Jeff St Market Recap
By Eric Hoke, Design Director
5 min read This blog discusses activations strategies along Jefferson St and highlights a pilot pop-up holiday market example hosted by the Jefferson Street Historical Society (JSHS) and the Civic Design Center.
Participants in Nashville's design charrettes envisioned new buildings with public space at the corner of Jefferson Street and Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard.
The Civic Design Center’s journey began with The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City, a multi-year research effort exploring Nashville’s history and development. It highlighted how natural resources shaped the Nashville, while systemic racism and the Civil War influenced its segregated landscape. Collaborative sessions with residents and stakeholders established principles focused on preservation, sustainability, access, and placemaking.
The Plan was shaped by the input of hundreds of community members, including architects, planners, activists, and residents, who contributed through a series of design charrettes held across Nashville. These collaborative sessions provided a platform for diverse voices to share their perspectives, ensuring that the Plan reflected the aspirations and needs of the entire community. By bringing together stakeholders from different backgrounds, the charrettes fostered creative problem-solving and a shared commitment to shaping Nashville’s future. The resulting vision emphasized the transformative potential of comprehensive planning, balancing preservation, growth, and redevelopment to create a more equitable, sustainable, and connected city for all.
Participants in the Plan of Nashville design charrettes envisioned reviving historic buildings, like the old Ritz Theater. The caption on this drawing read: Bring back a neighborhood theater like the Ritz and introduce some pocket parks.
Participants in the Plan of Nashville design charrettes drew diagrams that illustrated reconnecting neighborhoods across the interstate in North Nashville. The caption on this drawing read: Re-establish fabric of Neighborhood - Re-weave?
Design charrettes held throughout Nashville included significant input from North Nashville residents, particularly those along Jefferson Street, who shared their aspirations for the area. Neighbors envisioned activating vacant street corners with vibrant community stores, creating stronger connections to public spaces, and reviving entertainment hubs such as movie theaters and pocket parks. They also emphasized broader themes, such as reconnecting neighborhoods divided by interstate highways, underscoring the community’s desire for a more cohesive, thriving, and inclusive urban landscape.
Since its 2004 publication, the Civic Design Center has used this vision to educate and engage North Nashville communities, adapting the principles to address evolving needs while fostering equitable and sustainable growth.
In 2023, J.U.M.P. and the Civic Design Center worked together to create a plan for improving Jefferson Street through workshops with local businesses and property owners. The workshops focused on achieving quick wins, finding funding to maintain Jefferson Street’s character, updating plans based on past efforts, and attracting future investments.
Key results included identifying main areas for revitalization, honoring Jefferson Street’s cultural importance, and tackling issues like disconnection from the freeway. Goals involved creating entry points, adding to parks, modernizing historical aspects, and improving links to Meharry, Fisk, TSU, and nearby parks through greenways.
Proposed quick wins included beautifying the area with tree planting and unique lighting, establishing community gardens, and adding bike lanes to improve access in the Grammy Academic Mile. These initiatives aim to restore Jefferson Street as a vibrant cultural and economic center.
In a follow-up meeting, the Design Center shared plans with stakeholders for a quick action approach for the Jefferson Street Corridor. One significant idea was to create a Market Plaza, intended as a gathering space for local makers, farmers, food vendors, and artisans. The proposal supports local businesses, increases student involvement, strengthens ties with nearby HBCUs, and activates Jefferson Street as a lively destination. So the Design Studio team got to work coming up with concepts for the Market Plaza.
Sketch for an artistic walkway that would help organize the site with a semi-permanent placemaking light installation.
Sketch for gateway entrance to the market using shipping containers to the market on the Northwest corner of Jefferson St and 16th Ave that could also act as storage for the plaza’s activities.
The Holiday Village on Historic Jefferson Street
The idea for the Market Plaza was to create a space that would foster local entrepreneurs and add to street activations.
Rendering of ideas for Market Plaza on property east of Kossie Gardner Sr. Park
The Civic Design Center partnered with the Jefferson Street Historical Society on the weekend of December 6 and 7th 2024 to put this theory in motion. This was an exciting opportunity to bring ideas from the Jefferson Street Workshops to life! During the Workshop Series, we engaged with many business and property owners along Jefferson Street who shared visions for fostering socially conscious development for land, businesses, and neighborhoods. Building on those conversations, we collaborated with the landowner just east of Kossie Gardner Sr. Park to program a Market Plaza. This location offered a seamless connection to a public space, stage, play area, and plaza within the park. In partnership with the Jefferson Street Historical Society and a host of incredible event partners, we temporarily transformed this space into a vibrant Holiday Village experience. The event featured local and black-owned businesses to sell a variety of products for the holiday season, as well as great food vendors and a hot chocolate cart.
Holiday Village map for the event December 6th and 7th
This two-day event was more than a celebration of the holiday spirit—it was a chance to reimagine the potential of this space and its connection to the educational and cultural arts district along Jefferson Street. Our vision is to showcase how this area can host more regular events, becoming a catalyst for community-centered development, and inspire conversations about activating more spaces along this historic corridor.
What’s Happening Next?
The Jefferson Street Historical Society plans to engage in more activations of Kossie Gardner Park in the future, and bring the Holiday Village back in 2025.
The Design Center plans to work with community members to continue placemaking efforts that align with preserving culture and bring more vibrancy programs to this important part of Nashville. The Civic Design Center was awarded a Tactical Urbanism Grant from NDOT to work on streets around Kossie Gardener Park. We plan to work with artist Elisheba Israel Mrozik on that project this spring.
Funding contributions for the market plaza from:
