MLBrumby

^ Oops! I was... sorry folks. I get lost in the numeric names as I glanced at the heading for this thread. I thought Giarratana's tall tower is to be called YMCA tower. Correction noted!

I don't know and I think that's still speculated about by everyone outside the NY developers. The question lately on this board has been if they'll continue building above the garage, or pause. I understand they have a LOA from Amazon to have first dibs on a large portion of the space. Given that Amazon is just now finishing up their second building, it's a good bet Amazon will need more space sooner than later. I'm not a construction engineer by any stretch, but it just doesn't seem to be an efficient use of resources to bring in the cranes, the workers, and the ancillary support for just one phase and then put everything on pause. Of course, I've read about cities that were in booms when a recession hit. Dallas had empty office buildings all over the city in the late 1980s. I think it wasn't until the mid-90s when they absorbed the buildings they'd built in the previous two decades.

I remember having a concersationwith a civil engineer about 10 years ago… the flood if 2010 was still fresh. He worked for one the biggest CE firms in Nashville… he said the theee used to be an arroyo that took the river floods away … but Ellington pkwy is there now. That was taken away when the freeway was Built. He said there just needs to be an overflow route to serve the same purpose and that can be done under higher ground… I don’t know where that would be but I’d guess around Dickerson or the east side of Cowan street.

That actually looks quite nice for a fifty-year-old building. The contrast between light and dark accentuates the windows (that's my architectural 'knowledge' in a nutshell).

Wow!!! With 'foresight' like that, it's a wonder Metro has any credibility in their planning initiatives now. I'm no trained traffic engineer, but some things are so obvious and have been screaming out for solutions for years. I just know that the fewer turns necessary to go from point A to B is usually the easiest to manage. At this point I doubt the cost of the land is even feasible now, even for a developer. But I've seen so many things I never thought possible happen in Nashville come to fruition.

From today's online Tennessean, regarding the Ford Blue Oval City complex. Wow! That's a huge investment! https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/business/2022/09/23/ford-in-tennessee-blue-oval-city-electric-vehicles/69511227007/

^ What is that fabric in those "window" openings? Is that planned atop an older one-story building? EDIT: Apologies for not incorporating this in my first comment/question... but I just located this proposal on a map. A few observations for indulging me... 1. Did Nashville ever have a 13th Avenue, or was that bowing to the old superstitions about the number? 2. I've thought the blocks (+/-) between 12th&14th and Philips&Herman would be ideal for a MLB stadium. Anyone have any comments on that? 3. I'm familiar with corporate legal issues surrounding legacy factories (but not rr tracks); and thus I keep wondering if a mayor who took leadership on transit would be able to propose and strike a deal with CSX to utilize the tracks through the heart of downtown for a rail solution to their increasing transit needs. I recall about a year ago when UT-K school of architecture planned a study for CSX to investigate a relocation of their routes through Nashville, but nothing since then. Anyone know anything about that?

Is the sewer project also holding up the Ritz Carlton towers from getting started? I thought that was imminent, as in by the end of the year.

When I read that the Rug Shop in Green Hills is closing, I was reminded of something I had wondered about. The shopping center where it is located and the Trader Joes are right in the middle of what could be a huge solution to the biggest traffic snafu in GH, the dog-leg drivers must navigate to go from Abbott-Martin to cross Hillsboro heading east toward Richard Jones Road. That would be a new connector from Bandywood to Hillsboro to align with RJ Rd. I guess the route of Bandywood is a legacy of its residential origins, but with all the retail on the street now, I've seen it get really clogged. And I have sat on Hillsboro for three full cycles on a busy day trying to turn left onto Richard Jones. With the new residential towers at the corner of Hillsboro/RJ, it seems that the property where Trader Joes is would be worth even more if it were suddenly endowed with two corners. I'm not sure how much property would be left after a road were cut through there, but it seems a savvy developer would see an opportunity for air rights over the street for a mixed-use building. An urban style shopping center with additional stories of parking would be expensive, but that's probably the highest priced commercial land in the city. With two more residential towers about to go up across Hillsboro, it appears that the cost-benefit is favorable for that side. I expect it would even promote walkability in GH, which is non existent today. Contrast this idea with what I think Metro has been mulling of late, and that's some bypass-link from Abbott-Martin and Hillsboro to run behind the Levy's/Donut Den shopping center and behind Green Hills Grill to hook into Richard Jones. At least I think I've seen that from some Metro proposals. Anyway, too many turns and a complex matter of wrapping around that shopping center without having to demolish it completely.

Storyville Gardens?

I actually think that's the trend now... large groups breaking out and "doing things" at different places in close proximity. For over a decade I've looked at the old movie theaters as a dying business that COVID all-but-killed. Yes, there are the big blockbuster movies coming out, but they're even diminishing in number and popularity (how many are sequels of sequels?). Plus, the whole fear of security that many have felt in enclosed areas like that have contributed to declining business. So this place is trying to reimagine the old ideas that you've proffered. Maybe it will work. I'm just glad I'm not a big investor in it. I do wish them success. But hey! As a "luxury" dine-in theater, they'll probably be serving Orville Redenbacher... huh?

I think one of the prevailing factors in Nashville's situation is so much of the recent buildings have been speculative. When you're not building for a client, then you're not putting "design" at the top of your priorities. In Mr. Giarratana's case, he's both a developer building speculative buildings, as well as a cheerleader for downtown living. He has demonstrated a preference for design, although many of his buildings are ostensibly value-engineered. You can only build what you can afford to build. There's a reason Siggy wasn't built... it wasn't practical. It was a beautiful building ON PAPER. In the past (and in a few cities today) corporations who want a truly signature building, may see a reason for spending extra money on a unique design.

I believe Batman was built in the early 90s. Sometime around 92-94.

If they keep playing like tonight they’ll be lucky if they get any upgrades to Nissan with taxpayers’ money. That’s not anything JQ Public will want to pay for.

I call this one "Beauty and the Beast".