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3 minutes ago, rookzie said:

Of course, back during the first half of last century, Memphis had been a much larger commercial and industrial base scale than had Nashville, as this Forum has discussed in the past.  Accordingly, the Sears, Roebuck, and Company had developed a much larger and unmistakably more grand structure in Memphis, compared to Church Street building in Nashville, which Sears had only leased as part of a 20-year contract by its builder, until it occupied its then-new department store in 1956 at LaFayette St. and Seventh Ave South.  Memphis and Nashville each had entirely purposes for their respective Sears facility.  While Nashville's Sears of was simply a retail store, in contrast, the Memphis operation (Sears Crosstown Distribution Center) was conceived as both a catalog order plant and retail store.

While not really relevant to this discussion, and without too much digression from the topic on-hand, the Memphis former Sears, which the city would have razed as late as 10 years ago, had the city not been so cash-strapped, fortunately and finally appears to be undergoing a massive, dramatic  re-purposing and redevelopment as a mixed-use urban village called "Crosstown Concourse", which also is to include a YMCA - Health Center partnership, as well as a 450-seat theater serving as home for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. 

There actually is no fair comparison between the former Sears of Nashville and Memphis, and the I myself certainly will not miss the eyesore on Church St., which indeed has had structural (sinking foundation) issues for decades.


Former Sears Crosstown distribution center of Memphis, being transformed into "Crosstown Concourse"

 

^Not trying to get off topic but that project is really gonna change that area. It's gonna be how the MCC arrived and it changed the whole sobro area.

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23 hours ago, titanhog said:

You mean the government...right?

I can't speak for Samson, but I assume that he is indeed referring to the government.  More specifically, the representatives within the government who voted against and/or otherwise blocked the infrastructure appropriations that fund these type of projects.  

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13 hours ago, ruraljuror said:

I can't speak for Samson, but I assume that he is indeed referring to the government.  More specifically, the representatives within the government who voted against and/or otherwise blocked the infrastructure appropriations that fund these type of projects.  

The nerve of some politicians voting against appropriations when we're only $20 trillion in debt ! Hang 'em ! <_<

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38 minutes ago, ruraljuror said:

Your argument wears a little thin when those same politicians continually vote in favor of tax cuts, corporate subsidies, and things like defense contracts for tanks and planes that the DOD has specifically said are obsolete for use in modern warfare.  Suddenly their opposition to infrastructure spending on roads, bridges, and courthouses seems a little less noble and a little more hypocritical/opportunistic.

Facts are stubborn things, to be sure, especially the astronomical debt. There's gross and negligent spending across the board, for which I do not support, and for which both parties are to blame. At no point, however, do I consider tax cuts a bad thing, for one simple reason: it's not the government's money. It also must dovetail with spending cuts and government downsizing, for which (again) too many in both parties show a hysterical aversion to.

In any event, if all this foot-dragging contributed to the delay in constructing this hideous federal courthouse, I say that is an excellent thing. Who says gridlock isn't bad ? (And I got the topic back on track) :D

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Demo for the building at the corner of Church and 8th is set for Oct 8th.... wrecking ball.

Edit - Maybe that is just prep for demo because I ran across this in the Tennessean -
"

A former state office building at 719 Church St. is expected to be demolished between Dec. 26 and Jan. 13 to make way for the $194 million project

"

Edited by Guest
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/2/2016 at 4:07 PM, nashville_bound said:

Demo for the building at the corner of Church and 8th is set for Oct 8th.... wrecking ball.

Edit - Maybe that is just prep for demo because I ran across this in the Tennessean -
"

A former state office building at 719 Church St. is expected to be demolished between Dec. 26 and Jan. 13 to make way for the $194 million project

"

Yes, it must be a prep.  They must have turned on electrical service to that building, as this morning at 7:20 or so, I saw ceiling lights lit, on almost the entire ground floor, as viewed from corner of 8th and Church.  It could be some kind of material abatement procedure, such as asbestos, so in any event, something is about to proceed.

Edited by rookzie
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Yates Construction, also noted elsewhere in this forum as contractors for the Virgin Hotel and Hyatt Regency, has this rendering of an unidentified Federal Courthouse on their website. The basic design hearkens out to the original Graves design in a lot of ways with the rotunda, mixed materials in the facade and projection of windows beyond the plane of the facade. It also reflects the reduction in height as also noted elsewhere in this forum. The background could possibly be a generic throw-in to hide the actual location.

Any comments?

Mystry%20Courthouse_zpssojbbqjx.jpg

:tw_glasses:
 
 
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1 hour ago, PHofKS said:

Yates Construction, also noted elsewhere in this forum as contractors for the Virgin Hotel and Hyatt Regency, has this rendering of an unidentified Federal Courthouse on their website. The basic design hearkens out to the original Graves design in a lot of ways with the rotunda, mixed materials in the facade and projection of windows beyond the plane of the facade. It also reflects the reduction in height as also noted elsewhere in this forum. The background could possibly be a generic throw-in to hide the actual location.

Any comments?

 Yes, it's still ugly. Very short and very ugly.

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If true then only the government could spend 20 years and $200,000,000 to end up with this pipsqueak of a courthouse...

 

Just compare it to what Tong G is building down Church for $20,000,000 less (I think that is accurate)  - and he has a much higher cost of money than the feds...

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11 minutes ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

Even the ugly little windows are identical to the Estes Kefauver Courthouse, and that's not a compliment.

Plus those Li'l windows in that "replicated" fenestration won't be surrounded with limestone cladding either, so it will look sham and cheap-a$S bogus, rather than complementary (or even complimentary in homage to the Kefauver)

 

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44 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

It's also stupid to put it three blocks away from the current CH, which will continue to be used.  Slipshod, p!ss poor project management and no logic in execution... your tax dollars at work. 

Well...at least it's not a surprise.  The government is always going to make us spend a few extra millions for a toilet.

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To clarify my post above with the unidentified Courthouse rendering, I have no idea if this is a proposal from Yates for their bid on the design-build of the Courthouse. I just saw the rendering on their website and noted various coincidental clues that might indicate so.

Sorry for any confusion...:tw_wink:

 

 

 

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