Exceptional Service Through Speed, Skill and Stewardship

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August 15, 2022

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

RE: Ariza Bellevue

I’m Mike Novelli, the founder of Cypressbrook Company. I understand that many residents in your
area have concerns or questions about our proposed apartment project and community investment
at 1084 Morton Mill Road commonly known as Ariza Bellevue. As such, I wanted to personally reach
out, open a line of communication, and make certain you have accurate information regarding the
project.

Twenty-six years ago, I started Cypressbrook Company in The Woodlands, Texas. Since then, we have
developed a variety of projects including a ground-up apartment program under the Ariza brand
name with the intention of building and operating exceptional apartment communities in cities
across the Southeast. I was introduced to the Nashville community fifteen years ago when our oldest
daughter attended Vanderbilt. Over the years, my family and I have had the opportunity to run and
bike on many of the greenways in your community and even use the Harpeth River canoe launch just
down river from our proposed site. We love the area and, like you, want to see smart growth
initiatives for this community.

Two-and-a-half years ago, we were presented the proposed site and saw it as wonderful opportunity
to build a great apartment community. We recognized the site faced many complicated development
issues, so we engaged the brightest local engineers, hydrologists, land planners, and contractors to
assist us with addressing the key issues.

After more than a year of due diligence on the site, I personally decided this project was worth
pursuing if we were able to clear three critical hurdles:

 Flooding: My family has been personally touched by flooding and I know it can leave a lasting
mark. So, from our first steps on the project, we were particularly sensitive to flooding issues on
the property and the adjacent areas. To gain vehicular access to the site and the new 51-acre
Bellevue Park, we knew we needed to build a sizeable bridge across the Harpeth River from Coley
Davis Road. Based on our hydraulic analysis, our development team realized we could build over
and above the floodplain to access the site and, at the same time, have no negative effect on other
properties in the area;

 CSX Railroad: Railroads are federally regulated private property owners and particularly
protective of their grade level crossing rights. After a year-and-a-half of discussions, CSX gave us
the green light that they would accept a limited use of the existing private crossing from the
 
Michael Novelli |
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property to Morton Mill Road to the extent it was downgraded to emergency-use only and
secured by gates. At the same time, they indicated they would be cooperative on other less
controversial, but still critical for us, issues like a greenway tunnel underneath their railroad and
utility easements. These agreements with CSX will be finalized before the project proceeds; and,

 Community Linkages and Improvements: To build the community we hope to create, we began
planning for bike/pedestrian paths down Coley Davis, which includes extending the Harpeth
River Greenway approximately 1,650’ (1/3 mile), planning for a bike/pedestrian tunnel
underneath CSX, donating 20 acres for public park space, and building a public bridge wide
enough to have bike and pedestrian as well as auto crossings for vehicular access to the 51-acre
Bellevue Park and for our residents. With these improvements, we could provide community
access to the Nashville greenway system and park space that will serve our residents and many
area residents for generations to come.

And so, after exhaustive study, we began the process to secure the key land use and zoning
entitlements to make the project a reality.

In recent weeks, there has been much written and said both on-line and otherwise by opponents of
the project, such that I want to take this chance to clarify some facts:

1) Traffic Congestion: As of August 3, 2022, the opposition website incorrectly stated that “1,400
additional residents” will be on site. As noted in the FAQ section of our website,
www.arizabellevue.com, we estimate the true number of residents will be between 600 and 700;

2) More School Overcrowding: The opposition website has stated that the project will “include
enough elementary-age school children that the equivalent of one new classroom would be
required at Harpeth Valley Elementary School, which already faces significant overcrowding.” As
was stated in the July 7th Community Meeting as well as on our www.arizabellevue.com FAQ
section under "Schools,” we provide the City of Nashville indication that the project “is expected
to generate an additional 44 students than what is typically generated under the existing AR2a
zoning district. Students would attend Harpeth Valley Elementary School, Bellevue Middle
School, and Hillwood High School. All three schools have been identified as having additional
capacity. This information is based upon the 2020-2021 MNPS School Enrollment and Utilization
report provided by Metro Schools.” Also as noted on our website, “if we pay taxes at a similar
rate as the Sawyer at One Bellevue, which is our expectation, the portion of our property tax bill
devoted to school funding will cover at least 40 students based on Tennessee Comptroller’s
figures for the 2020 school year.”

3) Heightened Flood Risks: The opposition website incorrectly stated that “the 100-year flood map
being used to plan this project is not a reliable scientific fact; rather, it is derived from data that
is a decade or more old.” Our data is in fact from April of 2017, after the 2010 flood, and our
engineering team has confirmed with Metro Stormwater, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and
the state of Tennessee National Flood Insurance Program coordinator to verify this is the most
 
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accurate information to date. Please see the details in the memo from our engineer with Alfred
Benesch who has performed the modeling for this project. This can be found in the FAQ section
of our website, www.arizabellevue.com;

4) Safety Concerns: Once again, the opposition website has incorrectly claimed 1,400 residents will
be stranded during a flood event. This is only used to instill fear. The apartment development
will be built above the flood plain. In our FAQ section on www.ArizaBellevue.com, we state, “the
team is taking additional measures to design the project so that the entire apartment site is built
above the 500-year flood plain.” While there is always a risk a major flood could require people
to “shelter in place,” there will be two access points in case of an emergency: the bridge on Coley
Davis and the emergency access driveway over the CSX railway onto Morton Mill;

5) No Tangible Benefits for Bellevue Residents: The opposition’s website has incorrectly stated that
our public infrastructure commitments are “marketing tools for their project and are not binding
and contingent on others.” This is factually untrue. As explained by the Planning Department in
the July 7th community meeting responses, all our commitments will be written into the
regulatory Specific Plan (SP) zoning as legal requirement of any development of the property.
Our land donation and infrastructure improvements align with Metro Parks’ “Plan to Play”
master plan which specifically calls for public/private partnerships and working with private
developers to accomplish the city’s parks and greenways needs. In fact, our hope is that you and
your family will be among the many who will benefit from the added greenway connectivity and
access to the new 51-acre Bellevue Park;

6) Non‐harmonious and Incompatible Land Use: Another misleading statement is that the density of
our project is at a “…density exceeding other developments.” Our proposed density is 9.44 units-
per-acre while the newest and closest western neighbor, Harpeth Springs Village subdivision, has
over 12 units-per-acre; and,

7) CSX Crossing: The opposition website has stated that “CSX will allow a private access road to cross
the railroad tracks” as an alternative to the bridge at Coley Davis Road. This statement is false
and inconsistent with CSX policy. As explained in detail on our website’s FAQ section, CSX policy
would require the closure of three separate existing crossings in order for a multiple dwelling
crossing to be considered as outlined by the opposition.

We encourage you to go to our website www.arizabellevue.com and visit the “Frequently Asked
Questions” section for further clarifications of these and other issues.

After reading this letter, I hope you will reconsider your opposition to our project. If not, I certainly
respect your decision, but will continue to be transparent and maintain an open line of
communication with all Bellevue residents. We want to create a public space that can be enjoyed by
our residents as well as many area residents for generations to come.

 
Michael Novelli |
 Exceptional Service Through Speed, Skill and Stewardship
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In 2019, after the Frist family donated the beautiful 51-acre Bellevue Park, a local reporter noted:
“Because of both a CSX rail line obstacle and prohibited access to a single property south of the
donated land, Metro Parks has not been able to extend the greenway.” A member of the city staff
noted, “We hope to get that someday…” If you choose to reconsider your opposition, we would love
to have you join us in making that “someday” today.

If you have any questio

Respectfully,

Michael E. Novelli
Founder and President

 
Michael Novelli |