the site, engaging stakeholders, and putting forth recommendations for the proposed park. The intent is to set up expectations to eventually make this space a Metro Park officially. We were excited to participate in these visualizations to expand on our Guiding Principle, “to expand park and greenway systems to be comprehensive and interconnected.”
Let’s set the context. Metro owns the land adjacent to a future development in Madison. It is currently an empty lot with trees. As it is already maintained by taxpayer dollars, we might as well see the community benefit from something that resembles a park that people would be more likely to use than its current state. ZMX, Inc. has a particular interest in seeing this land become a park to increase the quality of life and the home value for the future development’s residents. [Google Street View depicts the land currently owned by Metro Nashville. The structure on the property is an internet utility hut.]
This potential pocket park would help fulfill multimodal connections that are based on the WalkNBike Plan between other green spaces in the area.
Map depicts the connectivity between the parks and future parks around Madison
We would love to see more developers engage with us to help provide more assets to the existing communities rather than investing only in the new residents they will bring to the neighborhood. There is a significant opportunity for Metro Parks when developers are interested in investing in adjacent land. While a project is under construction, it is easier and more sustainable to complete an adjacent park project at the same time. Parks could save money by receiving in-kind donations of construction materials, vehicles, and even perhaps even labor. By combining efforts, this also expedites public space projects that may be on a long waitlist or have never been considered as a possibility before.
Map // New Development
Map // Proposed Park
Adjacent Developments to the Park
This future pocket park on Chadwell Drive would not only provide a natural sound buffer between I-65 and the neighborhood, but it would also make for a tranquil respite. By adding plantings and trees, it may also encourage more bees and natural wildlife to thrive in the area. With a significant drop in grade and a myriad of trees, community members may not even notice the highway running adjacent to the park. Check out the visualizations that we developed for this potential park, so you may put yourself right in the space.
Site diagram depicting how a few simple improvements would make this a welcoming trail for neighbors, maintaining the internet utility hut on the site without featuring it
Possible gateway through the park
Trees, flowers, and other plantings could elevate the space into a beautiful trail walk
A seating area could make this a destination for picnics and gatherings on the weekends
Are you a developer with land next to your property that could be reclaimed as public space?