Plans recently emerged for a new entertainment production and education campus in Berry Hill. The campus consists of 3 primary buildings centered around a vibrant public space which includes an improved public park with a new community building and an outdoor entertainment venue. The site is bordered by Bransford Ave and Thompson Lane and primarily faces East Iris Place and Columbine Place. The multi-parcel development has a reference address at 2807 East Iris Place.
Berry Hill is less than one square mile and is the smallest in both size and population of Metro Nashville’s six satellite cities (separately incorporated cities located wholly or partly inside Metro Nashville/Davidson County). Berry Hill has long been home to a thriving music industry community, including about 40 recording studios and music publishers according to its website.
Universal Music Group will anchor the campus, which is located near Thompson Lane and has access to Interstate 65. Proposed plans include recording and video production studios, the first scoring stage developed in the central U.S., as well as research and development facilities for home and auto audio technology.
Scoring Stages
Scoring stages are rooms in which the music for a film is recorded. The orchestra conductor typically faces both the musicians and a large screen on which the film is projected. As they conduct, they may listen through a single headphone to a click track that aids in synchronization of the film and the score. The Warner Brothers Historic Eastwood Scoring Stage is shown below for context.
The education component of the campus includes a teaching facility developed to house a variety of schools and universities. The offering includes short-term immersive and graduate study music industry programs that will benefit directly from the synergy with on-campus industry professionals and activities. Additionally, the education building offers a mix of uses to complement the overall development including retail and restaurant space oriented on the public park and performance venue.
Shown for context only.
A request has been submitted for an Alternative Plan (AP), a zoning classification similar to Metro Nashville SP Zoning. The submission requests the specific design and development standards for 4 distinct zones within an overall development, envisioned as a mixed-use entertainment production and education campus. Here’s the quick rundown:
Berry Hill Entertainment Production & Education Campus
2807 East Iris Place
| What’s Now: | Multiple Use |
| What’s Next: | Mixed-Use Development |
| Owner: | UMG Recordings |
| Architects: | ESa Architects |
| Civil | Kimley Horn |
| Campus Ops: | 209,900 SF |
| Retail: | 23,700 SF |
| Parking: | 442 Spaces |
Overall, buildings in Zones 1 & 2 will rise a max of 3 stories, while Zone 4 has a max of 4 stories. The parking structure can raise a max of 1 story above the street level in Zone 3. The existing public park (Zone 3) will be enlarged and improved with new landscaping and the addition of a community building and outdoor performance area.
Other public improvements include curb/gutter, storm water, sidewalk, and street trees along parcel frontages. Parking for the development may be provided in Zone 3 as structured parking below the public park, in Zone 4 as structured parking or as phased surface parking, and in off-site parking lots with shuttle service to the campus. Below is a breakdown of the proposed Alternative Plan uses from the submission.
Zone 1 – Intended for newly developed and remodeled recording studio uses, and research and development uses for home and auto audio technology.
Shown for context only.
Zone 2 – Intended for video production facilities, recording studio facilities, a scoring stage, campus support and storage facilities, restaurant/retail uses fronting the Zone 3 Public Park, and producer cottages in the separate lot along Columbine Place.
Shown for context only.
Zone 3 – Intended for an improved public park with community building to include an outdoor stage and entertainment venue component situated on deck above an underground parking structure.
Shown for context only.
Zone 4 – Intended for music industry education facilities, campus support and storage facilities, phased surface parking for zones 1-3, potential restaurant / hotel / retail uses fronting the public park in zone 3, and an optional underground parking structure.
Shown for context only.
The Zoning Commission approved the proposed conceptual plan on its first reading. The ordinance expressed that the Alternative Plan does not create undue burden on municipal infrastructure. The ordinance also noted that the plan is consistent with the spirit, intent, principles, and objectives of the code.
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