Bellevue is a neighborhood of Nashville roughly 13 miles southwest of the downtown area via Interstate 40. It is served by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The 2016 population estimate for Bellevue's two main zip codes was 77,862. In the 1950s, Bellevue was a small community which existed primarily to serve the needs of nearby farms. It was mostly along the railroad tracks near the Harpeth River, and had only a few buildings such as a hardware store, post office, and a Masonic lodge hall. The suburbanization was made official when the United States Postal Service changed the office's designation from "Bellview, Tennessee" to a branch of the Nashville office in the late 1970s. Since the year 2000, Bellevue has grown in population and development in the established areas along Old Hickory Boulevard, Sawyer Brown Road, McCrory Lane, and Tennessee State Highway 100. Three commercial retail hotspots in the Bellevue area are near the Highway 70S/I-40 interchange, at the intersection of Highway 70S and Old Hickory Boulevard; and near the intersection of Old Harding Pike and Highway 100. Bellevue is a popular destination for nature lovers because of several attractions such as the massive Warner Parks that feature miles of paved and unpaved trails for hikers and cyclists, the Harpeth River Greenway, as well as the beginning access point for the multi-state recreational highway known as the Natchez Trace Parkway. Bellevue is the home to the redeveloping property One Bellevue Place on the property formerly known as Bellevue Center Mall. Purchased by Bellevue Development, LLC on December 10, 2007, mortgage financing was secured to redevelop the site into a retail lifestyle center. Demolition of the old building was completed in early 2016. Following months of grading, construction began in late summer of 2016. Completion is anticipated in November 2017 and the property will hold a wide-ranging mix of retail, office buildings, a 120-room Hilton Home2Suites hotel, and 330 apartments. One Bellevue Place is home to a Sprouts Farmer's Market grocery store, as well as an AMC movie theater. The property was formerly owned by Inland Western Real Estate Trust. On May 2, 2010, the Bellevue area was hard-hit by a devastating flood, but it has rebounded and is experiencing a transformative trajectory in residential and commercial development.
Demographics
According to the census of 2000, there were 37,062 people and 14,807 households in Bellevue. There were an average of 2.5 persons per household. In 1990, 76% of people aged 25 or older had a high school education or better. The median income was $40,328. As of 2016 the population had risen to 77,862.
Bellevue Public Library
Bellevue's first library service was via bookmobile during World War II. The Bellevue Public Library opened in 1984 in the old woodshop/agriculture classroom building of the original Bellevue High School, built in 1931 and torn down in 1971 when the new Bellevue High School was built on the other side of Colice Jeanne Road. The former gymnasium at the back of the school became the Bellevue Community Center. Both the woodshop/agriculture building and the gymnasium were added in the 1950s. The new Bellevue Branch Library opened in January, 2015. The new Bellevue Branch features a children’s area, teen area, computer space, café style coffee and vending area as well as meeting room space.
Bellevue Park is located on Colice Jeanne Road in Bellevue across from Bellevue Middle School and next to the Bellevue Branch Library. It is part of the Metro Nashville Parks System. The park is called Red Caboose Park due to the red caboose that sits on site and the sign at the entrance which reads "Red Caboose Park." The park also has a log cabin onsite. The park features an exercise path for walkers and joggers, as well as a playground built by community volunteers in 1996 as part of the Bellevue Bicentennial Celebration. Red Caboose Park is the site of the annual Bellevue Community Picnic, which attracts around 20,000 people each year.
Schools
Gower Elementary School
Gower Elementary was built in 1989 and teaches grades preK-4 and is part of the "Hillwood Cluster". It is located off of I-40 at 650 Old Hickory Boulevard in Bellevue, Nashville, Tennessee. The immediate area was formerly known as the "Gower" or "Gower School" community. The school's enrollment is currently approximately 650 students.
Harpeth Valley Elementary School was founded in 1939 and teaches grades PreK-4. It is located on the outskirts of Bellevue along State Route 100. The current school was built in 1996 and has enrollment of more than 700 students. Harpeth Valley Elementary School was the inspiration for the title of the hit country song "Harper Valley PTA".
Bellevue Middle School
Bellevue Middle School is located in the heart of the town on Colice Jeane Road with the students coming primarily from Bellevue and the immediate surrounding areas. It was founded in 1970 and teaches grades 5 through 8. At the site of the former Bellevue High School, the school was renovated in 2002 and has an enrollment of 680 students.
Bellevue is the home of The of the Tennessee Youth Football Alliance, who have been a part of the Bellevue community since 1977. Bellevue is also home of at the Reese Smith Jr. Baseball & Softball Park, which includes Babe Ruth League and Cal Ripken Jr. League Baseball. Thousands of Bellevue's youth have played baseball here from tee ball through high school. The BBA Youth Basketball program also makes its home in Bellevue. The Bellevue Basketball Association has offered a Youth Sports Basketball program to tens of thousands of Nashville's youth since the 1970s. The Harpeth Youth Soccer Association was founded in 1989 in Bellevue. More than 2,000 youth participate in the soccer league each year. The HYSA complex, located on Coley Davis Drive was decimated by the May 2010 Tennessee floods, but reopened in 2011.
