Inside 440 - Berry Hill, Midtown, Vanderbilt, 12S, WeHo, Fairgrounds, etc.

[BnaBreaker]

Nobody is asking Stonehenge to spend more money. They're asking Stonehenge to simply design their projects in a way that makes practical sense.

[smeagolsfree]

Actually it is being developed by Stonehenge for A California-based entity called LLU. They are the some company that bought Note 16.

 

This project will be on 31st right behind Opus 29 and will be called Opus 31 at this point in time.

 

Behind paywall at the Post for a little while.

 

https://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2014/12/23/centennial_park_area_site_could_land_apartment_project

[smeagolsfree]

Sorry to be negative Nancy here but the original 1818 project has been scraped due to cost issues.

 

Here is the link, but is behind paywall.

 

https://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2014/12/23/giarratana_buys_midtown_site_for_1818_residential_building

 

The takeaways are this:

“We worked with a handful of general contractors but could not get [the 15-story] iteration of the building within budget,”

Marietta, Georgia-based Lucky Star Design Studio is the architect

142-unit six-story building

 

 

[MLBrumby]

The Post has a story about Giarratana's 1818 project on Church Street... it is behind paywall.  However, a rendering accompanies the headline link of what appears to be a much more scaled down building from (what was it?) 15 stories to less than half that with 7 stories.

 

Oops!! Please disregard/delete my post... as I did not see Ron's post above.  Thanks. 

 

BTW:  Palm trees!?!?  Really? 

Edited December 23, 2014 by MLBrumby

[dmillsphoto]

Something is better than nothing, but that's disappointing. Like, it's obviously-recycled-from-a-coastal-design-disappointing.

[MLBrumby]

With palm trees.  Sort of Mr. Giarratana's pattern... promise a stellar design... then scale down to boring box when (if?) it happens. No doubt, Mr. Giarratana gave you all a heads up about this at the last UP meet. 

Edited December 23, 2014 by MLBrumby

[NashRugger]

Now that's just f**king heartbreaking.

[MidTenn1]

With the palm trees, they should build it on the 'Palmer Lake' property.

[BnaBreaker]

Unreal.  Yes, obviously something is better than nothing and we all realize there are budgetary constraints to be considered most of the time but DAMN...can we, for ONCE, get something that isn't just the 'bargain basement, cost cutting, scaled down, KMart' version of something??!  Bridgestone...505CST...now 1818...I could go on...this is really, really disappointing news.  This isn't even a critique on Mr. G as he's done a great deal of good for the city but it's just generally disappointing to see all of these peer cities get cutting edge, state-of-the-art designs built, but all we get are our hopes built up by a pretty rendering only to have them crushed later on by a giant box. 

Edited December 24, 2014 by BnaBreaker

[mirydi]

Oh wow! I agree with others on this. Very disappointing indeed. What a downgrade...

Edited December 24, 2014 by mirydi

[titanhog]

That stinks!

 

Oh well.  As long as they don't change the JWM design, I won't allow my head to explode.

[BnaBreaker]

That stinks!

 

Oh well.  As long as they don't change the JWM design, I won't allow my head to explode.

 

PRESENTING...the new and improved rendering of the JW Marriott...

 

[titanhog]

^^I swear...I'll cut someone! 

[mirydi]

I'm losing faith by the day that the JWM will be built as is (if at all). We all know how things work around here by now.

[CenterHill]

well, that is disappointing about 1818.    Possibly a function of rents you can command on Church St. today vs. downtown/Gulch? 

 

Still, the market for these properties, once they're built and rented, couldn't be hotter right now.    If Stonehenge can sell their uninspired, stick frame boxes for $16M+, there are definitely buyers out there for a high-end, well-designed Midtown tower.   That's to say, there are lenders who will finance these.  May have been equity investors who pulled back.     Just speculating.  

[samsonh]

And the posters on this forum are still allowed to have that opinion without being cynically or sarcastically called out for it.

Back on subject.

 

And yet the exact thing I was talking about happened just a few posts later. As a long time member of this site I enjoy the passion many on here feel for Nashville.

 

But we talk about affordable housing, zoning, building materials, and other things and act like all these things aren't all interrelated. It would be terrific if Stonehenge built buildings made of nice brick that were excavated low enough to properly address the street on their first floor. But this would add millions to construction costs and therefore add hundreds a month to rent, thereby exacerbating housing affordability which is already an issue in prime parts of this city.

 

I agree that their building are crappy quality. But if this board is just going to be a place to complain about every project being developed, then I want to have no part in it. My point in being sarcastic was this: If you can do it better, then do it. If you can you will make a fortune. These developers are incredibly smart people and know what sells and at what price points.

[FromParkAveToTN]

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, then change your attitude. Don't complain."

-- Maya Angelou

[UTgrad09]

samson, affordable housing does not have to be ugly. You can use inexpensive materials and still have a decent look. I don't object to stucco or siding the way that some people on here do -- but Stonehenge seems to have ugly design down to a science. In another thread, I compared one of their buildings to a Pontiac Aztek. Just because Pontiac sold thousands of those vehicles doesn't mean that the design is above criticism from an average Joe like you or me.

 

Homebuilders across this country churn out thousands and thousands of houses with cheap, ugly designs. Local developers here have done the same thing with the umbilical duplexes. In every one of those cases, are you saying that you can't complain unless you can do it better?

 

I can totally understand where you are coming from with the affordable housing perspective, but that's about where it ends. A lot of people on this site like to vent their opinions about things. As long as they stay within the rules, let them. Nobody agrees on everything. That's human nature. Some projects on here catch more flak than others. Stonehenge projects fall into that category. If you don't like complainers, then ignore them.

[chelovek]

And yet the exact thing I was talking about happened just a few posts later. As a long time member of this site I enjoy the passion many on here feel for Nashville.

 

But we talk about affordable housing, zoning, building materials, and other things and act like all these things aren't all interrelated. It would be terrific if Stonehenge built buildings made of nice brick that were excavated low enough to properly address the street on their first floor. But this would add millions to construction costs and therefore add hundreds a month to rent, thereby exacerbating housing affordability which is already an issue in prime parts of this city.

 

I agree that their building are crappy quality. But if this board is just going to be a place to complain about every project being developed, then I want to have no part in it. My point in being sarcastic was this: If you can do it better, then do it. If you can you will make a fortune. These developers are incredibly smart people and know what sells and at what price points.

 

The stonehenge products are not affordable. 1100 dollars a month for a less than 500 sq ft studio in a building that is already deteriorating (note16) is a cash grab, not affordable housing. You're giving these guys too much credit.

[titanhog]

I bet if you take two developers and give them both $10 Mil for a project of the same magnitude, one will come up with a better design than the other one...but for the same price.  To me...that means the one with the "worse" design needs to step up his/her game a little.  I think that's all that many of us are saying about some of the designs in this town: "You can do better."  Please do better.

[37206dude]

They have this logo all over the side of the Aertson construction site.

For me this is too much like the upside down V that UT players flash at Vandy.

I doubt that was intentional though:

 

[volsfanwill]

the anchor is down

[titanhog]

They have this logo all over the side of the Aertson construction site.

For me this is too much like the upside down V that UT players flash at Vandy.

I doubt that was intentional though:

 

 

It IS actually intentional, as far as being the upside-down Vandy V.  Since Aertson is part of the Vanderbilt family...and since it's across from Vandy, in the promo video, they actually show the Vandy V being turned upside down to make the A in Aertson.

[barakat]

Maybe this is addressed in the paywall Nashville Post article, but it's sad to see that Noshville, and the old house next door, are facing demolition.

 

http://maps.nashville.gov/MPC/2015/021215/2015SP-016-001_plan.pdf

Edited January 1, 2015 by barakat

[BnaBreaker]

Maybe this is addressed in the paywall Nashville Post article, but it's sad to see that Noshville, and the old house next door, are facing demolition.

 

http://maps.nashville.gov/MPC/2015/021215/2015SP-016-001_plan.pdf

 

What's going there?  If the answer is 'a parking lot,' then please, just make something up to tell me instead.  lol