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Inner Loop - CBD, Downtown, East Bank, Germantown, Gulch, Rutledge


smeagolsfree

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I had a rundown going but there have been so many announced I have lost track. It will take me a little while to do but I think I can pull it off. I am working the rest of the weekend so I may be able to get something for you guys as far as numbers on Sunday afternoon.

Tell you what...you gather all the numbers, and I'll pull out my calculator and add them up. :thumbsup:

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That would be interesting to see the breakdown and locations of all those apartment buildings. I can't begin to tell you where most of them are. Thanks for the lists you have compiled.

 

Here is a rendering of a 222-unit "block" from Meeks Partners. I must say that most of their work is underwhelming. I did not realize that this firm did the design for the old proposal for condos in Belle Meade on Kenner. It was never built, but the drawings always reminded me of something you'd find in South Florida, not Nashville.

 

http://www.meekspartners.com/2411-washington?c=T24tVGhlLUJvYXJkcw==

 

When I think about all the apartments underway in the core (including midtown), one thing in particular seems troubling: a woefully inadequate transit system to link the future residents of these buildings. I just cannot help but think that an elaborate bus line down West End will cause far more traffic snarls than it would seek to solve.

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This past weekend I spoke in depth with a business associate of Turner (Marketplace) and Liff (Cummins Station) regarding developments in the Gulch. My friend was able to add some details to already know questions -

 

As discussed there will be a route/pedestrian bridge leading from the new MCC roundabout to the Gulch. They are planning the best route with the least resistance from Marketplace, Cummins Station, and CSX. Marketplace has plans for yet another apartment development, CSX is ...well...CSX and does not want to give-up any air rights, and Cummins Stations want to make sure it adds value to their properties. 

 

The image below is not a definite route but one that is favored by my friend. The proposed bridge will do a very nice job of adding access to the entertainment venues at The Cannery complex as well as the proposed  Parthenon Park development. 

 

425766_10151276685944886_1538537281_n.jp
 

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CSX is really a pain of a company. They are the one reason I'd think that the pedestrian bridge from the Gulch to SoBro would not happen.

I agree.  It's hard for me to fathom CSX giving up their air rights easily.  That means that either a private company would have a huge legal hassle with lots of costly lawyer time to get this done, or Metro would have to use eminent domain.  Either one of those scenarios could be a costly and drawn-out process.  The latter would likely not be popular.  The cost-benefit analysis would be interesting.

 

I have heard comparisons to the elavated parks in New York and in Chicago (the Bloomingdale line), but both of those were existing elevated rail tracks.  That's a different animal than constructing something new like that.

 

I'm not saying that it can't or won't get done, but I'm not looking for it to happen really soon.  In the mean time, people coming from the convention center can walk the additional block down Demonbreun to 12th and then proceed into the Gulch.  The 8th Ave entrance into the Gulch is still a little sketchy for now.

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The owner wants to build a new structure in essentially the same format as the old building. The existing (burnt) structure is grandfathered in so is not subject to the new downtown design codes. If they wanted to simple renovate/remodel the existing building they could do so without a variance.

I am inclined to say that McDonalds will end up working with the existing structure.  That's what they have just done to the McDonalds on Gallatin Rd at Burchwood in the South Inglewood area of East Nashville.  The Gallatin Road Specific Plan would have required new construction to be built up to the street.  What McDonalds ended up doing there was to demolish the play area out front and renovate the existing structure.  The absence of that play area means that the buidling now appears further back from the street than it did before!

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There ought to be some way to get out ahead of this politically and make CSX look like jerks if they don't comply.  They have very little headroom (14 feet?) just a little ways down that track, so they won't be shipping giraffes through this route any time soon.  Looks like a dog-in-the-manger situation. 

 

Getting people out of their cars depends on exactly this kind of thing. A lot of us on this board may be walkers--the trip to Demonbreun doesn't seem that inconvenient to us--but for most people having a direct pedestrian route and having it feel safe and pleasant along its length--so you don't feel like some weirdo walking where you're not supposed to--that's what will get way more people out on the pavement. 

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There ought to be some way to get out ahead of this politically and make CSX look like jerks if they don't comply.  They have very little headroom (14 feet?) just a little ways down that track, so they won't be shipping giraffes through this route any time soon.  Looks like a dog-in-the-manger situation. 

 

They run intermodal (double-stack container) trains through that area, so the clearance has to be at least 20 feet. Not that it should be a problem.

Anyone remember a little while back (maybe 8-10 years ago) when CSX hit the Broadway bridge with a stack train that was slightly too tall?

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Just curious if anyone has access to very very old copies of the Tennessean.  There was a feature in January 1974 (a Sunday edition) that apparently is about an future for the Gulch, complete with renderings.  I haven't seen it, but saw its title when I stumbled across the MNPL index online, and I think it's Sunday 1/20/74.   Anyway, if anyone can get a copy of that story and pics, it would be fun to see 40 years later.

Edited by MLBrumby
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Philadelphia just managed to do a similar thing in building a pedestrian bridge to connect a park with the rest of the city over heavily used Norfolk Southern tracks.  It took years of legal and contract wrangling dealing with them, but it eventually happened.  I see the same thing happening here: CSX will not want to give up their airspace rights cheaply, but the city won't want to resort to eminent domain on such a large and influential company.

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