People have an innate desire for connection, for community. Thus, people are naturally drawn to neighborhoods where people can walk, gather, and commute. I realized early on in my career that to be truly successful in any real estate venture you must be both a real estate practitioner and a community builder. While the suburbs do have great appeal, neighborhoods rooted at the heart of cities should not be discounted. Community not only can be born and cultivated at a city’s core, but should be.
I quickly learned each neighborhood in Nashville has its own identity and unique commercial corners, politics, and collection of players. Once a good sense of a neighborhood is developed, we can bring in the right infrastructure, development, programming, marketing, and connection to recreate and enhance what already exists. Evolving these inner-city neighborhoods through enhancement and revitalization begins the ripple effect I call “one-mile-radius”. The “one-mile-radius” effect is a positive wave of impact that builds momentum neighborhood by neighborhood. As neighborhoods become hubs of community more partners enter that community and other neighborhoods begin to enter a period of revitalization, eventually creating a stronger, healthier community at a city’s core.
I began by selling real estate within a one-mile radius of Hillsboro Village and could see that people were hungry for walkable neighborhoods. I bought a home on 12 South and recognized the potential for growth as it was bounded by two different neighborhoods less than a mile away. Working with the city and MDHA, I worked to turn it into a precursor for what it is today. This wouldn’t have been possible without partnerships with local organizations.
Along my journey, I have learned a lot about sparking change in the communities we, as real estate practitioners, are involved in. I hope as you delve into both my book, One Mile Radius: Building Community From the Core, and my blog posts you begin to consider what you can do in your one-mile radius.