BELLE MEADE

The Square Footage Factor

Belle Meade is the most misunderstood community in Nashville. Its boundaries are sometimes as confusing as its building codes, and the roads wind around in a snakelike fashion dividing the beautiful landscape into an intricate, rolling maze.

In a real estate market in which the price per square foot is the dominant factor in determining value, this is where you open your wallet. Homes often sell for as much as $475+ per square foot...such as an 8,866 square foot mansion on Chickering Road with over a $4 million sales price that stayed on the market only 14 days. For Belle Meade, over $300 per square foot is a normal occurrence.

A buyer uneducated as to the geographical nuances of Belle Meade should beware. For example, Nichol Lane is a delightful little street running from Brookfield, which bounds the Belle Meade Country Club golf course, to Page Road, which bounds the Percy Warner Park golf course, a public course. The homes with even street numbers (i.e. 1210 Nichol Lane and 1214 Nichol Lane and 1211 Nichol Lane) are in the Belle Meade Highlands, only $150 per square foot.

Structures on Leake Avenue are in Belle Meade; however, the horseshoed streets of LaSalle, Lafayette and Lincoln, which are referred to as the Courts of Belle Meade, sell for as much as $160 per square foot, and the Belle Meade Links (Blackburn, Windsor and Harding Place) often break the $140 per square foot level. Location, location, location – $475 dollars per square foot one place; a third of that, one block away.

Structures on Leake Avenue are in Belle Meade; however, the horseshoed streets of LaSalle, Lafayette and Lincoln, which are referred to as the Courts of Belle Meade, sell for as much as $160 per square foot, and the Belle Meade Links (Blackburn, Windsor and Harding Place) often break the $140 per square foot level. Location, location, location – $475 dollars per square foot one place; a third of that, one block away.

The Belle Meade Police Department is ofttimes portrayed as a group that is biased against outsiders and protective to the point of favoritism to its residents. Personally, I see them as Will Rogerish in their approach to their job. They never met a man they didn’t ticket. And when they issue a citation, the recipient is guilty. Period. Money or no money. 37205. 37221. Pay up.

When looking for a Belle Meade home, its pedigree is as important as that of a racehorse, and in this neighborhood many of the homes come with a remarkable heritage. Although today’s discriminating buyers insist that million-dollar houses include amenities the buyer will never use, these homes are very livable. No matter what the price per square foot.

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