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North Nashville's Old Brick Church Pike School Eyed for Library, Year-Round Shelter and Housing
Metro planners advanced a proposal to transform a 10-acre former elementary school site in District 3 into a community campus with a public library, a permanent cold-weather shelter, recreation space and up to 25 homes. The project, in the works since 2022, drew no opposition at the Planning Commission.
NASHVILLE â A long-vacant former elementary school in North Nashville would be reborn as a public library, a permanent cold-weather shelter, a recreation center and possibly up to 25 homes under a redevelopment plan that cleared an early hurdle at the Metro Planning Commission.
The proposed Brick Church Pike Community Campus would remake roughly 10 acres at 3230 Brick Church Pike, where the old school has served for about four years as an overflow emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The commission took up the plan Thursday, Nov. 12, and returned it to its consent agenda after no one spoke in opposition.
The project has been shaped over several years of meetings with neighborhood residents and city planning staff. Councilmember Jennifer Gamble, who represents District 3, told commissioners the effort dates to 2022.
âThis project is one of labor and love that the community and I have been working on since 2022,â Gamble said.
Under the proposal, the existing school building would eventually be demolished and replaced in phases. The campus would include a new recreation center with dedicated space for emergency shelter operations during cold weather, a new public library, park and community gathering areas, and the possibility of up to 25 residential units in a later phase. The plan also calls for permanent office space for Metroâs Office of Homeless Services.
Gamble said the current building, used as an overflow shelter, is not well suited to the departmentâs needs. A purpose-built facility would let the campus serve residents year-round rather than only in cold months, she said.
The library would fill a notable gap: District 3 currently has no public library, according to Gamble, making the proposed branch a central piece of the neighborhoodâs long-term plans.
She also argued the site has been underused for years and can do more for both nearby residents and the wider city.
âThis site that is currently being underutilized is ten acres,â Gamble said, describing the chance to create a multipurpose campus.
The redevelopment remains in the planning stage, and more approvals would be needed before construction could begin. No start date has been announced.
If built, the campus would turn the former school property into a year-round hub offering public services, recreation, emergency shelter and potentially housing for North Nashville residents â a combination supporters say addresses several needs at once on land the city already owns.