Faults in the foundation
📸 Tourism as last ditch revenue source · Boring Co in Nashville · Bus police · Fairgrounds housing · County Highway comes to town · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Tourism is not the solution to our problems… Boring Company coming to town to bore holes… Police ride the bus… And County Highway, a great print publication worth checking out, will be at Grimey’s tomorrow afternoon.
Big Goal 2,000 new newsletter subscribers by September 30. Could you help us get there by forwarding this email to a friend (or five) who cares about independent journalism and tell them to sign up here.
Like what we do? Forward us to a friend.
I admittedly waffle on how I feel about tourism. From advocating we “just embrace it” to pointing out the obvious problems it causes. Regardless how I feel, tourism is sold to actual residents of the city as a blessing, even if its material effects often feel more like a curse.
But I’ve never thought of tourism as a band-aid on a bullet wound, as Marko Jukic describes it in an article for Palladium. Focusing on Southern Europe and the growing tourism industry there (which I’ve mentioned before), Jukic describes how tourist-forward countries “temporarily ameliorate the financial stress caused by deeper economic and cultural problems that remain unsolved.”
He argues that tourism has become a convenient revenue source for countries with rapidly aging populations, collapsing birth rates, insolvent pension systems, uncompetitive industries, inflexible governance, and the emigration of young and educated natives out of the country.
“As these problems worsen, tourism becomes more appealing to business leaders, politicians, and policy-makers,” writes Jukic, “although workers can emigrate, property cannot, and low-wage labor can easily be imported from abroad to service tourists from wealthier countries.”
“Tourism can become the success story of the new economy, providing a hopeful, winning narrative to a voter base increasingly composed of aging landlords.” In other words, rising tourism is a flashing red emergency siren, a sign of an economy that is failing at everything else.
It is impossible to ignore the parallels between what Jukic describes in Southern Europe and the reality on the ground in Nashville. To avoid cluttering the copy, I listed some of the parallels at the bottom of this email.
Jukic touts manufacturing as the way to sustainable growth, something that scales infinitely better than tourism. The state has done a decent job of attracting manufacturers to the state, and there’s no reason Nashville can’t prioritize attracting some of its own. DAVIS HUNT
⧖⧗⧖ GETTING BITCOIN FOMO? ⧗⧖⧗
|
The Bitcoin Adviser offers the safest and easiest way to purchase and store bitcoin. Experts like Scott Porter will talk you through the process from purchase to storage. Curious what owning bitcoin looks like? Sign up for a free consultation below. |
🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🪤 Will Musk Build Underground Tunnels In Nashville? On Friday, the Nashville Business Journal reported that Governor Lee has been in serious talks with Elon Musk about building an underground tunnel that could connect the Nashville airport to downtown. According to a source, Musk's The Boring Co. and state officials may make an announcement about the project next Monday.
Axios reported that the tunnel would likely be constructed on state-controlled land and run along Murfreesboro Pike, potentially evading the need for Metro approval. Mayor O’Connell’s Choose How You Move plan also targeted Murfreesboro Pike for proposed bus-only lanes that would link the airport to downtown.
This isn’t Musk’s only venture in Tennessee. The tech mogul hopes to build the world's largest supercomputer in South Memphis. According to the Star, the Shelby County Health Department approved one of xAI’s construction permits in July. The company will install 15 turbines to power the supercomputer, named Colossus.
🚍 The Bus Police In June, the Metro Transit Authority approved a $1.15M consulting contract to help implement the new Metro Nashville Police Department transit unit. The transportation consulting firm, Marine Tiger Technologies, has worked with Metro before and will be funded by new Choose How You Move sales tax revenue to help construct a security plan.
According to Fox17, the funds allocated to hash out the security plan are nearly triple the yearly cost it will take to operate the actual MNPD transit unit. When asked about the price tag during Friday’s media roundtable, Mayor O’Connell said the investment is to ensure a strong foundation for the new unit. “You do want to bring in subject matter expertise on that side,” He explained. “We've not done this before. We haven't ever had a full-time, dedicated security division for transit.”
🏘️ Mix-Used, Mixed-Income Living Near Fairgrounds Last week, 445 Park Commons held its ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the new mixed-use, mixed-income complex located between Geodis Park and the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The $123 million private development site constructed by MarketStreet Enterprises includes 335 residential units, with 120 earmarked for residents earning 60 percent or below the median income and 40 dedicated to 80 percent or below median earners.
According to the Tennessean, the project took advantage of Tennessee Housing Development Agency tax credits, tax-exempt bonds issued by the Health & Educational Facilities Board of Metropolitan Nashville, and Payment in Lieu of Tax benefits approved by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.
This morning, MarketStreet President Dirk Melton gave the Metro Fair Board an update on occupancy. Park Commons is currently 85 percent full, but still has a few affordable units available. “If anybody knows anybody, we would love to engage with them and show them the housing opportunities that we still have in that building as we prepare for the next one,” said Melton.
As for the commercial spaces, Barista Parlor has been in operation for a few months, Scouts Barber Shop is set to open once they receive their occupancy certificate from Metro, and Voodoo Brewery is awaiting a permit to start construction. Looking ahead, MarketStreet is in the pre-development stages for a similar site across the street. The group hopes to break ground in 2026 “ if the capital markets cooperate,” said Melton.
DEVELOPMENT
- 📉 Nashville office construction pipeline hits decade low (NBJ)
- Developer finishes first phase of 600-acre luxury community in Franklin (NBJ)
- Downtown library closure extended beyond July 29 (Post)
- Dickerson Pike building set for hot chicken restaurant (Post)
- Full-scale work underway on downtown hotel, residential building (Post)
- Permits valued at $60M issued for Nations project (Post)
⧖⧗⧖ SHOW YOUR SUPPORT ⧗⧖⧗
If you want to support our work at The Pamphleteer, a recurring donation is the best way. We have a $10/month Grub Street tier and a $50/month Bard tier. Membership gets you access to our comments section and free access to upcoming events.
✹ SUMMER SPOTLIGHT: COUNTY HIGHWAY COMES TO GRIMEY'S
The months after the pandemic may not have seemed like the best time to start a print newspaper modeled after the 20-page broadsides of the 19th century. But two years after David Samuels and Walter Kirn founded County Highway, it has become America’s fastest growing print publication with an annual circulation of more than 150,000. Now, in the middle of a busy summer that has seen “America’s Only Newspaper” launch its second book publishing imprint and embark on a nationwide roadshow, members of the County Highway crew are prepping for their stop in Nashville Wednesday afternoon at Grimey’s.
Though Samuels and managing editor Ryan Baesemann envisioned the County Highway Roadshow shortly after launch, this summer provided the perfect opportunity. With the paper’s July/August issue hitting newsstands shortly after the debut of imprint Panamerica’s first book – Lee Clay Johnson’s novel Bloodlines – earlier this month, there was no better time to showcase the outlet for those of us in the Flyover States the publication so rigorously defends.
“It’s been a great ride so far, lots of folks showing up to meet our writers and editors, hear us read from our newspaper and this first title, and to buy a limited edition tour t-shirt,” Baesemann said of the tour. “That’s right, we’re selling shirts for gas money, like a proper punk band.”
While County Highway does exude a Ramones-meets-Hank, Sr. ethos (and not just because its music section should be the envy of its faltering legacy competitors), it’s also a haven for the heirs apparent to the new journalism of the 70s pioneered by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson.
Kirn and Samuels make their gonzo torchbearer status clear in the paper’s founding document: “What we share in common is a revulsion at the smugness, sterility, and shitty aesthetics of the culture being forced upon us by monopoly tech platforms and corporate media, and a desire to make something better.”
In his capacity as fiction editor of the newspaper and the personality at the helm of Panamerica, famed man of letters and “literary Brat Packer” Gary Fisketjon aims to will Samuels and Kirn’s vision fully into being. After decades as the VP of Knopf and a legendary stint as the editor of fiction giants from Bret Easton Easton Ellis and Donna Tartt to Haruki Murakami and Cormac McCarthy, Fisketjon is dedicated to restoring the full spectrum of American lit’s greatness by focusing on the country’s nooks and crannies.
At Grimey’s, Fisketjon and County Highway publisher Donald Rosenfeld will sit down for a conversation with Johnson about Bloodline, a darkly comic Tennessee-set novel about an errant mill owner and the perils of smalltown politics. After a book signing, Johnson will join Tyler-James Kelly and play a half-hour set of covers like Doc Watson's “Deep River Blues,” and Merle Haggard's “Ramblin' Fever,” as well as some originals from Kelly's debut album, Dream River. The band includes Nashville regulars like drummer Jerry Pentecost and bassist Lee Clay (plus Lee Clay’s dad on banjo).
Given that Johnson is a Nashville native and that Grimey’s was an early stocker of County Highway, Baesemann has been especially looking forward to the tour’s time in Music City, “Lee is actually assembling his band for a one-night-only set of music in addition to reading from his novel, which was uniquely appropriate for the Nashville stop. This will be a special stop, one that’ll surely be a fun event for everyone to attend.”
County Highway’s time in Nashville kicks off Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Grimey’s (1060 E Trinity Ln). Copies of Bloodlines and the paper’s latest issue will be available. Admission is free.
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 Coldplay @ Nissan Stadium, 6p, $362+, Info
🪕 Ricky Skaggs w/ Kentucky Thunder @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $70+, Info
🪕 Virginia Rain @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎸 Josh Hedley Happy Hour @ Dee's Lounge, 3:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
The Pamphleteer
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).
NASHVILLE'S WOES SUMMARIZED
- Aging Population Nashville’s population is younger than the national average, but still aging.
- Falling Birth Rates The birth rate in Nashville continues to plummet even as it rises in the ring counties.
- Emigration of young and educated natives Without international migration, the population of Nashville would have consistently declined since 2016.
- Insolvent Pension System Our pension system is not yet insolvent, but it weighs heavily in the balance.
- Uncompetitive Industries One potential bright spot is that Nashville retains competitive industries such as healthcare and music. It has also successfully attracted Amazon, Oracle, Alliance Bernstein, and other employers. But all despite, not because of, tourism.
- Inflexible Governance I need not regale you with tales about the inflexibility of the Metro Council, but two recent examples have been the council’s unwillingness to fully fund public safety initiatives and the prioritization of politics in making financial decisions, such as the vote against hosting the RNC in town.