NASHVILLE | Development Showcase

[MIRYDI]

With as much as Tony Giarratana has on his plate right now, and with the Westin and Turnberry hotel going up right across the street, can't say this is much of a surprise. Hopefully this will allow him to focus more on his other three large scale projects; SoBro, 505, and the 17 mixed-use building on Church St.

Tony Giarratana abandons plans for SoBro Marriott
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...-marriott.html

Developer Tony Giarratana has abandoned plans to develop a 400-room Marriott right by Music City Center, Nashville's mammoth convention center.
For the past 18 months, Giarratana had been pursuing 1.26 acres owned by First Baptist Church, in the SoBro part of downtown.
Giarratana’s original closing date to buy the property was Aug. 31, 2013. He paid a total of $1.255 million to keep alive his right to buy the land. The final extension expired Monday.

The land's final purchase price was expected to be around $12 million.
"Hotel financing is complex; and, while construction financing is currently available for hotels, we were ultimately unable to assemble the equity portion of the project’s capital stack," Giarratana wrote in an email. "We are all very disappointed."
The property is half a city block, bordered by Seventh and Eighth avenues and Demonbreun Street to the south.

Church officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Giarratana said he continues to believe the land is prime for a full-service hotel.
That would delight those at the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., who contend an insufficient supply of hotel rooms near the one-year-old facility has caused 16 conventions to bypass Nashville— a loss of 90,000 room nights.
"If the church wants to sell its property, there will no doubt be other interested parties," Giarratana said.

[Cashville]

Originally Posted by MIRYDI

[B]Tony Giarratana abandons plans [/url]

[MIRYDI]

Marriott still interested in downtown hotel, Spyridon says
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...own-hotel.html

[James Owen]

Originally Posted by MIRYDI

New hotel planned for Jefferson street. Would be the first new hotel on that street in decades.

Jefferson Street may get first hotel in years
http://www.tennessean.com/story/mone...ades/11418383/

It'll be interesting to see how this proposed hotel project goes with the site being adjacent to the city's three HBCUs (Tennessee State, Fisk, and Meharry). Speaking as a TSU alum, I'm hoping it'll be a successful one if done right and spark efforts to further revitalize the immediate area.

[MIRYDI]

Construction permit issued for downtown hotel at Fourth and Church
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...nhotel-at.html

Online records show that Metro government approved a permit Tuesday allowing for interior demolition of floors three through 10 of a building at 200 Fourth Ave. N., for what the permit refers to as simply "Noel Hotel."
The permit was issued to IDC Construction, which is based north of Atlanta.

The building was built in 1929, opening as a hotel. Most recently, it was office space, before being sold last fall, dodging foreclosure. The building sold for between $5.8 million to $6 million, according to county records. At the time of the sale, reports indicated the new owners were interested in converting the space back to its roots as a hotel.
The owner is Rockbridge Capital, a private-equity firm in Columbus, Ohio. The firm has invested in hotels in 45 states over two decades, a roster of brands that features Hilton, Starwood, Marriott and Hyatt.

If a boutique hotel were to open in the Noel Place building, it would be one of at least five potential hotels slated to open in the downtown core and immediate surrounding area in the coming years. Others include Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels, bringing a projected 240-rooms to Music Row; 21C Museum Hotels on Third Ave. N.; an unnamed project at 401 Union bringing an estimated 80 rooms; and a possible boutique hotel at the Wells Fargo Plaza on Fourth Ave. N.

SoBro church pastor remains optimistic expansion will happen
https://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2...on_will_happen






Lastly, this isn't development related but I thought it this was pretty cool, so.....what the heck.

Boom town: Nashville's Fourth of July fireworks named No. 2 in the U.S.
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...fireworks.html

Talk about a boom-town. Nashville’s Fourth of July fireworks display, set to music performed by the Nashville Symphony, has been named the No. 2 “must-see” biggest fireworks display by the American Pyrotechnics Association, the leading trade association for the fireworks industry.

Nashville trails only New York City's "Macy's Fourth of July Spectacular" on this year's list. More than 15,000 firework displays, from big-city extravaganzas to small-town shows, will go off this July 4th, according to the release.

This year's local show (put on by Pyro Shows of Tennessee) will include more than 30,000 fireworks and will run for 27 minutes, making it the longest fireworks display in Nashville's history and the largest display in the South, according to the release.
The cities rounding out the top-five are Las Vegas, Boston and San Diego.

I can't wait for the 4th! I go downtown every year and always have a blast. The music, food, hangin out with friends and drinkin all day are great, but I look forward to the firework show the most. They're always epic and I can't wait to see what the have in store for this years show. I always heard it was the largest in the South and what not, but that's pretty awesome that it's grown into one of the best shows in the country...

The only bad part is trying to get the hell out of there afterwards....

[MIRYDI]

Tony Giarratana talks SoBro, Sheet Music, and 505. Say's the SoBro will be breaking ground later this month, and after the deal with MDHA for the parking garage at 505 Church St, he is left with 18,643 square feet to develop a mixed-use building. He said the building would contain residential, retail, and a lobby at street level, as well as either office space or a hotel. The article doesn't mention much about Sheet Music other then he's still pursuing a tenant and has plans to build.

Sounds like we will be seeing yet another design for 505.

Tony Giarratana moving on after hotel deal dies
http://www.tennessean.com/story/mone...dies/12054193/

While Tony Giarratana’s plans to bring a Marriott hotel to property across from Music City Center died this week, the developer said he’s ready to move forward with a pair of multifamily projects.

Construction should start later this month on SoBro, a 32-story, 313-unit luxury apartment tower at 202 Second Ave. N. Meanwhile, Giarratana was set to close this week on a construction loan for a 146-unit apartment community at 22nd Avenue North and State Street.

“If you’re going to invest in multifamily, that’s the place to do it,” Giarratana said about Midtown and downtown, especially the area south of Broadway.

The apartment building Giarratana plans at 22nd Avenue North and State Street will include 57 microhousing units. Dallas on Elliston Place, a six-story apartment building at 21st Avenue North and Elliston Place the developer has under way, is expected to include a dozen micro-housing units. Some of those will have 500 square feet and others 396 square feet of space.

Giarratana sees the micro-housing units appealing to young people moving to Nashville from cities where they’re more common. By paying less in rent, those residents will have more money for dining out and for other leisure activities, he said.

Meanwhile, Giarratana said he’s continuing to pursue an anchor tenant for an office tower called Sheet Music he plans to build at Fourth and Demonbreun.

After closing on the sale of property at Church Street and Fifth Avenue North to the Metro Development and Housing Agency for a parking garage, Giarratana said he would have 18,643 square feet of space left to build mixed-used building with residential, retail and the lobby at the street level, parking, and either office space or a hotel among the components.

[arkitekte]

^That's good to hear about SoBro. I don't know whether or not to fully believe that, but at least it's a general time that we'll be expecting groundbreaking. I think that the diner that's on the SoBro property has had something to do with why it hasn't broken ground yet.

[MIRYDI]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

^That's good to hear about SoBro. I don't know whether or not to fully believe that, but at least it's a general time that we'll be expecting groundbreaking. I think that the diner that's on the SoBro property has had something to do with why it hasn't broken ground yet.

Yeah, it's definitely not the first time we've heard it was fixing to break ground. I don't really have doubts about the project, and I believe it will break ground soon, but I agree with you that diner situation is holding things up.




Some other news from today.

Nashville Zoo plans big expansion after city invests millions
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news...ions/12109913/

Buoyed by a bump in city funding, the Nashville Zoo is moving forward with major expansion plans expected to give tourism a boost in South Nashville.

More animals, exhibits and staff are all part of the zoo's ambitious push to expand, details of which will be revealed next week.

"We've got exciting things planned," said Jim Bartoo, the zoo's marketing and public relations director.

The zoo launched a $130 million campaign in 2012 for a 30-acre African exhibit. This proposed expansion would build on that effort, Bartoo said.

Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Council last month allotted $10 million to the Nashville Zoo in the city's capital budget, but the zoo can only spend that money if it gets dollar-for-dollar matching private investments. By announcing the expansion plans, Bartoo said, zoo officials hope to put a charge into the fund-raising effort.

He said the improvements would place the zoo among the best in the country and allow it to build on steady growth in recent years — a plan that was greeted warmly by those who would be affected.

"I think the zoo expansion will certainly increase tourism to Nashville and help small businesses in the area," said State Representative Jason Powell, D-Nashville, whose district includes the zoo. "I think it will be a welcome addition and expansion to South Nashville and Nolensville Road in particular."

In 2003, just over 460,000 people attended the Nashville Zoo, a 13 percent increase from the previous year. This year, zoo officials anticipate more than 800,000 visitors.

The zoo currently sits on about 85 acres but owns an additional 100 acres at Grassmere, off Nolensville Road. Under the plan, a good portion of that land would be developed over a 7-9 year period.

Parking has become an issue in recent years, particularly in the spring when the zoo runs out of spots. The zoo increased its parking areas in 2009, but continued growth has forced them to expand again.

The zoo has expanded incrementally over the years. It added giraffes in 2006, a a flamingo lagoon in 2010, and a kangaroo exhibit in 2013. But these new changes will be more substantial.

"We are going to do this strategically so that we can use everybody's dollars in the best way to create a great zoo for Nashville," Bartoo said.

Renovations almost completed on the Hilton. Pictures inside link.

See what a $28 million facelift looks like for downtown Hilton
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...-like-for.html

Renovations are wrapping up for the Hilton Nashville Downtown, a $28 million upgrade for the only all-suite, full-service hotel in the downtown area. All 330 guest suites have been improved, as well as the 17,800 square feet of meeting space.
“With Nashville experiencing a surge in tourism and interest from all corners of the country, these major enhancements will enable our hotel to offer new and returning guests an elevated experience that pays tribute to Nashville’s rich country music heritage.” said Ray Waters, president of Turnberry Hospitality, in a recent press release.


An article in the NBJ about demand for new Class A office space.

Demand for Nashville office space heats up
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...-heats-up.html

Demand continues to surge for top-grade Class A office space in Nashville, according to new reports from commercial real estate brokers Cassidy Turley and Colliers International.

"Several large blocks of vacant space we saw coming down the pipeline last year are no longer available," said Chris Grear, one of six co-owners of the Colliers Nashville brokerage. "If demand remains the same or increases, we will continue to see rising rents and more new construction in 2015.”

The Cassidy Turley report noted that just 4.7 percent of existing Class A office space in the Nashville market is vacant — a record low.

"It’s clear that the need for new inventory is here," said Doug Brandon, who is Cassidy Turley's regional managing principal.

Germantown to get New Orleans-based Cochon Butcher
https://www.nashvillepost.com/blogs/...cochon_butcher

New Orleans-based Cochon Butcher — a highly praised sandwich and butcher shop overseen by James Beard Award-winning chef Donald Link — is targeting a spring 2015 opening in Germantown, The Times-Picayune reports.

Locally, Nashville Business Journal first reported the story today, noting The Times-Picayune reports that a partnership between Link Restaurant Group (for which Link serves as CEO) and Nashville-based Fresh Hospitality Group will own the Nashville Cochon Butcher. Of note, Fresh Hospitality is involved in the rehabbing of the former Peafowl Theater building, located in the heart of Germantown at the southeast corner of the Fourth Avenue and Madison Street intersection.

The One C1ty project lands another tenant, this one is a restaurant.

Raw food restaurant Avo to open in Nashville this fall
http://www.tennessean.com/story/life...fall/12076263/

Raw food is making it big in Nashville with the upcoming restaurant Avo.

Local holistic nutrition and food blogger Jess Rice of My Poor Tired Liver is teaming up with Susannah Herring of Hot Yoga Plus to create the restaurant, the first in the city to serve strictly raw foods.

“Everything is 100 percent plant-based,” Rice said. “Everything is naturally gluten-free.”

This restaurant will have no oven, gas, fryer or range hoods — everything is straight local, organic greens, sprouted nuts and seeds, berries, raw noodles, edible wildflowers and more.

Avo is set to open in September in the upcoming OneC1TY development at 28th Avenue North and Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville. Stay tuned for more details at

[MIRYDI]

Vanderbilt buys Sony Music headquarters on Music Row
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...-on-music.html

Vanderbilt University paid $12.1 million Wednesday to buy Sony Music Nashville's headquarters on Music Row.
The century-old building was privately listed for sale earlier this year by brokerage Cassidy Turley.
Sony, which is one of country music's most popular labels, is looking to decamp from Music Row. Sony's top target is the Gulch, sources said, an area of the urban core less than two miles away, just inside Interstate 40.

In the Gulch, about 480,000 square feet of top-grade Class A office space is either under construction or about to break ground. The first of those two buildings, developed by MarketStreet Enterprises, won't be ready until late 2015 at the earliest. The second, set to break ground later this summer, is developed by Eakin Partners.

In a statement, Vanderbilt said Sony will continue leasing offices in the Music Row building "for a flexible period of time." Spokesmen for Sony and Vanderbilt declined to elaborate.
Sony occupies about 35,000 square feet of the roughly 80,000 square feet of office space in the building at 1400 18th Ave. S. It was originally a convent, which was converted into top-grade Class A office space 15 years ago. There's a garage with 222 parking spaces.

Vanderbilt's campus is across of 18th Avenue South from the Sony building — the obvious top reason why the university was interested in buying the building.

"The building will provide much-needed academic space close to campus and allow the university to consolidate administrative staff from currently leased office space surrounding campus," the university said in a statement.

Vanderbilt ranks as the largest employer in the Nashville metro area, with 23,000 full-time equivalent employees. There are about 12,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the university.

[MIRYDI]

Giarratana secures financing, moves apartment projects forward
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...apartment.html

With a Marriott hotel project near Music City Center off the table, prominent Nashville developer Tony Giarratana’s focus has shifted to a pair of apartment projects that still have the green light.

The Tennessean reports that Giarratana closed this week on a construction loan for an apartment project State Street and 22nd Avenue North, and also expects to break ground later this month on the proposed SoBro tower at 202 Second Ave. S.

The Midtown project at State and 22nd will include 146 units, including 57 “microhousing” units. SoBro is a luxury development. Plans call for 313 units in the 32-story tower.

First building underway at oneC1TY development on Charlotte Avenue
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...opment-on.html

Construction is set to begin on the first piece of the health-centered oneC1TY development in Nashville — which has the potential to be a spark-plug of Charlotte Avenue's revival.
Metro government has granted JE Dunn Construction Co. a $28.7 million permit to build a four-story medical office building. A parking garage with 450 spaces will sit underneath the building.

Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance will anchor the building, occupying half of its 120,000 square feet of office space. General manager Ryan Doyle said he's close to signing two additional tenants that will each take up to 10,000 square feet.
The building is set to open in August 2015, Doyle said.

Big picture, oneC1TY could help spur the revitalization of Charlotte Avenue, which at least one prominent Nashville developer calls the city's " last frontier."

All told, oneC1TY is expected to cost $400 million to $500 million. Part of the wiggle room lies in not knowing how much lab space any prospective biotech tenants would need — space that is costlier to build than standard office space, Doyle said.

Plans call for 1.2 million square feet of space in eight buildings of office, residential and retail. Each building will have ground-floor retail, totaling 100,000 square feet in all.

The oneC1TY development is located behind Centennial Park, on Charlotte Avenue, mainly between the 28th Avenue/31st Avenue Connector and where I-440 crosses over Charlotte. The developer is Cambridge Holdings Inc. Based in Dallas, the real estate firm owns and manages health care facilities and "healthy, mindful-living communities."

Renderings.




Ron over on UP snapped a picture of cranes on site.






San Diego craft brewer relocates to Nashville
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...nashville.html

TailGate Beer, a craft brewer that was founded in San Diego in 2007, has relocated to Nashville.
According to an announcement on the brewer's website, TailGate will take up residence in a 16,000-square-foot building (formerly a Moose Lodge) on 7.3 acres at 7600 Charlotte Pike.

Nashville rental rates show no sign of slowing down
http://www.tennessean.com/story/mone...wing/12152519/

It's good news for Nashville's real estate market, but bad news for renters.

Nashville's rental prices, which have been rising for the past couple of years, are showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, a new study shows that Nashville continues to outpace the national average for rising rental rates.

According to statistics from Axiometrics, the nation's leading supplier of apartment data and research, the Nashville area's annual effective rent growth was 5.3 percent – well above the 3.7 percent reported at the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the region's occupancy rate stands at 96.2 percent, reflecting a tight supply of apartments.

The Nashville market also outperformed the national annual effective rent growth of 3.3 percent and occupancy of 95 percent. Nashville's quarterly numbers, meanwhile, place it on Axiometrics' top 25 list of highest annualized effective rent growth in the nation.

"Nashville's apartment numbers are unsurprising, given this is an MSA that has been consistent with its job growth," said Jay Denton, Axiometrics' Vice President, Research. "It's also been a region with constrained supply, so demand is that much higher."

Speaking of supply-and-demand, there's plenty of new units in the pipeline for Nashville.

Axiometrics reported 2,146 units added to the market in 2013, while as of June 23, Axiometrics identified an additional 4,837 units that will be added to the Nashville market in 2014.

The biggest growth areas for new apartments are in Nashville's core with more than 1,600 units being added in 2014, and in Williamson County, which has an additional 1,365 units in the pipeline for this year.

Overall, the second quarter of 2014 has emerged as the strongest quarter for the U.S. apartment market since the third quarter of 2000.

"The year started slowly for the apartment market, perhaps due to weather, but it experienced a major reacceleration during the second quarter," said Denton. "The period from March through May was the one of the strongest three-month stretches we've seen in the 19 years we've been tracking apartments."

[arkitekte]

Other than the SoBro (mainly because of its height), OneCity is probably the project that I'm most excited about right now.

[Dr Nevergold]

Originally Posted by MIRYDI

The only bad part is trying to get the hell out of there afterwards....

When there is no rapid transit system and few people uses buses, that's how it goes...

[MIRYDI]

Work to start on VU Engineering and Science Building
http://nashvillepost.com/blogs/postb...ience_building

Major on-site work will soon begin on the Vanderbilt University Engineering and Science Building, which will front 25th Avenue across from Hawkins Field and will incorporate elements of both traditional and contemporary architecture.

The building will join two other post-2000-constructed VU structures (the Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Building and the Student Life Building) on the east side of 25th and that were instantly attractive upon their completion. Vanderbilt's Liz Entman offers an interesting piece, a segment of which focuses on how 42 trees that will be felled on the site will be recycled into paneling and trim for the building.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by MidTenn1

This was posted in the Memphis forum; It is a plan for a new 'City Walk' style development out at the Oprymills Mall and Opryland Hotel. This would be a big deal if there is anything to it.



The source link is here.

Don't know anything else about it, but it looks good.

I posted that over there. I've done some digging and that appears pre flood. It's a great idea that has some year round appeal and much like what I would like to see done with Mud Island in Memphis. The thing that strikes me about the Nashville proposal is that Landry's Corp has two restuarants at Oprymills and they have two small scale entertainment districts in Kemah Broadwalk and Galveston Pleasure Pier in the Houston area with a mix of rides.and restaurants. I wonder if this was a pitch of theirs. I think developments like this for both cities would be great to expand the weekend getaway tourism opportunities

[MIRYDI]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

I think developments like this for both cities would be great to expand the weekend getaway tourism opportunities

Agreed. Now if we could only get something like this to replace PSC Metals on the East bank I would be ecstatic. I keep wondering to myself how much longer a giant junkyard scrap metal facility will be located on the doorstep to this city. It's by far the biggest eyesore in Nashville.

In other news.

The 19 story apartment tower at the roundabout lands a permit to go vertical.

Developer of roundabout tower lands $39M permit
http://nashvillepost.com/blogs/postb...nds_39m_permit

Charlotte-based developer Childress Klein Properties has landed a permit that will allow its 19-story 1515 Demonbreun apartment tower to go vertical.

Work has been well underway on the first level of the building, which will front the Music Row Roundabout.

JE Dunn Construction Co. is serving as general contractor on the project, with the permit valued at $39.03 million.

The tower — it is uncertain if 1515 Demonbreun will be the official name of the building — will feature 431 apartment units, 6,000 square feet of retail space and a 600-space parking garage.

The developers of the $700M Ovation project are eyeing an August groundbreaking.

Franklin aldermen to vote on Ovation development
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news...ment/12308745/

The $700 million Ovation development slated for Cool Springs will likely gain a crucial approval Tuesday night by Franklin aldermen as it heads toward an August start of construction.

Ovation codevelopers SouthStar LLC and Highwoods Properties need city support to move forward with plans to build 1.4 million square feet of new office space, more than 480,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space and a 450-bed hotel on property at the intersection of McEwen Drive and Carothers Parkway. The development would also include 950 residences.

Aldermen will take the second of three votes to rezone the 78-acre site from its current general commercial designation to a new specific development-variety district zoning designation. Aldermen gave the first vote unanimous support in June.

If approved, SouthStar President Glenn McGehee said crews should begin work in August on the site’s infrastructure. So far, developers have not shared any details about potential tenants at the site.

Planners expect more than 25,000 people to work and/or live near the McEwen/Carothers intersection. Today that land is undeveloped former farmland.

To cope with the influx of new people, Franklin officials want to explore new transportation possibilities in Cool Springs, including a possible fixed-route express bus service through Cool Springs.

Renderings.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by MIRYDI

Agreed. Now if we could only get something like this to replace PSC Metals on the East bank I would be ecstatic. I keep wondering to myself how much longer a giant junkyard scrap metal facility will be located on the doorstep to this city. It's by far the biggest eyesore in Nashville.

The sooner it's all cleaned up the better. Hopefully in the next 10 or 15 years it will all be cleaned up and moved. The environmental cleanup and relocation of that site in itself would be crazy expensive.

The 19 story apartment tower at the roundabout lands a permit to go vertical.

This thing will have a pretty impressive impact on the skyline. It will look really impressive from the interstate.

[MIRYDI]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

The sooner it's all cleaned up the better. Hopefully in the next 10 or 15 years it will all be cleaned up and moved. The environmental cleanup and relocation of that site in itself would be crazy expensive.

No doubt it will be expensive, but well worth it IMO. Hopefully though, it's not 10-15 years before it happens. That makes me almost wanna cry thinking it could be that long before that area is developed...

Originally Posted by arkitekte

This thing will have a pretty impressive impact on the skyline. It will look really impressive from the interstate.

It sure will! This whole area is transforming at a crazy pace. 1212, Eakin, Gulch Crossings, 1515, 1505, Virgin hotel...All these buildings are going make a significant impact on the skyline and drastically change the area.

[MIRYDI]

A poster on UP came across some updated renderings for the old convention center site. The renderings look a lot better then the older ones for sure as they were kind of a train wreck. The best part about these new renderings (at least IMO) are that the tower portion seems to be orientated a different way. It seem's like they rotated it to where it's not blocking out a huge chunk of the skyline like before. I'll post up the new ones along with the old ones to compare.

New renders




Old renders









Also of note, the blog that show's these new renders for the old convention center site has an article about Tony Giarratana's 505 Church Street project. Another forum member on UP pointed out this quote that I found to be very interesting.

The project’s developer, Tony Giarratana, told AN that the tower should get underway once the garage is completed some time next year. That puts 505 Church’s opening somewhere around late 2018 or early 2019.

Here is the article....http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...lanet&txt=blog





A couple of cool pictures of the MCC in that blog as well that I thought I would post up.

[BnaBreaker]

That thing is just an absolute work of art...on that side at least. I wish it was as visually stunning on the KVB side too.

[MIRYDI]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

That thing is just an absolute work of art...on that side at least. I wish it was as visually stunning on the KVB side too.

Yeah, they really knocked it out of the park with the design. It's totally unique and IMO one of the best looking convention centers in the country. It's definitely a building you need to see in person to get an idea of the sheer size of it because pictures really don't do it justice. It's truly a massive building.

I agree with the KVB side not being as awe inspiring but it's not too bad either. I definitely wish they would have went a little further on that side design wise and I also wish they would have made the entire roof a green roof as opposed to just parts of it. Regardless, I'm still very pleased with how it turned out and every time I see it, it always impresses me.








Nashville is definitely booming right now! I suspect this number will reach well over $2 billion as soon as a few more large projects slated to begin construction this summer (SoBro, Eakin tower, Westin and a bunch more) start getting building permits.

Nashville's newest record: $1.9B of building permits approved
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...g-permits.html

I can write ad naseum about Nashville's white-hot building boom. But here's a number that puts a new perspective on it: $1.87 billion.
That is the total value of all the building permits Nashville Metro government issued during its most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30.

That whopping sum surpasses the previous record, set during the 2006-07 fiscal year — during the run-up to the Great Recession and related collapse of the real estate market.
The record that year was $1.83 billion worth of building permits approved, which means the new record is $40 million larger, a gain of 2 percent.

Metro officials revealed the record-setting tally Tuesday while formally opening a new service center designed to make the permitting process easier and faster.
Metro government has moved staff from six agencies, who were spread over several locations, all to the same spot inside a SoBro government building at 800 Second Ave. South. A new computer system for filing and tracking permits and inspections will go live in January.

"Locating several Metro departments in one place means applicants will no longer have to travel to multiple locations to get their permits," said Mayor Karl Dean.
The opening ceremony also demonstrated the new service center's teleconferencing capabilities. Officials at Embrey Development Corp. were on the other end of a teleconference. The San Antonio-based developer is building apartments in Germantown, next to the new stadium for the Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball team. The stadium is set to open next year.

Demolition begins at prime site for potential new federal courthouse
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville...ntial-new.html

The prolonged inaction defining a prime, high-profile downtown Nashville site will come to an end very soon — if only for a short time.
I'm talking about the site for a potential new federal courthouse, a quest that has endured more than two decades without a resolution. Congress still has yet to fund the work, and federal agencies don't seem to agree on the need for a new courthouse.
The federal government owns 3.4 acres next door to the Nashville Public Library, where the courthouse would be located. It's a piece of land bound by Seventh and Eighth avenues and Commerce and Church streets.

If built, the courthouse could cost $175 million or more. At one point, designs called for a seven-story building of almost 350,000 square feet.
The news here is that on July 7, Metro government granted a permit to demolish two of the four structures on the property.
The permit does not specify which buildings will be torn down. It appears there won't be any holes left in the ground, because the permit says any basement areas will be filled with concrete.

The permit says Nashville company Demo Plus Inc. is doing the $118,000 worth of work. Messages for owner Steve Cline were not returned.
Such demo would have to be done if a new U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is to be built on that site. But don't take the construction to mean the government finally gave the project a green light.
Keith Throckmorton, clerk of the court, said he was unaware of any demolition work. He referred me to Jim Fleming, who oversees operations of the current federal courthouse, at 801 Broadway.