Davidson Southeast: Antioch, Century Farms, East of Brentwood

[VSRJ]

^ Agreed. It will be rough, at least initially.

My concern is that there's no plan in place right now with all of these developments along Franklin/8th approaching completion. Are they working together to ensure there's at least some uniformity or are they just focusing solely on the sidewalks, (limited) streetscape, etc. surrounding their development?

[fieldmarshaldj]

58 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

I agree with you @rookzie  100%. BUT we have to start somewhere and if it forces more people to bike/walk/mass transit so be it. I'll take the hit in worse traffic, it's not like it's great now. 

Change hurts.

You can't "force" people to use alternative methods. You can, however, make methods viable and appealing so that people willingly choose alternatives to their autos.

Edited October 20, 2016 by fieldmarshaldj

[PruneTracy]

TDOT is showing 23,000 vehicles per day for Eighth Avenue through Berry Hill; that's too much for a road diet. It's already pretty rough through that area thanks to the intersection at Wedgewood.

The only way I could see this working is if they limited it to the segment between Berry Road and Wedgewood and beefed up Berry Road and Bransford Avenue to allow for diverting traffic. It would also help if they punched Armory Drive through to Franklin Pike (not sure why this hasn't been done already).

The problems with this arrangement are Wedgewood itself (the high left turn volume from Eighth and the railroad underpass east of Interstate 65) and the alignment of Bransford and residences on it.

[rookzie]

12 minutes ago, PruneTracy said:

TDOT is showing 23,000 vehicles per day for Eighth Avenue through Berry Hill; that's too much for a road diet. It's already pretty rough through that area thanks to the intersection at Wedgewood.

The only way I could see this working is if they limited it to the segment between Berry Road and Wedgewood and beefed up Berry Road and Bransford Avenue to allow for diverting traffic. It would also help if they punched Armory Drive through to Franklin Pike (not sure why this hasn't been done already).

The problems with this arrangement are Wedgewood itself (the high left turn volume from Eighth and the railroad underpass east of Interstate 65) and the alignment of Bransford and residences on it.

And as motorists already use Berry as a cut through to and from Franklin Rd., the level crossing at the Berry Rd. train track doesn't help the cause, and the interstate interchange overhead ramps and the Melrose Postal Station, don't lend well to a grade separation there.  The Wedgewood Ave underpass could be replaced, if there were sufficient political will, as it' has become a long outdated and old structure as an underpass.  I'm surprised that it hadn't been addressed by now anyway, in consideration of what an interstate interchange will do to "attract" drivers to and from any direction ─ that one in particular ─ not to mention the cross-town "arterial" Wedgewood has evolved into, during the last 25 years.  The same should apply to the Bell Road underpass (a different CSX subdivision), just as the city finally buckled down and gave Thompson Ln a "stent" with a more expensive Radnor Yard underpass and widening back in the '80s.

I realize that this probably belongs in the Trans thread, but it is germane to this tread, specifically, with the unrelenting S and SSW core traffic flow, which a high percentage of drivers use as part of their commute bypasses.

[dmillsphoto]

Private tour of the inside (currently) and future of the May Hosiery Building on Houston/Chestnut St

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2016/10/20/from-hosiery-to-hot-spot-inside-our-private-tour.html?ana=twt

[smeagolsfree]

The fact that AJ Capital is behind both projects is big news. This has increased the chance of this happening by a lot.

[titanhog]

That's a huge development.  WAY larger than I had imagined.

[12Mouth]

6 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

TDOT is showing 23,000 vehicles per day for Eighth Avenue through Berry Hill; that's too much for a road diet. It's already pretty rough through that area thanks to the intersection at Wedgewood.

The only way I could see this working is if they limited it to the segment between Berry Road and Wedgewood and beefed up Berry Road and Bransford Avenue to allow for diverting traffic. It would also help if they punched Armory Drive through to Franklin Pike (not sure why this hasn't been done already).

The problems with this arrangement are Wedgewood itself (the high left turn volume from Eighth and the railroad underpass east of Interstate 65) and the alignment of Bransford and residences on it.

I believe the engineers (Kimley Horn) are working on a variety of options. At one of the meetings, they discussed the traffic numbers and are working with TDOT on all of this, as well as a complete re-engineering of the Wedgewood intersection. Here is an article from the post that discussed this a while back: 

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20493511/major-changes-eyed-for-franklin-pike

[markhollin]

LKQ Auto Parts distributor looks at former Macy's space in Hickory Hollow Mall redevelopment for office expansion:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/10/20/auto-parts-distributor-lkq-eyes-former-antioch-macys-space/92468618/

 

[markhollin]

Things are coming together with the whole May Hosiery redevelopment in the Wedgewood/Houston area (there had been some discussion about this in the Repurposing/Redevelopment thread). The 8 building complex along Chestnut Street is going to become more than 100,000 sq. ft. of renovated office space, along with a New Orleans food hall, called St. Roch Market, and about 10 retail storefronts.  Some photos and renderings below taken from a larger slide show in the article.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2016/10/20/from-hosiery-to-hot-spot-inside-our-private-tour.html
 

[bmkTN]

Absolutely love this!  Wedgewood-Houston will look so unbelievably different in 5 years.  One of NBJ's articles on all of this is behind paywall, but I see that there are pics of the renderings from Outpost Nashville as well.  Any news on that in there?

[PaulChinetti]

1 hour ago, bmkTN said:

Absolutely love this!  Wedgewood-Houston will look so unbelievably different in 5 years.  One of NBJ's articles on all of this is behind paywall, but I see that there are pics of the renderings from Outpost Nashville as well.  Any news on that in there?

 Would love to hear some news on Outpost also!!

[rookzie]

19 hours ago, 12Mouth said:

I believe the engineers (Kimley Horn) are working on a variety of options. At one of the meetings, they discussed the traffic numbers and are working with TDOT on all of this, as well as a complete re-engineering of the Wedgewood intersection. Here is an article from the post that discussed this a while back: 

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20493511/major-changes-eyed-for-franklin-pike

This seems like a zeal of a recipe for disaster ─ a dangerous precedent rife with far reaching effects.  That entire 2-mile stretch is the critical conduit necessary for traffic flow into and away from the CBD, and the reduction of capacity of that roadway, will ramify into other radial arterial corridors of burgeoning mixed-use development to demand the same.  Even radically modifying the intersection at Wedgewood could be expected to do little for the backups it must handle in all directions, only to feed to other node points of congestion nearby.

I'm in no way against multi-modal use of thoroughfares, and believe it or not, I am far more inclined to be pro than against it.  But I also believe that, with Nashville's intrinsically disadvantaged roadway layout and narrow streets, a physical state seriously exacerbated with a critical lack of connectivity beyond railroads, interstate highways, and cut-offs implemented during the 1970's and '80s to restrict movements through a number of core neighborhoods, some multiple measures of mitigation have yet to be discussed and weighed for the entire region as a whole.  They do this for this 8th Ave-Franklin Rd stretch, then the same will be demanded for Charlotte, and even for Cameron-Trible/Wedgewood-Houston, if the commercial stretch along 4th between I-40 and Chestnut ever becomes mixed-use.  N. First and Main Streets, would be likely to follow suit, the latter two which do have Ellington Pkwy as sort of an alternative, already approaching capacity as a rush-hour spin-off for I-65.

Most of us simply do not have the provisions to reside in these somewhat rapidly evolving, highly desirable sub-districts, and therefore the needs of commuting are most often entirely unparalleled.  The local sentiment of those who do have the means certainly is not to be unexpected.

"The majority of participants were interested in the 'needs of people within the corridor,' as opposed to the concerns of commuters and motorists, said Will Wilhelm, Kimley-Horn vice president."

The fact is, the transformation of such near-core districts, particularly Melrose/Berry Hill along 8th Ave. has become fodder for those who have uttered all along that the infrastructure cannot accommodate the large-scale volumetric demands of transportation, in an ecosystem not even marginally sufficient at present.  That some of us say, "Change hurts", is not necessarily a bad thing, but "Growing Pains" can transform into "Groin Pains" when such "complete-streets" measures are undertaken without due consideration for the commonweal of the region.

On the one hand we had (and still have) a district that almost would turn into a mob, when its main arterial was about to get the squeeze-play from a proposal which was touted by many of those outside that district (but not entirely outside), while here we have a push to similarly reduce the car-count flow with an entirely different type proposal.  The fact is, each of these could and would ramify into long-term adverse effects, by failure to have an effective and attractive alternative for displacement.  I would be against this measure even in my own district, without at least one such attractive option, and while it is true that not all alternatives are attractive or even viable options for many of us, those of the non-private-automotive type which might better serve a majority are simply non-existent for the most part.  Without some adequate, well-defined plan that does not cater to special interests only, or which at least does not render the impression thereof, then the city will start to hemorrhage itself to death, with far too many "no ways to get there from here."

Edited October 21, 2016 by rookzie

[kc8501]

Thumbs up Rookzie, that sums it up nicely.  I will say, sidewalks are needed, bike lanes not so much. If they move this to a 3 lane road with an even lower speed limit, it's going to get ugly.  As it stands now that is one of roughly two realistic alternate routes if 65 is a mess; something that is happening more and more.  To say "change hurts" is fine, there's always adjustments, but the flip side of that coin is that people will start trying to find alternate routes, and they'll start going through all those neighborhoods if 8th is backed up which will lead to a slew of new issues.  This is a main street; improve it, but I can't even imagine shrinking it before there are other commuting options.

[smeagolsfree]

I had the honor of getting  a tour from Nathan a while back and he shared much of what was revealed. I had to keep it to myself, but was very excited for him and the WeHo area.

 

With a large partner, this will hopefully happen sooner rather than later.  My only wish is that there were more affordable options in this area, for the artsy types and for tht matter everyone.

[PruneTracy]

11 hours ago, rookzie said:

They do this for this 8th Ave-Franklin Rd stretch, then the same will be demanded for Charlotte, and even for Cameron-Trible/Wedgewood-Houston, if the commercial stretch along 4th between I-40 and Chestnut ever becomes mixed-use.

To be fair, Charlotte already has some pretty schizophrenic laneage west of White Bridge. It's less of a road diet than a road binge and purge.

These types of situations could easily be fixed by proactive development plans. Five years ago, with the exception of the buildings at the intersection of Douglas Avenue, there wasn't one parcel along Eighth in this segment that couldn't afford to give up a few feet of frontage for adding a two-way left-turn lane, bike lanes, and sidewalks. And it wouldn't have taken much; the travel lanes are already at their minimum width, but several areas have four- to six-foot shoulders. Would it have been a pain in the butt? Yes. But it would not, and has not, gotten any easier. There are several more developments under construction who all plan to build to the ROW line, and we're not talking single-story sheds or strip malls, but low-rise residences.

[rookzie]

18 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

These types of situations could easily be fixed by proactive development plans. Five years ago, with the exception of the buildings at the intersection of Douglas Avenue, there wasn't one parcel along Eighth in this segment that couldn't afford to give up a few feet of frontage for adding a two-way left-turn lane, bike lanes, and sidewalks. And it wouldn't have taken much; the travel lanes are already at their minimum width, but several areas have four- to six-foot shoulders. Would it have been a pain in the butt? Yes. But it would not, and has not, gotten any easier. There are several more developments under construction who all plan to build to the ROW line, and we're not talking single-story sheds or strip malls, but low-rise residences.

..And as far as Metro's requirements to build to the ROW line are concerned, admittedly I have not taken the effort to sort this out, and therefore I am far from being knowledgeable on this requirement, as many others here might be.  If indeed developers are required to build to the line on 8th Ave, and as well on "choke-joke" roads like Jefferson and the part of Hillsboro Rd. south of Blair, which also is constrained by existing structures at Blair, then there too lies an issue, a policy which is counter to almost any road widening for multi-modal use including sidewalks, or even rapid transit.  I've thought this from the very start, once I first heard of that requirement.

Edited October 22, 2016 by rookzie

[bmkTN]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 9:30 PM, PaulChinetti said:

 Would love to hear some news on Outpost also!!

So still can't read the NBJ piece but Nashville Post has the update.  Kinda funny because it seems like almost an afterthought in the way it's being reported, but it looks like AJ Capital Partners is gonna be doing both the Hoisery AND Outpost and want to get started on both next year.  Fantastic news!

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20837894/real-estate-notes-dream-hotel-project-lands-permit

[RonCamp]

On 10/19/2016 at 8:37 AM, markhollin said:

The Chelsea (5 stories, 79 units, some retail/restaurant) update.

Looking north along 12th Avenue South from Caldwell Ave. intersection:

The architect really missed the mark on this one.  It's ugly enough on its own, but when combined with the surrounding neighborhood and how badly it fits in with the area aesthetic, this product is a real disappointment.

[titanhog]

^^That black/dark grey fake brick look is really bad.

[dmillsphoto]

23 minutes ago, titanhog said:

^^That black/dark grey fake brick look building is really bad.

FTFY

[Neigeville2]

I like the massing, it's just the exterior finishes.  To me, anything that has a board and batten look, like a lot of the stucco panels you see now, just looks awful.  But these prominent seams bring a new level of heinous.  And the back of this building, with multicolored siding, is just bizarre.  Maybe they can paint it.

[Vrtigo]

The eye of the beholder, my friends... I don't mind it, personally. 

[titanhog]

1 hour ago, Vrtigo said:

The eye of the beholder, my friends... I don't mind it, personally. 

Eye of the "beer holder" maybe?  (just teasing)

[BnaBreaker]

2 hours ago, Vrtigo said:

The eye of the beholder, my friends... I don't mind it, personally. 

Neither do I...granted, I haven't seen it in person, so perhaps that would change my tune.  It is a bit disjointed design wise, but I appreciate the fact that the architect was at least trying to do something different.  We have enough beige rectangles in this city...off the mark or not, I'm glad there is something to spice up the landscape a bit.