Bordering the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood outside of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on the previous site of the Catholic Diocese of Nashville headquarters, Linden Row adds new contemporary townhomes to a sought-after location minutes from shopping, entertainment, and dining.
Unlike traditional residential projects, the modern collection—executed in two phases—was spearheaded by vertically integrated firms that specialize in all three major construction components: architecture, building, and development. Through the architecture firm The Bradley Projects, developing company The Bradley Development Group, and builder Certified Construction Services, president Jared Bradley can operate his businesses under one umbrella or three separate entities, depending on the needs of a project.
For Linden Row, Bradley is part of the ownership and development team, but also serves as the architect of record and the construction company.
“To put it into context, I moved to Nashville from San Diego about eight years ago and I was fortunate enough to be around a lot of architects who became developers and builders through their careers. That’s sort of a common business model out West,” says Bradley. “When we relocated, it was a little bit like crickets. It took us the first couple of years to break the mold.”
As the architect for the multifamily project that includes 38 single-family townhome units at full build-out, Bradley and his design team studied row homes from both United States and British history and aimed to reinterpret the typology into a modern context.
Made up of windows, balconies, and various intentional setbacks, the façade of the volumes take on a modern form that was intended to “be sculpted from the earth and not something that is picked up and dropped off on the site,” explains Bradley.
A locally sourced light brick was chosen for the complete envelope, as the material blends well with the surrounding landscape and provides an earthy palette. Balcony railings were painted the same hue for consistency, but windows were trimmed in a dark color to exaggerate the openings.
During their research, the team also noticed townhomes can be really dark in their centers, as continuous fire walls on either side block natural light for the units sandwiched in the middle. Bradley wanted to avoid pockets of darkness and instead create light-filled interiors for every unit.
“We basically figured out how to bring natural light deep into the space from the front, the back, and the top,” explains Bradley. “Inside these units, you’ll never see any dark areas. In fact, you don’t need any lights on during the day.”
Custom, large-format windows along all outward-facing façades open up the ends as much as possible. Plus, on the third floor of every unit, a cathedral-like volume carries up to the upper roofline, with windows and oversized skylights that draw daylight deeper into the spaces.
“We lifted those spaces up to engage the roof and bring the roof into the floor plan, instead of making the roof another stop,” continues Bradley. “When you are up on those roof terraces, you can look down into your space.”
The floor plans range in size from approximately 2,600 to 3,200 square feet and include three levels of interior living space outfitted with a total of three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms.
Owners and their guests can enter the dwellings on the ground floor from two entry points, either the front sidewalks or the rear two-car garages. A bedroom, or a home office, with an en suite bath completes the amenities on the townhomes’ first levels. For added convenience, the residences also come standard with private elevators that extend to the rooftop terraces.
On the second levels, or the entertainment floors, the design team desired open floor plans with clear sightlines and a neutral color palette. The living rooms with modern, glass-faced, gas fireplaces and wide-plank white oak flooring blend with the adjacent dining areas and kitchens.
To give the project a luxury look and feel, the kitchens boast Viking appliances, quartz countertops, custom wood cabinetry, and walk-in pantries. En-suite bathrooms were designed with backlit vanity mirrors and coordinating quartz counters, while the master bath retreats include walk-in showers, dual vanities, and soaking tubs.
Third floors house the owner’s suites and one of the guest bedrooms, while the above rooftop terraces include gas line access, electrical outlets, and the neighborhood’s city views.
“The floor plans work traditionally, in terms of the way that the program works—arrival, party, sleep, roof—but we’ve blended the floors together spatially to blur the edges,” notes Bradley. “When you go inside these spaces, our goal was to focus on the feeling of openness, cleanliness, and a modern, progressive way of living.”
Phase one of the project was completed in late 2020 and included 17 of the 38 units. Phase two, which includes the vertical construction of the additional 21 units, is expected to begin this summer with full completion 12 to 13 months beyond the start date.
As of print time, the units on the market range in price from $925,000 to $1.2 million and target the younger entertainer demographic that may frequently visit Los Angeles or New York, empty nesters looking to downsize, and physicians and professors, due to the nearby campuses of Belmont University and Vanderbilt University.
“We love how it fits in with the community and how it responds to the architectural context around it,” concludes Bradley. “We always look at the theory of concept, content, and context, and I feel like we really nailed it on this project.”
