Tell me about Wedgewood-Houston (Germantown, Cleveland: for sale, apartments, lofts)

[Khamsin]

My fiancé and I are looking at a few neighborhoods to buy our first place and came across Wedgewood-Houston. Now I've lived in Nashville for about 25 years, my parents moved here when I was 3, but I have never noticed this little area until recently. I always knew it was the neighborhood near the fairgrounds, but nothing more than that. But it has quickly got my attention! What I'd like to know about it:
- What direction is this area heading? I see some renovated house and not to many being torn down to put in stock like 12 south/Belmont, which isn't a bad thing (I like the older, original houses anyways)
- Are there any plans for mixed-use/retail coming to this area? Any thing walkable? I know there is a big mixed-use/residential unit going in on 8th ave. a few miles away (23hundred apartments I believe)
- Which leads to what happening to the fairgrounds? Anyone been attending the meetings? I couldn't really find to much info on it. For anyone that might live in WeHo, how is the noise from the track, and how crazy does it get when there is the fair, or a flea market or gun show happening?
- Is there an active neighborhood association? I found SNAP but their site hadn't been updated in a while.

I guess that's all the questions I have for now, but feel free to expand in any direction, would love to connect with someone that lives there.

Thanks in advance!

Justin

[nashvols]

It's a tiny neighborhood. I have never known anybody that has lived over there.

It's a mix of older houses with industrial warehouses, sort of like Germantown...but not as charming. It also reminds me a little bit of some of the housing stock in East Nashville north of the Cleveland St. area.

I would try the contact info from the SNAP website to find out what life is like in that area.

My feeling is that like many of our urban neighborhoods, it is on its way up...but that doesn't mean it's going to become a hot place any time soon. There's a bit of bad stuff in the area, and it's not somewhere where other locals venture.

The stuff on 8th is across the interstate, so it might as well be a world away. While it might be physically close, the look and feel of Wedgewood-Houston and somewhere like Woodland in Waverly is starkly different. Same goes for Historic Waverly, or Melrose. Those "hot" areas on the other side of the interstate are bringing new development (mixed use/retail)...but that isn't likely to spill over to the east side of 65. And I don't think walking across the interstate is advisable.


As for the Fairgrounds...it's anybody's bet what will happen there. If it gets redeveloped, it could be very positive for the neighborhood. Or not so positive. It depends on what goes there. There have been a few proposals, but nothing I would call eye-catching or serious at this point -- the Fairgrounds is a polarizing issue. It's going to be tough for anything to go there at present.

[ariesjow]

I haven't lived there either, but I get the sense that Wedgewood-Houston is coming up a bit as people are priced out of 12South and Melrose/8th. However, I agree with nashvols that it will probably take the redevelopment of the Fairgrounds for that area to truly ever take off. It doesn't seem like it has seen as much recent investment as some of the other peripheral areas near "hot" areas that are starting to turn over a bit, but that may also be because it's so tiny without any logical spots for new development other than the Fairgrounds.

I wouldn't look for a home to appreciate quickly there, but I doubt you'd lose value if you purchase the right place, plan on putting down roots there for a while and really want to be close to 8th/12th. Any other areas you're considering?

[Khamsin]

I guess Wedgewood-Houston really all does depend on the fairgrounds outcome. Thanks for pointing that out. The other areas are, in no particular rank: Sylvan Heights, Germantown, Creive hall (although I don't like ranch style houses, my parents in West Meade have a ranch style). I am not a complete urban pioneer, I'm not sure I'd feel 100% comfortable in Hope Gardens, maybe after North Gulch develops further and might help bring that area along. I love Germantown, but there are just so few options that aren't condo/apartment. I need a little bit of green space, as we have a dog, he's not a huge dog, just a 7lb toy fox terrier. I wouldn't rule out Salemtown either, but it seems to me that only semi-detached are going in or condos, it doesn't seem to have the charm of Germantown. I also started to look into East Nashville, Eastwood particularly, IDK it just seem that there isn't much out there right now, hopefully it will pick up come spring.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by Khamsin

I guess Wedgewood-Houston really all does depend on the fairgrounds outcome. Thanks for pointing that out. The other areas are, in no particular rank: Sylvan Heights, Germantown, Creive hall (although I don't like ranch style houses, my parents in West Meade have a ranch style). I am not a complete urban pioneer, I'm not sure I'd feel 100% comfortable in Hope Gardens, maybe after North Gulch develops further and might help bring that area along. I love Germantown, but there are just so few options that aren't condo/apartment. I need a little bit of green space, as we have a dog, he's not a huge dog, just a 7lb toy fox terrier. I wouldn't rule out Salemtown either, but it seems to me that only semi-detached are going in or condos, it doesn't seem to have the charm of Germantown. I also started to look into East Nashville, Eastwood particularly, IDK it just seem that there isn't much out there right now, hopefully it will pick up come spring.

I would definitely check out Salemtown. It's directly north of Germantown and already far enough along that you don't have to be an urban pioneer to live there. There are lots of townhomes and some single family along 6th, 5th, and 4th that have sizable front and back yards. There are even some garages with backalley access. It's literally a 5-10 minute walk from most parts of Salemtown to the main part of Germantown so you can still experience all of that charm...Although Salemtown has some itself. I've heard recently that the front part of the Werthan building will be converting to retail soon so I would imagine Salemtown will really boom after that. I noticed they are even building luxury condos in the far end near the Metro Center Starbucks/Coffee Street so that's a promising sign.

[Khamsin]

Yea I heard that they were finishing the lofts phase of Werthan, very cool that it will include retail. Any body have any inside tracks on some property down there? I bet there aren't any empty lots for sale, not with people putting in row houses. I will keep my eye open, and in the mean time keep researching that and other areas. Thanks everyone for their input!

[yank283]

Eastwood Neighbors has blown up. It's joining the ranks of the Lockeland Springs and Sylvan Parks. The secret is officially out now (I've been telling people to buy in the neighborhood for the last six years on here).You also might want to consider the area around Riverside Village in Inglewood. It's really starting to take off. I would guess the streets on the west side of Riverside Drive (toward Gallatin Rd) would be rougher than on the east side (and the ones to the north better than the ones in the south in general). There are still deals to be had, just make sure you don't overpay. Good luck.

[ariesjow]

Originally Posted by Khamsin

I guess Wedgewood-Houston really all does depend on the fairgrounds outcome. Thanks for pointing that out. The other areas are, in no particular rank: Sylvan Heights, Germantown, Creive hall (although I don't like ranch style houses, my parents in West Meade have a ranch style). I am not a complete urban pioneer, I'm not sure I'd feel 100% comfortable in Hope Gardens, maybe after North Gulch develops further and might help bring that area along. I love Germantown, but there are just so few options that aren't condo/apartment. I need a little bit of green space, as we have a dog, he's not a huge dog, just a 7lb toy fox terrier. I wouldn't rule out Salemtown either, but it seems to me that only semi-detached are going in or condos, it doesn't seem to have the charm of Germantown. I also started to look into East Nashville, Eastwood particularly, IDK it just seem that there isn't much out there right now, hopefully it will pick up come spring.

It sounds like we're looking at many of the same areas. I really like some of the East Nashville 'hoods (Lockeland Spring, Eastwood Neighbors, Edgefield), 12South, Germantown, Sylvan Park...all the usual popular in-town nabes. Unfortunately, most of the homes that are in my range in these places are fixers and/or too small. It forced me to start considering some of the nearby areas like Sylvan Heights, Historic West Town/The Nations, Inglewood, Wedgewood-Houston, etc. We have four animals, so we've essentially ruled out attached properties as well. We are fine with being a short drive from the places of interests, but want to know that we're buying into a neighborhood with good potential as well.

There really isn't as much on the market as there was about six months ago, so perhaps waiting until spring won't hurt. We ultimately decided that it's in our best interest to wait a while, save and familiarize ourselves with more areas and see what's out there.

Originally Posted by yank283

Eastwood Neighbors has blown up. It's joining the ranks of the Lockeland Springs and Sylvan Parks. The secret is officially out now (I've been telling people to buy in the neighborhood for the last six years on here).You also might want to consider the area around Riverside Village in Inglewood. It's really starting to take off. I would guess the streets on the west side of Riverside Drive (toward Gallatin Rd) would be rougher than on the east side (and the ones to the north better than the ones in the south in general). There are still deals to be had, just make sure you don't overpay. Good luck.

I have really liked some of the properties in Rolling Acres too and been impressed with some of the updated mid-century ranches in Rosebank and areas east of Riverside too. It should be interesting to see which neighborhoods start to take off on the east side. I love East Nashville, but I still have to convince my partner to give up some of the amenities on the west side.

[Khamsin]

Originally Posted by ariesjow

It sounds like we're looking at many of the same areas. I really like some of the East Nashville 'hoods (Lockeland Spring, Eastwood Neighbors, Edgefield), 12South, Germantown, Sylvan Park...all the usual popular in-town nabes. Unfortunately, most of the homes that are in my range in these places are fixers and/or too small. It forced me to start considering some of the nearby areas like Sylvan Heights, Historic West Town/The Nations, Inglewood, Wedgewood-Houston, etc. We have four animals, so we've essentially ruled out attached properties as well. We are fine with being a short drive from the places of interests, but want to know that we're buying into a neighborhood with good potential as well.

There really isn't as much on the market as there was about six months ago, so perhaps waiting until spring won't hurt. We ultimately decided that it's in our best interest to wait a while, save and familiarize ourselves with more areas and see what's out there.

At our price point we are in the same boat. I can barely afford a 900 sqft house in Sylvan park I had a lot of friends who have either lived or had their parents live in Charlotte park and the Nations/H.West town. I like the area as far as how close it is to Charlotte and I40, but it still might take some time before it has settled down as much as other places IMO. It has become so much better than 10 years ago when I was last on this side of town frequently. What I don't like is they are putting in a lot of new construction.

[ariesjow]

^ I actually like the new construction in Historic West Town. From what I've seen, most of it is appropriate for an urban neighborhood and compliments the historic homes well. I also think seeing some new construction mixed in with the renovated older properties gives the neighborhood a sense of progress. It's still very transitional with the occasional block of homes awaiting the right buyers, but it's worth a look if you're considering Sylvan Heights and Wedgewood-Houston, IMO. I do hope Metro will consider adding sidewalks to Historic West Town as there is essentially no reason those streets should lack them.

Here's one of the recently sold homes there that had me all giddy about buying back last summer:
4903 Kentucky Ave, Nashville, TN 37209 - Zillow