Ground is slated to be broken by late summer on East Side Apartments, to be located at 909 Main St. in East Nashville.

The approximately $7.4 million development, which was announced in late 2012, will feature both a four-story building and for-rent townhomes with their own garages. It will offer 71 units.

Adam Leibowitz, who leads a group of silent investors that created East Side Development Partners LLC for the project, said East Side Apartments (read more here) has remained viable despite rumblings from some that the project had been scrapped.

“After about a six-month delay working through cost constraints, we’re in the process of finalizing our plans and anticipate breaking ground by late summer,” Leibowitz said.

Leibowitz said “site conditions” contributed to the delay. He declined to offer specifics.

“Development takes a long time,” he said. “That’s the nature of this business."

The Tennessee Environmental Council and nonprofit group Rediscover East! have filed suit against PSC Metals in District Court for alleged environmental violations at the company's prominent East Bank facility. The complaint asks for an injunction and wants the court to apply the maximum penalty possible under law — $37,500 per day every day since Sept. 10, 2010. That would amount to about $35 million and counting.

The notice claims that water samplings from a drain used by PSC had elevated levels of suspended solids, copper, lead, iron and zinc when tested in September 2010. Other samplings in 2011 and 2012 allegedly found industrial waste, oil and grease in the water.

EOA Architects is planning to move from its long-time SoBro home to Fifth & Main, the east side mixed-use building that originally struggled to find traction but for which the condo units are now sold out.

Of note, EOA designed Fifth & Main.

“We had heard it was designed by a very talented architectural firm,” Gary Everton, EOA founder, said with a laugh.

Everton said the firm is planning to move in late June or early July and will take 8,600 feet on the first floor of the building. He declined to disclose terms of the lease.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Everton said. “East Nashville is on the upswing.”

In December, EOA sold the Fourth Avenue South building from which it operates for $2.6 million to Brett James, who plans to reinvented the historic structure (which once served as a church) as a restaurant and events venue.

Christian Paro will unveil the east wing of his newest project, Center 615, on April 1.

The 43,000-square-foot project is essentially an expansion of Paro South Creative Suites, Paro’s creative-class-inspired business center located at 625 Main St. in East Nashville.

Center 615, named after its address at 615 Main St., has 34 offices available ranging in size from 115 to 2,000 square feet and starting at $225 a month. The new project also includes co-working desk space and workstations available for daily, weekly or monthly rental. Pricing for these options haven’t been determined yet, Paro said.

Paro purchased the building in December for $2.7 million.

The Creative Suites office environments are designed to appeal to solopreneurs, start-ups and small businesses that can benefit from shared services such as parking, conference rooms and office equipment, among other things. Additional amenities at Center 615 include break rooms and lounge areas, a fitness room, roof deck, reception area and videoconferencing and film screening capabilities. 

The east wing is 70 percent preleased, Paro said. He called the April 1 unveiling a “soft opening” and added that a grand opening will be held in June.

Confirmed tenants of Center 615 include Content that Connects, Make it Pop Video, LiveSchool, MedLink, The Turnip Truck, Plato’s Closet, Earth Channel, CHC Mechanical and Kirkwood Property Group. Hardaway Construction Corp. is leasing 21,000 square feet, the entire west wing of the building.

Metro has signed off on the final plat specifics for a long-awaited project that, if it materializes, will be located at 705 Woodland St. in East Nashville.

Mike Hampton, the Memphis-based developer of the proposed project, could not be reached for comment. Hampton has been working to make the infill development materialize for almost a year and a half. Since that time, he has revealed few specifics to the local media.

See the latest Metro document here and read more about the project here.

East Nasty gets another cool eatery and drinkery as The Hop Stop, which will offer food, beer and growler refills to go, will open soon on Gallatin Pike. Our colleague Dana Kopp Franklin at the Scene has the details here.

The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency has hired EJP Consulting Group to will lead the process of creating a redevelopment plan for James A. Cayce Place in East Nashville.

MDHA has yet to announce if the residential buildings within the massive Cayce complex will be demolished or rehabbed. Cayce, located south of Shelby Avenue, is Nashville’s oldest and largest public housing development, with the first phase having been completed in 1941.

Based in Washington state, EJP is a women owned business that specializes in the redevelopment of public housing communities and increasing the self-sufficiency of public housing residents. EJP has previously worked with MDHA on the implementation of several HOPE VI redevelopments, including the Sam Levy Homes and the John Henry Hale Homes.

“I’m pleased MDHA will have the opportunity to work with EJP once again,” Phil Ryan, MDHA executive director, said in a release. “The firm’s experience in revitalizing public housing nationally and in Nashville ensures we’ll be working with people who have extensive knowledge of best practices in public housing and are committed to seeking input from all of Cayce’s residents and stakeholders.”

Rhae Parkes, and EJP Consulting partner, will lead the consulting team. Parkes has overseen public housing planning initiatives in Chicago, St Louis, New Orleans and Richmond, Va.

The developers of the proposed East Side Apartments moved one step closer to breaking ground on the project after the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday granted a setback variance to accommodate the project’s four-building 23-unit townhome component.

The development (read more here), slated to rise at 909 Main St. in East Nashville, will still need Metro Planning Commission and Metro Council approval.