Local
Bluebird Cafe seeks more than $310,000 over flooding it blames on Green Hills development
The Nashville venue says a stormwater system installed during construction of the Rosette failed during April 2025 storms, flooding its lower level and forcing three weeks of canceled shows. Its lawsuit names the development’s owner and engineering firm as defendants.
Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe is suing the owner of the Rosette Green Hills development and its engineering firm, alleging changes to stormwater drainage during construction contributed to a 2025 flood that caused more than $310,000 in damage and closed the venue for three weeks.
The lawsuit was filed Oct. 23 in Davidson County Chancery Court against Green Hills Owner LLC and Kimley-Horn and Associates. The cafe’s owners say the development’s drainage design left too little capacity to handle heavy rain and created a bottleneck where water could back up against the venue.
The Rosette is a 22-story mixed-use complex at 4100 Hillsboro Pike, with 565,000 square feet of apartments, retail space and parking. The complaint says the building significantly changed the Green Hills area’s landscape and alleges that construction altered a drainage route that had previously carried water from behind the Bluebird to the public storm sewer.
According to the lawsuit, the plans replaced that route with a catch basin and a single 36-inch pipe. The complaint alleges the pipe could not handle the runoff from a 10-year storm. It also says a retaining wall with a small grate restricted the escape route for excess water.
During two days of severe storms and heavy rain in April 2025, the pipe filled, the lawsuit says. Debris collected on the grate and blocked it, leaving water backed up behind the cafe. The pressure allegedly brought down the retaining wall and broke a glass door, allowing water to flood the lower level to a depth of at least eight feet.
The cafe said in a social media post at the time that the flood damaged its water heater and knocked out internet service. The lawsuit also cites damage to a pump serving the building’s sanitary sewer line. The venue, which has 90 seats and opened in 1982, canceled performances for three weeks while it dealt with repairs.
The complaint says the Bluebird had flooded only once before in more than 40 years of operation and sustained no damage during Nashville’s 2010 flood. The cafe has become a prominent listening-room venue, known for performances by established artists and for helping launch Taylor Swift’s career.
Kimley-Horn did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attempts to reach Green Hills Owner through a number listed in business records led to the Corporation Trust Company, whose representative said it handles business incorporations and should not be listed as the owner’s primary contact. The allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.