NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — If you're familiar with the Little Chill Beach in SoBro near Nashville, you may have seen some major changes to the tiny island property.

Specifically, the beach has been washed away.

According to property owner Mark Cleveland, the story of the Little Chill Beach was "a blast," but it was time for a new beginning.

"We had a lot of fun down there," he told News 2. "We rented it out for parties, birthday parties, fundraisers, and VIP events for the Nashville Film Festival. But it ultimately kind of played itself out. It was like a pocket park there. There was no way to control the entrance in and out."

Over the last few days, Cleveland and his team have been working to clear all the sand out of the tiny urban island, marking the two street entrances and putting in gravel in order to give it a fresh start.

"It's like a canvas—what can we do with it next?" Cleveland said.

He bought the property in 2007 for $55,000, he told News 2. Since then, the property's value has skyrocketed to more than $2 million. The property went on the market two years ago for $2.25 million.

"It's such an underappreciated, underrecognized site," he said of his tiny isle.

Surrounded by plenty of luxury apartment homes and a large storage facility, the 6,000-square-foot plot of land still has life to give, according to Cleveland.

"That neighborhood has really developed, and I think it's expressed a lot of the future direction of Nashville's growth is simply on its way up the hill," he said of the change in the area since he bought the land.

He cited the investment of "visionaries" in SoBro, like City Winery and the Division Street connector that linked The Gulch to downtown Nashville.

Now that the Little Chill Beach experiment is over, Cleveland said he has plans for "some form of a temporary art installation" on the property.

"I love music. I love art. I think on the other end of Lafayette, there's the symbolic spear collection—some people call it 'The Sticks.' I think at the top of the hill there's going to be a new structure that's going to be fun," he told News 2. "That's just for joy. There's 36,000 cars that drive by that site."

Cleveland says he has a vision for what the art installation will be, but he still needs to get buy-in from the mayor and the surrounding community before things come together.

"I've enjoyed this process," he told News 2. "I'm taking it slow."

No matter what ends up in that spot long-term, Cleveland said he firmly believes that area of town has the potential to become the "new entrance point" to Nashville.

"It's up the hill. It's five blocks from Broadway, five blocks from the Convention Center," he said.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/whats-coming-next-for-little-chill-beach-property/