Inside the John P. Holt Brentwood Library, two rooms are trading places. The old teen area is now a Quiet Room with glass walls, an electric fireplace and new furnishings. The old Quiet Room is being redesigned as a teen space with arched windows, dark wood and its own fireplace. Both projects work within rooms the library already had.
Over the past year, Brentwood has made room for people to stay a while in three places: a shopping center on Franklin Road, the city library, and a corner of Crockett Park. Each place reused an interior, a storefront or a pile of salvaged timber. Most of the results are built for an afternoon or an evening rather than a quick errand.
Two library rooms, one trust fund
The Quiet Room was the first half of the swap. It cost $80,000 and replaced the former teen area with new flooring, ceiling treatments, updated electrical work and an additional study room for cardholders. The library director formed a Quiet Reading Room Task Force the previous November. The city's own Facilities Maintenance Coordinator managed construction, so Brentwood didn't have to hire a general contractor.
The second half is now in design. On Aug. 24, the Brentwood City Commission approved a $60,000 contract with the Nashville firm Daniels Chandler to design the new Teen Space inside the former Quiet Room. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027. Library staff surveyed teens who use the library and worked with the Teen Advisory Board on the look and function of the room. The plans also add a new entrance and vestibule for the space.
"It'll give it that sort of collegiate library feel, which is the next step for these teens. They're going to be going off to college, studying in spaces like these." Meredith Bardill, architect, Daniels Chandler
Both projects are paid for by the Holt Trust, not the library's regular budget. The trust started in 2017 with a $4.2 million bequest from the estate of O'Delle K. Holt, made in honor of her husband, John P. Holt. Its funds can only go toward facilities, grounds and services beyond normal operating and capital spending. Earlier trust projects included the Meeting Room/Learning Lab, new furniture for the Children's Library and a renovated Friends Gathering Room. That explains the room-by-room pattern. The library has its own source of money for improvements, so it keeps reworking the space it already has.
Brentwood Place kept its address and changed its hours
The same reuse shows up at Brentwood Place, 330 Franklin Road. Regency Centers bought the shopping center in March 2025. At the time, the center was 95% leased, and the company said its plan was lease-up, remerchandising and active asset management. Regency hasn't announced a center-wide renovation. The change has come one tenant at a time, and both 2026 arrivals that are already open run into the evening.
| The Raven Book Lounge | Crush Yard | Edley's Bar-B-Que | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suite | 250B | 150 | Former McAlister's Deli space |
| Opened | Grand opening April 18, 2026 | May 2026, ribbon cutting June 1 | Expected by end of 2026 |
| Hours | Tue–Thu 2–9 p.m., Fri–Sat 2–10 p.m., Sun 2–9 p.m., closed Mon, as reported at opening | Daily 6 a.m.–10 p.m. | Not yet posted |
| What's inside | Books, cocktails, wine, beer, mocktails, coffee, small plates | Eight indoor pickleball courts, golf simulators, restaurant and bar, tap wall | Barbecue, with a covered smoker porch in the plans |
The Raven doesn't open its doors until 2 p.m. Its calendar is built around evenings and weekend afternoons, with writers' workshops, poetry open mics, trivia, author events and themed nights. The Raven's calendar lists afternoon tea for Sunday, Oct. 11, at $65 per person, and an open-mic poetry night on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The site doesn't list a general admission fee. It also runs a rewards program called The Raven's Nest, but the site doesn't give pricing for it. Book clubs and private groups can book space.
Crush Yard runs on a longer clock. Its posted rates start court rentals at $48 an hour and paddle rentals at $8. Morning open play from 6 to 10 a.m. is $15, open play after 10 a.m. starts at $9, and classes start at $25 an hour. Early coverage of the opening listed a lower morning rate, so the business's current page is the one to check. The optional Crush Player Pass is $48 a month. It includes unlimited morning open play, $5 drop-ins after 10 a.m. and earlier court reservations. You don't need a pass to visit or book a court. When it opened, local coverage also mentioned board games, trivia, karaoke and private events for up to 80 people.
The parking lot gets civic use too. The City of Brentwood held its Public Safety Day at 330 Franklin Road from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 3.
A deli counter becomes a smoker porch
The third change at Brentwood Place shows the pattern most clearly. McAlister's Deli served lunch at 330 Franklin Road for 20 years before closing in April. Edley's Bar-B-Que will take over the roughly 3,800-square-foot space. It will be the brand's 12th location and is expected to bring about 50 jobs. Will Newman founded Edley's in Nashville in 2011 and named it after his grandfather, Edley Newman. The Brentwood restaurant joins the Williamson County locations at Berry Farms, open since 2023, and The Factory at Franklin, open since 2024.
The plans go beyond new signage. Edley's filed exterior work with the city, including new paint and cladding, awnings and a covered smoker porch at the back. The plans were on the Brentwood planning agenda for July 6, and signage needs its own review. The restaurant is still a target for the end of the year, and opening dates for new restaurants often move. Like the other changes at the center, this one reuses an existing storefront.
A 200-year-old cabin's timbers, now on the rental calendar
The library and Brentwood Place reused interiors. In Crockett Park, the city reused the materials of a building that had to come down. The Brentvale cabin, nearly 200 years old, was dismantled in 2022 because it was no longer structurally sound. In summer 2025, the Brentwood Historic Commission opened the Brentvale Pavilion behind the Cool Springs House. It was built with the cabin's chimneys and original wood timbers and sits on a large terraced concrete patio.
On Sept. 14, 2026, the City Commission approved guidelines that open it to public rentals. The city's announcement sets these terms:
- $100 per hour, with a two-hour minimum and a 14-hour maximum
- Available between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
- Room for gatherings of up to 100 people
- Can be rented on its own or added to a Cool Springs House rental, which brings that rental's tables, chairs and restroom access with it
- Standalone renters bring their own tables, chairs and trash containers and use the park restrooms during regular park hours
- Parking is shared with other park visitors on a first-come, first-served basis
The city lists wedding and elopement ceremonies, receptions, graduation and birthday parties, theater and arts events, meetings, photos and picnics as possible uses. A 100-person backyard party in Brentwood now has a covered option under timbers from a cabin that stood for nearly two centuries.
Where the next conversions show up
Because these projects rework existing rooms, storefronts and materials, they show up in places other than the usual list of upcoming developments. They come through a library board agenda, a planning-commission site plan for a smoker porch, or a September vote on pavilion rental rules. The next one in line is the Teen Space, with construction expected in early 2027 in the room that is the Quiet Room today.
Before then, two Brentwood Place dates are already on the calendar: afternoon tea at The Raven on Oct. 11 and poetry night on Oct. 14. Edley's is expected to open at 330 Franklin Road by the end of the year.
At CHORD Real Estate, we follow how Brentwood's buildings get new uses, from a storefront's next tenant to a room's next purpose, because those changes shape what it's like to live nearby. If you'd like that kind of detail for a home you're thinking about, request your personal Real Estate Concierge.
