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)

[markhollin]

Mayor Cooper's objections to Nashville Yards' digital signs sow frustration with the developer (and others).  

Clearly, Cooper needs to let his departments do their jobs, especially when things are being met within codes.  He is quickly alienating his own staff, let alone key people who are bringing untold millions of cash into the city. 

If Cooper thinks these digital signs will make downtown look like "a carnival," may I suggest he take a walk down lower Broadway. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2020/02/03/sources-mayor-coopers-objections-nashville-yards-signs-sow-angst/4588140002/

[DDIG]

3 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Mayor Cooper's objections to Nashville Yards' digital signs sow frustration with the developer (and others).  

Clearly, Cooper needs to let his departments do their jobs, especially when things are being met within codes.  He is quickly alienating his own staff, let alone key people who are bringing untold millions of cash into the city. 

If Cooper thinks these digital sings will make downtown look like "a carnival," may I suggest he take a walk down lower Broadway. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2020/02/03/sources-mayor-coopers-objections-nashville-yards-signs-sow-angst/4588140002/

Really big vision leadership by our Mayor. What a joke. 

[Nash_12South]

45 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Really big vision leadership by our Mayor. What a joke. 

My first, cynical, thought was, did the Nashville Yards folks not donate enough money to our new mayor's campaign? revenge?

Edited February 3, 2020 by Nash_12South

[downtownresident]

26 minutes ago, Nash_12South said:

My first, cynical, thought was, did the Nashville Yards folks not donate enough money to our new mayor's campaign? revenge?

He’s still upset that the city gave them money to help out with infrastructure costs.

This quote from a former Metro official is troubling: 

"There’s uncertainty as to what the rules of engagement are going forward," said a former Metro official close to the deal. "If you’re going to make a major investment in the city, you need some certainty everybody’s going to do their job with statutes and permits and there aren’t any artificial barriers being put up. People are genuinely concerned with how it’s going to go.”

Edited February 3, 2020 by downtownresident

[smeagolsfree]

What I suspected and now confirmed is Cooper is a micromanaging idiot. This will end up back firing on him big time especially if he tries to do the same thing with the school board. If he shoves his ugly bushy eyebrows into that hornets nest he will indeed get stung.

The media on all sides are starting to dig into his antics and I think this may only be the start of a lot of things he is trying to do  behind the scenes. After a while his plate will run over he will not be able to run the city effectively if he is micromanaging every aspect of Planning, The Fair board, Public works , Police and what ever else you want to throw out there. 

This will also have a negative impact on employees and they will start leaving in droves if this continues as they will not be able to do the job they were hired for and will eventually end up in some MAJOR law suites against the city if they are not already in progress.

[titanhog]

Whether he intends to or not, he’s coming across as very “anti-growth”...and “anti big business.”

[Craiger]

4 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

What I suspected and now confirmed is Cooper is a micromanaging idiot. This will end up back firing on him big time especially if he tries to do the same thing with the school board. If he shoves his ugly bushy eyebrows into that hornets nest he will indeed get stung.

The media on all sides are starting to dig into his antics and I think this may only be the start of a lot of things he is trying to do  behind the scenes. After a while his plate will run over he will not be able to run the city effectively if he is micromanaging every aspect of Planning, The Fair board, Public works , Police and what ever else you want to throw out there. 

This will also have a negative impact on employees and they will start leaving in droves if this continues as they will not be able to do the job they were hired for and will eventually end up in some MAJOR law suites against the city if they are not already in progress.

I especially like how you attack his personal appearance here. It lets me know you are staying objective in your disagreement. 
 

 

[smeagolsfree]

He lost is credibility a long time ago. Bushy eyebrows included.

[Craiger]

1 minute ago, smeagolsfree said:

He lost is credibility a long time ago. Bushy eyebrows included.

Stay classy.

[DDIG]

1 hour ago, Craiger said:

Stay classy.

The Mayor is a very dashing, handsome man. I have heard some reports that he is at least six foot five inches. 

There, do you feel better?

[JoeyX]

I'm confused per the forum rules can we post insults or not?

[titanhog]

[PillowTalk4]

Is Mayor Cooper trying to kill Nashville's momentum?  Is Charlotte, NC bank rolling his office?  Did Austin, TX interfere in the Nashville mayoral election? 

Okay, I know deep down it's not funny.  What he's doing is building up an image that under his leadership Nashville will not honor it's commitments and if he "personally" doesn't like something he's going to get in the way.  It's stunning that he's concerned about the lighting and signage that will be on the buildings in Nashville Yards, saying it will make Nashville look like a carnival, when there is, among other clownish signs, one neon sign on Broadway that has flying pigs.... Which I personally don't have a problem with, but lets keep perspective here Mr. Mayor.

What they are talking about doing in Nashville Yards is more along the lines of Time Square on a much smaller scale.  The Capital One Center in DC (formerly Verizon Center, formerly MCI Center) has the type of signage it appears that developers are proposing for the buildings in Nashville Yards.  I've yet to hear anyone complain about them being clownish or like a circus.  If anything, the signs help to draw people in and add atmosphere to an otherwise drab building.  The only complaint has been from nearby residents saying that they are too bright to be on/or flashing  all night.  So, I believe the signs are turned off or are static after 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM.   My suggestion would have been get room darkening draperies or shades....

[ruraljuror]

32 minutes ago, JoeyX said:

I'm confused per the forum rules can we post insults or not?

Did you create an account and make your first post just to defend the mayor's eyebrows, or are you just a stickler for rules?  

I like the mayor's eyebrows, btw. It gives him a little bit of a Yosemite Sam spice that keeps him from being a pure Porky Pig/Elmer Fudd type caricature. 

 

[downtownresident]

4 minutes ago, PillowTalk4 said:

Is Mayor Cooper trying to kill Nashville's momentum?  Is Charlotte, NC bank rolling his office?  Did Austin, TX interfere in the Nashville mayoral election? 

Okay, I know deep down it's not funny.  What he's doing is building up an image that under his leadership Nashville will not honor it's commitments and if he "personally" doesn't like something he's going to get in the way.  It's stunning that he's concerned about the lighting and signage that will be on the buildings in Nashville Yards, saying it will make Nashville look like a carnival, when there is, among other clownish signs, one neon sign on Broadway that has flying pigs.... Which I personally don't have a problem with, but lets keep perspective here Mr. Mayor.

What they are talking about doing in Nashville Yards is more along the lines of Time Square on a much smaller scale.  The Capital One Center in DC (formerly Verizon Center, formerly MCI Center) has the type of signage it appears that developers are proposing for the buildings in Nashville Yards.  I've yet to hear anyone complain about them being clownish or like a circus.  If anything, the signs help to draw people in and add atmosphere to an otherwise drab building.  The only complaint has been from nearby residents saying that they are too bright to be on/or flashing  all night.  So, I believe the signs are turned off or are static after 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM.   My suggestion would have been get room darkening draperies or shades....

Bridgestone Arena, the MCC, and the future Museum of African American Music all have, or will have these signs. Cooper is being ridiculous. 

[smeagolsfree]

I think we have been calling things what they are for a long time on here. Mayor Cooper IMO is being very reckless in what he is doing. Now the Bushy eyebrows may be his trade mark, who know, but I would have fired my barber a long time ago.

But the things he is doing right now is going to cause moral in the city ranks to flounder. That happens whenever you have a micro manager at the wheel. Again, if Ingram loses the MLS franchise because of this, I can guarantee there will be at least a 300 million dollar lawsuit against the city and the city may lose. So much for fiscal responsibility . Even if there is no signed paper work, the public meetings and votes by council would be enough to show breech of contract I would think by the Mayors office. I am no lawyer, but I know there are some on this board.

The same goes for some of the other agreements like Amazon, and Asurion. I do not understand how a Mayor can go back and terminate agreements made by previous Councils and Mayors without there being legal repercussions. I think the man may be playing with fire. I know he is a lawyer, but is he a good lawyer and the right kind of lawyer to tackle these lawsuits if they occur.

If Nashville is sued on multiple fronts by Developer, MLS, and others does Metro have the resources to fight them all and how much money would this cost the taxpayers. My guess will be many millions to fight and many more millions if they lose, maybe hundreds of millions. I may be putting the cart before the horse, but just doing some soothsaying here. 

[Craiger]

48 minutes ago, JoeyX said:

I'm confused per the forum rules can we post insults or not?

I read the rules and I don't think the original post breaks the rules. It would be different I think if the he had instead insulted a fellow member of the forum. 

My comment wasn't in regards to any rule infraction. Instead, I just thought it was really petty and immature to devolve into commenting on someones looks because you disagree with their policies. Not to mention coming from a moderator on the board. 

[DDIG]

6 minutes ago, downtownresident said:

Bridgestone Arena, the MCC, and the future Museum of African American Music all have, or will have these signs. Cooper is being ridiculous. 

There's also a giant digital billboard just up the street across from Broadwest called THE NASHVILLE SIGN. Who cares? This isn't Mayberry. 

[satalac]

Cooper needs to honor the previous agreements, full stop. Moving forward, I'm ok with him holding companies a bit more accountable and not giving away everything, but let's not kill this fantastic momentum that Nashville has gotten. He's also coming across more as a dictator than Mayor of the people. It seems like he has certain grudges against people in this town, and whatever those people's interests are, he's going to make it tough on them. 

[downtownresident]

1 minute ago, smeagolsfree said:

I think we have been calling things what they are for a long time on here. Mayor Cooper IMO is being very reckless in what he is doing. Now the Bushy eyebrows may be his trade mark, who know, but I would have fired my barber a long time ago.

But the things he is doing right now is going to cause moral in the city ranks to flounder. That happens whenever you have a micro manager at the wheel. Again, if Ingram loses the MLS franchise because of this, I can guarantee there will be at least a 300 million dollar lawsuit against the city and the city may lose. So much for fiscal responsibility . Even if there is no signed paper work, the public meetings and votes by council would be enough to show breech of contract I would think by the Mayors office. I am no lawyer, but I know there are some on this board.

The same goes for some of the other agreements like Amazon, and Asurion. I do not understand how a Mayor can go back and terminate agreements made by previous Councils and Mayors without there being legal repercussions. I think the man may be playing with fire. I know he is a lawyer, but is he a good lawyer and the right kind of lawyer to tackle these lawsuits if they occur.

If Nashville is sued on multiple fronts by Developer, MLS, and others does Metro have the resources to fight them all and how much money would this cost the taxpayers. My guess will be many millions to fight and many more millions if they lose, maybe hundreds of millions. I may be putting the cart before the horse, but just doing some soothsaying here. 

He hasn’t terminated anything with respect to Amazon, but is making the developers life hell by holding up the signage permits, and Asurion was never approved through Council. He’s been an absolute disaster thus far with respect to development and messaging to the business community, to the point where I’m wondering if there is any sort of ulterior motive involved. 

[titanhog]

The more I hear Cooper and people like him in our city government speak, the more I understand how we have such screwy height-limiting zoning in weird places....lack of cool lighting on our skyscrapers...no mass transportation to speak of...etc...etc...

[DDIG]

3 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

I think we have been calling things what they are for a long time on here. Mayor Cooper IMO is being very reckless in what he is doing. Now the Bushy eyebrows may be his trade mark, who know, but I would have fired my barber a long time ago.

But the things he is doing right now is going to cause moral in the city ranks to flounder. That happens whenever you have a micro manager at the wheel. Again, if Ingram loses the MLS franchise because of this, I can guarantee there will be at least a 300 million dollar lawsuit against the city and the city may lose. So much for fiscal responsibility . Even if there is no signed paper work, the public meetings and votes by council would be enough to show breech of contract I would think by the Mayors office. I am no lawyer, but I know there are some on this board.

The same goes for some of the other agreements like Amazon, and Asurion. I do not understand how a Mayor can go back and terminate agreements made by previous Councils and Mayors without there being legal repercussions. I think the man may be playing with fire. I know he is a lawyer, but is he a good lawyer and the right kind of lawyer to tackle these lawsuits if they occur.

If Nashville is sued on multiple fronts by Developer, MLS, and others does Metro have the resources to fight them all and how much money would this cost the taxpayers. My guess will be many millions to fight and many more millions if they lose, maybe hundreds of millions. I may be putting the cart before the horse, but just doing some soothsaying here. 

 

All good points. And to further these points, he is showing all businesses and developers that there is ZERO reason to play ball with him. He will not compromise. He's going to get his way 100% or he is going to be obstructive. His way is often impossible to fulfill, leaving those trying to work through an  impossible situation where they will inevitably have to sue or take the fight public. There appears to be less concern now going public with issues with him because there's nothing to lose - he doesn't negotiate from a rational place.

 

[titanhog]

5 minutes ago, satalac said:

Cooper needs to honor the previous agreements, full stop. Moving forward, I'm ok with him holding companies a bit more accountable and not giving away everything, but let's not kill this fantastic momentum that Nashville has gotten. He's also coming across more as a dictator than Mayor of the people. It seems like he has certain grudges against people in this town, and whatever those people's interests are, he's going to make it tough on them. 

To me...he's coming across as a man who sat on the council and took unpopular positions that kept getting voted down.  So...he decided he'd run for mayor in hopes that he could start "calling the shots."  It is very "dictator-ish"

[smeagolsfree]

10 minutes ago, downtownresident said:

He hasn’t terminated anything with respect to Amazon, but is making the developers life hell by holding up the signage permits, and Asurion was never approved through Council. He’s been an absolute disaster thus far with respect to development and messaging to the business community, to the point where I’m wondering if there is any sort of ulterior motive involved. 

He voted against many or all of these projects or publicly didnt support them. Now he is interfering in a way to reverse or make it difficult to do business with the city. Again, when he wants something from the council, it may be a hard pill to swallow for them as they know he is not one to be trusted from what they have seen now. He may say things to them in private and publicly and do just the opposite. He is definitely not a student of Dale Carnegie when it comes to winning friends and influencing people. It seems as if he is doing the opposite and making some powerful enemies inside and outside of government.

We will have to wait and see who blinks.

As far as Amazon goes they may not have agreed to this, but as the article stated he is SINGLE handedly holding it up. It does not bode well when sources inside and outside of Metro start to criticize the Mayor, like the Fair Board Commissioner and others that leak info. If he continues this trend the leaks will increase.

[OnePointEast]

I'm just here to say I'm reply #2,000.