Nashville's Metro Council is set to vote Tuesday night on funding that would finally put Midtown's new business improvement district to work, unlocking money for extra trash pickup, safety patrols and power washing along some of the neighborhood's busiest streets. The district, which covers a stretch of high-rises, restaurants and bars near Division Street and Demonbreun Street, was created late last year but has been waiting on this budget step before it can start hiring service providers.
The council item would tap into Metro's supplemental budget process to release the district's first-year funding, according to District 19 Councilmember Jacob Kupin, who has led the effort. As reported by WZTV, the Midtown Business Improvement District is meant to keep parts of the neighborhood cleaner, safer and more attractive by paying for services the city does not already provide, such as more attention to overflowing trash cans, leaves and debris in gutters. Kupin said the goal is “consistent improvements that make Midtown more inviting for neighbors, businesses and visitors,” but cautioned that residents should not expect an overnight transformation.
“This isn't going to be an earth-shattering, drastic change in the neighborhood,” Kupin said, per the station's report, adding that the improvements can still make Midtown cleaner, safer, more active and more attractive over time.
How the District Was Built
Metro Council formally created the district under Ordinance BL2025-1113, which passed on third reading on December 16, 2025, and was signed into law by Mayor Freddie O'Connell the following day, according to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The district's boundaries run roughly from 21st Avenue South on the west to West End Avenue and Broadway on the north, then east to 16th Avenue South and Interstate 40, with Division Street forming the southern edge, according to the same Metro Council legislative record.
The district will be financed through a special assessment on property owners within its boundaries, an additional 0.1561 percent fee on assessed property value that is projected to affect roughly 543 property owners and generate about $1.5 million a year, according to the Nashville Scene. That money is separate from Metro's general budget and is intended to fund cleaning, safety and placemaking priorities the district's board and a nonprofit organization will decide how to spend.
A Different Kind of Nashville District
Nashville has used this special-assessment model before. The city's first Central Business Improvement District was formed downtown in February 1998 under Ordinance BL98-1037, contracting out clean-and-safe services through the Nashville Downtown Partnership, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Office of Internal Audit. The Gulch followed in 2006 with its own business improvement district, which helped fund the maintenance and safety work that supported the neighborhood's shift from a vacant railyard into a dense mixed-use hub, per the Nashville Scene's reporting on the Gulch's history.
Midtown's version stands apart from those two, according to Kupin's official newsletter. Unlike the commercial-heavy downtown core and the Gulch, Midtown includes a large residential population living alongside nightlife hotspots on Division Street and Demonbreun Hill, both described by WZTV as busy areas within the district. Both districts operate under the state's Central Business Improvement District Act of 1971, codified at Tennessee Code Annotated Title 7, Chapter 84, which authorizes municipalities to levy special property assessments for localized public improvements, per Justia Law.
Board Already in Place, Awaiting Its Budget
The Midtown Business Improvement District will have its own board and its own nonprofit organization to oversee spending, and that board held its first official meeting on June 3, 2026, ahead of a planned fall 2026 start to revenue collection, according to Kupin's newsletter. Ex-officio board members include state Senator Jeff Yarbro, state Representative Aftyn Behn, and Metro Council Members Kupin, Terry Vo and Tom Cash, per the Midtown Business Improvement District's own organizational materials.
Individual property owners' fee amounts are tied to Davidson County property assessments, which can be appealed annually through the Metro Board of Equalization each June, Kupin's newsletter notes. If Tuesday's council vote succeeds, the board can begin putting service providers in place, with the district expected to start collecting money this fall.
The funding push lands amid a stretch of change already reshaping Midtown's commercial landscape, from the Reed family's Broadway lot maneuvering to the closure of a longtime Chuy's location and a mystery bar eyed for the old Patterson House space. Whether Tuesday's vote passes, Metro Council's action will determine how quickly Midtown's new district can move from paperwork to actual crews on the street.
