Bill Decker has confessed to committing an “old Nashville” act. The founder of Decker Wealth Management admits he recently gave a friend directions to a certain destination that included a turn at a now-demolished Nashville landmark.

Decker, a Californian educated at Baylor with a graduate degree from Pepperdine, is well-traveled. Still, he says directions that include “turn left at what used to be there” seem unique to Nashville.

Sites worthy of the memorials and often cited are places such as the Krystal on West End, Doug’s Pub, King’s Inn, Fantiques, Judy West’s Piano Bar, the Cork and Cleaver, Irelands- there were two, Cinema North and its sister, Cinema South, among others.

Downtown there was the Tennessee Theater and the Paramount Theatre along with Harvey’s, Castner Knott, Candyland – not to be confused with Vandyland, the restaurant formerly known as Candyland, but not the original.

In Green Hills were Shakey’s Pizza, the Green Hills Market and Green Hills Theater.

The Saint Thomas area Walgreen’s was the Sailmaker, a Ray Danner creation in which the wait staff wore wardrobe from the big Screen and imitated the stars of Hollywood with Groucho Marx getting the most attention and Humphrey Bogart running a close second. Danner fired Chris Evert after she spilled coffee on a patron.

Broadway was a myriad of massage parlors with names such as Demon’s Den and Classic Touch. A walk past Gaylord, I mean Bridgestone, would incorporate scores of invitations offered in harmony “Need a date?”

Maybe the reform is what drove Nashville from pit city to the It City. It is now safe and clean and void of the weirdness. With its new face, there are losses, most recently John Seigenthaler and George Barrett, both Nashville icons in the most literate sense of the word and both people who adored the characters of the land, even if those they loved had opposite views politically and in other ways.

There will never be another “Hang ‘Em High” Joe Casey, chief of police, or a sheriff better known for his barbeque than his discipline and who sealed his own Fate. Nor will there be a mayor such as the one described in The Nashville Scene’s “You’re So Nashville If” contest- “If your Mayor is married and engaged at the same time.”

But real estate keeps selling, even if the local Mapquest refers to places that went before. Some are dead and some are living. In my life, I loved them more.

Sale of the Week

The condos now known as Studio 1 Lofts had eight closings this week with prices ranging from $109,000 to $121,000 for units with similar square footage.

The development is located off of 8th Avenue near Wedgewood at 801 Hillview Heights.

If you wonder what $120,000 will get you at 801 Hillview Heights, the answer is a no-bedroom, one-bath, 422-square-foot studio condo.

For those questioning the sanity of such a property, listing agent David Dorris, an urban wizard, says the condos are “an incredible value for the area.” And they must have been, as they were devoured in mere hours.

Dorris, who is with Village Real Estate Services, mentioned several times that there were VRBO opportunities available. VRBO refers to Vacation Rental By Owner and is a system whereby travelers may procure properties for rent, usually by the day, or night as it were.

Burkley Allen, who represents the 18th district of the Metro Council, recently proposed legislation that would govern VRBO properties and AirBnBs, which are Bed and Breakfasts that are not bed and breakfast.

In a recent post, Rick Berhnhardt, the executive director of the Metro planning commission, noted that the issue has come to light due to the fact that some neighbors have complained about homes in their neighborhood being rented on a nightly basis.

He also mentioned that the true Bed and Breakfasts that are regulated and taxed are opposed to AirBnBs and VRBOs offering the same services without the oversight and expense.

For those interested in flipping property and the potential profit in that field, the Hillview Heights property was purchased for $1,590,000 in 2007 and sold for $2,700,000 in 2014. Renasant Bank loaned $1,280,000 for the property in 2007, while Pinnacle funded the 2014 venture lending $2,800,000.

With 46 units going for an average of approximately $110,000 per unit, aggregate sales could hit more than $5 million. Happy days are here again.

Richard Courtney is a real estate broker affiliated with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected]