Nashville Yards, 15 acres/4 million sq. ft./ $1 billion, Phase I: Grand Hyatt Hotel (25 stories), Phase II: Amazon (26 & 22 stories), Phase III: AEG District (4 K theater, 34 & 35 story apts); Phase IV: Pinnacle Tower (35 stories), Amazon 3 (43)

[Andy20]

 

6 minutes ago, NashWellington11 said:

$175 million is about right. It is certainly not anything  over the top for a building like this.

• Asurion's new HQ is estimated to cost $285 million. [Source]
• Pinnacle at Symphony Place sold in 2013 for $152 million. [Source]
• Fifth Third Center sold in 2017 for $120 million. [Source]

Gulch Union’s office tower, also 20 stories, costs $100 million to build. Pinnacle is much taller.

[NashWellington11]

15 hours ago, Andy20 said:

 

Gulch Union’s office tower, also 20 stories, costs $100 million to build. Pinnacle is much taller.

True. But the number of stories is only one of many factors that affect how much a building costs to construct. Floor plate size, steel/reinforced concrete, underground parking, site specific factors,  etc. all play a role. Just because Amazon is spending $75 million more than the Gulch Union tower and both are the same height does not mean Amazon is being extravagant, it just means that they are spending more money. There could be any number of reasons why. In Amazon's case, they are building the base for Tower 2 (parking garage) at the same time as they are building Tower 1. The $175 million loan most likely covers both Tower 1 and the base for Tower 2.

[Craiger]

Looks like a concrete pump truck broke down over night at the Amazon tower. Looking back, it's been in the same exact position since 5:30, and now another one has shown up.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Craiger

[nashvylle]

[markhollin]

Grand Hyatt Hotel (23 stories, 591 rooms) update.  Up to 16th floor. Glass starting to fill-in on west side.

Looking SE from intersection of 11th Ave. North and Porter St:

[Native]

Looks like the rest of Amazon I will be steel.  This is the main floor, level with Church Street.

[chris holman]

[NashWellington11]

On 8/17/2019 at 2:32 PM, Native said:

Looks like the rest of Amazon I will be steel.  This is the main floor, level with Church Street.

Agreed. Once the Tower 1 core gets going a bit more, this thing is going to go up quick. Steel goes up pretty fast. And office is inherently faster because there are fewer interior walls and there aren't hundreds of bathrooms and kitchens to rough in like there are in hotel/residential. This may not catch up and top out before the Grand Hyatt, but I expect they will open a lot closer to each other than most would expect.

Here is the core this morning. Working on 2nd floor.

[markhollin]

Up to the 15th floor now on Broadway side.  17th level on CSX tracks side.

Looking NW from intersection of Broadway and 10th Ave:

Looking NE from Broadway Viaduct, 1/2 block west of 10th Ave:

Looking south from Church Street Viaduct where it crosses over 10th Ave. North:

Looking NE from intersection of Demonbreun and 12th Ave. South:

Looking SE from Church St. Viaduct where it crosses over 11th Ave. North:

[OnePointEast]

Is the 23 floor figure from CSX tracks or from Broadway?

[Craiger]

2 hours ago, OnePointEast said:

Is the 23 floor figure from CSX tracks or from Broadway?

I know Amazon is counting church street / upper 10th as ground floor so I’m guessing Hyatt is counting Broadway as ground. 

[OnePointEast]

8 hours ago, Craiger said:

I know Amazon is counting church street / upper 10th as ground floor so I’m guessing Hyatt is counting Broadway as ground. 

Wow, thanks! It sure is going to look prominent from I-40/65 if that's the case.

[markhollin]

Amazon Tower One update.  Central elevators shafts, stairwell rising several stories above Church Street level now.

Looking west from Church Street Viaduct where it crosses over 10th Ave. North:

Looking NE from Church Street Viaduct where it crosses over the CSX tracks:

Looking east from Church Street Viaduct where it crosses over the CSX tracks:

Looking south from intersection of 10th Ave. North and Union St:

[Bos2Nash]

On 8/17/2019 at 2:32 PM, Native said:

Looks like the rest of Amazon I will be steel.  This is the main floor, level with Church Street.

Like @NashWellington11 said the steel will certainly rise quicker (unless it is the courthouse), but also because this is an office tower it makes sense to be steel. 

[MidTenn1]

I wonder, also, if it is getting difficult to schedule concrete delivery due the incredible demand and limited number of quarries and plants.

[erdichia]

11 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Like @NashWellington11 said the steel will certainly rise quicker (unless it is the courthouse), but also because this is an office tower it makes sense to be steel. 

Out of curiosity, what’s the advantage for steel in an office tower?

[nashvylle]

38 minutes ago, erdichia said:

Out of curiosity, what’s the advantage for steel in an office tower?

Steel beams have longer spans, meaning less columns and more efficient office layouts. 

[DeemonBruhn]

Out of curiosity, what’s the advantage for steel in an office tower?

Speed.

[markhollin]

Amazon Tower Two update.   Hole complete. Footings being placed.

Looking south from SW corner of parking lot off of 10th Ave. North and Union St:

Looking SE from SW corner of parking lot off of 10th Ave. North and Union St:

Looking south from intersection of Union St. and 10th Ave. North:




Looking SW from intersection of Union St. and 10th Ave. North:

[titanhog]

I’m sure this has been discusssed previously...but has Amazon given a reason for not going ahead and building the 2nd tower right away?  Surely not all 5000 will fit in tower 1.  Why not go ahead and build the 2nd tower while you have the manpower and 2019 prices?

[Craiger]

2 minutes ago, titanhog said:

I’m sure this has been discusssed previously...but has Amazon given a reason for not going ahead and building the 2nd tower right away?  Surely not all 5000 will fit in tower 1.  Why not go ahead and build the 2nd tower while you have the manpower and 2019 prices?

I guess we will see here in the next month or two if that is actually the plan. This side of the garage is something like 6 floors above church street so they’ve got time to get permits for the tower in the mean time. 

[CenterHill]

11 hours ago, erdichia said:

Out of curiosity, what’s the advantage for steel in an office tower?

I'm not an expert on this, but I've been wondering whether Trump's steel tariffs have pushed up the cost of steel frame towers.     We have 3 large steel structures rising now (5th & B, Amazon and Fed Courthouse).      Is it possible these projects placed their steel orders before the tariffs went into effect?  

[Bos2Nash]

On 8/22/2019 at 9:50 PM, erdichia said:

Out of curiosity, what’s the advantage for steel in an office tower?

Speed, cost, supply chain all play a role. I don’t know how much the tariffs play a role though. Concrete can achieve some serious spans as well using post-tensioned concrete. The two biggest items for an office tower using steel rather that concrete is cost and sound. Erecting steel takes less time so less manpower hours to erect so overall it’s cheaper. Concrete is used in residential towers because of its sound transmission characteristics. It’s more expensive, but transfers sound less so it’s good for dwelling units. Offices aren’t worried as much about sound and tenants that are can include insulation in their build outs.

There is also fire-rating related issues that differ between Business use buildings and Residential use buildings that help determine which material to use

[Craiger]

3 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Speed, cost, supply chain all play a role. I don’t know how much the tariffs play a role though. Concrete can achieve some serious spans as well using post-tensioned concrete. The two biggest items for an office tower using steel rather that concrete is cost and sound. Erecting steel takes less time so less manpower hours to erect so overall it’s cheaper. Concrete is used in residential towers because of its sound transmission characteristics. It’s more expensive, but transfers sound less so it’s good for dwelling units. Offices aren’t worried as much about sound and tenants that are can include insulation in their build outs.

There is also fire-rating related issues that differ between Business use buildings and Residential use buildings that help determine which material to use

This feels like a dumb question, but what are the floors made out of in a “steel” building? I know lots of offices have raised floors so not necessarily talking what I actually walk on, but like what keeps the fire from traveling floors quickly and spans between the steel structure? 

[Baronakim]

12 hours ago, Craiger said:

This feels like a dumb question, but what are the floors made out of in a “steel” building? I know lots of offices have raised floors so not necessarily talking what I actually walk on, but like what keeps the fire from traveling floors quickly and spans between the steel structure? 

While the structural weight of the building and everything in it is borne by the steel beams and columns,  virtually all of the fire safety is provided by concrete (usually).  There are other methods involving gypsum board layering but the labor costs are far more expensive and therefore, less often employed.  In typical construction for office construction with a steel frame, the floor consists of a fluted steel decking laid on the beams (girders) and sub-beams (called purlin beams).  The spacing of these components depends upon the gauge and depth of the steel decking.  A typical floor has supporting beams 4 to 6 feet apart and a flute depth of 1 1/2".A heavier gauge or deeper deck allows greater spacing of beam layout.   Depending on the occupant use, concrete (without rebar reinforcing)  is poured on the deck to various thicknesses.  A typical office building concrete slab is 5 1/4" thick from the bottom of the fluting to the top of the floor slab.  Generally this affords 2 hours of fire protection between floors in multi-story construction of a normal office usage.  Record storage and such will have steel closer together or thicker slabs, or both.  All of the criteria are clearly called out in codes dependent on the occupancy and the square footage.  It is a very long established dance with formal rules.  The challenge for the architect  and structural engineer is to come up with the most cost effective system for the owner's needs and aesthetic desires.  Of course,  in a steel building columns and beams of steel are also protected,  as unprotected steel quickly fails in a fire.  This is done usually with a sprayed cementitious material on the steel.  Thickness of application varies with the size of the steel member, the heavier the member is, the thinner the cementitious  protection needs to be.  This is very messy so columns usually are wrapped with studs and gypsum board to at least above the finish ceiling levels or to deck if the wall they are in is acoustically treated.  There are other treatments should for some reason, the design calls for the steel to be visible.  Intumescent paint is expensive but foams up in a fire to provide protection similar to concrete sprays.   Also note that steel that is very high off the floor level may not be required to have protection, but this is usually in storage and industrial occupancy as most office occupancies  do not have excessive floor-to-floor heights.  All of these requirements have been long tested through independent agencies like United Laboratories (UL) and long established codes.   Alternate methods are allowed, but must be tested, a process which is very expensive  and time consuming apart from the blessings of the building code officials.  It is actually somewhat more complicated in practice, but that is why architects and engineers are required to be licensed by the state governments.  I hope this gives you the basic concepts involved.