Contributed by: Preserve Nashville
Organization: Preserve Nashville
Dated Posted: July 11, 2026
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Historic Nashville Easements, formerly Historic Nashville, Inc., is the easement‑focused subsidiary of Preserve Nashville dedicated to protecting some of the city’s most significant historic places in perpetuity. Through permanent preservation easements, property owners agree to a legal arrangement that provides perpetual oversight of alterations and limits demolition of protected exterior features, ensuring that the character of these buildings and sites remains intact. These easements are recorded with the deed and enforced in perpetuity, giving Nashville a powerful, locally controlled tool to prevent inappropriate exterior alterations and demolition long after individual projects or public debates have faded.

Founded in 1968, the organization created Tennessee’s first preservation easement program in 1982 and now holds easements on dozens of landmarks—from downtown commercial buildings and neighborhood schools to churches, houses, and riverfront structures—representing tens of millions of dollars in historic property value.

As part of the Preserve Nashville family, Historic Nashville Easements works alongside broader advocacy, education, and policy efforts to make preservation a practical, forward‑looking strategy rather than a barrier to growth. By partnering with owners, developers, and public agencies, the easement program helps craft solutions that keep historic facades and defining features in place while supporting viable, long‑term use.