Virgin Hotel on Music Row, 15 stories, 262 rooms, music club

[titanhog]

Lips are sealed.

[ruraljuror]

The 3HL group on at 3 pm on the sports talk station called 104.5 The Zone apparently have moved to the Music Row area and remarking about all the cranes in the area. They mentioned several developments and said the Virgin Hotel is now underway. A few minutes later Littlejohn Engineering tweeted that they can provide them with any information they want about the projects. 

 

I'm inclined to think they probably don't know what they are talking about regarding the Virgin Hotel, but then there's that slight curiosity as to why he would say that with such affirmation.

 

I drove by the Virgin site a couple days ago specifically looking for action, and there was no noticeable change at that point.  

[titanhog]

I drove by the Virgin site a couple days ago specifically looking for action, and there was no noticeable change at that point.  

Maybe they're doing underground work we can't see. 

[Vrtigo]

The 3HL group on at 3 pm on the sports talk station called 104.5 The Zone apparently have moved to the Music Row area and remarking about all the cranes in the area. They mentioned several developments and said the Virgin Hotel is now underway. A few minutes later Littlejohn Engineering tweeted that they can provide them with any information they want about the projects. 

 

I'm inclined to think they probably don't know what they are talking about regarding the Virgin Hotel, but then there's that slight curiosity as to why he would say that with such affirmation.

 

Maybe they read this board. 

[Paramount747]

My lips are not sealed!  I have been told they have financing and construction is within the next few weeks. Some minor design changes, but we will be pleased. Same overall height. Construction time period is two years and should open by fall of 2017. (I have engineers, architects,  and construction people live in my building.)

 

I had my doubts on this project, especially since there have been public news stories on Mr. Chase, but after all they are doing the Westin and the Hume Fogg gymnasium expansion.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Paramount747

[titanhog]

My lips are not sealed!  I have been told they have financing and construction is within the next few weeks. Some minor design changes, but we will be pleased. Same overall height. Construction time period is two years and should open by fall of 2017. (I have engineers, architects,  and construction people live in my building.)

 

I had my doubts on this project, especially since there have been public news stories on Mr. Chase, but after all they are doing the Westin and the Hume Fogg gymnasium expansion.

It scares me when you're this optimistic! 

[Paramount747]

It scares me when you're this optimistic! 

Ha! Not saying they are 100% correct, but after looking into it further I think this is a viable project and will start this summer. There is a demand for 4-5 Diamond properties in Nashville.

[MidTenn1]

Virgin Hotel proposal for Dallas...

 

 

Looks like this may go up before Nashville's.

[CenterHill]

Virgin Hotel proposal for Dallas...

 

 

Looks like this may go up before Nashville's.

The greenery (kudzu?) gives it sort of a sideburns effect. Like ours better, if it ever gets built.

[samsonh]

The delays just go to show you how hard it can be to raise equity. Look at the sobro, tony had to get a Chinese investor involved to finish his equity raise.

[wmaddbb2018]

Are we still thinking this one is a go, or is it 50/50?  The comment from the 10th of June from one member indicated we should hear news within a few weeks, and that was a few weeks ago.  I am really hoping this get's built, but it seems like it's an uphill battle.

[chris holman]

https://www.nashvillepost.com/blogs/postbusiness/2015/7/1/virgin_hotel_on_site_work_to_begin_by_october

work will start in October

[smeagolsfree]

I think by October would be most accurate.

[Guest]

It is good to have a positive resolution on this .... glad the guy was telling the truth.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2015/07/assault-charges-against-former-virgin-hotel.html
 

 

Domestic violence and aggravated assault charges against Nashville developer David Chase were dismissed on Wednesday.

Chase, the former executive vice president of D.F. Chase Inc., was at one point the public face of the high-profile Nashville Virgin Hotel project at the Music Row roundabout in Midtown.

He resigned from the company in September 2014 following two arrests last summer, both stemming from an alleged assault against his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Bull.

A Davidson County judge dismissed the charges Wednesday after the District Attorney’s Office said it would not proceed with the case. Bull was not deemed a credible witness, Assistant District Attorney Katy Miller said in a motion of dismissal. Most notably, Bull lied under oath, according Miller. “She has admitted to testifying falsely and independent witnesses contradict her testimony,” Miller wrote in the motion.

Miller’s motion also states Bull manipulated or destroyed evidence. It also states that physical evidence and phone records contradicted her account of the alleged assault.

In early June, Chase filed a suit against Metro government and its police department, claiming police used excessive force and subjected him to false arrest. Chase still faces separate DUI charges.

His father, Dean Chase, has since taken over development of the 240-room Virgin Hotel.

[ruraljuror]

It is good to have a positive resolution on this .... glad the guy was telling the truth.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2015/07/assault-charges-against-former-virgin-hotel.html

 

 

Edit:  Having now read the court docs from the dismissal, I pretty much completely agree with you.  

Edited July 2, 2015 by ruraljuror

[smeagolsfree]

Core drillers on site today.

[MLBrumby]

Gotta ask... does "core drillers" mean a certain probability that construction is imminent? 

[arkitekte]

Gotta ask... does "core drillers" mean a certain probability that construction is imminent? 

 

Generally they're taking core samples to be tested at a lab in order to design the tower's structure. Depending on the strength of Mother Earth at that general location they'll know how strong (and deep) they'll need to engineer the foundation. 

[MidTenn1]

Generally they're taking core samples to be tested at a lab in order to design the tower's structure. Depending on the strength of Mother Earth at that general location they'll know how strong (and deep) they'll need to engineer the foundation. 

 

And it's a pretty good sign they are serious about construction. Core drilling is not cheap. Often it's done just weeks or at most a few months before digging begins. 

However, according to the Metro Development Tracker, they are waiting on August 13, 2015 for final site plan approval.

 

It still sounds encouraging.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2015 by PHofKS

[Nathan_in_DC]

I'll be so excited to see this go up.

I'm a fan of the nice big covered area on the roof deck. So many places with amenities such as this neglect having substantial cover for those who wish to take in the view if it's not the best of weather.

[smeagolsfree]

I feel a lot more confident this project will happen. There was a story in the Post a few weeks back that construction would start from 60 to 120 days. As far as I know, they have all the approvals they need. That according to someone involved deeply in the project.

[MLBrumby]

Hope so, Smeag.  So I'm looking at that rendering and have to ask the forum if that design looks like a new interpretation of "brutalism".  The thick level between first and second floors and lots of very thick posts with floors that don't align between one side of the building and the other (tower) portion remind me of (what I think is) brutalism.  The glass and lofty height of the floors are what make me what to call it a "new" interpretation.  

Obviously, I'm no architect and have no formal training in the field.  So what do you all think? 

[Guest]

^I'm seeing a trend as well. Lots of expressed floor levels again. We have learned a lot however. Things will never again lack the humanism that brutalist architecture celebrated ignoring.

[rookzie]

Hope so, Smeag.  So I'm looking at that rendering and have to ask the forum if that design looks like a new interpretation of "brutalism".  The thick level between first and second floors and lots of very thick posts with floors that don't align between one side of the building and the other (tower) portion remind me of (what I think is) brutalism.  The glass and lofty height of the floors are what make me what to call it a "new" interpretation.  

Obviously, I'm no architect and have no formal training in the field.  So what do you all think? 

 

^I'm seeing a trend as well. Lots of expressed floor levels again. We have learned a lot however. Things will never again lack the humanism that brutalist architecture celebrated.

Hope I'm not being too brutal just posting this, you know. (a living "vestige of the the past, replete with authentic grime-streak accents)  If we're "lucky", it'll become "historically protected" for our great grandchildren and the hystericals to admire. (seriously?)

-==-

Edited July 19, 2015 by rookzie

[MidTenn1]

Not looking good for the project....from the Tennessean....

 

Even before they break ground on Nashville's Virgin Hotel, investors are being pulled into legal disputes because of former project developer David Chase.

Chase is suing nine other people (not the investors) in a civil case in Williamson County, claiming they conspired against him and helped his ex-girlfriend make claims of domestic violence against him. Prosecutors dismissed the domestic violence case in June after they found Lauren Bull, Chase's ex-girlfriend, was untruthful during testimony and her allegations did not match witness accounts.

Now, a Nashville attorney - who represents four of the people Chase alleges conspired against him - has subpoenaed seven individuals and companies to turn over documents or give statements related to the hotel project that could be used in the civil case.

Attorney Brian Manookian said the people he subpoenaed were identified in a Securities and Exchange Commission document connected to the hotel development.

"They've been subpoenaed because David Chase alleges that my clients somehow harmed his business relationships with these people," Manookian said in an email to The Tennessean. "To the contrary, I expect the majority of his partners to testify that they were already aware of David Chase's well-documented personal and professional issues long before the incident with Lauren Bull; and, furthermore, that their interest in the Virgin Hotel investment was in spite of David Chase's involvement, not because of it."