Riverfront development

Developer still wants to design riverfront site.

Struever Bros. gathering public's ideas.

By MICHAEL CASS, The Tennessean

The developer that was hoping to build around a downtown ballpark said it remains committed to the area and will prepare designs to integrate into a broader riverfront plan.

Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse was planning to develop $200 million of hotels, condominiums, shops and offices next to a stadium for the Nashville Sounds on the former Nashville Thermal Transfer Plant site.

But the two haven't been getting along, and they must complete land deals with Metro by April 15. The Metro Council has denied a request for a six-month extension.

Michael Hayes, Struever Bros.' Nashville development director, said the company was looking at the site with a fresh eye and paying attention to the public's comments. He said the developer had heard people talk about a music venue, playing fields, a bigger greenway and a marina.

"We're looking at all those things," Hayes said in a telephone interview. "We hope the plan we pull together is as, if not more, captivating than the last one. We really have an opportunity to start from scratch here."

Hayes said Struever Bros. would include a park or green space and might shift some of the buildings on the site.

He called Struever Bros. "one of the pre-eminent waterfront developers in the country" with experience in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and other cities.

Purcell's administration said Wednesday that the Sounds were in default of their agreement. Both the baseball team and the developer are expected to make new proposals, though Struever Bros. said it would keep trying to work things out with the Sounds by the deadline.