Green Hills Tower construction hits a speed bump

The Green Hills Tower construction has been delayed due to an appeal from the Green Hills Neighborhood Association.  Back in September of 2013, Southern Land announced its plans to build a 22-story tower on the corner of Richard Jones Rd. and Hillsboro Pike. The project was scheduled to begin construction in 2014. Ground was broken then, but in the spring of 2014, the Neighborhood raised concerns about the height of the tower saying it conflicted with the Green Hills urban design overlay. On March 27, the Metro Planning Commission approved Southern Land’s final site plan.  This plan depicts a 17-story tower, but on Tuesday Aug. 12 the Neighborhood announced it was taking the case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The tower will bring new housing, business and office space to the Green Hills area, and some local business are very excited about the increased population. “I think it’s just going to create more traffic, and we’re going to see more business as a result,” local retailer Zach Mulder said. While business owners are enthusiastic about the construction, some residents aren’t as pleased. “It’s nice that they have more residential building going on,” Royal Arms apartments resident Kelsey Reiman said. “But it really messes with the traffic. There’s already a ton of traffic because of the construction, and it’s only going to get worse with all the people living there.” Both the driving traffic and business traffic will increase due to the tower, but the final decision on just how tall the structure will be has not been determined. Southern Land said they plan to begin construction later this...