NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For nearly 19 years, the lot housing the once-popular Starwood Amphitheatre in Antioch has sat vacant, leaving residents with questions about its future development plans.
“What happened? How come this didn’t stay?” Cathay Hoorman, a previous Starwood concertgoer, asked. “What are you building here that took its place?”
“So, is it going to be residential?” Antioch resident Jennifer Samardak told News 2 in 2018. “Is it going to be commercial?”
From 1986 to 2006, the 65-acre venue welcomed concertgoers and musicians. However, since its closure and demolition, the property has remained vacant. In 2011, a developer tried to bring concerts back to the site. Then in 2015, the site was supposed to be the new home for a mixed-use development for a project called Nashville Next.
“[It was going to] really be a live work play space — much like Lennox Village is,” Metro Councilmember Joy Styles, whose district encompasses the site, said.
A 2020 proposal sought to bring warehouses to the site, but Styles said her constituents were opposed.
“My constituents that were directly across the street were adamantly opposed and understandably so,” Styles said. “They had a petition of over 400 signatures saying, ‘We don’t want warehouses.'”
While previous plans for multi-use development have failed, Metro Councilmember Joy Styles — whose district encompasses the site — said new plans are in the works.
“One of the concerns was on the limitations of access there,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said. “Where you just have hundreds of cars coming down a road that might not have the full capacity to support it.”
During Styles’ first term, the site was part of District 33, but when Nashville’s district map was redrawn, she asked to have the Starwood Amphitheatre become part of her district: 32.
“I knew that we could do better,” Styles expressed. “I knew that there was an appetite and a need for greater things to come to the area, and 65 acres is such a wonderful opportunity.”
Plans to redevelop the space have been revitalized.
“[I] literally met with the developers last week to take a look at a version of the site,” Styles said. “There is room for growth…We’ve created a different entrance where commercial vehicles will come in that will not interfere at all with the other portions of the site.”
Styles told News 2 that her top priorities in developing the old Starwood Amphitheatre space are preserving its history and meeting the community’s needs.
“There will be bus stops,” Styles said. “There will be opportunities for the community to gather [..], and we are throwing in homages to the old site.”
As of publication, plans are still being finalized. However, Styles shared a couple of hints.
“[We are] looking at having artist housing on the site because we are a creative city and many of our creatives don’t have a place to live,” Styles said.
Styles said official plans for the site could tentatively be released by the end of summer 2025.
