Metro Council OKs eminent domain claim near Nashville Zoo - Nashville Banner

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The Metro Council conducts business during a 2025 meeting. Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

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Nashville’s Metro Council voted 27-5 on Tuesday to authorize city attorneys to initiate eminent domain proceedings seeking to take ownership of the property adjacent to the Nashville Zoo where a developer is planning to build a data center.

The legislation, which passed its third and final vote, allows the city to begin negotiations with the property owner and potentially use eminent domain.

There’s a long road ahead still. Pending zoning appeals related to the property are still on the docket and can’t be heard until the moratorium expires in December. A successful appeal then could scupper the DC Blox plan. Even if Metro decides to proceed with eminent domain, a protracted legal fight with developer DC Blox could delay a purchase.

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Mayor Freddie O’Connell launched the eminent domain process as the Metro Council was considering both new data center zoning rules and a temporary moratorium on their construction, both of which passed last month.

Councilmember Rollin Horton, the lead sponsor, did not mention the zoo or the proposed data center. Instead, he said the move is due to the city’s "severe shortage of office space."

Some skeptics raised questions about the mayor’s proposal, including its cost. Councilmember Quin Evans Segall added an amendment to the legislation requiring that any appraisal of the property prepared for Metro be sent to the council. The amendment also requires that Metro wait at least three weeks from the submission of the appraisal before filing any condemnation action, which could give Metro Council the chance to rescind the authorization.

The mayor’s office and legal representatives contend that Metro must buy the property next to the zoo due to longstanding office needs in the South Nashville area, especially in the face of the pending closure of a city office building in the area. Councilmember Russ Bradford supported the purchase, citing the city’s spending on office rents.

Officials said that funding for the purchase, if it comes to pass, has already been allocated to different departments as part of a capital spending plan. If Metro can prove to a court that the purchase is necessary, the city would have to pay fair market value, a subjective figure that could be hotly contested. The property sold last month to data center developer DC Blox for $23 million, but the county assessed the value at $37 million last year.

Councilmember Courtney Johnston, who represents the Nashville Zoo area and has been opposed to the data center project there, expressed reservations about the legislation during Monday’s meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee. She called the move to initiate eminent domain proceedings “dangerous” and said she is concerned about the cost to the city and the legal fight that could ensue. She ultimately voted in favor of the legislation.

The debate created some strange political bedfellows. Councilmember Ginny Welsch, one of the body’s most progressive members, called the proposal "a gross misuse of the power of condemnation." Welsch, Jeff Eslick, Joy Kimbrough, Brandon Taylor and Joy Styles voted no.

Metro departments are continuing to review data center impacts and possible additional regulations in response to a mayoral executive order. Kendra Abkowitz of the mayor’s office told the Metro Council’s Planning and Zoning Committee on Monday that departmental recommendations will be delivered within two weeks. Councilmember Rollin Horton, chair of the committee, said several councilmembers have considered further legislation to refine the recently instituted zoning rules.

Vanderbilt neighborhood

The council held a public hearing for zoning legislation that would allow Vanderbilt University to create its planned "innovation neighborhood."

The mixed-use district would be built mostly on parking lots owned by Vanderbilt. It would include office space for tech initiatives, research and development labs, open space, housing and retail.

Eben Cathey, a Vanderbilt representative, said the school "wants to turn 40 acres of what is mostly surface parking lots into a hub for innovation" with space for entrepreneurs and startups to be "in close...