More Accolades for Nashville

[Mr_Bond]

On 2/4/2019 at 9:18 AM, bigeasy said:

This is probably just the Nashville/Memphis rivalry talking, but how many people would pick Memphis if you gave them that list of 10 cities and said pick which one you would vacation to?

It depends on the travel budget.  One factor in assembling that list is having a destination for every budget, small to large.

[PruneTracy]

It seems like there would be a market internationally for tourists to see both Nashville and Memphis in the same trip. If you're flying in from overseas to see one, you may as well see the other while you're here, and the two cities are close enough and have enough in common to make this feasible. I'm surprised this is not part of a joint campaign abroad (outside of the state's marketing, which by necessity applies to all of Tennessee, not just Memphis and Nashville).

[Mr_Bond]

14 minutes ago, PruneTracy said:

It seems like there would be a market internationally for tourists to see both Nashville and Memphis in the same trip. If you're flying in from overseas to see one, you may as well see the other while you're here, and the two cities are close enough and have enough in common to make this feasible. I'm surprised this is not part of a joint campaign abroad (outside of the state's marketing, which by necessity applies to all of Tennessee, not just Memphis and Nashville).

Tennessee trivia: Bristol, TN, is closer to Canada than it is to Memphis.

[tragenvol]

2 hours ago, Mr_Bond said:

Tennessee trivia: Bristol, TN, is closer to Canada than it is to Memphis.

I believe it's actually that Mountain City is closer to Canada than it is to Memphis as the crow flies.....that's the way I've always heard it described.

Edited February 6, 2019 by tragenvol

[PruneTracy]

2 minutes ago, tragenvol said:

I believe it's actually that Mountain City is closer to Canada than it is to Memphis as the crow flies.....that's the way I've always heard it described.

This is my favorite Tennessee factoid. It actually works as far southwest as Morristown, which is 385 miles from Beale Street and 385 miles from Pelee Island, Ontario. By the time you get to Mountain City (475 miles) you can go as far as Hamilton, a scant 35 miles from Toronto.

[markhollin]

"Flip or Flop Nashville" has begun its second season at 9 PM, Thursday nights on HGTV.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2019/02/07/flip-or-flop-nashville-deron-jenkins-tennessee-vols/2770656002/

[markhollin]

Nashville sets a new real estate investment record in 2018--$1 billion MORE than previous record.

Investors spent more than $3.1 billion on commercial real estate in Nashville in 2018, according to Davidson County data newly compiled by Stephen Prather, a broker at Nashville firm Chas. Hawkins Co. Inc.

The spending surge is a 50 percent boost from the $2 billion and change spent in 2017. 

Investors set the record in 605 deals, which is 21 fewer than 2017's total — an indication that real estate values are still rising across much of the county.

By dollar amount, three of the four quarters of 2018 now rank as the three biggest quarters since the start of 2006.

Also, those four quarters of 2018 nearly equal the sales volume of the 20 quarters comprising 2006 through 2010.

More behind theNBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/02/15/investors-tack-another-billion-dollars-onto.html?ana=twt
 

[markhollin]

Celebrity chef Sean Brock (who now calls Nashville home) is about to get even bigger when he will appear in the 6th season of "Chef's Table" on Netflix starting Feb. 22nd.

Check out trailer here:

 

[markhollin]

[jmtunafish]

As posted at city-data.com, Nashville's per-capita GDP was the 5th highest-growing in the country between 2015-2017 among all metro areas of 1 million +.

1. San Jose - $17,488
2. San Francisco - $10,356
3. Seattle - $7,148
4. Austin - $6,427
5. Nashville - $5,874
6. Los Angeles - $5,357
7. Boston - $5,339
8. San Diego - $5,085
9. Indianapolis - $5,077
10. Cleveland - $5,026
11. Pittsburgh - $4,976
12. Charlotte - $4,729
13. Atlanta - $4,557
14. New York - $4,474
15. Chicago - $4,437
16. Baltimore - $4,431
17. Portland - $4,169
18. Detroit - $4,107
19. Cincinnati - $4,035
20. Philadelphia - $3,986
21. San Antonio - $3,916
22. Salt Lake City - $3,876
23. Milwaukee - $3,865
24. Denver - $3,744
25. Miami - $3,621
26. Minneapolis - $3,521
27. Columbus - $3,402
28. Richmond - $3,400
29. Jacksonville - $3,344
30. Dallas - $3,099
31. Sacramento - $3,093
32. Grand Rapids - $2,991
33. Raleigh - $2,852
34. Buffalo - $2,805
35. Washington D.C. - $2,782
36. Phoenix - $2,675
37. Birmingham - $2,619
38. Louisville - $2,576
39. Providence - $2,481
40. Riverside - $2,266
41. St. Louis - $2,080
42. Virginia Beach - $1,925
43. Tucson - $1,877
44. Las Vegas - $1,865
45. Tampa - $1,743
46. Rochester (N.Y). - $1,688
47. Orlando - $1,307
48. Kansas City - $1,257
49. Oklahoma City - $832
50. New Orleans - (-)$230
51. Memphis - (-)$1,217
52. Houston - (-)$3,150

http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs-city/3019638-metro-gdp-change-per-person-2015-a.html

As a reminder, here are the GDP figures for the country's largest metro areas:

Edited February 23, 2019 by jmtunafish

[markhollin]

It's official: Nashville will hold the NASCAR Awards on Thur. Dec. 5th at Music City Center.  Other Champion's Week events will be announced at a later date.  The wards were held in NYC from '81 to '8, and then from '09 to '18 in Las Vegas. 

Official press release here:

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2019/03/06/2019-monster-energy-series-awards-nashville/

More at Nashville Post here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/sports-business/blog/21049918/nashville-to-host-monster-energy-awards-champions-week-events

 

[nashvylle]

I am not a nascar fan, but I think this is great for Nashville. Hope it remains here. 

[markhollin]

February home sales were up 2.8% in Nashville area compared to February, 2018. Single-family homes sold in February for a median price of $294,486, up from $289,093 a year ago. Condo units sold for a median price of $214,900, which was essentially unchanged from a year ago.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/03/08/nashville-area-home-sales-see-february-uptick.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

More behind Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/residential-real-estate/article/21050135/nashville-sees-february-home-sales-rise-28

Also, this chart shows home value rise in the region between 2017 and 2018:

[titanhog]

On 3/6/2019 at 1:48 PM, markhollin said:

It's official: Nashville will hold the NASCAR Awards on Thur. Dec. 5th at Music City Center.  Other Champion's Week events will be announced at a later date.  The wards were held in NYC from '81 to '8, and then from '09 to '18 in Las Vegas. 

Official press release here:

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2019/03/06/2019-monster-energy-series-awards-nashville/

More at Nashville Post here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/sports-business/blog/21049918/nashville-to-host-monster-energy-awards-champions-week-events

 

Makes perfect sense for this to be in Nashville.  We're kinda in the heart of NASCAR country...but without a race.  Seems like a nice consolation prize for the area....and the fans.

[bigeasy]

16 hours ago, markhollin said:

 Single-family homes sold in February for a median price of $294,486, up from $289,093 a year ago.

I am screwed if I ever decide to sell my townhome and buy a house here. I just don't know how people afford to live here. I guess dual income would help lots.

[smeagolsfree]

Dual incomes is the only way I see most of these people getting homes. If you were single and bought a $200k with a good credit score you would need to be making around 70K according to what I could find on the web, so a almost 300K home a person would probably have to make 100k. If that is a dual income, its a lot more doable, but a single person is a hell of a lot harder.

[Jamie Hall]

17 hours ago, titanhog said:

Makes perfect sense for this to be in Nashville.  We're kinda in the heart of NASCAR country...but without a race.  Seems like a nice consolation prize for the area....and the fans.

This seems to be another step by NASCAR to get back to its core fan base, which has been and probably always will be in the South. Thus the renewed interest by NASCAR in the fairgrounds track. Gaining high-profile events like this and the NFL draft, the arrival of MLS, and all the huge construction projects, 2019 will have to go down as one of the biggest years for Nashville in a long, long time.

[Armacing]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 6:36 PM, jmtunafish said:

As posted at city-data.com, Nashville's per-capita GDP was the 5th highest-growing in the country between 2015-2017 among all metro areas of 1 million +.
5. Nashville - $5,874
51. Memphis - (-)$1,217
 

Wow, the contrast between Nashville and Memphis could not be more stark!  Nashville 5th from the top, while Memphis is 2nd from the bottom.  New Orleans was flooded, I get that they are on hard times.  Houston's economy rises and falls with the oil industry, no surprise there.  But what the heck is going on in Memphis?  Apparently not much...

[OnePointEast]

18 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Dual incomes is the only way I see most of these people getting homes. If you were single and bought a $200k with a good credit score you would need to be making around 70K according to what I could find on the web, so a almost 300K home a person would probably have to make 100k. If that is a dual income, its a lot more doable, but a single person is a hell of a lot harder.

Hell, single income from me. It's tough as hell but very doable. Moved to a town 25 miles north of Cookeville during June of last year, lived there for only two months. Though I had a lot of money left over, being in Nashville gave me so much more joy. Moved back and will most likely never go back to any small town again. They say there's a price to desirability.

[markhollin]

Tim McGraw will be one of the headline acts of the free downtown concert series around the NFL Draft on April 26th.Gospel singer CeCe Winans will perform theNational Anthem to kick things off on April 25th.  The other 20+ acts will be announced in coming weeks.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/03/18/country-star-to-headline-a-free-nashville-concert.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

[Tennessine]

On 3/8/2019 at 9:22 AM, Armacing said:

Wow, the contrast between Nashville and Memphis could not be more stark!  Nashville 5th from the top, while Memphis is 2nd from the bottom.  New Orleans was flooded, I get that they are on hard times.  Houston's economy rises and falls with the oil industry, no surprise there.  But what the heck is going on in Memphis?  Apparently not much...

Great question. Apart from the urban crime, corrupt city government and mutual contempt shared between the City of Memphis and Shelby County, I don't know why Memphis is bleeding so badly. I can only speculate why. Having visited Memphis several times in the past year (my girlfriend's family is from there), I can tell you that a lot of the residents I have spoken with don't enjoy living there, even if they have a good job and are doing well. I will say it: Memphis has an awful problem with race relations. I have never seen a city in America so divided over black versus white. The energy is so bad and it makes you feel like you're in a time capsule from the 1960s South. When I am there, I get an uneasy feeling that a lot of people don't like each other. I never feel like that in Nashville.

Speaking of the 1960s South, a lot of the infrastructure in Memphis is terrible. I notice how bad the roads are every time I visit the city. I don't know if that's TDOT's problem or the city's problem, but it needs to be fixed. Driving in Memphis makes you feel like you have gone back in time.

Memphis is home to 3 Fortune 500 companies and seems to have a steady stream of companies moving there each year. The suburbs are growing quickly, but the city itself is in bad shape, losing hundreds of residents each year. One outstanding socioeconomic issue is that the folks doing well in Memphis aren't actually living there- they head for Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville, etc. Conversely, Nashville is experiencing massive growth in residential units downtown and around the city proper. Nothing like that is happening in Memphis.

[smeagolsfree]

Sounds like St Louis all over again.

[nashvylle]

1 hour ago, markhollin said:

Tim McGraw will be one of the headline acts of the free downtown concert series around the NFL Draft on April 26th.Gospel singer CeCe Winans will perform theNational Anthem to kick things off on April 25th.  The other 20+ acts will be announced in coming weeks.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/03/18/country-star-to-headline-a-free-nashville-concert.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

Please God please do not rain!

[markhollin]

NBJ Editorial by Lori Becker (Editor in Chief):  No end in sight for Nashville's growth.

When will Nashville’s record-setting growth stop, or at least slow down?

I’ve heard a lot of business executives and city leaders make their own predictions lately, with their answers ranging from this year to a couple of years to at least a decade from now.

Economies are cyclical, and Nashville’s plateau will come. Cities can’t grow forever, right?

That may be true, but there’s no immediate signs of a slowdown in the city’s business scene.

EO Nashville, a group of more than 225 entrepreneurs who own or run companies with at least $1 million in annual revenue, recently surveyed its members on this. Half of them believe Middle Tennessee’s economy will improve over the next year. Most of the remaining half, 47 percent, believe the region’s economy will stay the same. Only 3 percent think the economy will worsen.

There’s a lot of evidence to support their optimism. In the past week alone, I’ve been struck by the rapid-fire headlines of more new buildings, more company expansions and more potential corporate recruits. Consider this:

• Last week, we reported on new plans for a 40-story Four Seasons hotel; a 40-story, 1 million-square-foot office tower and another 27-story office tower. We launched Crane Watch nearly four years ago to keep track of the rapid development in Nashville, and we’re still adding new projects to the map every week.
• Amazon, AllianceBernstein and EY announced last year more than 6,500 jobs coming to Nashville over the next few years. Despite that flood of jobs, corporate giants are still eyeing Music City for more expansion. The latest to sniff around is tech giant Oracle Corp., who’s considering Nashville for an office hub with at least 1,000 jobs.
• Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria, a popular pizza chain that’s only 2 years old, has so many expansion plans that it’s hired a retail/hospitality veteran as CEO to lead the upstart forward.
• Hotel giant Marriott International Inc. has 28 hotels in the pipeline in Nashville, more than any other market in the United States. And their chief franchise officer is angling for more.

I could go on. Every day, our reporters are chasing news on more business growth, from new projects to new jobs.

The big gets like Amazon are just getting started with their hiring and are expected to lure more companies to town who want to do business with them. Developments under construction like Nashville Yards continue to pack more office and entertainment space into their projects.

Despite rising concern that a national recession is on the horizon, the Nashville boom rolls on. If you’re waiting for some relief from the Nashville explosion, the wait time keeps getting longer.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/03/15/from-the-editor-no-end-in-sight-for-nashvilles.html

[markhollin]

Just now heard about this documentary coming about about The Bluebird Cafe.  Looks terrific.

http://www.bluebirdthemovie.com/