Signature Tower

November 10, 2009

Description: Signature Tower, if built, will become the largest building in the state of Tennessee, and estimated to potentially be the third or fourth tallest building in the Southeast USA.

History: As of 2008, Signature Tower, if built as proposed, would have become the largest building in the state of Tennessee, tallest building in the Southeast USA, and the 3rd tallest building in America outside of New York City and Chicago. It was proposed to be 1,030 feet high, 70 floors, and include a mixture of residential, hotel, and office space (in the latest design). It was projected to begin construction in 2008, and open sometime in 2011. Due to economic troubles, among other things, this proposed tower was redeveloped.<br /><br />This building is currently in the approved status and awaiting groundbreaking. In the past, there have been several different plans for development of the site. The earliest in recent memory being a parking garage with clock tower atop it. The plans for Signature Tower started off with a completely different design with a much more traditional look, many years ago. The current design started as a 55 story tower with the same look, and progressed to its present state as plans were adjusted and aspects of the tower were added and updated.

Type: Mixed Use

Floors: 50

Height: 807 ft.

Architect: Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates

Developer: Giarratana Development, LLC

Location: 505 Church St, Nashville, TN

Website:

More Information:

Ground Floor Retail, Restaurant, and Hotel
Current Status: Redesign development
50 Residential Units
172,000 sq ft Office space
304 Room Hotel Palomar (previous hotel anchor assumed)
24 floors hotel (estimate)
10 floors office (estimate)
16 floors of condos (estimate)
$250 million

Latest News:

5-1-09 NBJ: Signature Tower drops size, scope
- Tower looks very similar to old design, just 20 fewer stories.
- Spire basically looks the same, but may be a bit shorter to look balanced with the shorter tower
- 807 Ft - 50 Stories
- Hotel portion expanded from 198 units to 304 units
- Office portion - 172,000 Sq Ft
- Condo portion - only 50 units all in the upper portion of the tower. The top five floors will be full floor penthouses.
- Total cost $250 Million down from $350 Million for the earlier design.
- Construction costs have dropped by an estimated 20%.
- Financing is hoped to be obtained in 8 to 12 months.
- Overseas investors are being sought.
- The Signature Tower is getting a recession makeover — dropping 20 stories from its original plan of 70 floors, removing all balconies and replacing hundreds of smaller condos with just a few larger, luxurious ones.
- At 50 stories, the revised Signature will not be the tallest building in the Southeast as Giarratana had originally envisioned, likely falling to third or fourth behind towers in Atlanta and Charlotte, developers estimate.
- It still will be the tallest building in Nashville at about 807 feet, surpassing the AT&T building’s 632-foot stature.
- 12-3-08 TN: Signature Tower won't be 70 stories
  - Instead of 70 floors and as many as 600 condo units, look for a smaller Signature Tower with no more than 90 to 100 condos.
  - The average size of Signature condos will more than double from original plans of roughly 1,500 square feet each to about 3,500 square feet.
  - Prices haven't been set yet, and neither has a timetable for construction.
  - the final design will be one that targets the luxury market.
  - Giarratana said the U.S. recession killed the glitzy 70-story Signature Tower plans, but he still plans to bring a revised concept to fruition.
  - "...You'll see the same great architecture, a little bit shorter and a completely different design. No floor plans from the original concept will survive," Giarratana added.
  - 10-13-08 NCP: Giarratana buys time for Sig Tower
    - Giarratana confirmed last week that he has received an extension on his $11.5 million land loan until late in the third quarter of next year in the hopes that the financial markets will be better by then.
    - Signature Tower, the most ambitious of all of Nashville’s condominium, hotel and office projects, has been stalled since last year because of the nosedive in the housing and financial markets
    - 09-15-08 TN - Developer battles to keep tower project
      - he is trying to work out new terms for the mortgage on the land on which the tower would stand.
      - The talks come as Giarratana faces an Oct. 30 deadline on his $11.5 million loan with Wachovia bank on the property. That loan has already been extended twice, he said.
      - "We're discussing the rate, the loan-to-value and the term itself, the length of the loan," Giarratana said. "I can't share details right now."
      - As part of the talks, Wachovia officials have contacted some potential investors to ask what they would pay for the 1.2-acre site.
      - Giarratana bought the property for $9.1 million in December 2005, according to records filed with the Davidson County Register of Deeds.
  - 07-28-08 NCP - Bank could be Signature-bound
  - Regions possibly Signature tenant
  - 5/30/08 - NBJ: Firm looking at Signature space
  - Latest plan is to add 3 floors to the hotel, add 10-12 floors of office, and increase the sizes of condos on top floors
  - 5/23/08 - News2: Financing forces plan change for Signature Tower
  - 5/20/08 - Tennessean: Signature Tower headed back to the drawing board
  - Signature Tower designated as 'Presumed Hazard' by the FAA, due to proximity to Nashville Int'l Airport
  - Civil Construction to do excavation starting by end of 2007, to last 5 months
  - Approx. 100 sales contracts obtained
  - Goal of 200 sales contracts before construction start
  - Currently interviewing new general contractors, after things did not work out with Turner Construction Co.
  - Currently seeking financing with Jones Lang LaSalle
  - Hotel Palomar by Kimpton Hotel Group in bottom floors of Signature Tower
  - 10-17-07 PRNewswire - Interior Design Unveiled for Nashville's New Hotel Palomar
  - 07-09-07 NCP - Signature Tower could become an instant icon