Nashville Development News

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Site prep work
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[Monkey]

Those two make for a very nice ensemble! :okay: The shapes are quite different, and the shared treatment ties them together very nicely. :)

[SChristopher]

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this tower is not in downtown. West End located...west of Nashville. :)

[SChristopher]

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i can give you that one. i just wish this one was placed closer in. you hit west end ave. and you open up to six lanes at I-440 and there are buildings and then it is like almost solid development all the way to the core minus the gulch [which cuts off downtown from west end]. i really think that a street car would work so well on that street.

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Nashville developer Alex Palmer has struck a deal to buy the Masonic lodge on West End Avenue, giving him an entire block for a planned mixed-use real estate project.

The purchase price wasn't disclosed.

By buying the lodge site at 1616 West End, Palmer can expand the planned space of West End Summit from 750,000 square feet to more than 900,000 square feet, roughly equal to 1½ BellSouth towers.

Plans call for office towers and luxury condominiums, a health club and spa, and ''multiple high-end retail establishments,'' according to a release from the developer.

''We are very, very close to a major announcement regarding multiple, high-profile users,'' Palmer said in a prepared statement.

Rick Frazier, a vice president with Palmer's company, said announcements were only weeks away but would disclose neither the names of potential tenants nor the type of tenants.

The possible development is a block and a half away from the developer's Palmer Plaza office tower at 1801 West End Ave. Palmer also has developed office buildings in Green Hills and numerous office buildings outside Nashville for the U.S. General Services Administration.

Corinthian Lodge No. 414 had been the lone holdout on the block over the past couple of years while Palmer acquired several surrounding properties, which included a former auto dealership.

The lodge rejected offers more than a year ago, and Palmer designed a project that wrapped around it. Earlier this year, he demolished the buildings around the lodge and put up a fence and a sign advertising his project.

Bill Freeman, a lodge member and a real estate executive and investor, said the two sides had been far apart on the price but eventually came together. Freeman was involved with negotiating the deal. ''It's a fair number,'' Freeman said of the price.

Lodge officials noted in a joint statement that the deal is good for Nashville, fostering a high-quality development in the Midtown area.

There's no date scheduled for demolishing the lodge, an early 20th-century structure that was originally built as a church. The lodge took over the building in the 1930s or 1940s.

Because of deed restrictions, the stained-glass windows may go to a one-time occupant of the building, Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, which is on Hillsboro Pike.

The lodge doesn't have to vacate the building until next March. Steve Smith, the master of the lodge, said the Masons might move earlier.

The Tennessean
Photo Courtesy of Alex S. Palmer Architectural Firm

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Ground breaking for downtown’s 31-story Viridian condominium tower is slated for today, with the project to incorporate a specialized crane never before used in the construction of a Nashville high-rise.

Tony Giarratana, whose Giarratana Development, LLC, is developing Viridian with Atlanta-based The Novare Group, said the luffing boom tower crane allows for the vertical movement of loads. Essentially, the boom of the crane is not locked in a horizontal position but rather can be lifted up and down in addition to rotating 360 degrees.

As such, the boom can be bent to negotiate limited spaces, making luffing cranes critical in high-rise-dense cities such as New York and San Francisco. Luffing cranes are rarely used in Southern cities, with Atlanta likely being the most familiar with the structure.

“The tight construction site and proximity to the adjacent L&C Tower necessitated a special crane,” Giarratana said, adding that the crane will be erected in January. “The boom has the ability to lift up from a horizontal to a vertical position.”

Giarratana said that the crane boom will be 197 feet long, with the crane itself to be positioned only 100 feet from the L&C Tower. When the crane needs to swing around the L&C building, the boom will be lifted vertically until the crane rotates past the L&C. Then the boom will again be lowered to the necessary position, he said.

Currently, downtown has some mobile tower cranes being used at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center construction site. The last two cranes of noteworthy height and used for downtown buildings involved the 211 Commerce Building site and The Cumberland apartment building site. Giarratana developed The Cumberland, which opened in early 1998.

Giarratana Development will rent the massive crane (the official name is the Liebherr 540 HC-L 12) from Salem, Ore.-based Morrow Equipment Co., LLC, for 16 months at a cost of about $500,000. When erection, hoisting, dismantling and manual operation costs are added, the developer expects to spend upwards of $1 million.

“The use of a luffing crane is representative of the out-of-the-box thinking that the entire design and construction team has brought to bear on Viridian,” Giarratana said.

Atlanta-based Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Inc. designed the tower.

Gary Vosper, Morrow advertising/art director, said the company is the only U.S. operation to offer the Liebherr crane, of which MEC has only four.

John Rowlett, senior vice president of project general contractor R.J. Griffin and Co., said the crane initially will be erected to a height of about 200 feet. After being “jumped” two times (luffing cranes “self-erect” with sections that increase their height), it will ultimately be erected to a total “hook” height of 436 feet. The L&C Tower is 409 feet tall.

“This crane will have the capacity to lift over 48,000 pounds at a reach of 96 feet and over 18,500 pounds at a reach of 197 feet,” Rowlett said.

John Mathieson, who works at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel and has closely followed downtown’s skyscraper construction efforts for about 25 years, said the Viridian construction process will prove interesting.

“Nashville will be fortunate to see a type of crane that is seldom used nationwide,” Mathieson said.

“Viridian will be an artistic and environmentally stunning building,” he added.

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Nashville City Paper
Photo Courtesy Of Liebherr Cranes

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By RICHARD LAWSON
Staff Writer

For months, retailers and developers have been circling land that recently became part of Gallatin.

Last week, one landed.

A national retail developer signed a letter of intent to build an open-area mall, known as a lifestyle center, on 120 acres of the 800 acres that Gallatin just annexed next to Hendersonville.

Real estate agent Dean Jacobs, who represents the landowner, would say only that the developer is from northern California.

''I've got three other people interested,'' Jacobs said. ''All of them have been here.''

The deal is in its preliminary stages and could still fall apart. But it signals the race is on to build stores in lifestyle centers as developers and landowners try attracting large retail development into Sumner County to position themselves for an expected residential boom over the next 20 years.

In Hendersonville, developers are trying to build a lifestyle center named Sumner Point. Plans include 500,000 square feet of retail space and a hotel and conference center. This center and a possible one in Gallatin likely would be competing for some of the same high-end tenants.

Real estate brokers say there might not be room for two centers. Butch Hutcherson, who is leading the Sumner Point effort, couldn't be reached for comment.

Charly Lyons, senior program manager, Forward Sumner Economic Council, said, ''It's not surprising that a lot of retailers are looking at Sumner County. There's so much activity in both residential and business.''

Sumner County's population is expected to add more than 79,000 people over the next two decades. Gallatin alone is expected to have a population of 40,000 by 2020, an increase of 17,000 over the 2000 census.

That population growth will require thousands of new homes, and retailers like to chase rooftops. More retailers and more people means greater tax revenue.

''As long as we can get good retail and good industry, that really helps the bottom line,'' said Gallatin Mayor Don Wright.

Big-box retailers Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and The Home Depot plan to build in Gallatin. And others are looking.

Generally, retailers are attracted to the incomes that Sumner County's rooftops represent. Average income is $75,205 a year in the county, less than the $100,000-plus levels in Cool Springs but still considered desirable by retailers.

Much of the growth has been spurred by new roads and the extension or widening of others. Gerald Nicely, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, has made several trips to the county in his nearly two years in office to cut ribbons.

''We feel like we were kind of overdue,'' Hank Thompson, Sumner County executive, said of the attention from Nicely's organization.

In Gallatin, Station Camp Road has become a main artery. There's also the extension of Vietnam Veterans Boulevard, dubbed the State Route 386 bypass. The site the open-air mall developer is considering is at the intersection of Station Camp and 386.

To the east, Harris Lane is being straightened and Highway 109 is being widened. A recent annexation study shows that more than 4,300 homes could go in the corridor between Gallatin's city limits and Station Camp Creek.

The future intersection of Station Camp Road and State Route 386 sits in the annexed 800 acres, nearly half of which is zoned for commercial use.

''This corridor in the next five years, we won't recognize it,'' said Chris Wicke, who is helping develop Fairvue Plantation, a high-end residential development and golf course bordering the annexed land.

Roughly 200 acres of the land is zoned for residential, said Jim Svoboda, Gallatin's director of planning.

Svoboda estimated the acreage could hold 600 to 800 residential units or more, depending on how developers approach it. Some areas have zoning that allows multifamily residential.

''This is going to explode,'' Thompson said.
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By KELLI HEWETT TAYLOR
Staff Writer

Other plans in the works could adopt its striking vision for downtown

The Nashville Civic Design Center isn't the only organization with a vision for the downtown Nashville area. The question is, which group will ultimately define the look of the city in the decades to come?

Metro Davidson County Planning Department, the state Department of Transportation and the multi-county Metropolitan Planning Organization all have long-term plans that touch on Nashville transportation. Right now, only the design center's Plan of Nashville flirts with the notion of eliminating downtown-area interstates in favor of tree-lined boulevards with sidewalks.

If the plan catches on, larger roads such as Briley Parkway would move the interstate traffic around the city. Full details about how the plan could be accomplished are due out in December.

Some local officials and leaders say they want to see the rest of the plan before commenting on how they might proceed with it. For others, who update projects every three years, ideas from the Plan of Nashville could be added in the next round. Several plans are highlighted in the grid accompanying this story.

While removing chunks of the interstates might sound radical, the plan has received some early support from key city and local officials, such as Metro's planning director, Rick Bernhardt, who was part of the volunteer committee to create the plan.

''I think it is realistic,'' Bernhardt said.

Other parts of the idea, Bernhardt said, are already in the works, such as the development of Gateway Boulevard downtown with the emphasis on making it suitable for walking or driving.

''It's not removing an interstate, but it is introducing the boulevard idea,'' Bernhardt said.

Several organizations are now updating or revamping their long-term project plans. That timing is good for the plan because the Civic Design Center could lobby for it to be included in some of those updates.

''It is just serendipitous that all these things happened at the same time,'' said Kate Monaghan, executive director for the Civic Design Center, which receives some staffing and funds from Metro government. ''Hopefully, there will be more impact of the plan because of that.''

Among the agencies reworking their project plans is the Metro Planning Organization, or MPO, made up of local officials who collectively decide on transportation projects around the region. Any major shifts, such as removal of interstate segments, would start locally, not at the MPO.

''Something as drastic as that would need to come to us from, say, Metro, with the city and citizens behind it,'' said Michelle Kubant, MPO's interim director.

Only then could the idea be considered by the other regional MPO leaders for the long-range MPO project list.

Kubant said comments about the Civic Design Center's plan would be welcome at this week's set of meetings to help refine the MPO project plan.

Metro also creates neighborhood plans for smaller segments of the county to help guide growth there. Those begin in the neighborhoods themselves with ideas from residents. Subarea 9 is for downtown and part of north Nashville, while Subarea 5 is for east Nashville and is set to be updated early next year.

Those plans call for interstate expansion or other means of easing congestion, such as public transit or more sidewalks and bikeways. Residents also helped create the Plan of Nashville.

''I just hope in the future it works out,'' said the Rev. John Beach, 63, who remembers north Nashville's vibrancy before the interstates split the neighborhood. ''That would connect the neighborhood all back together. People could communicate and socialize better. It would be good for business.''

Ed Cole, chief of environment and planning for the state Department of Transportation, also helped assemble parts of the Civic Design Center plan. He says TDOT intends to work more closely with neighborhoods to develop TDOT's long-range plan.

For the first time, TDOT, which handles most interstate projects, is collecting public input on a new long-range project plan that is set to take effect in 2006. ''The door is wide open,'' Cole said.

Some important areas TDOT and Metro would have to consider, if a decision is made to dismantle downtown interstates, he said, would include the reworking of outer satellite roads such as Briley Parkway and Interstate 440.

Local leaders will be more crucial to the success of any such ideas in coming years, Cole said, as TDOT works more closely with them. ''They are the ones that make (ideas) real,'' he said.

And even if specifics of the plan might not be achievable, Cole said, general ideas for reconnecting neighborhoods may be achieved in other ways if people plan together.

The story so far

On Oct. 7 the Nashville Civic Design Center unveiled a long-term plan for downtown that calls for the gradual removal of interstates from the downtown area in favor of tree-lined urban boulevards with sidewalks. ''Interstate'' traffic near downtown would be handled by roads such as Briley Parkway and Interstate 440. The plan is not approved or funded but has strong support from some key local officials.

On the Web

For more on The Plan of Nashville, visit www.civicdesigncenter.org

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Planning Nashville's future

A new vision to remove interstates from the downtown Nashville area was unveiled earlier this month by the Nashville Civic Design Center. How does it compare with other agencies' long-term plans, including the city's?

Nashville Civic Design Center's Plan of Nashville

Summary: To use creative approaches to revamp the city's look and feel for the next 50 or so years, emphasizing the environment, stronger residential areas, sidewalks, and a more vibrant economy.

Who they are: A primarily private, independent group of 700 volunteers, such as neighborhood and city leaders, architects, planners, etc. Several key Metro and state officials and city leaders served on the steering and design committees, helping compile the information.

Philosophy: Use public input and research to outline new ways to develop the details of the city's future. Similar to the 1908 Plan of Chicago, which guided that city's growth for nearly 50 years.

Interstates: Gradually remove downtown-area interstates in favor of tree-lined urban boulevards or parkways.

Neighborhoods: Reconnect neighborhoods, such as in north and east Nashville that were divided by interstate construction beginning in the 1960s.

Last update: Created this year, ''how-to'' details to be released in December.

Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's long-range transportation plan

Summary. A document spanning 24 years that includes transportation projects scheduled in four-year, nine-year and 10-year plans. Counties include Davidson, Sumner, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson, as well as the Spring Hill area of Maury County and the Springfield area of Robertson County.

Who they are: The MPO includes elected officials from all those cities and counties, including Nashville, to help decide the projects. The group carries out planning for larger urban areas that is required by the federal government, which often provides money for projects.

Philosophy: To select transportation projects cooperatively, ideally to meet the best interests of the whole region. Priorities include transportation needs, minimizing sprawl and environmental issues, such as air pollution.

Interstates: Generally part of the MPO goal list. No. 1 includes the idea to ''maximize the use of existing roadways'' through measures such as ridesharing, transit service and HOV lanes. Goal No. 2 discusses providing a range of options for people to get around, such as walkways, bikeways, etc. Another point is ''recognizing areas where highway services are the most appropriate or where alternative modes cannot meet travel needs in a cost-effective manner.'' Goal No. 3 is to ''reduce congestion.''

Neighborhoods: Generally part of the MPO goal list, to link transportation and the way land is used, to ''enhance the quality of life,'' ''reduce travel demand'' and ''provide alternatives to the automobile for short trips.''

Last update: Public meetings begin this week to update the 2002 plan.

Tennessee Department of Transportation's statewide long-range transportation plan (a list of future construction projects)

Summary: This year, TDOT outlined plans to get public input and expand a broad-based 25-year transportation plan that updates a 1994 plan. It will include roads, but also other options. Major Nashville-area road projects, such as interstates and larger highways, are in this plan. Public meetings were held last month on new ideas.

Who they are: The state government's department in charge of transportation projects.

Philosophy: Historically, most projects have been road-related, but a new emphasis is on other forms of transportation, such as bikeways, rail, public transit, etc., and comprehensive planning.

Interstates: Mentioned generally in TDOT's new list of ''guiding principles.'' No. 1 is ''Preserve and manage existing transportation system.''

Neighborhoods: Generally mentioned in TDOT's new list of ''guiding principles'' for the long-range plan. No. 5 is ''Build partnerships for livable communities,'' by coordinating closely with neighborhoods, cities and counties on their plans to complement those ideas.

Last update: A new three-year plan is scheduled for release in 2005, to take effect in 2006. Will help build the 25-year plan.

Metro Davidson County Subarea 5 neighborhood plan for east Nashville

Summary. An overall desire to preserve and revitalize this historical neighborhood, split by interstate construction in the 1960s.

Philosophy: Allow residents to help decide the future look, feel and development of their neighborhoods as the city plans ahead. Updated every seven-10 years.

Interstates: Expresses concerns about the need for more lanes on Interstate 65 to reduce congestion, or the need to offer more transit options, such as light rail. Widen I-65 to 10 lanes from the Cumberland River to I-24 and to eight lanes from I-24 to Briley Parkway. Also mentions possibilities of alternative traffic management.

Neighborhoods: Concerns about substandard and vacant buildings, boosting local businesses, preserving the character, and taking care of historic buildings and homes. Desire to add bikeways and sidewalks.

Last update: 1994, when it was first created; due for 2005 update.

Metro Davidson County Subarea 9 neighborhood plan for downtown and north Nashville

Summary: To improve the vitality of downtown and downtown neighborhoods with more people, a cleaner environment, tree-lined sidewalks and boulevards, riverfront greenways, etc. Emphasizes projects by the public and private sectors.

Philosophy: Allow local residents to help decide the look, feel and development of their neighborhoods in coming years as the city plans ahead. Updated every seven-10 years.

Interstates: Help reduce traffic through options such as commuter rail. Develop areas near the east bank Titans stadium to include hotels, shops, restaurants, etc. Create ''boulevards,'' such as at the gateway areas along the river, to improve appeal as people come into downtown.

Neighborhoods: Boost existing downtown-area neighborhoods and draw more residents to help create a downtown area that is active 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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By KAREN JORDAN
Staff Writer

Condos will begin Main Street element

A new construction project is under way at Lenox Village, a neo-traditional development, on Nolensville Road south of Old Hickory Boulevard.

One and two-bedroom condominiums will be housed in the same building as retailers, said David McGowan, president of Lenox Village.

''It's the very first building to be located on Lenox Village Drive,'' McGowan said. ''It's the first component of what we call the Main Street element.''

McGowan said the overall plan, ''the Main Street element,'' is for the development to create a neighborhood where people can walk, shop and eat out without having to travel very far from home.

He already has some tenants in mind for the retail space, including a hair salon, a day spa, a tanning salon and a financial planning company, he said.

The construction project is scheduled to be completed by next spring.

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Downtown short on skyscrapers
By William Williams, wwilliams@nashvillecitypaper.com
October 18, 2004

If the hallmark of a downtown aggressively on the move is the sight of cranes towering over large office buildings under construction, then Nashville's central core is stuck in neutral.

Since 1990, only two office buildings - the 31-story BellSouth Tower (1994) and 11-story Commerce Center (2000) - have opened downtown.

In contrast, the city's central core saw four major office towers built in the 1980s alone.

Currently, the Nashville office market contains about 12.3 million square feet of Class A space, only about 26 percent of which is located downtown. Of that downtown space, much is more than 15 years old. At some point, officials acknowledge, that space will need to be replaced if Nashville is to remain competitive with its peer cities.

"If you look at luring a big tenant or keeping a big tenant, that true Class A office space in one block [of office building] is missing," said Tom Turner, executive director of the Nashville Downtown Partnership.

Turner said downtown needs a signature tower that can redefine the skyline and symbolically announce that the city is vibrant and forward moving.

"I think we're being shortsighted if we think we can have one or two signature buildings (in this case, he said, the BellSouth and L&C towers) and be done," Turner said, adding that signature towers typically are very tall (700 feet or more) and strikingly designed.

Ron Lustig, senior designer for Earl Swennson & Associates, said new Class A space would be technologically "smart."

"We need this century's technology in our downtown office buildings," said Lustig, whose company designed both the BellSouth Tower and Commerce Center.

Tom Jurkovich, director of Mayor Bill Purcell's Office of Economic and Community Development, said there is "widespread agreement" regarding the matter.

"The good news is that the market is responding, and we are likely to get one and possibly two new Class A buildings in the next few years," Jurkovich said.

In Midtown, on downtown's fringe, Alex S. Palmer & Co. is moving forward to build its twin-tower West End Summit.

Developer Tony Giarratana, on whose Church Street residential tower Viridian ground was broken last week, said a truly signature tower would be a building that would "inspire, excite and sell" the city.

"A signature tower should do for Nashville today what the L&C Tower did for the city 50 years ago," Giarratana said.

Tom Frye, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, said Nashville's downtown office buildings have a vacancy rate of about 12.7 percent and that construction of a new tower will be a "tenant-driven thing."

"You're not going to build [a minimum of] 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space for the fun of it," he said.

" crane booms in the air is one thing that attracts companies to cities," Frye added.

Nashville is not alone in seeing a slowdown in new downtown Class A office buildings, as Southeastern peer cities Birmingham, Ala., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis have had no more than three buildings of 10 floors or more opened since 1990.

"Office towers are hard to come by," said Ken Hall, vice president of communications and marketing for the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.

A peer city exception is Charlotte, N.Ç., which has experienced a mini-flurry of office tower construction since 1990. During that time, nine buildings - including six that are 20 stories or more - have been erected in North Carolina's largest city. Dominating the Charlotte downtown is the massive, 850-foot Bank of America Corporate Center, built in 1992 (in comparison, Nashville's BellSouth Tower is about 660 feet tall, not counting its two spires).

The Bank of America tower helped feed subsequent construction of other towers, said Tim Newman, president of Charlotte Center City Partners.
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"Signature Class A office towers help keep existing businesses [from moving to the suburbs] and help attract new businesses," Newman said.

Local architect Ron Gobbell said downtown has no buildings with a large footprint (many big-time companies want office space with a minimum of a 25,000-square-foot floor plate).

"It's time to get some new high-rises on line," said Gobbell, of Gobbell Hays Partners Inc. "They communicate to everybody that this is a city on the move."

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2525 West End

Owner: Hines Interests
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Budget: $55 million
Year complete: 2000

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anymore photos of this building? these are the only two i could find.

[SChristopher]

I found some but they are small and make it look ugly...they are also on emporis.

[Style™]

i think i know what building this is...not too sure. the one on west end blvd. that has a [gasp] small parking lot in front.

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LATEST NEWS

5:09 PM CDT Monday

Gaylord Entertainment Co. is selling an acre adjacent to its Ryman Auditorium to Eakin Properties to be developed as a 325,000-square-foot office tower with a multi-level parking garage.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Work on the property, which is bordered by Commerce Street and Fourth Avenue in downtown Nashville could begin in the spring of next year, pending building and zoning approvals.

"The Gaylord site is one of the best sites in the Central Business District. The site offers tenants a highly visible location, with excellent ingress and egress, and a very large plaza that will be a central people place for all downtown," says John Eakin, chief manager of Eakin Properties. "The plaza will complement the Bell South Plaza and the Ryman Plaza. The potential new building also will have 485 covered parking spaces and provide floors of 25,000 square feet that will help attract new tenants to Nashville."

Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET) also owns Gaylord Hotels, Florida-based vacation property management firm ResortQuest and WSM-AM in Nashville.

source (http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2004/10/18/daily12.html)

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With a little help from the government agency chiefly responsible for guiding downtown development, Nashville developer John Eakin unveiled plans yesterday for a mid-rise office building next to the Ryman Auditorium.

And the chief tenant would be SunTrust Bank, taking roughly half the space and earning naming rights.

The prospect of a new downtown office building, however, drew the ire of owners and representatives of other downtown office towers, who argue that the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency is helping pave the way for a new building while the downtown office market overall is struggling.

''Let the market dictate when a building is built,'' said Tom Smith, a former business partner with Eakin and an owner in the Financial Center at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Church Street, which until recently carried the SunTrust name. ''A new office building isn't needed.''

Eakin said construction could start on SunTrust Plaza this time next year and be complete in 2007. Unlike many other downtown developments, Eakin isn't seeking tax inducements.

''This is a straight-up, clean, win-win development for downtown,'' he said.

But it has hurdles.

To get the building going, said Phil Ryan, executive director of the MDHA, the area's redevelopment plan has to be amended to lift a restriction from the property that prevents substantial office construction on the 1.1-acre site. Eakin's plans show a building of 325,000 to 400,000 square feet rising 13 to 16 stories.

The restriction had been put on the property 15 years ago at the time a proposal was made for more than 2 million square feet of office space by a consortium headed by developer Bob Mathews. Ultimately, the BellSouth tower resulted from the plan and Gaylord's property next to the Ryman was limited to hotel, retail and a small amount of what was termed ''incidental'' office space.

Developers and office owners recall fighting for the restriction at the time because they were afraid that such a large amount of office space could hurt the downtown market.

Ryan told a group gathered at the downtown partnership for a public meeting organized by MDHA yesterday that Gaylord ''thinks the market has changed.'' He said Gaylord is seeking fair and equitable treatment.

''They would like to be treated like everybody else,'' Ryan said. The Metro Council would have to approve lifting the office building restriction.

Smith and others contend that it isn't fair for MDHA to step in and give Gaylord what they consider ''spot rezoning'' without first thinking about the impact of allowing so much new office space.

For years, downtown office space has gradually lost out to suburban development where parking is free. Latest industry reports put vacancy rates downtown at about 13%, depending on which firm is measuring. That's about the same vacancy rate as in the greater Nashville area overall, according to the most recent data.

The downtown area has more than 6 million square feet of office space, according to CB Richard Ellis, just shy of Cool Springs and Brentwood combined.

In downtown, though, another 100,000 square feet of space is set to become available with Boult Cummings Conners & Berry law firm moving out of downtown to a new building at the Music Row Roundabout, which Eakin developed.

One complaint about downtown has been the lack of 25,000-square-foot floors in existing buildings, a hot trend in development. Such big space is deemed more efficient and thus more desirable for tenants. Several buildings in Cool Springs, in particular, have such floor plans.

In his presentation, Eakin acknowledged that the new building could have an impact. But because the new building's rents would be well above the downtown average, it isn't likely to cause significant harm to other buildings.

The rents are likely to exceed $25 per square foot because of construction and land costs, real estate brokers and agents said. In downtown, the average asking price is just above $16 per square foot.

Eakin said new buildings are needed to attract businesses downtown and keep tenants from heading to the suburbs for space.

SunTrust is helping, Eakin said. ''They want to be a corporate leader.''

The Tennessean

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Next month, developer Tony Giarratana will unveil his latest dream — a 55-story skyscraper in downtown like ones found in Chicago, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

Signature Tower would rise from the parking lot at Fifth Avenue and Church Street, about a block from the 31-story Viridian condominium tower that Giarratana and Atlanta partner Novare Group have started building.

The latest tower would have upscale and moderately priced condos, 300,000 square feet of office space, a 100- to 200-room boutique hotel and ground-level retail.

Giarratana and Chicago architect Lucien Lagrange will present the plans on Nov. 18. at The Hermitage Hotel. Later that day, the Nashville Civic Design Center will hold an urban design forum titled ''A Vision for the Next Generation of Tall Buildings in Nashville.''

Four years ago, Lagrange's firm was chosen the top one for the year by the Windy City's commercial real-estate community for designing a 67-story luxury condo and hotel on North Michigan Avenue.

Giarratana has been rolling the tower idea around for months. Talk of it picked up steam as he started chasing some big office-space tenants whose leases expire in a few years. Other developers also are interested in many of the same leases to anchor other possible buildings in or near downtown.

Developer John Eakin may have one major tenant, SunTrust Bank, locked up to anchor an office building he plans next to the Ryman Auditorium. But in a presentation to a public meeting last week, Eakin said the bank hasn't signed a lease for the building.

The Metro Development and Housing Agency still has to get the redevelopment plan in that area amended to lift a restriction against large office space on the Ryman site before Eakin's project can go ahead.

Given the size of the Signature Tower project, Giarratana might seek tax-increment financing, a complex economic incentive that helps lower land costs or pay for public infrastructure related to a project.

''I'd have to study it long and hard,'' said Phil Ryan, MDHA's executive director. ''Definitely, office and hotel is not one of our emphases right now.''

If all the pieces don't fall into place for his 55-story building, Giarratana has said he may well scale back to just an office building.

Other owners of office buildings downtown are pointing to the latest Giarratana proposal as a reason that MDHA shouldn't lift the restriction on the Ryman site and allow Eakin's ''mid-rise'' building to go forward.

They say Giarrantana's site is an example of other downtown acreage available for high-rises, and there's no reason to change the rules on the Ryman site.

Opponents also say the downtown office market is saddled with troublesome vacancy rates just as it was in the 1980s when MDHA and Gaylord Entertainment Co., owner of the Ryman site, agreed to the restriction on the site after lobbying from nearby building owners who didn't want more office space in a struggling market.

Real-estate industry reports show roughly 1 million square feet of the 6.2 million square feet downtown sits empty today.

''Nothing has fundamentally changed in the CBD (Central Business District) office market,'' said Tom Smith, an owner in The Financial Center at Fifth Avenue and Church Street, cater-corner to Giarratana's proposed site.

ps- i cant post the pic for some reason, but a rendering can be seen here http://www.tennessean.com/business/...ent_ID=60374852

the scale of the rendering is obviously off and it wouldnt stick out that much

[Style™]

here is a rendering that was posted not too long ago:

http://www.newschannel5.com/content/images/content/news/skyline-night.jpg

[SChristopher]

I dont like it, I think it is a little bit overkill for an otherwise handsome skyline. I doubt it will survive anyways.

[Style™]

well the nashville skyline for years has been quite wide [extending down the whole of west end blvd]. there is a cluster in downtown that is quite dense but there really is no height. of course this [along with other projects that are coming into place] could possibly bring a bright future to downtown and possibly buidlings in this height range [shorter than this one, taller than others] that will fill out the city of Nashville.

[JRQ]

I would like a tall building in Nash; just not one that looks like that.

[Style™]

that looks like the Trump tower in Chicago. anyone else think that?

[JRQ]

Now that you say that, It really does resemble it. I really like Chicago's, but I don't really like this one.

[SChristopher]

Like many have said I think the rendering may be a little exagerant, but as it stands I think it is too bland to be that tall and it really does nothing for me. I really dont see it as practical right now either.

[Style™]

trump chicago:

http://home.t-online.de/home/highrises/chitrump.jpg

i too think that that rendering is far over done. that would place that building within the top 5 of the south from the looks.

[Style™]

:cheers:

[JRQ]

Hope it doesn't make it.
Bad location to start with. Looks like its vying for attention being stuck out that far.
Ugly design.
Too tall for a building of that design.

I hope another, better, project is proposed instead.

[Style™]

West End Avenue, the main westbound artery out of downtown is experiencing quite a boom. It's included in the area now called West End/Midtown which has lately experienced the completion of the Music Row Entertainment District, the Roundabout Plaza, the soon-to-open Bristol-on-Broadway (which may become 174 condos instead of apartments), the under construction lofts and townhomes on 18th, hopefully the West End Summit two-tower complex, the conversion of the upper floors of the Midtown Plaza building to residential (next to Palmer Plaza), the 1800 West End Building which appears poised to be renovated and converted to possible residential (16 floors), the large (and expensive) West End Lofts I & II mid-rises down the road from Vanderbilt, the new Bristol urban apartment project adjacent to Vanderbuilt at 30th, the Row at 31st townhomes, lots of infill on empty lots and this morning another announcement was made.

The UDO, Urban Design Overlay, is an important directive for the neighborhood off West End at 31st which holds development to very strict guidelines. The overlay is beginning to show results as a 8-9 story loft development is slated to replace an aging apartment complex (made out an old Holiday Inn) with upscale units. (The large vintage apartment complexes, The Westboro and The Blackstone among others will remain. A new Margianno's is opening in 2005 in the twin tower American Center on one corner of this block.) The mid-rise will be across the street from the West End Lofts and a block from the Row at 31st. The entire area will be redefined with a mix of commercial live/work units designed to complement the historical fabric of this neighborhood. It's quite large, so the future will transform this into an important "new" type of urbanism. New urbanism inside the city is a truer use of the term I believe and I'm excited to see all this stuff happening. This is example of the urban overly in process and what we can come to look forward to in the upcoming months and years. I particularly like the underground parking component. I'm including a little from the City Paper to illustrate.

It seems cities are finally catching on.

Midtown Lofts set for West End
November 15, 2004

CODA Development - with two major residential developments in the West End Park area - plans to begin work next summer on a $6 million, 44-unit condominium building called Midtown Lofts.

Groundbreaking is anticipated for June, after CODA purchases the three-parcel property, with a 14- to 16-month construction schedule expected.

To anchor the intersection of 31st Avenue North and Bellwood Street, two blocks north of West End Avenue, Midtown Lofts is the first proposed new construction that will be required to adhere to the area's recently instituted urban design overlay (UDO).

"The building will respect the integrity of the surrounding historic fabric," said Amy Smith, CODA chief operating officer. "But it will provide a contemporary interpretation of the classic architecture that dominates the area."
http://img122.exs.cx/img122/5724/MidtownLofts.jpg

Designed by Nashville-based Hastings Architecture Associates LLC, Midtown Lofts will feature an exterior comprised of brick, stucco, glass and formed concrete for the base. There will be balconies and patios ranging in size from 40 to 330 square feet.

"We tried to pull from traditional elements with the base, body and cap and respond contextually to the neighborhood," said Chuck Gannaway, Hastings' project architect.

Gannaway said Midtown Lofts, will require no rezoning and will adhere to UDO requirements regarding height limitations and building placement. Metro Planning Department staff has yet to review and approve the design.

"[The UDO] is an important aspect of the project," he said.

Gannaway said there will be 58 parking spaces under the building and 10 surface spots behind it.

"We did our best to hide the parking," he said.

A highlight of the building, Gannaway said, is the entryway, which will have an engraved "Midtown Lofts" sign.

"CODA wanted the entrance open, inviting and obvious," he said.

Smith said Midtown Lofts units will feature hardwood floors, concrete ceilings, and some exposed mechanicals. They will range in size from 930 square feet (one-bedroom/one-bath) to 2,090 square feet (three-bedroom/2.5 baths). Pre-sales pricing will range from $195,000 to $428,000, and CODA Realty will handle marketing and sales.

Smith said the condos will be marketed to urbanites, and an outdoor pool should prove a major attraction.

"Some people don't want to live downtown but they still want an urban lifestyle," she said.

Midtown Lofts, Smith said, will replace three current structures: two single-family homes and the three-story Maberta vintage apartment house.

Smith said work on CODA's 33-unit, $6.5 million West End Lofts II is scheduled for completion in January. Only three units remain unsold.

:cheers:

[Style™]

Yeah those are nice. Did you happen to see the nice article the Tennessean posted today about the East Nashville City View Lofts and other development projects in East Nashville?
______________________________________________________
http://www.tennessean.com/business/realestate/archives/04/11/61545280.jpg

For more than a decade, east Nashville has been a place for people to buy that old house, which may need a little or a whole lot of tender loving care, but is more affordable than similar neighborhoods on the west side of town.

Slowly, though, east Nashville has been getting a different buyer — one looking for urban amenities but not the headaches of an old house and is close to downtown. That means, condominiums and town homes.

Young professionals, musicians and artists have been attracted to the area in part because of the pricing, but also the amenities such as some nice restaurants and bars, which have shown staying power.

There isn't the groundswell of condo development as there is in downtown or in parts of west Nashville. But it's picking up.

This week, Affordable Housing Resources kicks off sales for the 10 town homes reaching completion at the corner of Scott and Eastland avenues. The nonprofit group typically focuses on residential development that mixes market-rate housing with units reserved for low-income buyers.

This project will be all market-rate, with units priced in the upper $100,000 range, said Eddie Latimer, executive director of Affordable Housing Resources.

More on the way

Meanwhile, last week, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency approved a development agreement with local attorney Whitney Kemper for a mixed-use development at the intersection of 11th and Fatherland streets.

That part of the multi-phase, 4-acre project will have condos in the upper two floors of a 31,000-square-foot building.

''We're not, I don't think, going to have any problems selling them,'' Kemper said.

Another attorney, Fred Williams, is working with Bristol Development on a condo project with 30 to 40 units on the 900 block of Woodland Street. Lynn Ellsworth, owner of CODA Realty, is mulling what to do with the Bank of America across Woodland Street from the City View Lofts, which Ellsworth built. The 30-unit project was completed this year.

''I think we've got them all sold now,'' Ellsworth said.

Development areas

Typically, condo and town home development crops up in places where prices for single-family homes have risen beyond the reach of some buyers but haven't diminished the desire to live in the area, West End or the Midtown area, for example.

Of course there are the buyers who just don't want to own a house and do yard work.

In some more desirable parts of east Nashville, home values have risen dramatically in the past few years, rivaling what has occurred in parts of west Nashville.

Neighborhoods such as Lockeland Springs, Historic Edgefield and Eastwood Neighbors have seen home values increase 40% to 50% or more in three years based on homes listed for sale now and their purchase prices in 2001.

In west Nashville, condo development has tended to reshuffle residents on that side of town, whereas the east side attracts new residents, real estate officials said.

''It sells at a discount to Hillsboro Village and West End,'' said Sam Yeager, a partner in Bristol Development, which has an apartment project under construction in Midtown that the firm is considering converting to condos.

Demand topping supply

Latimer said he thinks demand for condos is greater than what is being built or is on the books.

''If you put in 1,000 units, you'd sell them,'' he said.

Affordable Housing Resources developed Row 8.9n on Eighth Avenue across from the Farmers Market, as well as homes on Ireland Street around the corner. Both sold out quickly.

He said the ''creative class'' concept applies to east Nashville or any of the urban areas drawing new residents. That concept was made popular by economist Richard Florida, who published a book two years ago titled The Rise of the Creative Class.

As Florida defined it, this class is usually well-paid, highly educated and values creativity, difference, individuality and merit. And they lean toward living in urban areas.

Real estate agent Mark Deutschmann, who is developing condos downtown, as well as marketing others, said of why east Nashville would be popular: ''I feel like it's almost urban chic.''

The Tennessean

:cheers:

[Style™]

here is a rendering [by heckles] of what the future skyline will look like:

http://ourworld.cs.com/bjearnest82/proposal_nashville_2004.jpg

[Style™]

The Downtown Nashville skyline could soon undergo a dramatic change. Detailed plans are being released for a 55-story skyscraper - a building that would become Music City's tallest building.

Developers now imagine the Nashville skyline with a 55-story multi-use building called the Signature Tower. Developers envision the Church Street skyscraper as a combination of condos, office space, a hotel and ground level retail stores.

The developer has a well-known track record in Downtown Nashville, and particulary on Church Street. The firm behind the skyscraper plans developed the Cumberland Apartments in the late 1990's. And just down the street, the skyscraper developer is behind the construction for the 31-story Viridian condo complex.

A large chunk of the proposed Signature Tower is for office space. In past years, some have said Downtown office space is overbuilt, but is that changing? News 2 asked a person who represents Downtown business tenants.

Tim Stowell said, "The Class A tenants I work with are always looking for a bigger mousetrap...something that's modern. I think it will do well."

If plans for the 55-story complex go through, construction would begin in 2006 with a 2009 completion date.

http://wkrn.static.worldnow.com/images/2585641_BG1.jpg

source (http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=2585641&nav=1ugBTIMr)

[toptenn]

GO NASHVILLE Tony Giarratana IS THE MAN

[Skanky the Boricuo]

GO NASHVILLE Tony Giarratana IS THE MAN

No...seriously. Get out of here.

[UPWARDATLANTA]

It will never happen.
Nash is one of my favs in the South. But it looks way out of place. The skyline now is great. More 30-35 story towers would be better than that. Bigger, is not always better.

[LSyd]

this thread sure is somethin'.

-

[newyorkrunaway1]

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/1008/DayNight.jpg

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/2939/DoubleTowers.jpg

http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v169/UTCharlotte/west_end_two.jpg

http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v169/UTCharlotte/west_end_one.jpg

Site prep work
http://aspcompany.com/ProjectsInProgress/West_End_Summit/Construction/Images/Construct_01.jpg


This project is currently 100% on the go ahead. The historic Mason's lodge has now been demolished in way to build the the Summit buildings. This will be the largest building outside the CBD. YEAH!!!!!!!

[StevenW]

MAN! That tower looks to be over 800 feet tall!!! :eek2:
http://wkrn.static.worldnow.com/images/2585641_BG1.jpg

:D
Way to go Nashville.
Now only if we had people in Baltimore that would think big like this! :(

[Lexy]

The first floor is almost framed up. Basement work is continuing. I have noticed an increase in the height of the Creeper Crane over the past few days. Should start seeing more floors over ground now that the ground floor is about finished. :cheers:

[uncle dave]

Hey Lex.

The V people told me that after the parking structure is complete, the tower will rise a floor per week. Parking will be 10 floors. It'll be fun to watch.

[newyorkrunaway1]

There are now pics available on my site, Tour Nashville. You can go here to see some pics of the viridian construction. You can download them for free too. these files a re big, some 4 megs big. you have been warned. I have good bandwith to handle it though. lol, Enjoy!!!!! :runaway:

[newyorkrunaway1]

ok, my site has more info o the courthouse and CJC construction, along with some live streaming video!!!

[mypetrobot]

any new news about viridian?

[aj|mem]

The Viridian is 70% sold and construction has started. Check out www.viridiannashville.com There is a web cam so you can see the progress.

[doormanpoet]

The 23 and 26 story West End Summit Towers have been redesigned for the third time, so the sketches on this thread are now outdated. To see the current sketch, go to www.aspcompany.com. The 18 story Adelicia Condo's will break ground in July. www.adelicia.com. The new 13 story 200 foot Suntrust Plaza broke ground today. Supposedly according to an engineer friend of mine working on the 31 story Viridian, The 55 story 700 foot Signature Tower will break ground in 2006. The 62 story, 620 foot Marina Tower is on indefinate hold since the Mayor has not closed the deal on the new Sounds Stadium on the old thermal plant property. The 750 foot Nashville Tower was cancelled. This was an observation deck. The 40 story 596 foot Nashville City Center Phase 2 is still a possibility according to Richard Fletcher of the Nashville City Center Partnership. Email him at info@511group.com if you would like to see the tower built.

[doormanpoet]

The 11 -18 story Federal Courthouse is now in limbo, although near the site on 7th avenue north, they are laying the tunnel for the thermal steam heating. There is another steam plant behind the police station on third avenue. The destruction of all the buildings from 7th to 8th and Church to Commerce (except the toy museum) was supposed to happen early last spring of 2004 and now it may not happen until October 2005, if it happens at all.

[doormanpoet]

There will be a 10 story condo added on 31st avenue behind the Walgreens that occupies the old Jacksonian site. This structure where the 10 story building is going to go used to be a Holiday Inn. It is now a low rent apartment building which is slated for demolition.

[doormanpoet]

There is still rumour that The James Robertson Apartments on 7th avenue north will eventually be demolished for a 700 foot 48 story tower. Unless renovated for condo's which is highly likely since the owner won't do so, the building will eventuall by torn down since it has been so poorly maintained over the years.

[doormanpoet]

The empty lot along with a row of buildings to be condemned by the city behind historic Hume Fogg High School is to be demolished and a gymnasium for the school is to be built by 2010. Hume Fogg is the only public high school in Nashville without a gymnasium.

[doormanpoet]

Tony Giratatanna is going to build a 305 unit condo tower behind the Schemerhorn. And Hampton Inn is going to build an all suite hotel at 310 4th avenue south. The 6 story building will occupy the old site of the club the Jungle which was demolished this past week.

More info as it comes to me.

[aj|mem]

Great News... and a lot of information. I have not heard of some of these projects. But I do have an inside to the Hampton Inn being built. I will try to see if they build a trditional building or a modern one like the new Hampton Inn Crosstown in downtown Boston - awesome design.

[doormanpoet]

Bad news folks
According to William Williams and the Nashville City Paper, the Nashville Federal Courthouse has been delayed yet again. The construction will start at the earliest late 2006. That is one and one half years away! William has tried to contact the General Services Division of the Federal Gov't in Atlanta and they will not respond nor give an updated sketch. They will not give a yes or a no and all they say is the earliest construction would start would be LATE 2006. I take that to mean as early 2007.

It looks like the Sounds Stadium deal is going to fall through. In yesterday's City Paper, there was a feature on the stadium deal and the fact Mayor "do nothing" Purcell won't commit and the Contractor is ready to back out.

[doormanpoet]

The 6 story Hampton Inn Suites at 310 4th Avenue South has begun with the demolition of some old and non-architectually sound buildings.

[FluffyP13]

does anyone have pics or renderings of nashville tower or nashville city center phase 2?? i've never seen these renderings or heard of them

[Skanky the Boricuo]

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=42254

Sounds ballpark plan nearly triples size
By Craig Boerner, cboerner@nashvillecitypaper.com
June 17, 2005

The Nashville Sounds’ $80 million proposal for a downtown ballpark with accompanying residential and retail has nearly tripled into a $230 million development that includes 600 residential units, 125 of which would be affordable housing.

Baltimore-based Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse has increased its investment significantly since December 2003 when the project was $80 million and 225 residential units.

A sticking point in negotiations over the ballpark was tax increment financing. Points of disagreement have centered around the city’s contribution of the former Thermal site and whether $20 million in tax increment financing needed to make the deal work includes that land value. Expanding the scope of the project helps make the numbers work.

Alex Washburn of New York-based W Architecture, who is working with Struever on a master plan for the downtown development, participated in a five-member panel discussion Thursday at the Nashville Civic Design Center.

“The great thing about it is it has this mix of all of these pieces and attractions,” Washburn said.

“And the fact that it is on the water … it doesn’t happen very often that you get people together where the good idea actually has market forces behind it and these other players, community groups.”

Other members of the panel discussion focusing on downtown’s relationship to the Cumberland River included Sounds General Manager Glenn Yaeger, MDHA Executive Director Phil Ryan, Tom Turner of the Nashville Downtown Partnership and Burdell Campbell, who focused on the Cumberland River Compact.

“The developer just came on line late last year and that’s when we started talking about possibly more retail and affordable [housing] part,” Ryan said.

“The developer, I think, likes a big project with a lot of synergy, energy.”

Washburn focused his discussion on the ballpark’s relationship to both the river and a vibrant downtown area, saying Nashville will be the first city where a ballpark is located adjacent to a greenway.

The transition from a bustling entertainment district will occur through the ballpark and into the greenway and edge of a tremendous natural setting.

Washburn said the Sounds franchise is one of few that has been “foresighted enough to realize they didn’t have to sit in a parking lot” with their new facility, adding that the ballpark will make a “world class transition” from nature to the urban edge.

“The double bottom line is a way of accounting both the market success and community benefits,” Washburn said.

“It means being able to assess how much park land have you added, how many jobs have you made for local people, how many people have you trained out of the community to work with you, how much affordable housing, how much luxury housing, how much retail is national tenants, how much retail is mom and pop.”

[FluffyP13]

From the June 17, 2005 Tennessean:

West End Summit twin tower project to be for work, play

Development firm hopes to anchor hotel, condominium company soon

By STEPHANIE TOONE
Staff Writer


Midtown soon will receive a major face lift when a multi-use development is built at the 1600 block of West End Avenue.

Design and planning have started for the West End Summit. Alex S. Palmer & Co., a real estate development firm, began working on the project about six years ago.

Rick Frazier, vice president of marketing and leasing, said Alex Palmer's vision for the West End Summit is something Nashvillians will appreciate.

"It will truly be a live, work and play environment," he said. "There's nothing like that in Tennessee."

The West End Summit will be a 900,000 square feet twin-tower project, Frazier said. One tower will be a 550,000 square feet office tower. The second tower will incorporate a 250-room, 4½-star luxury hotel; 8,000 square feet of condominiums, high-end restaurants and retail.

Frazier said Nashville's residential opportunities are limited when compared to Memphis.

"I think as we continue to grow as a city, having an urban residential mix is going to be vital to residential growth."

Elizabeth Davidson, marketing coordinator, said the beginning stages of clearing the land and beginning design are in play, but Palmer and Co. soon hopes to anchor the hotel and condominium company.

"I think within the next six months we'll have a major announcement for Nashville," she said.

Frazier said he hopes that announcement will include the name of the premium hotel and office anchors. He also hopes that the condominiums will be filled by that time.

Davidson said the West End Summit will be a healthy and luxurious way of living. Besides the premium hotels, luxury condominiums and Class-A office tower, the venue will have a fitness center, infinity pool, spa and valet service.

Frazier said condominium owners will enjoy the amenities of the hotel, such as concierge service and valet parking.

The major benefit of the site will be its accessibility to so much of Nashville and the reasonable prices for upscale living, he said. Frazier would not say what the condominium units will cost, but he said they will be comparable to other area units.

Jim Reed Chevrolet also will benefit from the new development right down the street.

"It can increase the traffic we get, as far as the business,"
said Fabian Floriano, sales
representative at Jim Reed. "But it's kind of a double-edge sword because the downfall is the traffic."

Nelson Trabue, general manager and co-owner of Import Auto Maintenance LLC, across West End from the site, said he can see the problems from excessive traffic.

The construction of the project can also pose a major problem for Import because the building is more than 75 years old, he said.

"We're worried about our foundation cracking," Trabue said. "Structurally, our foundation will suffer with it being less than 100 feet away."

He said he also is worried about the debris and dust damaging the cars on the lot.

Trabue said he would like some assurance from the builders
that his property will be protected.

"We might get more customers through customer traffic, but we'll have to suffer for a while," he said.

[Skanky the Boricuo]

The West End to rise
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=42707
By Don Mooradian, dmooradian@nashvillecitypaper.com
July 08, 2005

The fast-changing area surrounding West End Avenue and 31st Avenue North is slated for another major addition.

Developers John Coleman Hayes, Mary Lu Smith and H. David Smith have unveiled plans for The West End, a 10-story luxury condominium building that will include two penthouse floors and be built near the corner of 31st and West End, overlooking the site of the former Jacksonian.

The 74-unit mid-rise, a price tag for which has not been announced, will replace the West End Apartments, a one-time hotel now in the final stages of demolition.

Hayes said excavation for the new building is to begin Aug. 1, with a construction timetable of 10 to 11 months. He added that the build-out of individual units will likely take a bit longer.

The West End joins a number of other recently completed, under construction, or announced projects within a three-block radius of West End and 31st. These include West End Lofts I, West End Lofts II, The Row at 31st, The Wesley Bernard, The Bristol West End, Park West Court, 3102 West End Circle, and Midtown Lofts.

Hayes said that his business partners plan to be among the first to move into the building in the fall of 2006.

"I personally don't think there is a better location in the Nashville area," said Hayes, whose company, John Coleman Hayes Construction Company Inc., will be constructing the mid-rise.

"West End has always been a highly desirable area," he added, referring to the building's proximity to restaurants, Centennial Park, Vanderbilt University, Foodland and Walgreens, among others. "This is the best of all worlds," he said.

Construction financing for the project is being finalized, Hayes said.

Designed by Nashville architect Boyd Bogle, West End units will offer extensive crown molding on 9- to 10-foot ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies and private terraces will provide views of the surrounding area.

The condos will range in size from 1,200 square feet for a one-bedroom unit to 6,000 square feet for the larger penthouse, which is already sold.

Jane and Walter Roberts and Rodney Turner of The Pilkerton Company will handle sales.

Developer David McGowan's Regent Homes/Regent Development has several parcels in the area under contract.

"The developers have recognized the strong employment picture in the area with Vanderbilt and the other corporate locations," said McGowan, whose company is working on The Wesley Bernard and 3102 West End Circle. "There is high demand for quality infill housing."

[aj|mem]

From The City Paper:

New landmark to rise in Nashville’s gulch
By Bill Harless, bharless@nashvillecitypaper.com
July 25, 2005

Construction workers will soon be sweating it out at the intersection of Division Street and Twelfth Avenue South in The Gulch, raising out of the ground an 18-story residential and retail tower, ICON, that will be a landmark for a new quarter of downtown Nashville.

ICON, which will cost about $100 million to develop, will feature 18,000-20,000 square feet of retail shops on its first floor and about 400 dwelling units above.

Four stories of residential units will rise above the retail space and wrap around a six-story, above-ground parking garage. Atop the parking garage there will be a 12-story, residential tower.

ICON is being developed by a partnership of Bristol Development Group and Marketstreet Equities Group, owner of Nashville Urban Venture LLC, the company chosen by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) as master redeveloper of The Gulch.

Residents in the “urban, loft-style” homes will have unobstructed views of the downtown skyline and the Cumberland River.

The walls of the homes in the central tower will be made entirely of glass. The floors and ceilings will be made of cement, according to Joe Barker, a partner — along with Steve Turner and Jay Turner — of Marketstreet Equities Group.

Ashlyn Hines, a principal of Bristol Development Group, said a plaza with a fitness center, swimming pool and other amenities for residents will rest at the top of the garage on the portion not taken by the tower.

She said she hopes demolition of the BellSouth truck maintenance facility at the northeast corner of the intersection of the site will begin within 30-45 days. Construction would begin in January 2006, and developers hope for completion by the late fall of 2007.

Atlanta-based The Preston Partnership LLC is the project’s architect, and Choate Construction Company, also based in Atlanta, will be the contractor.

“We want it to be extremely beautiful … but we want it to be something that people can go and buy,” Barker said. “These are not being designed as luxury condominiums or luxury apartments at all. These are wonderful, urban residential units.”

“… There will be a variety of unit styles and styles. It will hit a number of price points,” Barker said.

No price tag has been placed on the residence yet. According to an agreement with MDHA, a portion of the dwellings will be affordable housing units.

The 400 dwellings will augment the existing 80 residential units — at the Mercury View Lofts and the Laurel House Apartments — that have been built in The Gulch, a 38-acre section of land on the western fringe of downtown, since Metro’s and Nashville Urban Venture’s redevelopment project there began in 2000.

The Gulch is “already a hotspot” of urban life in Nashville, Hines said. “What has been missing is a critical mass of housing.”

“We’ve tested the market, so to speak, and now this is the first big project we’re going to do,” Barker said.

The ICON land is already zoned to support the development, but a portion of the project must still be approved by the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals.

[zeppelincheetah]

wow. I didn't know anything like this was on the internet. a forum discussing building development in Nashville? amazing! I'm a Nashvillian (well, I was born here) and I'm VERY interested in new skyscrapers and whatnot. Nobody I know shares this interest. That's the first time i've seen what that West End complex will look like (I knew it was being built, and I notice the site whenever I go by it on West End)

[newyorkrunaway1]

well if you like that, check out my site http://www.tournashville.net

Its a dedicated site to the devlopment in nashville including lots of pictures and links to other great sites about nashville development. theres even some live cameras of the courthouse construction and the viridian construction there too.

[SChristopher]

That is a great site, I have been going there for a while as I have great interest in Nashville and hope to live there in the near future, keep up the good work. Ever thought of putting a forum on there?

[zeppelincheetah]

pretty cool site. a bit glitchy, but lots of great info nontheless.

[newyorkrunaway1]

i have thought of putting a forum there, but never really had the time to do the modding to get it to show up correctly. and by the way, point out the glitches by sending me and email via the contact us link on the site. i am curious to know what you find. and please send me what browser your using and what your desktop demension settings are. thanks!!! in the near future there will be a forum there because of the growing demand for a dedicated nashville forum!!! so keep an eye out for it!

[SChristopher]

My eyes are open, I think it would be a great idea to have a Nashville forum with all the projects going on and the prospect of more condos in the future. Your site would be the prime real estate for it.

[BhamDKH]

^^ Yeah, that would be nice. Great website! I went to college at Vandy and miss Nashville so it's great to have a place to check in on what's happening!

[newyorkrunaway1]

Well, really great news people!!! I have created a forum site that is 100% dedicated to Nashville and its development. It is currently under modding and wll be up within 48 hours!!!! YEAH!!!!

[SChristopher]

Awesome, I am looking foward to it!

[newyorkrunaway1]

YEAH !!!!!!!! NAshville has its own forum site now!!! i have completed the majority of the site and have opened the forums for posting. you do hav to register, its quick and easy, dont worry. there are plenty of topics to discuss, so post your little hearts away!!! This is Nashvilles only dedicated development site and forum. so, be one of the first to join the site, there is a long road ahead!!!

http://www.tournashville.net

[newyorkrunaway1]

sorry for the site being down all night, even after i had announced its opening, lol, anyways...

The site is now open to the public.

ENJOY! :runaway:

[newyorkrunaway1]

check out the latest on the Signature Tower re-design over at TourNashville!!!

It is simply amazing, it has a sleek new look and is an all residential with retail at ground level.

http://www.tournashville.net

[cwilson758]

I am SO JEALOUS!!! This will look fantastic in Nash-vegas! Hell, it would fantastic anywhere. This is where I get so upset with my City nor not requiring higher quality for skyscrapers! Now I know the developer has a good track record, but what is the probability that this will happen...more than 75%? Every major city has a couple of "signature towers" that have been proposed but are never built. Hopefully this wont happen with this one!

[aj|mem]

Awesome redesign! Better fitting Nashville's image - which contrary to popular belief on this forum - is much more glitzy/Hollywood-esque than some people would like to give it credit for.

[card04]

This new design in a hell of alot better than the old design, it fits in very well with the Nashville skyline and is a very dynamic piece of architecture. I hope that this goes up, I'd look foward to seeing it, anybody know how tall it will be?

[newyorkrunaway1]

its design will make it 700ft

check out all the details over on TourNashville, link in my sig.

[dirtybird]

Wow, impressive skyscraper. I think it's more impressive in how it transforms the entire look of Nashville's skyline. It makes the city look like it moved up one tier! If built, would Nashville be the only city in the country if not the world where it's tallest building is residential?

[newyorkrunaway1]

actually, this would make nashville the only city in the US where its tallest building is resedntial. the city over in europe that is building the turning torso, the talles resedential building, infacr the tallest in the country, which ever one it may be, the other one outside of the US.

[newyorkrunaway1]

Tons of new stuff added to the TourNashville site, check it out.

Inlcuding :

Info on the renaming of Dickerson Pk
Signature Tower
History of Gallatin Road
I65 Construction news

and, hopefully, news that you add

[Jasonhouse]

I guess if there's nobody interested in Nashville talk, this thread should be unstuck.

[Lexy]

I guess if there's nobody interested in Nashville talk, this thread should be unstuck.


There is too much to talk about Jason! LOL!!!!!


Here is the Viridian in downtown going up. This was early last week. I'm sure it has changed now.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b309/lexyky/Picture8095.jpg

[Dale]

Interesting choice of streetlamps for the Church Street reno.

Guess I'm used to the Washington Post-style. Maybe they'll grow on me.

[Lexy]

Interesting choice of streetlamps for the Church Street reno.

Guess I'm used to the Washington Post-style. Maybe they'll grow on me.


I agree that they are different, but it's a change from what it was. YUCK! I believe that there is still some work to be done on parts of Church Street to finish later this year. :cheers:

[Dale]

I agree that they are different, but it's a change from what it was. YUCK! I believe that there is still some work to be done on parts of Church Street to finish later this year. :cheers:

Yep, unquestionably better than the lamps they replaced.

[Lexy]

Here is the new rendering of the Encore Towers Phase I from Tony Giarratana. There is going to be two of these towers side by side just on the block south of the new Symphony Center and Country Music Hall of Fame.

Pic courtesy of www.giarratana.com
http://www.giarratana.com/images/EncoreNew.jpg

[Lexy]

Looks like the new Minor League Stadium downtown is now a go and construction will soon start on it on the riverbank. Here is the article from the Nashville City Paper.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=33&screen=news&news_id=45426

Rendering:
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/uploaded/1105sounds.jpg

[Lexy]

The Adelicia Tower has been redesigned and is expected to start construction soon in West End. Here is the new design just released recently.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/UncleDave53/Adelicia.jpg

[Lexy]

Good enough to stick this again? Muhahahahahahaha!!!!!

[rocket9561]

A new Tiffany and Co. store is planned for The Mall at Green Hills...

According to the Tennessean...and, this follows an article in the City Paper today about Green Hills' recent "high-end" boom. Nashville's retail and restaurant chain expansions have certianly been kicked into high gear recently.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl...NESS01/51027011

[Lexy]

I think this is really neat. Should be a good fit for the area.

[cwilson758]

A new Tiffany and Co. store is planned for The Mall at Green Hills...

According to the Tennessean...and, this follows an article in the City Paper today about Green Hills' recent "high-end" boom. Nashville's retail and restaurant chain expansions have certianly been kicked into high gear recently.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl...NESS01/51027011


It's about time. I have always wondered why Nashville didn't have better shopping with all of the music industry people that are there. As a matter of fact, the shopping has been pretty average there.

[rocket9561]

It's about time. I have always wondered why Nashville didn't have better shopping with all of the music industry people that are there. As a matter of fact, the shopping has been pretty average there.

According to the Tennessean, Louis Vuitton is also adding its brand to Green Hills.


I think that the delay was caused by the lack of a good location. Green Hills only began, within the past 3-4 years, to market itself as a truly upscale shopping destination. There were plans for a fashion mall in Brentwood, anchored by a Nordstrom that would have no doubt brought this kind of shopping years ago but it was shot down by local residents. This played out well for Nashville, however, since the shopping will now be in Davidson County. A new lifestyle center in Green Hills is also supposed to house upscale retail.

[cwilson758]

That has always been my gripe about Nash-vegas...the City's shopping was HORRIBLE. Green Hills is nice and when Pottery Barn went it I thought that the change was beginning. Tiffany's just recently announced a new store in Indy too, up at the Fashion Mall. LV & Burberry are also looking to get into that mall.

I would suspect that Nash-Vegas will be getting a Nordies or Saks some time soo...and don't tell me that the Off 5th out in Opry Mills counts, because it doesn't :-)

[Lexy]

That has always been my gripe about Nash-vegas...the City's shopping was HORRIBLE. Green Hills is nice and when Pottery Barn went it I thought that the change was beginning. Tiffany's just recently announced a new store in Indy too, up at the Fashion Mall. LV & Burberry are also looking to get into that mall.

I would suspect that Nash-Vegas will be getting a Nordies or Saks some time soo...and don't tell me that the Off 5th out in Opry Mills counts, because it doesn't :-)


Rumor mill says it is a Neiman Marcus. They have wanted in this market for a few years now. Looks like they may get their chance.

[Lexy]

Updated list of Nashville projects. From another forum, but very extensive.


Thanks to forumer smeagolsfree for the time and effort on this list.

CONDO CONVERSIONS

The Lofts @ 160
The Quarters To condos (no new units added)
The West View
Art Avenue Lofts
320 Broadway
The Kress
The Ambrose
Church Street Lofts
The Cohen Building
The Bennie Dillon (no new units added)
The Stahlman
The American Trust Building
Wertham Mills
The Riverfront Apartments to condos (no new units added)
The Lofts Exchange

15 projects

UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR ABOUT TO START:

The Veridian
Bristol on Broadway
Bristol on West End
The Icon
12th and Division (The Crosland Group)
The Adelicia
5th & Main
Suntrust building
1101 18th (This project is very close to a start)
Hampton Inn and Suites on 4th
The West End
The West End Lofts
The Southgate on West End (work started last month)
West End Close (phase II)
Regent project on West End Circle (do not have a name for them)
Regent project on Long Blvd (do not have a name for them)
Park West Court on Long
807 18th (100% sold)
Morgan Park Place
Vanderbilt Dorms (on 18th 4 or 5 midrise buildings)
Numerous Projects and floor addition at the Vanderbilt Med center
Belmont School of Nursing on Wedwood
Belmont Dorms
The Enclave
The Lofts @ Wedgewood
The Symphony Hall

25 projects (two with multiple building and or expansions)


PROPOSED

The Signature
The Encore
The Keener @ Ridgeway (another Tony G.) on his website
Church and 17th (another Tony G.)
The Keener @ Harding ( to my knowledge Dave has a rendering of this)
The Federal Courthouse
The Harrison Phase I II and III
The unnammed project of townhomes @ 4th and Harrison
The Summit West End
The Sounds Stadiun with condos and retail
The Plaza for the arts 12th and Demonbreun
The proosal by Southern Land development and Monroe Carell at the foot of Shelby St. Bridge(mixed use )
East End Lofts
The Monroe
Infrastructure work @ Rolling Mill Hill (numerous condo retail and apartment buildings)

15 projects, some with multiple buuildings


MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT


The Hill Center
The lifestyle Center on Charlotte
Providence (Mt. Juliet) 900,000 in retail and 3400 homes

3 projects


__________________

[Lexy]

Nissan NA HQ to Nashville:

from www.nissannews.com

Nissan Relocates Its North American Headquarters [Nov. 10, 05]


NASHVILLE, TENN. (Nov. 10, 2005) – Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA), will relocate its Los Angeles headquarters functions and employees to an all-new facility in the greater Nashville area. The move is expected to provide strategic, long-term operational benefits and to support NNA’s ongoing efforts to create synergies and improve performance.

The project was announced today at the Tennessee State Capitol by Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn, who was joined by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and United States Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander.

“Nissan constantly seeks ways to create value and improve performance. When we examined the long-term operational benefits of relocation and the possibilities for realizing greater operational synergies, the business decision made sense,” said Mr. Ghosn. “This decision complements the NISSAN Value-Up business plan, which focuses on our company’s worldwide, profitable growth.”

Nissan currently employs about 1,300 people on its headquarters campus in Gardena, Calif., about 15 miles south of Los Angeles. Corporate functions managed from that site include, among others, sales, marketing, product planning, corporate planning, communications and training. Nissan operations at the Gardena facility began in 1960.

Locating its headquarters in Franklin, 15 miles southwest of Nashville, will allow much closer collaboration with Nissan’s manufacturing, purchasing, product quality and supply chain management functions based 30 minutes away in Smyrna, Tenn., where the company has a $2.1 billion vehicle assembly plant and 6,700 employees. Another 1,300 employees work at the powertrain assembly plant in Decherd, Tenn.

The relocation decision was welcomed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen.

"Nissan's decision in 1980 to manufacture vehicles in Tennessee was a watershed moment for our state," he said. "The auto industry today employs more than 125,000 Tennesseans working for over 1,000 companies pumping more than $3.5 billion dollars in wages into the state annually. Today's announcement is another historic step forward in the relationship between Nissan and Tennessee."

Citing reasons behind the relocation decision, Mr. Ghosn mentioned the lower costs of doing business in Tennessee; the favorable business and taxation climate that exists in the state; the potential to improve operational efficiencies among its North American functions; and Tennessee’s central location. For employees, the relocation is expected to create more operational synergies and nurture employees’ creativity and innovation. By bringing California headquarters and manufacturing functions closer together, there is a potential for higher levels of cross-functional involvement and better communication.

Plans for the new headquarters facility are not yet finalized, but the capital investment is expected to be $70 million. The building will be designed to accommodate the current headquarters campus, future new hires, and some employees now working in other Nissan facilities in North America. Construction of the new building is expected to begin in 2006, and the facility would be completed in 2008. California-based employees will begin to move to Tennessee in mid-June 2006 and will work in temporary facilities in the Bell South building in downtown Nashville until the headquarters is completed.

Nissan has significantly expanded and enhanced its global operations since March 1999, when the Renault-Nissan Alliance was formed. In North America, a new vehicle assembly plant was built in Canton, Miss.; manufacturing facilities in Smyrna and Decherd, Tenn., have been expanded; additional vehicle design studios have been established in California and Michigan; and Nissan’s North American research and engineering center in Michigan has completed a major expansion.

About Nissan North America
Nissan directly employs more than 24,000 people in the United States, Canada and Mexico and generates an additional 70,000 jobs at about 1,200 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships in the United States.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com or www.Infiniti.com.

[BhamDKH]

I was at Vandy when they finished 2525 West End (building w/ Flemings, Borders, and PF Changs) and remember people thinking that was a huge deal. Good night it seems like development in downtown Nashville's exploding since I left 3 years ago! I've got to think about moving back after school with all of the business possibilities. Nashville really was the funnest city I've ever lived in and I miss it badly.

[Lexy]

It has sure changed since you left Bham. You wouldn't even recognize it now! LOL!!!! Let alone ten years from now.

[Lexy]

A picture of the sign at the site of Nissan NA headquarters inCool Springs.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b309/lexyky/Picture205.jpg

[Lexy]

Signature Tower is closer to reality as of today. here is the article as it appears in today's Nashville Business Journal.

click: http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2005/11/28/daily15.html

[BhamDKH]

I would suspect that Nash-Vegas will be getting a Nordies or Saks some time soo...and don't tell me that the Off 5th out in Opry Mills counts, because it doesn't :-)

I read in the B'ham News Business section that Saks Fifth Avenue (based here in B'ham) is looking very seriously at building a store in Nashville. There are PLENTY of people in the metro area (esp. Belle Meade, etc.) that would love to have a store of that caliber somewhere like the Green Hills Mall, IMO and experience. Neiman-Marcus would be great too.

[BhamDKH]

Tennessean article about the Signature Tower:

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051130/BUSINESS01/511300409/1003

Wow, it's going to be pretty amazing if it becomes a reality. I just can't stand those nuts that think Tony G. shouldn't get the tax breaks: they need to think of those as an investment for the city (which will make the money back in 4 years or less).

[Lexy]

The article pretty much debunks their stnad on the issue rather nicely. it cost the citizens nothing and has nothing to do with current taxes, so to them I say, "shut up!".

Never the less, I think it is awesome.

Here is the new render of the tower. www.giarrantana.com
http://www.giarratana.com/images/signatureShorterview.jpg

[gych]

I read in the B'ham News Business section that Saks Fifth Avenue (based here in B'ham) is looking very seriously at building a store in Nashville. There are PLENTY of people in the metro area (esp. Belle Meade, etc.) that would love to have a store of that caliber somewhere like the Green Hills Mall, IMO and experience. Neiman-Marcus would be great too.


Tell them to build a Saks in Louisville too. Why is it that Nashville and Louisville don't have the major upscale department stores?

[Lexy]

I know that Nordstrom is supposedly headed to Franklin and that The Mall at Green Hills has got Tiffany's and Louie Vuitton headed that way next year. They were looking for another upscale anchor for that mall, I have heard that it is either going to be a Saks or Neiman M. Only time will tell.

[Lexy]

This goes to the 'under construction' category next year along with ICON in the Gulch District.

Terrazo (14 stories)


From the Tennessean this morning.

Crosland plans modern look for mixed-use Gulch condo tower

'Terrazzo' project also will have retail and office space.

By TODD PACK
Staff Writer


Crosland Inc. has settled on a design for its 14-story, mostly condominium development in the Gulch area of downtown Nashville, naming the project "Terrazzo" to reflect the terraces to be built around the units.

The project, at the southeast corner of 12th Avenue South and Division Street, will feature a contemporary design, the Charlotte, N.C.-based developer said. Terrazzo is Italian for terrace.




"The name also speaks to the mid-century modern influences, such as terrazzo flooring and wall material, planned for portions of the interior," said Bill Barkley, president of Crosland's Tennessee division.

The first four floors of the 260,000-square-foot building will include 20,000 square feet of retail space and 70,000 square feet of office space, topped by 10 floors of residential units.

Barkley said the condominiums will be priced from the mid-$200,000s and feature at least 12-foot ceilings and large terraces. They will be wired for Ethernet, cable, telephone and sound systems.

Amenities will include a 24-hour concierge, fitness center and rooftop pool.

The architects are Hastings Architecture Associates and Manuel Zeitlin Architects. The development is scheduled to break ground in spring 2006, with completion scheduled for fall 2007.

Terrazzo is Crosland's first development in Nashville since the company established its Tennessee office in May when it acquired Nashville-based Armistead Barkley. •

Here is the render of the project....
click: http://www.thetennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051202/BUSINESS01/512020386/1003

Here is the ICON that will be going up right across the road from it. (18 floors)
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/uploaded/072705icon_lg.jpg

[jford_1983]

Tell them to build a Saks in Louisville too. Why is it that Nashville and Louisville don't have the major upscale department stores?It really has something to do with the type of market that companies are looking for. In this case, Memphis and Louisville are considered small markets to several upscale chains (i.e., Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, etc.), whereas Nashville has started to come of age. At least that's my opinion.

[Lexy]

^ Perhaps. It also has a bit to do with the wealth of a particular region.

[Lexy]

New office tower for downtown??? It is a possibility.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2005/12/05/daily37.html

[Lexy]

Signature Tower is almost a done deal.

A sales office will be opening soon for the 55 story building.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2005/12/12/daily16.html

[Dale]

Woo-hoo ! Would anyone be completely surprised if it started late 2006 ?

[Lexy]

^Nope. Not a bit. He only has to presell around 40% of the tower to start construction on it. I can see that happening within the next year easily.

[Lexy]

Adelicia (18 story condo tower in West End) breaks gorund in Janurary. Sales office opens today! Story and rendering below.

LINK: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/BUSINESS01/512150390/1003

[kickazzz2000]

A flatiron type building at West End and Broadway would be a sweet replacement for that car dealer...

[Lexy]

I have been preaching that for three years now.

[Lexy]

Construction started TODAY on the 21 floor ICON in the Gulch. I will have pics very soon of the site. ICON is a 21 floor, condo tower in the Gulch district just a few blocks fomr the GEC and proposed convention center site. A new Rail stop is planned for the neighborhood surrounding the site.

[gych]

It really has something to do with the type of market that companies are looking for. In this case, Memphis and Louisville are considered small markets to several upscale chains (i.e., Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, etc.), whereas Nashville has started to come of age. At least that's my opinion.


I respect your opinion BUT...when they are about the same size, how in the hell are they different? I cant believe Nashville having an extra 100k in far distant surrounding counties means that much and it certainly doesnt make Louisville or Memphis "small" compared to nashville. Also remember both Louisville and Memphis have much higher core county and urban area pops. Is it the exurban or suburban ppl who shop at these stores? i would think suburban, not people living in towns 35 miles away from the city.

[Lexy]

I respect your opinion BUT...when they are about the same size, how in the hell are they different? I cant believe Nashville having an extra 100k in far distant surrounding counties means that much and it certainly doesnt make Louisville or Memphis "small" compared to nashville. Also remember both Louisville and Memphis have much higher core county and urban area pops. Is it the exurban or suburban ppl who shop at these stores? i would think suburban, not people living in towns 35 miles away from the city.


Its about money. Nashville and surrounding communities (i.e. Franklin, Brentwood, and Belle Meade) are more wealthy than most of Louisville's strong communities. Nashville has two communities that are rated some of the wealthiest in the country in Belle Meade and Williamson County. That has every bit to do with it.

[gych]

Its about money. Nashville and surrounding communities (i.e. Franklin, Brentwood, and Belle Meade) are more wealthy than most of Louisville's strong communities. Nashville has two communities that are rated some of the wealthiest in the country in Belle Meade and Williamson County. That has every bit to do with it.


Hmm, Im not really sure about that either. Louisville is more old money though, I will grant you that. And old money is tight. FYI Mockingbird Valley and Glenview are two suburbs that while very small, rank among the top 25 richest cities in the COUNTRY (percapita) perenially (if not one, then the other). Only the ritziest places in NY, FL, and CA can say this. I dont think Louisville's burbs like Prospect, Anchorage, or Crestwood are anything to write off either.

[Lexy]

^ I agree, but with the record industry in town, pro sports teams, the huge hospitals, and a number of F500 HQ's....I believe Nashville has a more wealthy base for its position. Retailers look at demographics of course and the recent additions of Tiffany's and Louie Vuitton back up the facts about the demo. of Nashville and its surroundings. The large tourist base for Nashville is a driving factor too.

Louisville has money too, just like you said though. Old money. Which in turn doesn't spend as frequently as new money. Retailers want a community that isn't afraid to drop their wallets for something. Old money holders are a little more reserved with the Benjamin's.

[Style™]

Experts say demand should be steady for the thousands of units already planned for completion in this decade.

By GETAHN WARD
Staff Writer

With their children grown and gone, Rod and Shary Essig have decided to sell their West Meade home to move into one of the new condos being built in Midtown.

If the hype is true, they'll be among many new urbanites in Nashville trying life outside of the traditional single-family home in the next few years.



Several developers announced plans this year to build large condominium projects in or near downtown, many of them tall towers and at least seven containing well over 100 units each.

Only one of the larger condo towers will be completed next year, the well-publicized Viridian downtown. Many others, if they stay true to the developers' schedules, would break ground
in 2006 and be ready for move-in in 2007.

It's generally agreed that cash-flush empty-nesters and single professionals or couples without children are driving the flurry of condo rollouts in the Nashville market. Many of the units are priced above $250,000 and head skyward from there.

But the more than 3,500 new units planned over the next few years beg the question: Can the market absorb it, especially at the higher prices?

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20051225&Category=BUSINESS02&ArtNo=512250345&Ref=H3&Profile=1044&MaxW=525&MaxH=390&title=1

http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20051225&Category=BUSINESS02&ArtNo=512250345&Ref=V2&Profile=1044&MaxW=525&MaxH=390&title=1

[ i thoiught the title of the article was a little off. the info was good ]

[Lexy]

I agree that the title of the article is a bit mis-leading. But it does go on to show off how the area is changing in a good way. Great pics Style.

[Lexy]

Some interesting things are coming down the pipe here in town. More skyscrapers are coming for sure. I will keep everyone posted as to what and when things are oging to get started and announced. I can tell you that upwards of three more 20-30+ story towers are in the works for downtown. One tower is rumored to be around 70 floors.

[Richard Lawson]

I noticed that in the past you guys have posted stories of mine when I was at The Tennessean. I left in November to relaunch Nashvillepost.com where I've been writing about real estate as well. I'll post some stories here I've done on various developments. We are a subscription site, but it's the best place to get real estate news now in my humble opinion.

Here is my version of the condo sales, which ran before The Tennessean's

December 12, 2005

A Posse of Urban Pioneers

By Richard Lawson

In late October, Bristol West End’s 161 condominiums went on sale.
Though all that exists now is a hole in the ground at Vanderbilt Place and Blakemore Avenue, about 86 percent of the units, or 139 condos, have sales contracts — real contracts, not just reservations.

“These are contracts with hard money that they’d lose if they walked out on them,” said Sam Yeager, a principal in Bristol Development. “It’s gone about as well as anybody imagined.”

The success at such an early stage isn’t a fluke.

Condo sales in downtown and midtown have been going at a near breakneck pace. Several projects have sold most of their units well before completion, quickly surpassing the pre-sale goals necessary to pull the trigger on a development.

Five years ago, the market for condominiums in the downtown and midtown didn’t much exist.

CODA Development helped start some momentum with West End I Lofts, a 21-unit building completed in 2000 at 3014 Hedrick St., just off West End Avenue.

Now, more than 2,000 units have been built or under construction in downtown, midtown and West End. And still more are planned. Low interest rates combined with growing demand for urban living have helped give developers confidence to build.

With midtown in particular, condos have become a more affordable option for buyers wanting to live in a desirable area who can’t afford a single-family home costing two to three times that of a condo.

As for downtown, it simply hasn’t had many options, and condos are the only way to go.

How long can the construction pace continue? That depends on the appetite of the buyers, according to real estate developers. There may be cases where announcements are made but not followed through because the pre-sales aren’t there. The real test of the condo market’s strength will come in the resale and whether or not sellers make mo