Davidson County · Middle Tennessee
Living in Donelson
Donelson is a large postwar community in eastern Davidson County, sitting between the Cumberland River and Nashville International Airport. It is the closest established residential area to the airport, and a walkable core is forming along Lebanon Pike around the commuter rail station.
- County
- Davidson
- Distance to downtown Nashville
- ~9 to 10 miles
- Transit
- WeGo Star commuter rail, with a new transit center planned
What’s actually there
- Two Rivers Park, 374 acres in the heart of the neighborhood
- The Stones River Greenway, running east about eight miles to Percy Priest Dam and west to Shelby Bottoms over the pedestrian bridge
- The Lebanon Pike corridor, governed by the Downtown Donelson Urban Design Overlay since 2009
- The WeGo Star commuter rail station, with a new transit center planned on part of the site
- Nashville International Airport immediately to the south
The housing stock
Predominantly 1950s through 1970s ranch, split-level and split-foyer on generous lots, with significant recent townhome and mixed-use infill concentrated along Lebanon Pike under the design overlay. No historic overlay applies. Published medians here are thin: the best recent figure I found was $530,000 for the Donelson Hills sub-neighborhood in October 2025, up 9.5 percent, but that was on only nine sales and it does not represent Donelson as a whole. Ask me for a proper figure on the specific part you are looking at.
Getting around
Nine to ten miles to downtown, roughly fifteen to eighteen minutes off-peak via I-40 or Lebanon Pike. Donelson also has commuter rail, which almost nowhere else in the county does, and Route 6 runs the Lebanon Pike corridor.
Things to do in Donelson
Places worth knowing before you decide whether you want to live here.
Two Rivers Park
374 acres at 3150 McGavock Pike, with Wave Country, Two Rivers Golf Course, Two Rivers Mansion, a skate park, disc golf and a dog park. Open dawn to 11pm.
Stones River Greenway
Paved greenway running roughly eight miles east to Percy Priest Dam and west into Shelby Bottoms across the Cumberland pedestrian bridge.
Party Fowl
Hot chicken restaurant at 2620 Lebanon Pike.
Nashville Public Library, Donelson Branch
Branch library serving the neighborhood, also used for community meetings.
Checked against each business as of August 14, 2026. Nashville loses restaurants faster than most cities, so if something here has closed since, tell me and I’ll get it corrected.
Subdivisions and named developments in Donelson
Once you are actually looking, you stop searching by city and start searching by subdivision. These are the names that come up, and what is true about each one that will still be true in three years. No prices, no dues, no days on market, because those change and this page would go stale telling you about them.
Donelson Hills
The 1950s subdivision off Lebanon Pike that gave the area its residential shape, platted in 1955 and 1956.
- 179 platted lots recorded between April 1955 and July 1956, with later resubdivisions in 1977 and 1986. About 181 parcels today.
- Single family and duplex classifications, no condominium.
- Metro’s approved FEMA layer returns Zone AE reaching into the interior of this subdivision, not just its edge. Of the Donelson neighborhoods this is the one where flood zone is most likely to matter at the lot level.
- Worth knowing: the Assessor’s mailing city for all of 37214 is Nashville, not Donelson. Donelson is a neighborhood name, not a postal city.
Lincoya Hills
Off McGavock Pike, one of the oldest platted neighborhoods in Donelson, laid out between 1951 and 1961.
- 275 platted lots across seven sections recorded between September 1951 and December 1961. About 252 parcels today.
- Single family and duplex, with a church and parsonage parcel inside the plat. No condominium classification.
- Metro’s approved FEMA layer returns no mapped floodplain through the interior of the subdivision.
- The name invites a connection to Lyncoya, the Creek child Andrew Jackson brought to the Hermitage, but no source ties the subdivision to him and the spellings differ. I am not going to assert it.
Hickory Bend
Between Stewarts Ferry Pike and McCrory Creek Road, platted mostly in the 1960s with additions into the 1980s.
- 415 platted lots across seven recorded pieces between December 1963 and September 1984. About 420 parcels today.
- Single family and duplex, plus a 1984 zone lot division covering four lots. No condominium classification.
- Metro’s approved FEMA layer returns Zone AE and floodway reaching into the subdivision, following McCrory Creek. Verify the parcel.
- No HOA or built amenity I can verify.
Stanford Country Club Estates
Off Lebanon Pike, and essentially platted out in a single fourteen month run in 1959 and 1960.
- 274 platted lots recorded between November 1959 and April 1960, with a small 1978 section and two later resubdivisions. About 279 parcels today.
- Single family and duplex, with a school parcel inside the plat. No condominium classification.
- The country club in the name is not tied to any actual club by any source I could confirm, so treat it as a name rather than an amenity.
- Metro’s approved FEMA layer returns Zone AE inside the footprint, no floodway.
Merry Oaks
Between McGavock Pike and Lebanon Pike, platted in 1951 and 1952, and one of the first subdivisions in Donelson.
- 330 platted lots, the two largest plats recorded on the same day in June 1951 at 150 and 89 lots. About 319 parcels today.
- Single family and duplex, with low rise apartment, church and library parcels inside the plat. A public library sits within the subdivision boundary.
- Metro’s approved FEMA layer returns no mapped floodplain through the interior.
- No HOA I can verify. This is a 1951 subdivision, and it predates the idea.
Schools
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Look up an address with the district →
Served by Metro Nashville Public Schools. Zoned assignment comes from the address, and the choice and magnet application is a separate process with its own deadlines. Look up the exact address before you rely on either.
I publish district and school zoning as published fact and nothing more. No ratings, no rankings, no comparisons. School zones are set by the district, assigned by address rather than by subdivision or city name, and they change. Confirm any address with the district itself, and evaluate the schools yourself against what matters to your family.
What a buyer needs to know here
Aircraft noise is the question every Donelson buyer should ask, and the honest answer is more useful than the reassuring one. The airport’s published noise exposure map dates from 2020, and it is being redrawn: the airport is running a twenty-year master plan update due to conclude in the first half of 2027, which will produce updated noise contours, and the noise exposure map is separately being updated. So a house outside today’s published contour may sit inside tomorrow’s. Two specifics worth knowing. Traffic volume is what changed, not the aircraft: the airport’s own leadership has projected seventy million passengers by 2050, and Metro representatives have described the issue as more planes rather than louder ones. And night departures run east and southeast off the crosswind runway, which is runway-specific, so two houses a mile apart can have genuinely different nights. I will not tell you a particular street is inside or outside a contour, because that map is being redrawn. What I will do is pull the parcel against the current published map and check the update status before you waive contingencies. Beyond noise: Pennington Bend is the low-lying river exposure and needs a FEMA check, and if you are buying commercial or mixed-use on Lebanon Pike, the design overlay triggers compliance on transfer of ownership or on any expansion above 25 percent of existing building area, which is a real cost most buyers never see coming. On the positive side, the planned transit center on the rail station site includes railroad quiet zones, which would improve horn noise for homes near the line.
Common questions
How bad is airplane noise in Donelson?
It depends on the parcel, and anyone who answers confidently without checking is guessing. The governing noise map is from 2020 and is actively being redrawn ahead of an airport master plan concluding in the first half of 2027, so a house outside today’s contour could be inside the next one. Night departures use the crosswind runway to the east and southeast, so nights differ house to house. I pull the specific parcel against the published map and check the update status before you waive contingencies. That is a real answer, and it is more useful than a reassuring one.
Is Donelson getting better transit?
Yes, and it already has something almost nowhere else in the county does. Donelson is on the WeGo Star commuter rail, and a new transit center is planned on part of the current station site under Metro’s transit program, with six bus bays, climate-controlled waiting, real-time signage and railroad quiet zones. Existing rail service, Route 6 and the park and ride stay open during construction. I would not put a completion date on it, because I have not seen one I trust.
What is the Downtown Donelson design overlay?
An urban design overlay covering the Lebanon Pike corridor between Briley Parkway and Stewarts Ferry Pike, adopted in 2009 and amended in 2011. It changes setbacks, height and parking without changing base zoning, and it is split into six subdistricts. The part that costs money: compliance is triggered by a transfer of ownership, a base zoning change, use of development incentives, or an expansion above 25 percent of existing building area. If you are buying commercial or mixed-use on that corridor, that trigger belongs in your numbers before you write.
Thinking about Donelson?
What are some of your must haves to make it a perfect home for you in this neighborhood?