Rich's villa too big for neighbors

songpixie · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 812 Location: Nashville, TN

I thought our local tatata would have this posted already~being the wonderful keeper of bringing us up to date! Smile

Thought ya'll would like to see this, and know that yes, your freaky little songpixie wrote to the Editor saying just how inappropriate this article is...they may not post it, so I will paraphrase what I wrote....

The article: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS05/701090348

My response....

"Dear Editor:
After reading the article "Rich's villa too big for neighbors", in the Jan. 9th edition, I am shocked at the neighbors, not the size of John Rich's new mansion.
I know Love Circle well, having grown up here. It's a beautiful and serene view of Nashville. And if I had the option, I would love to build there.
Mr. Rich could have chosen to build in one of the mentioned surrounding areas, such as Franklin or Brentwood. Instead, he chose to build in the heart of Nashville, which I find refreshing. He is from Texas, yet he has said that he loves this city as if he were from here.
Thanks to the attention this article will surely bring, the size of the new house will be the least of the neighbors' worries. The amount of traffic will be their new complaint.
Some things are better left alone....."

Those of you that know me well here at the boards, know just HOW much I respect John~you don't mess with my boy.... Cool

roushfans · Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:35 am Post subject:

I agree with you SongPixie - height of the home shouldn't be a concern:

I can't get past the part that they added a freakin map to the new home. Let's just please advertise, and encourage people to come sightsee this apparently quaint neighborhood. blows my mind....

Hope it all works out....
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songpixie · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 812 Location: Nashville, TN

pawpaw · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 1133 Location: Mafialand

If it were me I would put a trailer in...lol....that ought to stir it up a bit...lol...
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lorendasue · Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 1187 Location: Nashville TN

Ottomaniac2 · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 2662 Location: OTTO Zone, USA

When do you think they will add the link to "Maps of the Stars Homes"....

and who voted that they didn't want John Rich living next door to them? Are they crazy??? I'm hoping that he's looking at the hills of Cincinnati for a second home!!
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songpixie · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 812 Location: Nashville, TN

'Love Circle' was THE place to go and hang out when I was in high school~and drink a lil' strawberry wine~I was really good in high school, I swear.... Cool

It's just a given for those of us that live here, especially those of us that have grown up here, it's a given that music celebrities live in 'our back yards'....

Like I said, the fact that he is building in the heart of Nashville says a lot about his character. He could, very easily I might add, have built something on a ton of acres in Franklin, like the majority of the music stars do.

And to stress again, NOBODY messes with my boy without a fight... Shocked

missvp2032 · Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 221 Location: nashvegas

of course i agree that jr should be able to build what he wants on his own land... but did y'all actually look at the plans? um... some of his neighbors' complaints have some merit... it DOES look more like an office building than a house! big is one thing, unattractive is... well, just kinda pointless in my opinion!
Wink

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lorendasue · Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 1187 Location: Nashville TN

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. And remember, these are just concept drawings, you're not getting the real feel of the structure from these.

horsefeathers · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 644 Location: Louisville, KY

Lorenda, I agree with you. The first word out of my mouth when looking at the renderings (before I saw other people's comments) was COFFEEMAKER. There's an office building not far from that neighborhood that looks almost identical to this.

On the positive side, I'm thinking that the design outside is primarily a result of the design INSIDE. It looks like this house was designed primarily to maximize the fabulous views. John strikes me as a "function over form" person anyway (once you get past the bling Wink

).

I wouldn't mind John building a mansion in my neighborhood, but that design would take a while to grow accustomed to. I'm too busy living to stare at my neighbors' homes anyway Razz

unless they've built meth labs or have junk cars piled up or their grass is 3 feet high.

I can see both sides of this issue. As for the privacy issue, all of Davidson County's zoning activity is a matter of public record (including their website). If people want to conceal their identities, it's a pretty simple matter of establishing a LLC (limited liability corporation) and having all the permits obtained under THAT name instead. The newspaper wasn't violating anyone's privacy by reporting on a matter of public record.

Hf
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Ottomaniac · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 1893 Location: OTTO NATION, USA

Hecky durn! John can build that in my neighborhood if he wants to! I would have no complaints since I live in the cornfields of Indy, so we need a little something to talk about up here and Villa Rich would give us a lot to talk about!

As long as he is within the codes, etc., I see nothing wrong with it, and as for the Maps of the Stars homes Michelle (O2), doesn't that remind you of our little trip to the Star Cafe' in '04????????? Twisted Evil

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Ottomaniac2 · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 2662 Location: OTTO Zone, USA

lorendasue · Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 1187 Location: Nashville TN

OK, I have spent a little time today (very little, since I am at work!) using some maps to refresh my recollection of the area. If this design is going to be at the place I think it's going to be, this has the potential to be a stunning addition to Nashville, architecturally. It will take advantage of the wonderful view from that hill. I don't think he can lower it much and still get the full effect of the available view. It has to be above the tree-line on the upper side of the hill.

Davidson County is at a crossroads on the issue presented here. The neighbors who are complaining about it are apparently the type of people who want all the houses in a neighborhood to look so much alike that you can only find the house you're looking for by reading the house number. This is the mindset behind the developments which today level out a hilly area to make the area more uniform from one end of the road to another. There are others who embrace diversity in a neighborhood and want each home to take advantage of the unique land contours of the lot it sits on and enjoy seeing differences in homes as they go by them. With few differences in the houses, they become much cheaper to build. Just as people have their difference in what they want on their pizza, or what they like to hear in music, they differ over what they want their neighborhoods to look like.

I probably come somewhere in the middle. I like to see houses which are somewhat different from each other as I go down a street. If I were in charge I would probably have rules which deal mostly with exterior surfaces and have gradual changes from one part of the area to the next. My personal dream home is a Southern Colonial (the size has gotten smaller as I have aged!). I have, however, been in a lot of homes of a variety of designs which are wonderful spaces to be in.

As a public policy matter for Nashville, I was never more disappointed in a structure as I was in the new Symphony Center. With the uniqueness of the arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame structures on two sides of the "square" that includes the Hilton hotel, I hoped that the Symphony Center would contribute to a visually diverse area which would really say "Nashville" when someone looked at it. The Symphony Center, however, is VERY traditional-looking and could be in just about any city. While I understand that it is acoustically perfect, the exterior was disappointing to me.

So, as for me, I look forward to seeing the Villa Rich on the hillside. I hope more people with the money to do it see fit to contribute other structures to the Nashville area which send Nashville down a path of being Nashville, not a city that's "just like [insert city name here]."

Leann · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 68 Location: Tampa,FL

As a homeowner in a deed restricted community, and a member of our HOA board, I see both sides too. It's nice that you can find a neighborhood where you can do what you want, BUT, if it sticks out like a sore thumb, and I don't know what the other houses there look like, then I can see the neighbor's point. There's a beautifully modern home on the river in Rockford, IL that belongs to one of the guys from the band Cheap Trick. It's really a nice house, BUT, compared to all the other houses it's ugly because it just doesn't fit in.
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songpixie · Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 812 Location: Nashville, TN

"I can see both sides of this issue. As for the privacy issue, all of Davidson County's zoning activity is a matter of public record (including their website). If people want to conceal their identities, it's a pretty simple matter of establishing a LLC (limited liability corporation) and having all the permits obtained under THAT name instead. The newspaper wasn't violating anyone's privacy by reporting on a matter of public record.

Hf"

My point was to say that if they think they have a problem now, with the simple fact of the construction and architectural standpoints, by them pointing out exactly WHERE a bigtime country star lives, well, they've compounded the problem.

Personally, I love the older houses, as seen in the rest of that district. BUT, if you're going to build somewhere like Love Circle, go 'whole hog'....And I'm sure it will be much more tasteful than they are making it out to be.