39 replies to this topic

[Fellowmann20]

Justiceham, on Oct 17 2006, 07:12 PM, said:

Knoxville has new towers? Since when?

I believe he is referring to the Plaza Tower 1979 and the Riverview Tower 1985.  They look modern to me.

[ohb]

I vote Nashville.  I don't think Memphis has put anything up over 20 stories since the Cold War.

[Hankster]

How on earth did the Tri-Cities get three votes for best vertical impressiveness for their skylines?  Hard to figure.      According to Emporis, there are no buildings in the Tri-cities area taller than 10 stories.  Nashville has at least 100 buildings taller than 10 stories and at least a dozen more on the way.

[ricky_the_great]

ohb, on Oct 26 2006, 09:36 PM, said:

I vote Nashville.  I don't think Memphis has put anything up over 20 stories since the Cold War.

pyramid went up in 91, several new buildings are in the works right now, including a new tallest building for memphis. one Beale.

[ohb]

What is the pyramid being used for and is anything under construction right now or is it all still speculation?

[Rardy]

ohb, on Oct 30 2006, 04:57 AM, said:

What is the pyramid being used for and is anything under construction right now or is it all still speculation?

The amount of construction in downtown Memphis is quite impressive.  Currently 3 historic highrises are being converted into condos (all over 18 stories).  One Beale, the newest tallest, has received final approval from the City Council and will break ground in 2007.  The Horizon will break ground soon also.  Mirabella has already broken ground.

Currently Memphis has 28,200 residents downtown and that figure is growing at over 10% each year.  By 2010 there will be over 40,000 people living in the urban core, even without these massive projects.

[ohb]

I will rephrase the question.  Is anything new that is currently under construction at the time that is changing the skyline.  I don't know how condo conversions can add to the skyline.  Are they adding more up to date lighting or someone to that extent to these conversions that would make a difference in the skyline?

[ricky_the_great]

ohb, on Oct 30 2006, 12:29 PM, said:

I will rephrase the question.  Is anything new that is currently under construction at the time that is changing the skyline.  I don't know how condo conversions can add to the skyline.  Are they adding more up to date lighting or someone to that extent to these conversions that would make a difference in the skyline?

in the next 12 months there were be a total of 4 skyscrapers over 20 stories tall beginning construction in downtown memphis. Including one that will be the new tallest building in Memphis.

check out the memphis thread or downtownmemphis.com for the many projects going on in downtown memphis.

[Rardy]

ohb, on Oct 30 2006, 11:29 AM, said:

I will rephrase the question.  Is anything new that is currently under construction at the time that is changing the skyline.  I don't know how condo conversions can add to the skyline.  Are they adding more up to date lighting or someone to that extent to these conversions that would make a difference in the skyline?

Currently we have 2 cranes in downtown Memphis -- one for the new Westin by the Forum and one for the St. Jude expansion.

And yes -- converting formerly empty buildings into residences does have an impact on the skyline, especially at night.

[chris holman]

Rardy, on Oct 30 2006, 03:52 PM, said:

Currently we have 2 cranes in downtown Memphis -- one for the new Westin by the Forum and one for the St. Jude expansion.

And yes -- converting formerly empty buildings into residences does have an impact on the skyline, especially at night.

I believe Nashville has about 9 or 10 cranes in the downtown, West End area of the city and more to come.   All of these projects that are proposed and under construction will dramatically change the Nashville skyline.

[AmandaHugginkiss]

I think Memphis looks better from the street and Nashville better driving along the freeway. Yeah, Nashville has a bunch of cranes; The city is trying to develop things in a hurry.

[Tennesseestorm]

That is what I was wondering too Hank.  I live in Bristol and while it has the most "verticle impressiveness" I think of the three Tri-Cities, I do not think they rate tops, unless you like smaller buildings.  You and "Emporis" is correct- the tallest buildings in the area are 10-11 stories high.  Bristol has three that are around 10-11 stories high, one that is about 9 stories high and another that is about 7 stories- then of course- several that are 3-6 stories tall.  Johnson City only has a couple that are 10-11 stories and a couple more that are 8-9 high?  I am guessing here.

Rumor has it ( I do not know how true it is) that Bristol may be getting a 20+ story skyscraper that will be a "super hotel".  There was also a rumor around that a 12-15 story complex would be built as a "low budget housing".  But only rumors mind you.... probably like the one that said we were supposed to get a 5 story parking garage in the downtown area - I have yet to see that.... maybe after we are dead and gone?  

Hankster, on Oct 29 2006, 10:52 AM, said:

How on earth did the Tri-Cities get three votes for best vertical impressiveness for their skylines?  Hard to figure.      According to Emporis, there are no buildings in the Tri-cities area taller than 10 stories.  Nashville has at least 100 buildings taller than 10 stories and at least a dozen more on the way.

Edited by Tennesseestorm, 20 December 2006 - 10:29 PM.

[crossroad]

What really matters is the street level activities.

[titanhog]

I grew up in Arkansas and coming across the river at Memphis was always exciting to me.  Memphis was alot bigger than Little Rock, so I always felt like I was coming to the big city.  Then...I came to Nashville for the first time in the 90's and was blown away.  It feels like home and has a beautiful looking downtown.

I like Memphis...and I hear what you Memphians are saying about proposed projects that will cach you up with Nashville...but don't forget that Nashville is having an explosion of building right now...with probably at least a dozen new proposals on the table.  Right now...Suntrust Bldg, Encore, Viridian (just finished), Velocity, Icon, Terrazo, Adelecia (topping out) and looking like the two-tower West End Summitt may be starting up.  Also proposed for a Westin Hotel (approved), W Hotel, a tower at Demonbreun and I-24, another tower in SoBro and of course...the 1000' Signature Tower.

[TennBear]

titanhog, on May 8 2007, 11:41 AM, said:

I grew up in Arkansas and coming across the river at Memphis was always exciting to me.  Memphis was alot bigger than Little Rock, so I always felt like I was coming to the big city.  Then...I came to Nashville for the first time in the 90's and was blown away.  It feels like home and has a beautiful looking downtown.

I like Memphis...and I hear what you Memphians are saying about proposed projects that will cach you up with Nashville...but don't forget that Nashville is having an explosion of building right now...with probably at least a dozen new proposals on the table.  Right now...Suntrust Bldg, Encore, Viridian (just finished), Velocity, Icon, Terrazo, Adelecia (topping out) and looking like the two-tower West End Summitt may be starting up.  Also proposed for a Westin Hotel (approved), W Hotel, a tower at Demonbreun and I-24, another tower in SoBro and of course...the 1000' Signature Tower.

I do not think that Memphis will ever catch up or even compete with Nashville as far as a skyline goes. The Memphis Downtown is not the Central Business District. It does not have the demand for office space that allows for the construction of major office buildings.  It will continue to rehab older buildings and build one to two major buildings per decade or two. That being said, there are few cities that have the dramatic change from cotton fields to city sid-by-side that you have in Memphis. They are different cities with different strong points.  You mentioned Little Rock. I think that Little Rock will have a much more impressive skyline than Memphis in a few years. I am happy that you feel comfortable in Nashville and that it feels like home. It does have an impressive skyline at this point in time. I do not consider that to be the most important feature in a city or a downtown. It is a point of pride to many though and I think that that is great.

[titanhog]

TennBear, on May 8 2007, 01:15 PM, said:

I do not think that Memphis will ever catch up or even compete with Nashville as far as a skyline goes. The Memphis Downtown is not the Central Business District. It does not have the demand for office space that allows for the construction of major office buildings.  It will continue to rehab older buildings and build one to two major buildings per decade or two. That being said, there are few cities that have the dramatic change from cotton fields to city sid-by-side that you have in Memphis. They are different cities with different strong points.  You mentioned Little Rock. I think that Little Rock will have a much more impressive skyline than Memphis in a few years. I am happy that you feel comfortable in Nashville and that it feels like home. It does have an impressive skyline at this point in time. I do not consider that to be the most important feature in a city or a downtown. It is a point of pride to many though and I think that that is great.

You may not consider an impressive skyline to be the most important feature in a city, but the topic of this thread is "best skyline in Tennessee" and is my reason for commenting on Nashville's skyline.  I do not mean to infer that the skyline of Nashville is the reason I love it...even though I really do love the skyline.

[watnow1425]

I like that view too, coming from Little Rock or St Louis. I don't think that you can say Memphis will never catch up to Nashville. Nashville is going through a building boom just like what Memphis had in the 70's. That being said, Nashvilles boom will eventually end. Memphis is also having a boom but its just starting. We have a few proposals and it will only be time before it starts to pick up. I'm not trying to say that Memphis is better then Nashville or that our skyline will be better then yours anytime soon. I blame the Mississippi river, TDOT, and evil people for uncentralized base that downtown is. Hopefully Arkansas picks up the slack and it becomes the center but thats unlikely.

Good luck with the proposals(especially that 1000fter). It will give me something to look forward too when I pass through.

[Memphis Love]

TDOT makes a lot of mistakes statewide. I think it's interesting that TDOT is supposed to widen I-240 in Memphis to 8 lanes but has yet to really make any progress with it, except for about a 3-4 mile segment b/w Nonconnah and Lamar. It's interesting that pretty much all of Nashville's interstates with the exception of I-440 are 8 lanes.....why the disparity?

[titanhog]

watnow1425, on May 8 2007, 05:02 PM, said:

I like that view too, coming from Little Rock or St Louis. I don't think that you can say Memphis will never catch up to Nashville. Nashville is going through a building boom just like what Memphis had in the 70's. That being said, Nashvilles boom will eventually end. Memphis is also having a boom but its just starting. We have a few proposals and it will only be time before it starts to pick up. I'm not trying to say that Memphis is better then Nashville or that our skyline will be better then yours anytime soon. I blame the Mississippi river, TDOT, and evil people for uncentralized base that downtown is. Hopefully Arkansas picks up the slack and it becomes the center but thats unlikely.

Good luck with the proposals(especially that 1000fter). It will give me something to look forward too when I pass through.

I have no reason to believe one way or another whether or not Memphis will catch up to Nashville as far as numbers of skyscrapers.  My comment was based entirely upon a previous poster saying that Memphis might catch Nashville because of current construction and proposed construction...and I made the comment that while Memphis is going through a boom, so is Nashville...

Memphis Love, on May 9 2007, 09:59 AM, said:

TDOT makes a lot of mistakes statewide. I think it's interesting that TDOT is supposed to widen I-240 in Memphis to 8 lanes but has yet to really make any progress with it, except for about a 3-4 mile segment b/w Nonconnah and Lamar. It's interesting that pretty much all of Nashville's interstates with the exception of I-440 are 8 lanes.....why the disparity?

Of course TDOT will tell you that their construction is based upon traffic numbers...and that they will widen where the most traffic is...but...I would imagine it has more to do with who screams the loudest and the fact that the state's government is hq'd in Nashville.

[miami1855]

I-24 north of Nashville....8 lanes? Not so much. Try four lanes. That is the most untouched stretch of urban interstate in the state.