5th & Broadway | 501 Commerce | NMAAM | 34 story apt, 26 story office, + 183,000 sq. ft. of Retail

[Paramount747]

At one time an idea was to convert this to a large downtown shopping mall with high end retailers. A new Church Street Center if you will.

[chris holman]

If there was some type of way they can incorporate the LifeWay property along with the old Convention Center property Nashville could have something like L.A. Live in California

might not be built on this level but anything similar would be amazing

[Paramount747]

I hope not! L.A. and Vegas are just too grandiose.  Too Gauche.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Paramount747

[chris holman]

I hope not! L.A. and Vegas are just too grandiose. 

of course it would be authentic to Nashville tastes , of what we have but I'm mean the designs of the buildings and infrastructure

If there was some type of way they can incorporate the LifeWay property along with the old Convention Center property Nashville could have something like L.A. Live in California

might not be built on this level but anything similar would be amazing

[BnaBreaker]

L.A. Live is the blandest part of that entire city in my opinion.  Give me Echo Park or Koreatown any day! 

[chris holman]

Really ?  It does a very superficial, just by some of the pics , but , isn't Nashville trying to have something similar to  this type of development but with shopping residential office, 

[BnaBreaker]

LA Live to me is more 'paved over meeting space in between sports arenas' than it is an actual shopping/entertainment district. 

Edited August 29, 2015 by BnaBreaker

[UTgrad09]

I think we can find a middle ground here.

LA Live is obviously a planned entertainment hub. It sort of has a Vegas meets Times Square kind of loud assault on the senses. I agree that we don't need that. And I think that unlike LA Live, we don't have to start from scratch (our entertainment hub is a row of old warehouses converted into honkytonks). 

However -- the premise itself isn't necessarily something we should shy away from. I think the Lifeway property is too far away to make any sort of cohesive (yes, it's only 4 blocks, but those 4 blocks pretty much guarantee that they will forever be separate). However, the LA Live comparison might not be too far off. Consider that anchoring our entertainment district is Bridgestone Arena, and behind Bridgestone Arena is the Music City Center. And surrounding Music City Center are/will be big grand hotels. And there's the Country Music Hall of Fame. And there's the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. And now we have Ascend Amphitheater. And across the river is Nissan Stadium. 

We already have LA Live on our own scale. It just looks different (and is more cool).

[Lexy]

Frankly, I don't see this site getting fixed in my lifetime.  If they're going to do anything with it, it better be soon or they'll have missed their chance.  I hope Tony G. is watching this forum because the same can be said for 505.  Why in the heck are these things so darn hard to pull off in this city yet Austin (god help us all) can do it at the drop of a hat or Indy (a much less desirable place to live).  What in the world holds this place back from just loosing itself in development?  Is it Franklin?  Is it leadership?

Edited August 30, 2015 by Lexy

[titanhog]

It has to be leadership.

[Paramount747]

Frankly, I don't see this site getting fixed in my lifetime.  If they're going to do anything with it, it better be soon or they'll have missed their chance.  I hope Tony G. is watching this forum because the same can be said for 505.  Why in the heck are these things so darn hard to pull off in this city yet Austin (god help us all) can do it at the drop of a hat or Indy (a much less desirable place to live).  What in the world holds this place back from just loosing itself in development?  Is it Franklin?  Is it leadership?

I still think it is Nashville's inability to attract the "right" people for these developments. Karl Dean, although very successful, did a lot for tourism. The new Mayor whomever that will be, Barry or Fox will need to do a better job attracting businesses that pay high enough wages for people to afford these properties. They need to bring Fortune 500 wages. 505 in reality is waiting on the banks to figure out if there are enough people who can afford to live there. Austin is so far ahead of Nashville, and so is Charlotte for that matter, it is not worth the comparison. Those two cities are more like Denver and Seattle. For instance, Austin has a university of 60,000 people not too mention being in a state of 30,000,000 people. Nashville simply cannot compete with that, and never will.

Nashville will always be known as a Big Town, not a city in the eyes of the national public. Steven Tyler in this month's issue of Nashville Lifestyles said Nashville is a big town  that reminded him of the small town where he grew up in New Hampshire which had 1600 people.

Not a great comparison, but this coming from a 67 year old entertainer who has travelled the world for the past 45 years.

In reality 505 and the newly proposed 38 story Buckingham Gulch Tower are fantasies. I hope they happen, and I think they could happen, but Nashville was never designed to be a skyscraper city. It's unfortunate, but if we on the forum want a big, dense, tall skyline, we might as well visit other cities and accept Nashville as the Big Town that we are. And that is not a bad thing, after all Jack White, Paul Taylor, Kip Winger, Mark Slaughter, Steve Tyler, Robert Plant and others did not move elsewhere, they moved here. Can Austin, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Denver, Seattle, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City et. al. say that?

Edited August 31, 2015 by Paramount747

[samsonh]

Frankly, I don't see this site getting fixed in my lifetime.  If they're going to do anything with it, it better be soon or they'll have missed their chance.  I hope Tony G. is watching this forum because the same can be said for 505.  Why in the heck are these things so darn hard to pull off in this city yet Austin (god help us all) can do it at the drop of a hat or Indy (a much less desirable place to live).  What in the world holds this place back from just loosing itself in development?  Is it Franklin?  Is it leadership?

Are you people crazy? We have a MASSIVE amount of development happening in this city. We also have about 40% of this city that hates spending money on anything civic related. We also have no regional banks based in this city. It has nothing to do with leadership. It has to do with supply and demand and money.

[Paramount747]

Are you people crazy? We have a MASSIVE amount of development happening in this city. We also have about 40% of this city that hates spending money on anything civic related. We also have no regional banks based in this city. It has nothing to do with leadership. It has to do with supply and demand and money.

You are right about the civic projects. How many times do I see a letter to the editor etc where someone says "Dean stop the spending!"

[Pyramid Scheme]

Are you people crazy? We have a MASSIVE amount of development happening in this city. We also have about 40% of this city that hates spending money on anything civic related. We also have no regional banks based in this city. It has nothing to do with leadership. It has to do with supply and demand and money.

I agree! I grew up in Nashville and it was always just some small sleepy city, but now its ranked #3 on Forbes list of boom towns. The only thing that might be holding Nashville back are people who have this idea that Nashville will always just be a little city and real growth will never happen.

[nashvillwill]

Well, welcome Philip.

[Pyramid Scheme]

Well, welcome Philip.

Thanks. I had to create an account and say something after reading all that naysaying.

[Nathan_in_DC]

Thanks. I had to create an account and say something after reading all that naysaying.

Glad to have you aboard! Long time lurker or just happen to stumble in?

[rookzie]

Thanks. I had to create an account and say something after reading all that naysaying.

...and another welcome from me, as well, Philip.  It's interesting how dialog contexts make lurkers roll up their sleeves (or take off their shirts) and lunge.  As you have seen, there can be some real "compelling forces" 'round these parts.  I suspect that there are other souls as well who are on the brink of jumping in, and even though the waters often get choppy, one thing for sure is that it's not a cess pool.
-==-

[Pyramid Scheme]

Glad to have you aboard! Long time lurker or just happen to stumble in?

I've lurked for a couple of months. I've been living in Memphis lately and haven't lived in Nashville since 2002, but what's going on in Nashville is fascinating to me. I never thought this sort of development would happen, building a 38 floor skyscraper that's not even in the typical skyline section of downtown is shocking to me in a good way. I hope Nashville turns itself into a big beautiful world-class city, but some people seem to have this idea that it's impossible for Nashville and I hope that doesn't become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[arkitekte]

I've lurked for a couple of months. I've been living in Memphis lately and haven't lived in Nashville since 2002, but what's going on in Nashville is fascinating to me. I never thought this sort of development would happen, building a 38 floor skyscraper that's not even in the typical skyline section of downtown is shocking to me in a good way. I hope Nashville turns itself into a big beautiful world-class city, but some people seem to have this idea that it's impossible for Nashville and I hope that doesn't become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I generally heard that while living in Memphis; 95% of it is jealousy, the other 5% is typically ignorance. Nashville will be more than fine...actual city leaders, in town developers, out of town developers, etc.

[ariesjow]

I still think it is Nashville's inability to attract the "right" people for these developments. Karl Dean, although very successful, did a lot for tourism. The new Mayor whomever that will be, Barry or Fox will need to do a better job attracting businesses that pay high enough wages for people to afford these properties. They need to bring Fortune 500 wages. 505 in reality is waiting on the banks to figure out if there are enough people who can afford to live there. Austin is so far ahead of Nashville, and so is Charlotte for that matter, it is not worth the comparison. Those two cities are more like Denver and Seattle. For instance, Austin has a university of 60,000 people not too mention being in a state of 30,000,000 people. Nashville simply cannot compete with that, and never will.

Nashville will always be known as a Big Town, not a city in the eyes of the national public. Steven Tyler in this month's issue of Nashville Lifestyles said Nashville is a big town  that reminded him of the small town where he grew up in New Hampshire which had 1600 people.

Not a great comparison, but this coming from a 67 year old entertainer who has travelled the world for the past 45 years.

In reality 505 and the newly proposed 38 story Buckingham Gulch Tower are fantasies. I hope they happen, and I think they could happen, but Nashville was never designed to be a skyscraper city. It's unfortunate, but if we on the forum want a big, dense, tall skyline, we might as well visit other cities and accept Nashville as the Big Town that we are. And that is not a bad thing, after all Jack White, Paul Taylor, Kip Winger, Mark Slaughter, Steve Tyler, Robert Plant and others did not move elsewhere, they moved here. Can Austin, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Denver, Seattle, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City et. al. say that?

I must respectfully disagree with you here, John. Those cities are ahead of Nashville in terms of their development and transit investments, but they're still much more like Nashville than Denver and especially Seattle. I think you're being overly pessimistic without a good reason here. Nashville is already competing with those cities.

[Neigeville2]

I've lurked for a couple of months. I've been living in Memphis lately and haven't lived in Nashville since 2002, but what's going on in Nashville is fascinating to me. I never thought this sort of development would happen, building a 38 floor skyscraper that's not even in the typical skyline section of downtown is shocking to me in a good way. I hope Nashville turns itself into a big beautiful world-class city, but some people seem to have this idea that it's impossible for Nashville and I hope that doesn't become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It does seem that the out of town developers have a much bigger vision, the local people seem sort of disoriented by what's happening.  I remember reading an article where a local developer expressed wonder at the success of eleven North apartments, saying they didn't think anybody would want to live at that location.  The public seems in denial too; part of the reason we can't get rapid transit going is that people don't want to believe Nashville is big enough to have that particularly amenity.  It's weird to me. Look around, people, this is not a small town.

[Pyramid Scheme]

It does seem that the out of town developers have a much bigger vision, the local people seem sort of disoriented by what's happening.  I remember reading an article where a local developer expressed wonder at the success of eleven North apartments, saying they didn't think anybody would want to live at that location.  The public seems in denial too; part of the reason we can't get rapid transit going is that people don't want to believe Nashville is big enough to have that particularly amenity.  It's weird to me. Look around, people, this is not a small town.

Yeah they're shooting themselves in foot by not seeing what's going on around them. Those roads won't support all that development so they need to start really considering an el or light-rail or something.

This convention center seems to have a lot of skepticism directed toward it. I remember a lot of people here in Memphis were upset because the African American music museum was going to Nashville, but I guess it won't if the site won't even be developed like what a lot of folks here are saying. The reason it went to Nashville instead of Memphis is because Nashville had superior planning and fundraising whereas Memphis was just relying on the fact that "we're Memphis" which doesn't quite cut it. I thought that would be a pretty positive sign that the convention center site is going to happen.

[Lexy]

Welcome Philip!

 

Trust me, I want the city to grow and to say it can't, nor ever, will compete against Austin and Charlotte is just silly talk.  What the hell does Charlotte have to keep it growing?  More space to sprawl?  Do you think water is going to grow on trees for Austin?  Let's be real, both cities are very limited with how much they can grow.  Charlotte has no tourist industry and Austin is just a bloated college town with a wonderful PR firm that isn't afraid to spend money.

 

Nashville needs to start thinking bigger and better yet...doing bigger.  If it wants to compete, it needs to act like it because theoretically, it could smoke both of those towns in any number of categories.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Lexy

[The ATX]

I still think it is Nashville's inability to attract the "right" people for these developments. Karl Dean, although very successful, did a lot for tourism. The new Mayor whomever that will be, Barry or Fox will need to do a better job attracting businesses that pay high enough wages for people to afford these properties. They need to bring Fortune 500 wages. 505 in reality is waiting on the banks to figure out if there are enough people who can afford to live there. Austin is so far ahead of Nashville, and so is Charlotte for that matter, it is not worth the comparison. Those two cities are more like Denver and Seattle. For instance, Austin has a university of 60,000 people not too mention being in a state of 30,000,000 people. Nashville simply cannot compete with that, and never will.

Nashville will always be known as a Big Town, not a city in the eyes of the national public. Steven Tyler in this month's issue of Nashville Lifestyles said Nashville is a big town  that reminded him of the small town where he grew up in New Hampshire which had 1600 people.

Not a great comparison, but this coming from a 67 year old entertainer who has travelled the world for the past 45 years.

In reality 505 and the newly proposed 38 story Buckingham Gulch Tower are fantasies. I hope they happen, and I think they could happen, but Nashville was never designed to be a skyscraper city. It's unfortunate, but if we on the forum want a big, dense, tall skyline, we might as well visit other cities and accept Nashville as the Big Town that we are. And that is not a bad thing, after all Jack White, Paul Taylor, Kip Winger, Mark Slaughter, Steve Tyler, Robert Plant and others did not move elsewhere, they moved here. Can Austin, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Denver, Seattle, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City et. al. say that?

I think Austin is more like Nashville than Seattle or Denver - Austin and Nashville were ranked the 35th and 36th largest metros respectively in the 2014 census estimate.  Having a huge university adjacent to Downtown is definitely a benefit.  But Austin is surrounded by three larger Metros that are booming as well which amounts to a lot of competition for people and jobs.  One of them - San Antonio - is even adjacent to the Austin Metro.  

One thing I've noticed (and this isn't in response to the post I quoted) on the various urban forums that I follow is that there are posters in a lot of cities that seem concerned or worried about Austin as if there was some city vs. city competition going on.  Even in a San Diego (a city with no connection to Austin IMO) thread on SSP there is some concern about Austin passing it up in some way.  In Austin development threads there is hardly ever a mention or concern about any other city.  Although Austin and San Antonio posters have been known to get upset with each other until a mod steps in.