nashvillwill

Something I spotted on Stockell St. in McFerrin Park. I’m not quite sure what is going on here. The house has been totally demo’ed, foundation and all, minus one exterior wall. I’ve seen this before in other cities, but never in Nashville. I’m not up-and-up on building permits, but I’m guessing this qualifies as a “remodel” instead of “new construction”. I’m not sure what the advantage would be, in metro, to going that route. Anyone have any insight?

Has this always been office space? If so, I had no idea.

They line the walls of the hole with shotcrete. This puts a stop to the incoming water (for the most part) as well as reinforcing the foundation walls. If you look at my picture, you can see a portion of the excavated hole (near the building) has been lined with shotcrete. No leaking there. The portion around the wall has not been lined with shotcrete yet, and that is where all the water is coming in. I imagine there will always be some tolerable amount of water intrusion into a hole that deep, but lining the walls with the shotcrete is a good way to essentially stop it.

It’s pretty amazing how much water was pouring into that hole. I stood and watched it for a little while. It was like a couple of dozen mini-waterfalls just leaching out of the bedrock. Just a stab in the dark here, but I would guess it’s about 200 gallons a minute.

Wow. It’s not even that the pole is in the street, but the street is everywhere. There is not even a curb. Does the runoff just spill into the building? What a terrible design.

A few Pics of the site from Friday A concrete pump stretching across the pond. Sure hope those outriggers hold steady! From the deck looking at Union Station and the old train tunnels.

I just got back from visiting family/friends in Seattle. As a side trip, we took a ferry over to Victoria, B.C. It was much more than I expected. It’s a city that truly hits above its weight. With a city population of only 85k and a metro of 370k, it is a highly urban city. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed the population to be in the 7 digits. As the southernmost point in western Canada, Victoria is the Capitol of B.C. It is accessible from Seattle via car ferry, high speed passenger ferry, or seaplane. In fact, the seaplanes would come and go all day long in the central harbors seaport. One of my biggest takeaways from Victoria was the fantastic built environment. It is highly dense (11,400/sq. mi.), has street front retail lining every block, and I never saw a single parking garage or parking lot. A very walkable and pedestrian/bike friendly city. As it’s canada, jaywalking is a no-no. But this is offset by the tremendous respect that drivers give to pedestrians. I didn’t see a single sign to enforce this, but it was apparent that pedestrians have the right-of-way at all times. There are often mid-block crosswalks, where cars would always stop for pedestrians. I noticed the constant eye contact that drivers would give to possible crossers and if a pedestrian made the move to cross, the driver would always stop. It was quite incredible. Not a single building I saw has the dreaded pedestal parking garage that is so prevalent in Nashville. I believe all parking must be underground, but even finding the entrances to garages seemed hard to notice. The few I saw were designed in a way to have minimal impact on the pedestrian experience. Just walking down one block, you would walk pass dozens of different businesses. In our short stay there, we probably walked 10 miles a day, and never found a block that was the exception, other than a few quiet residential blocks full of brownstone like stoops. The main core of the city wraps around a harbor in a crescent moon shape. This Harbor is where all the ferries came in and where the seaport is. There are even water taxis running every few blocks that would help you get from one location in the harbor to another. A simple phone call to the water taxi dispatch and a boat would arrive within minutes. Sorry my pictures aren’t so great, but I was mainly focused on capturing the two loves of my life, and not so much the built environment, but I got a few things in there. Coming into the harbor. The capital building. The seaport. Frequent flights to Seattle, Vancouver and I’m sure many other cities/islands. In the background you can see one of the high speed passenger ferries. Typical street corner. Riding a water taxi (my daughters favorite) Interesting sidewalk feature. Had drainage build into the sidewalk, which allowed for extremely low curbs. Stepping from the street to the sidewalk was a natural feeling, instead of a step-up. Some protected bike lanes, with their own traffic signals. A random building rehab, with the historic facade being preserved A fancy hotel overlooking the harbor. Me and my ladies with the Capitol building in the background. Hope you enjoyed.

2111 Belcourt

I didn’t know where else to put this, but it’s an interesting study on land use in America. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-us-land-use/

I don’t get the shipping container fad. It kinda makes sense in port cities, where those things are literally piled up everywhere. But in Nashville, it’s just silly.

This has STRP written all over it. 505 mostly rented as STRP. Check. No parking, “not necessary”. Check. I know you guys are getting excited about height, but I think Tony is cashing in on the craze. I don’t blame him, but I also don’t have to like it.

I left east Nashville at 5pm yesterday. Arrived in Brentwood at 6:40. All I could think about the whole time in gridlock traffic was our missed transit opportunity. 12 miles @ 1:40= 7.2 mph.

Well, I may get flack for this, but I rather enjoy the flea market. I get it, it’s kinda trashy. For people uncomfortable with the lower class, it may seem like a cesspool. But it’s also a place for artists and collectors who have diamonds in the rough. Dont get me wrong, I fully support the MLS bid, as I can see past the “doomsday” scenario that the fairgrounds supporters try to project. I also believe they can’t see the forest through the trees. I believe a rising tide lifts all ships (sorry for all the metaphors). I’m not a fan or supporter of the racing that goes on at the track, but I’ve been to it, and it’s kinda cool in its own right. There is also a mini-economy of businesses around that area that is a result of it. I’m not a “racing guy”, but I needed an engine blocked honed in a classic car I was restoring. Guess where I had it done? A few blocks from the track. Because that’s where the guys with the best reputation, equipment and know-how are. Also, i’m into woodworking. There is a tool called a hand-plane. It’s a mostly obsolete tool in the era of IKEA, but an essential for classic woodwork. You can still order them new, from boutique makers, but they are expensive and all copy the timeless designs of tools that are 100 years old. Guess where you can find stockpiles of old handplanes waiting for a good restoration? The flea market. My wife likes to find vintage furniture and house goods there. Yeah. There is a lot of garbage there. But there is also a connection to our past and a bridge to our future. I’m romanticizing it a little, but I feel like most on this board act like the flea market is only rebel flags and “as seen on tv”. Yeah, it’s there, but get real. There is a ton of creativity in that space. We are in the south. You may have to be able to turn the other cheek in some situations. I support the proposal. I do not understand irrational fear, “fake news” and flat out lying. But I can also respect that there is some good use coming out of the flea market.

This hotel is going to have to step things up if they plan to compete with Stadium Inn and Knights Inn. Those two are legends.

There is a lot more to this story than the article includes. But it boils down to this; Months of public meetings, countless neighbors adding input, a final plan that checked most boxes for everyone involved. A democratic process. The definition of “community plan”. Then at the 11th hour, our Councilman vetos the plan. When constituents try to communicate with him about why, we get radio silence. Unanswered emails, voicemails, and social media messages. He never attended a single meeting, nor does he attend our neighborhood meetings. This is the status quo in District 5. Then a month later, we get these stories in the Tennessean, quoting none other than Sam McCullough, who is BFF with our Councilman.