The descendants of Colonel Luke Lea — who donated the 800-plus acres that would become Percy Warner Park to the city of Nashville in 1927 — are threatening to take the land back from Metro if the city builds an access road to Cheekwood through the park.
In recent years, Cheekwood and Percy Warner Park have been far from harmonious neighbors. Cheekwood’s onsite parking doesn’t have the capacity for everyone who visits during peak seasons, leading people to park in the surrounding neighborhoods and Percy Warner Park. While Cheekwood is working on building an on-site parking structure to accommodate visitors, the latest issue is traffic and congestion caused by visitors to the botanical garden.
In January, the Metro Planning Commission recommended a proposal to build an access road from Highway 100 to the front entrance of Cheekwood through Percy Warner Park. According to a Davidson County Chancery Court lawsuit from Lea’s descendants, this violates the agreement their grandfather made when he gifted the land to Metro…