"It's basically a 135-acre park,'' part-owner Marc Oswald said. "It's a place you can take the kids or book for a wedding. The mansion is the anchor of the project.

The Mansion at Fontanel is the name for the project, which includes a new outdoor music venue. The venue was the most disputed part of the plans, but compromises in the end seemed to satisfy the neighbors. The council approved the plans on third and final reading Nov. 18.
 

Music issues resolved

The music venue will hold about 2,500 in a lawn chair and blanket type of environment.

How much the music venue would be used was one concern, so the maximum number of dates for events was scaled back substantially from initial proposals.

Approved plans call for a maximum of eight events a year, one a month from May to October plus two floating events. Concerts can be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, with a 10:30 p.m. curfew.

Limitations on decibel level were agreed on, and further sound buffers are to be provided with additional landscaping and design of the stage shell, said John Haas of the Edge Group, which has been involved in planning the project.

Oswald said the stage would be about one-third to one-fourth of a mile from the property line and the property's tree line is part of natural noise buffering already in place. Fontanel Attractions owns the property with Oswald and Dale Morris as the majority partners. They bought it about seven or eight years ago at auction, Oswald said.

"The shows would be an opportunity to promote the property,'' Oswald said. "The volume we project on the street won't be any louder than a normal conversation.''
 

Neighbors come around

Initial proposals were as high as eight events a month for six months.

"We worked out an agreement with them and the neighborhood that wouldn't have been near as intrusive as it would have been,'' said resident Don Majors, who lives less than a half-mile from the entrance. "Hopefully, it will be something that will improve Whites Creek overall, but that wouldn't have been the case with" the original number of proposed dates.

The music venue would schedule a variety of musical styles, said Oswald, who is in the music business. B.B. King and Emmylou Harris would be examples of the type of artists who might perform. The lineup could include periodic songwriters nights as well.

"All of this could have been avoided if a plan amendment had been done by the staff,'' resident Jim Lawson said. "I still think that would be proper when you introduce commercial development in a residential area. Then, neighbors could have voiced concern well before now and could have come to an agreement well before the 11th hour.

Other aspects of the project

The 135 acres will include a restaurant, microbrewery and distillery, and memorabilia museum surrounding the mansion. Also proposed are an expansion of existing walking trails and opening the land to the public.

There are several individual residences along Whites Creek Pike in the vicinity of the former Mandrell property and there are two small subdivisions where more homes still can be built, Lawson said.

The property is about a mile and a half from Whites Creek High School. It's listed under the name Fontanel Properties LLC.

The Mandrell property has two other single-family homes in addition to the mansion.

Initial plans call for the stone house on the property to be converted into a community restaurant with an emphasis on healthy eating. Beer and wine would be sold.

The other home, a smaller log cabin, would be used as a caretakers office. The microbrewery and artisan distillery planned would be built on the existing foundation of a barn.

An existing dairy barn on the property is projected to be used as a visitors center that would have a gift shop and a shuttle stop for those going on a mansion tour.

Another barn is planned for conversion into the memorabilia museum near the log house.

There are already walking trails, and plans are to expand those to about four miles, Oswald said. The trails are among aspects that would be open to the community, he said. The property could also be available for fundraisers and community events, Oswald said. An abundant of wildlife is on the property as well.

The home has some of the original furniture. It's been used for video shoots and for songwriters to use, Oswald said.

A traffic study was done and submitted, Haas said. The study states traffic management must be done for events with 750 attendees or more on Whites Creek Pike at the property and at Whites Creek Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard.

The restaurant, music venue and daily tours of the mansion are hoped to be open by late spring or early summer.