May Town Center Asks for Revote

Tony Giarratana is asking for a do-over for the May Town Center with the city's planning commission.

In a letter delivered to the Metro Nashville Planning Commission Thursday, Giarratana - president of Giarratana Development - says the multiple motions and votes made on June 25 during the re-zoning hearing for the $4.2 billion development in Bells Bend were handled improperly.

He is asking for a new vote at the July 23 Planning Commission Meeting.

Metro City Council, which has final say in the matter, has since delayed its consideration of the issue.

The letter says a new vote is necessary “(t)o maintain the integrity of the process, to instill public confidence, to ensure the applicant is guaranteed its fundamental due process rights, to promote a concept of basic fairness, and to correct the procedural errors that occurred throughout the evening.”

Planning Department spokesman Craig Owensby says the department is reviewing the request.

Jack May, a partner in the project's owners, Bells Landing Partners, says the owners are still evaluating the prospects for the development and the property.

The May Town Center has been the subject of intense public debate since it was first introduced in early 2008. The developers say the project is needed to create a viable location for corporate campuses in Davidson County. Opponents argue that the project is the wrong land use the farmland, and would do harm to the surrounding community, especially in regards to traffic and congestion.

Meanwhile, Giarratana is struggling with financial difficulties, as an $11.5 million loan on Giarratana Development’s Signature Towers site in downtown Nashville has been in delinquency since February. And his Atlanta-based development partner is trying to extend or restructure at least $100 million in loans, many of which are delinquent.

May says Giarratana is a hired consultant in the project and does not have any equity in the May Town Center development, and that outside financial issues had no impact on the property's prospects — “good, bad or indifferent.”

He said there was no apparent reason Giarratana’s role in the project would not continue.

Thanks to Turner Hutchens