Davidson East: East Nashville, Inglewood, Madison, Donelson, Hermitage, Old Hickory

[AronG]

4 hours ago, Nashville Cliff said:

That is the most butt-ugly proposal I've seen in years.  No.  Absolutely.  No.  Especially not at the gateway to Five Points.

This is a remarkably ugly building, but I think when you tack on the overall concept, this project achieves like a new world record of awfulness. An unsupervised 21-unit hotel, all 4-bedroom suites targeted specifically at bachelor/bachelorette parties? How did anybody including the property owner think this was a good idea? It's like a self-storage unit for extremely inebriated tourists, who will probably throw up all over the thing and then accidentally burn it down. I feel stupider after just reading that article. Sounds like Brett's already on it, but please kill this!

[AronG]

55 minutes ago, Rockatansky said:

I have mixed feelings about this proposal. On one hand, it'd be nice to focus these Air BnB type establishments in commercial areas where they are less likely to disturb residential neighborhoods. On the other, its aesthetically awful.

For my money, we should be pretty careful creating what are basically self-serve hotels with no onsite staff. I remember reading about one in Germantown, and I can imagine it working OK if it's targeted at a higher end clientele who are less prone to wild carousing. With the wrong patrons though, who's going to provide a first response to noise complaints, disturbances, altercations, etc. Metro?

[Rockatansky]

On 1/17/2017 at 9:34 AM, AronG said:

As a neighborhood, love it or hate it, we're growing in population

Because I've seen this assertion made both here and on other sites, I wanted to see if the claim was supported by available Census data. The latest estimates for East Nashville come from 2011-2015 5-year American Community Census estimates. Here's what I found:
East Nashville Population.
1990: 65,190
2000: 64,427
2010: 58,518
2011-2015: 58,801

So yes, East Nashville's population has begun to increase after having fallen for a number of decades. But so far, the increase, as measured by U.S. Census estimates, has totaled less than 300 residents. Not yet enough to support the claims that East Nashville's population is drastically increasing (as I've seen posted elsewhere). However, the data are a 5-year number including years back to 2011 and likely don't reflect recently completed apartment buildings added to East Nashville's housing stock. We'll have to wait for subsequent ACS releases for Census Block Groups (next release expected in Dec 2017) to see if the increases continue.  

Edited January 18, 2017 by Rockatansky

[CenterHill]

That surprises me that East Nashville's population fell by 10% between 1990 to 2010.   I mean, those were the decades when the city was "rediscovering" East Nashville and the demand for housing was skyrocketing, which has continued obviously.    Either the decline reflects a shift in how housing stock was being utilized - ie, toward single "family" ownership vs. multi-tenant rentals, or there was a change in the geographic boundaries for the census that narrowed what is considered "East".    Just saying the data surprised me.    

[bigeasy]

What is the difference between an airBnB hotel and just a normal hotel? I thought the purpose of airBnB was that people rent out their homes? This just seems like it would be a normal hotel?

[Bezoar]

7 minutes ago, bigeasy said:

What is the difference between an airBnB hotel and just a normal hotel? I thought the purpose of airBnB was that people rent out their homes? This just seems like it would be a normal hotel?

I think the difference here would be that there is no onsite staff, maid service, etc.  And I guess you'd book though AirBnB. 

Edited January 18, 2017 by Bezoar

[Rockatansky]

21 minutes ago, CenterHill said:

That surprises me that East Nashville's population fell by 10% between 1990 to 2010.   I mean, those were the decades when the city was "rediscovering" East Nashville and the demand for housing was skyrocketing, which has continued obviously.    Either the decline reflects a shift in how housing stock was being utilized - ie, toward single "family" ownership vs. multi-tenant rentals, or there was a change in the geographic boundaries for the census that narrowed what is considered "East".    Just saying the data surprised me.    

I used the same boundaries for all the numbers and while there were a few minor adjustments to Census geographies during the 1990-2015 period, they shouldn't effect the population numbers. My best guess is that the change in housing utilization and household size were the culprits.

[Gracie]

54 minutes ago, Rockatansky said:

I used the same boundaries for all the numbers and while there were a few minor adjustments to Census geographies during the 1990-2015 period, they shouldn't effect the population numbers. My best guess is that the change in housing utilization and household size were the culprits.

This. It might be interesting to look at how the under 18 population has changed -- or maybe middle/high school age children.

[AronG]

2 hours ago, Rockatansky said:

East Nashville Population.
1990: 65,190
2000: 64,427
2010: 58,518
2011-2015: 58,801

That's really interesting, I haven't seen those numbers. I agree it's gotta be utilization, i.e. the neighborhood gentrified from 1990-2010 into smaller, richer families in more expensive houses without any significant compensating high-density development. Density is blocked within most of the neighborhoods by preservation rules, etc., but I don't really understand why developers took so long to introduce new projects along the designated corridors. It seems like there's a lot of underutilized properties on or near Main St/Gallatin; couldn't they generate a lot more money plunking apartments down?

The dam seems to have finally broken though; a quick galavant through the development map shows Cleo (291 units), Eastside Heights (249), Stacks on Main (268), East Greenway Park (62), Eastland Apts (53), Porter Village (40) all under construction, with many smaller boutique projects. Which equates to thousands of residents and seems pretty safe to say the population's going to rebound. I wonder how long it will be before we recover our 1990 level...

[fieldmarshaldj]

2 hours ago, AronG said:

It's like a self-storage unit for extremely inebriated tourists, who will probably throw up all over the thing and then accidentally burn it down.

See, you're already looking on the bright side.

[Canuck87]

"Ryman plots huge water park at Opryland"

The design includes a three-story building featuring multiple water-based attractions, including slides and an outdoor wave pool, as well as food-and-beverage outlets. The facility will encompass what is presently a large parking lot at the north end of the resort.

Article: http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/01/18/exclusive-ryman-plots-huge-waterpark-at-opryland.html?ana=RSS%26s%3Darticle_search&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[VSRJ]

I'm not too impressed. While it of course looks nice, I see it as more of a glorified hotel "pool" with slides, especially if it's only open to hotel guests.

I wish Dollywood would have followed through with their water/snow park plans from several years ago. Or just a theme park in general would be nice. Water parks are a dime a dozen.

Bring back Opryland USA!

[titanhog]

^^Yeah...a hotel building a huge water-park for guests only is a disappointment.  Maybe we should all make their Opry Mills Mall and Grand Ole Opry "hotel guests only" and see how long they like that.  (yeah...I know it's their right to build whatever they want for their hotel...but I'm still ticked they demolished Opryland and put up a mall)

[grilled_cheese]

Is that a screen facing the larger pool in the third pic?

[henburg]

Why do they insist on a water park? Nashville Shores, while not the most spectacular thing in the world, is a nice and fun place to go. It also completes that need already. It just seems like such a no brainer to create a theme park! People always talk about missing Opryland, and the closest competition would be Holdiay World or Six Flags in Atlanta. Not to mention it would help provide another entertainment option for families.

[japan]

2 hours ago, titanhog said:

^^Yeah...a hotel building a huge water-park for guests only is a disappointment.  Maybe we should all make their Opry Mills Mall and Grand Ole Opry "hotel guests only" and see how long they like that.  (yeah...I know it's their right to build whatever they want for their hotel...but I'm still ticked they demolished Opryland and put up a mall)

They are a hotel.  Their main directive is to sell rooms.  I understand your point about Opryland though.

39 minutes ago, henburg said:

Why do they insist on a water park? Nashville Shores, while not the most spectacular thing in the world, is a nice and fun place to go. It also completes that need already. It just seems like such a no brainer to create a theme park! People always talk about missing Opryland, and the closest competition would be Holdiay World or Six Flags in Atlanta. Not to mention it would help provide another entertainment option for families.

What do the numbers say about theme parks these days in the US?  Are the numbers going up or are they trending down (with the exception of Disney?)

[MLBrumby]

Because a water park is the cheapest alternative to a theme park, and Opry has been nibbling around the edges of a theme park ever since they proposed a joint venture with Dolly Parton... and then she bailed on them.  Obvious to me, they realize they never should have demolished the old Opryland park. 

[Neigeville2]

42 minutes ago, henburg said:

Why do they insist on a water park? Nashville Shores, while not the most spectacular thing in the world, is a nice and fun place to go. It also completes that need already....

Opryland's whole business model is to keep people onsite as much as possible so they can overcharge them for everything they eat or buy.  Every individual thing there, from the rooms to meals to a candy bar, is seriously overpriced, although the synergy they all create together-the disney-like environment-may be worth it for many guests.  Read customer comments on tourist review websites, they nickel-and-dime 'em to death with fees and overcharging for bottled water and whatnot.  This water park will just be another way to keep people from leaving the confines of the hotel.

[Gracie]

45 minutes ago, henburg said:

Why do they insist on a water park? Nashville Shores, while not the most spectacular thing in the world, is a nice and fun place to go. It also completes that need already. It just seems like such a no brainer to create a theme park! People always talk about missing Opryland, and the closest competition would be Holdiay World or Six Flags in Atlanta. Not to mention it would help provide another entertainment option for families.

Gaylord has a water park resort in Dallas. I'd imagine there's much more profit in water park resort than an amusement park. 

[Jamie Hall]

2 minutes ago, Neigeville2 said:

Opryland's whole business model is to keep people onsite as much as possible so they can overcharge them for everything they eat or buy.  Every individual thing there, from the rooms to meals to a candy bar, is seriously overpriced.

I have to wonder if this new incentive of a glitzy water park will be reflected in Gaylord's average room rate.

One possible upside, though, is that it could force hotel developers around Nashville to up their game, whether it's in building design or amenities.

[titanhog]

13 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

Because a water park is the cheapest alternative to a theme park, and Opry has been nibbling around the edges of a theme park ever since they proposed a joint venture with Dolly Parton... and then she bailed on them.  Obvious to me, they realize they never should have demolished the old Opryland park. 

But isn't this different...being that it will be for hotel guests only?  I always thought they were going to build something for all citizens to use...not just hotel guests.

[MLBrumby]

I really don't know, nor do I understand that whole resort model. My family does not do that, aside from twice to Disney and once to Wild Bear Creek falls (I believe that's the name) in Gatlinburg,and I was miserable (felt trapped).  My kids enjoyed it, but now they're older and I mentioned to them over Christmas about spring break trips and Disney was at the bottom of the list.  A comment above said it was likely more profitable than a theme park.  I'd agree as it's a much cheaper alternative and it "fills" a whole day for people.  I also agree that Gaylord (or I guess it's Ryman) wants their guests to be a captive audience, as it were. 

[markhollin]

Nashville State Community College looking to open fourth campus in area at former ITT Tech College (32,000 sq. ft. building) location on Elm Hill Pike in Donelson.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2017/01/19/nashville-state-eyes-donelson-campus-former-itt-tech-location/96779718/

 

[Canuck87]

"20 townhomes, retail space planned near historic McGavock House"

The project, to be located on the McGavock House portion of the former Ray of Hope Community Church property, will consist of 20 townhomes and retail space. Construction could begin within 30 days and is slated to finish this fall.

Article: http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2017/01/22/20-townhomes-retail-space-planned-near-historic-mcgavock-house/96928076/

Edited January 22, 2017 by Canuck87

[WebberThomas4]

I noticed this morning that crews are clearing out the land owned by March Egerton (Upside LLC) on Davidson St near the entrance to Shelby Park. The land has been for sale for quite some time and has an approved SP (Shelby Woods). 

Edit: It looks like this is related to some work that Piedmont Natural Gas is doing in the area. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by WebberThomas4