NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Seven buildings on 2nd Avenue in downtown Nashville have been deemed unsafe for use or occupancy by the Metro Nashville Codes Department. Which means people will be left out of their homes and businesses for the foreseeable future.
“So, my Christmas morning was waking up about 6:30 a.m. to the explosion going off, being shaken from my bed,” said Benjamin Jordan, General Manager for Downtown Nashville Wines and Spirits. “All the confusion and pandemonium that went along with that.”
Jordan also lived on 2nd Avenue where the explosion occurred; he’s now lost his home and his job.
“The scene was horrific!” said Jordan. “It looked like the scene from a war movie. All the cars are on fire. There’s smoke billowing and glass everywhere all over the ground.”
Business owners are now left to figure out what comes next and if rebuilding is an option.
“We’re going to have to look very closely at the cost of that and is it even going to be viable for us to pursue something like that,” Jordan explained. “Because at some point it’s about dollars and cents and if it doesn’t make sense for us, unfortunately, and I hope this isn’t the case, but we may just have to walk away.”
Downtown Nashville Wines and Spirits has been in the same neighborhood for more than 10 years. Their six-person staff is now without a job and have no idea what the future holds.
“I remember kind of trying as best as I could to kind of look and see if there was anything salvageable in this situation. And I kind of knew, you kind of knew, the answer,” Jordan said.
Jordan says while he looks forward to 2nd Avenue being rebuilt, he also hopes city leaders do not allow the historic architecture to be redeveloped.