Uncle Bob Joined Trouble and Fought for Civil Rights

Sep 25, 2020

Rev. Robert S. Graetz, a civil rights activist who dedicated his ministry to fighting poverty and discrimination, died at the age of 92 on Sept. 20. With his passing, the nation lost a social justice giant. I lost an uncle. Uncle Bob was sweet, empathic, gentle,...

Community Building Doesn’t Stop for the Coronavirus

Sep 3, 2020

A big part of community building is developing, growing and nurturing relationships. This is a challenge during COVID-19 when in-person meetings and gatherings have gone virtual or been postponed. Stepping up to help organizations you believe in is also part of...

Charting a Path for Health and Resiliency

Aug 5, 2020

Early this year, Mayor John Cooper appointed 48 Nashville community members to his Sustainability Advisory Committee to address climate change and alternative energy challenges for our city. I am honored to be one of those appointees. Our committee is co-chaired by...

Building Communities Resilient to Recession and COVID-19

May 28, 2020

During the Great Recession of 2008, Core Development shifted focus from building condominiums to cottage communities. The successful cottage series proved to be recession resilient, and these communities sold well. Today, the communities facilitate socializing while...

Nashville’s Housing Need Will Continue Post COVID-19

Apr 30, 2020

Market uncertainty is on the minds of many as we navigate these unique and unchartered times. Unlike the Great Recession that impacted Nashville’s real estate market in 2008, the coronavirus is different. A team of Goldman Sachs analysts recently told Barron’s...

Real Estate: Adapting During the Coronavirus

Apr 2, 2020

It is certainly an interesting time to be in the real estate business. The good news is that we are still in business and continue to help buyers and sellers with transactions. Though the coronavirus has caused schools and many businesses to close, real estate has...

Change is the Only Constant

Jan 20, 2020

One year ago, I sold the majority of my real estate company, Village, to a local group of business partners and seasoned agents. The legacy sale freed me up from day-to-day management, so I could refocus my energies on improving my one-mile radius. Rechanneling My...

Making a List, Checking it Twice

Dec 24, 2019

I have always been a list maker. No, not the naughty and nice kind of list. I create goals and write lists because that is how I get things done. Lists keep me on task. When the recession hit Nashville in late 2008, I was nearing my 49th birthday and reflecting on my...

Developing a Greenways Network is Part of Building Healthy Places

Nov 25, 2019

As a champion of my city’s urban greenway system since the late 1990s, I am excited about Urban Land Institute Nashville’s Building Healthy Places initiative and its focus on greenways. Building Healthy Places launched nationally in 2013 to help shape projects and...

How Creative Adaptive Reuse Revived Germantown

Oct 30, 2019

The transition of Germantown from a deteriorating area to one of Nashville’s most popular and walkable neighborhoods is the result of resident activists and business working to bring historic properties into a new era of life. Standing just north of downtown in view...