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Skyscrapers and Nashville


Paramount747

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^^^ I agree with this list for the most part, but don't really understand your placement of Baltimore as non-peer? It's a larger city in almost every measurable way.

 

I would move Birmingham to not peer. Also, Raleigh-Durham to almost peer (their metro population is similar to ours, but the city itself is several years behind us in terms of population and development).

 

I know it might be a stretch, but I would add New Orleans to peers. Maybeeeeee St. Louis and Columbus, also.

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For me, it's less about the height, and more about good design - both on top and at street level.     I'll take 20-40 stories all day, but I'd like to see some variety added to our skyline to accompany our many flattops.   It's been discussed many times on this board and I understand the economics associated with non-rentable spires and domes, but I'd like to see at least one developer do something bold.   

 

At street level, every facade that addresses a city street should be solid commercial/retail.   Our zoning codes still allow blank walls, which equals dead streets, and that should be unacceptable to us.    Street activation feeds on itself and brings more growth and activation, which feeds density.       Baltimore mentioned above has amazing design at the street level and incredible density to go along.   One feeds the other.     

 

There is very little I am envious of in Baltimore.  They have some interesting architectural features, but the city by and large is dirty, dangerous, and run down beyond belief.

 

Perhaps I'm being a little down on it, but in the times I've visited (not counting the dozens upon dozens of times I've driven through), I see very little of that city that I want Nashville to emulate.

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You also have lots of offices off of Elm Hill/Briley that could of added to downtown density. Bridgestone's bulding would look nice downtown. I am not sure how many floors it is, but it has to be around 20 or so? Then you have Allstate and Kroger both with about 6 story buildings in office parks. Those easily could be 10-15 stories if were slimmer and downtown.

I used to think the same, but when you get up on the Bridgestone building it becomes pretty suburban IMO.  It does look nice from Briley though.

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There is very little I am envious of in Baltimore.  They have some interesting architectural features, but the city by and large is dirty, dangerous, and run down beyond belief.

 

Perhaps I'm being a little down on it, but in the times I've visited (not counting the dozens upon dozens of times I've driven through), I see very little of that city that I want Nashville to emulate.

 

I should be more specific.    Agree Baltimore has plenty of old and grit.     The discussion thread here was about new buildings, and my point was there has been a good deal of new construction in downtown Baltimore in the last 5-10 years, particularly around Camden Yards, Inner Harbor and East Harbor.  A lot of it is midrise.    I hadn't been there in a while and was there a few weeks ago for meetings.   What impressed me about the street level design and detail on a lot of that new construction was that it addressed sidewalks and included retail and restaurant.   The sidewalks were full and hopping.      

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I should be more specific.    Agree Baltimore has plenty of old and grit.     The discussion thread here was about new buildings, and my point was there has been a good deal of new construction in downtown Baltimore in the last 5-10 years, particularly around Camden Yards, Inner Harbor and East Harbor.  A lot of it is midrise.    I hadn't been there in a while and was there a few weeks ago for meetings.   What impressed me about the street level design and detail on a lot of that new construction was that it addressed sidewalks and included retail and restaurant.   The sidewalks were full and hopping.      

 

It is true that certain parts of Baltimore have risen above the rest of the city, like the areas you just mentioned.  They've done a great job with those spots, and people are taking advantage of low housing prices, accessibility, and urbanity. The area around the train station appears to be making a rebound, too.  But, and it's a big but, there is a LOT of the city that consists of dilapidated row homes where, in a block of 10, 3 of them are abandoned, and one or two are burned out.  I recall not very long ago getting off on a wrong exit and drawing mental comparisons to pictures I'd seen of Berlin, 1946.  Not kidding. And this is from someone who somehow managed to grow jaded to the rougher parts of West Philadelphia and currently commutes through the not-nice parts of Prince Georges County, MD. It's a city that has suffered from years of urban decay and criminal mismanagement, and development is going in fits and starts.

 

But I digress...wrong forum for a discussion of Baltimore's issues. :)

I used to think the same, but when you get up on the Bridgestone building it becomes pretty suburban IMO.  It does look nice from Briley though.

 

That's unfortunately very true.  Fits in all too well in a suburban office park.

 

I would have LOVED to have seen a Bridgestone branded office tower downtown (not just the arena!).

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It would have been awesome to have a Bridgestone and Nissan tower. Maybe even a Cracker Barrel one. Be the first skyscraper with a porch and rocking chairs.

Maybe it could be a massive skycrapper in the shape of a rocking chair? Would look awesome next to a large guitar

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I think the office parks hurt downtown, but the main one that hurt downtown was Metro Center. Back in the 1970's one was under the delusion Metro Center was a great idea, when in reality building in a flood plain was a stupid idea!  I cannot tell you how many times the Cumberland went over those levies when I worked at B.A Pargh Company in the late 1990's. The ware house flooded all the time in heavy rain.

 

I forgot the name of the restaurant that was on one of the lakes, but we liked it when I was a kid.

 

I will be 51 soon and I do remember then wondering why this was not in downtown? I wanted to see more buildings like the L&C Tower, not 5 story buildings out in the middle of nowhere!

 

I guess Metro Center is vibrant now, but it took  40 years to make it viable. Even back in the late 1990's, there were no restaurants there except the Shoneys since the mall was gone. The mall and movie theater lasted about a year or two.

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I think MetroCenter was born out of the idea that downtowns were seedy dangerous places and unattractive to businesses. It also plays into the car model, where companies could have their employees park on site without the hassle of dealing with garages or walking great distances. 

 

A lot has changed over the years, though, and the perception of being downtown vs. MetroCenter has changed as well. 

 

For the time being, I think Metrocenter is good in that it is a place where we can dump all of those downtown car dealerships.

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It is true that certain parts of Baltimore have risen above the rest of the city, like the areas you just mentioned.  They've done a great job with those spots, and people are taking advantage of low housing prices, accessibility, and urbanity. The area around the train station appears to be making a rebound, too.  But, and it's a big but, there is a LOT of the city that consists of dilapidated row homes where, in a block of 10, 3 of them are abandoned, and one or two are burned out.  I recall not very long ago getting off on a wrong exit and drawing mental comparisons to pictures I'd seen of Berlin, 1946.  Not kidding. And this is from someone who somehow managed to grow jaded to the rougher parts of West Philadelphia and currently commutes through the not-nice parts of Prince Georges County, MD. It's a city that has suffered from years of urban decay and criminal mismanagement, and development is going in fits and starts.

 

But I digress...wrong forum for a discussion of Baltimore's issues. :)

 

That's unfortunately very true.  Fits in all too well in a suburban office park.

 

I would have LOVED to have seen a Bridgestone branded office tower downtown (not just the arena!).

 

I went to Baltimore and DC for the first time over Easter weekend and when people ask me about the cities I usually say this verbatim about Baltimore:

 

 "there is a LOT of the city that consists of dilapidated row homes where, in a block of 10, 3 of them are abandoned, and one or two are burned out"

 

That is really true around the John Hopkins hospital.

 

DC is a really nice city though...

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I went to Baltimore and DC for the first time over Easter weekend and when people ask me about the cities I usually say this verbatim about Baltimore:

 

 "there is a LOT of the city that consists of dilapidated row homes where, in a block of 10, 3 of them are abandoned, and one or two are burned out"

 

That is really true around the John Hopkins hospital.

 

DC is a really nice city though...

BTW, erdichia, keep us informed of the things that are happening in Mt Juliet. Just post them under the projects outside of Davidson County thread.

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I went to Baltimore and DC for the first time over Easter weekend and when people ask me about the cities I usually say this verbatim about Baltimore:

 

 "there is a LOT of the city that consists of dilapidated row homes where, in a block of 10, 3 of them are abandoned, and one or two are burned out"

 

That is really true around the John Hopkins hospital.

 

DC is a really nice city though...

 

 

DC is interesting, to say the least... Much of the city is pretty shady, but it's getting better very quickly. It has just started to hit a positive tipping point.

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