NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Wedgewood-Houston area is quickly developing into a neighborhood for locals and visitors alike.
However, a new development has brought daily construction blasts and concerns to some residents.
“Loud, ground tremors if you will,” described Earnest Morgan, Co-Founder of WeHo Social. “It feels very much like an earthquake.”
In recent years, developers in WeHo have worked to make the area walkable with entertainment and dining for locals and visitors.
“The music venue, the office spaces, but then also the central green that is coming with AJ Capital’s Merritt Mansion project,” said WeHo resident Duane Cuthbertson about recent builds in the area.
However, with every new addition comes lots of constructions and blasts.
“The glass in the cabinets is shaking, and if you have a pet, it is scaring the daylights out of them,” said Jacey Cook, another WeHo resident.
“It rattled the dishes in the cupboard,” Morgan added. “It can be startling.”
A new construction project with Wedgewood Village has required blasting, bringing more questions and concerns to the surface.
“I have a couple of friends down the street from me that are seeing some cracks in their ceilings,” Cook expressed.
“There was one resident that reported smelling gas in her home right after,” Morgan described.
In November, residents near the construction site received a pre-construction survey. Meanwhile, others feeling the impacts of the blasts said they did not.
An article written by the neighborhood association in WeHo calls for transparency and action from developers and other city partners.
“When they should be alarmed and when they shouldn’t be alarmed,” Morgan explained. “We should be allowing people to understand or providing them a way to understand what to do in an emergency.”
Morgan said the unclear blast impact zones, unverified construction notices, limited pre-construction survey scope, absent property measures, and delayed developer response have led to a need for immediate communication.
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“I’m a little surprised at the lack of care,” Morgan expressed. “[They] are following all requirements as far as we know from the city, from Metro. What we are also thinking is we believe there should be special considerations. We’ve got someone who is responsible for healthcare and can’t sleep now because of the activity.”
Going forward, the neighborhood association plans to put together resources such as property protective measures, insurance considerations, potential public policy, and answers to frequently asked questions.
“We want to be really fair to all of our developer partners because we are really thankful for their investment in this neighborhood,” Morgan concluded.
