Ideas for Nashville

[MidTenn1]

2 hours ago, donNdonelson2 said:

Follow up on conversation about automotive museums a few days ago-some of you might find this special tour interesting.

Ah yes, Datsun 240Z. My wheels back in the day. 

[markhollin]

The surface lot on the NW corner of Church St. and 7th Ave. North is just crying out for a big boy.  With Nashville Yards getting underway just to the southwest, the Federal Courthouse immediately to the south, and Tony G’s 50-65 story residential tower at Church St. Pocket Park just 2 blocks to the east, there is plenty of activity percolating.  

The long-time owners of this parking lot have not seem motivated to sell/develop…but everyone has a price.  It seems just a matter of time before something substantial rises on this spot.  This massing render gives a sense of how a 50-55 story, 600-650 footer might look.
 

[smeagolsfree]

I think the lot is owned by the Carroll family of the former Central Parking. Not 100% sure. If it is they have plent of money and another few million for them is a paultry sum.

[grilled_cheese]

East Nashville Music Museum.  You can go as far back as Bob Dylan's East Nashville Skyline and as late as Todd Snider, with tons in between.

[LA_TN]

18 hours ago, markhollin said:

The surface lot on the NW corner of Church St. and 7th Ave. North is just crying out for a big boy.  With Nashville Yards getting underway just to the southwest, the Federal Courthouse immediately to the south, and Tony G’s 50-65 story residential tower at Church St. Pocket Park just 2 blocks to the east, there is plenty of activity percolating.  

The long-time owners of this parking lot have not seem motivated to sell/develop…but everyone has a price.  It seems just a matter of time before something substantial rises on this spot.  This massing render gives a sense of how a 50-55 story, 600-650 footer might look.
 

 

16 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

I think the lot is owned by the Carroll family of the former Central Parking. Not 100% sure. If it is they have plent of money and another few million for them is a paultry sum.

Correct, Carroll family. 0% interest in selling or developing this lot. Even the next generation is not likely to do anything

This is a perfect example of common sense. Nothing will change, unless taxes, costs rise above the income generated. And that will almost never happen because parking rates will be increased to cover costs

[donNdonelson2]

FYI-it’s Carell, not Carroll.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_J._Carell_Jr.

[markhollin]

But, the Carrell family could make substantially MORE money if they negotiated a lease on the site, or sold with 5 levels of garage guaranteed in their control, etc.  As I stated....EVERYONE has a price.  

[smeagolsfree]

I always forget the spelling of some of the proper names around here . That's why I keep you guys around... to correct my spelling.

[markhollin]

PHofKS's and Volsfanwill's ideas for ship attractions kind of parallels another idea I have: A Riverboat Museum.  The riverboat culture and industry was a HUGE part of Nashville's formation in the 1800s into the 1900s. As far as I can tell from online research, there is only one Riverboat Museum in the US, and that is way up north on the Mississippi in Dubuque, IA (and it is really more of a Mississippi River Museum than just riverboat oriented).  

I could see converting a large riverboat into a museum and restaurant right on the river.  It might also feature some event spaces for weddings, corporate meetings, etc. Perhaps even a second boat could serve as a water hotel.  I'm thinking an interesting berth might be on the east side of the river, underneath the Woodland and Main Street bridges. This would allow for beautiful vistas of the downtown riverfront across the water.  Perhaps there could even be water taxis that would take folks back and forth across the Cumberland from Riverfront Park docking area.

There is actually a 260 ft. boat for sale right now that had been used as a casino that is stationed in Metropolis, IL on the Ohio River. It was built in 1994, so it might be the one to use for the water hotel portion.


https://www.marinelink.com/news/riverboat-paddle-wheel383799

The Riverfront in 1903:

The site could be on the east bank between the Woodland St. and Main St. bridges.

Perhaps the NES power station that exists  above the east band between the bridges could be relocated and a permanent hotel could be erected on that site that could tie-in with the riverboat beneath.  I'm pretty sure those RR tracks are no longer utilized.  Either they could be retained for an eventual East Bank trolley that would run all the way down to the PSC Metals site, or ripped up. 

Here are a couple riverboats for sale.  I heard a rumor that there was another one available somewhere over in the Knoxville area, too.

[donNdonelson2]

I love the riverboat museum attraction idea! FYI, there is a museum in Kansas City that tells the stories of one particular riverboat, the Arabia Steamboat Museum. It is one of my favorite museums in the country. It is well worth a visit for any who venture out that way.

http://1856.com/

[smeagolsfree]

You beat me to it don. I was just in KC but did not go in but its a rather nice facility from outward appearance. 

[markhollin]

A 36 story (6 story pedestal and 30 story tower) luxury hotel that curves to match the Music City Circle, and would serve as an centered end point when looking west down Korean Veterans Blvd. from the east.  Obviously, there would be no arguments from me if it were to be taller.   : )

I envision at least least 3 levels of underground parking, and a possible portion of a garage being above ground within the pedestal.  The hotel's primary entrance and lobby would be on the corner of Lea and 9th Ave. South.  Street activated restaurants would wrap along the Circle, but also accessed from within the hotel.  Meeting rooms and banquet hall(s) would be on the upper levels of the pedestal facing the circle with spectacular views down the boulevard.  The deck on top of the pedestal facing the Circle could be utilized for outdoor events, and could perhaps serve some restaurants/clubs.   The NW portion of the pedestal's roof would contain the pool and other outdoor amenities for the guests.

An observation deck could be featured on the top of the curved tower, which I envision as gold-tinted  glass.  It should be well-lit at night to accent it's position at the head of the boulevard. 

Tony G. currently owns about half of this oddly shaped plot (the portion that borders the circle), and Diersen Charities owns the rest.  I'm sure the latter could be bought out for the right price.  Since Tony may be concluding his development career with his magnum opus 60-70 story residential tower at Church Street Pocket Park, there would most likely need to be another visionary to carry out this work. 

Here are my crude mock-ups of how it would be situated on the Circle:

[Bos2Nash]

On 7/15/2018 at 9:57 AM, markhollin said:

An observation deck could be featured on the top of the curved tower, which I envision as gold-tinted  glass.  It should be well-lit at night to accent it's position at the head of the boulevard. 

a la Wynn - more preferably Encore - Casino.

 

**Disclaminer - this is by no means an endorsement that Nashville needs a casino. We get enough tourist revenue that we do not and should not pursue one of these buildings.**

[markhollin]

Music City Festival of Lights

An annual event that including civic, private, and corporate participation
could become another source of pride, holiday joy, and and a tourist attraction that gives Nashville another feather in it’s cap.  There are several cities in America that have incorporated this each winter, including Niagara Falls, NY, Ocean City, NJ, and Wheeling, WV…but there are none in the south that I am aware of. 

We all know that Opryland does a terrific job with their Christmas lights each year.  This could be a city-wide expansion of the concept.  It would run from Thanksgiving Weekend until New Years Day. Just imagine:

• First Avenue along the Riverfront with all the old buildings traced in golden lights, as well as all the trees, Ascend Amphitheater, Seigenthaler Bridge, the Bridge Building on the east side, as well as all those trees at Cumberland Landing and Cumberland Park, the Main St. and Woodland St. Bridges, perhaps even the west side of Nissan Stadium.
   
• City Hall and all the trees at Public Square. Other civic buildings like Music City Central Terminal, Municipal Auditorium, Davidson County Courthouse, Downtown Library, Bridgestone Arena, Music City Center, First Center for the Arts, Stix in the MC roundabout with interchanging red/gold to like huge candy canes, Walk of Fame Park, Centennial Park, Rolling Mill Hill Riverwalk, etc.
   
• State government buildings like the Capitol, Bicentennial Mall, RR trestles at Bicentennial, War Memorial and Legislative Plaza,  Snogdgrass Tower and Plaza, TPAC, Cordell Hull, John Sevier Building, Tenn. Supreme Court, Tenn. State Library, 
   
• All the storefronts and trees along 2nd Ave., 3rd, Ave., 4th Ave., 5th Ave., James Robertson Parkway, Charlotte Ave., Deaderick St.,  Union St., Church St.,  Broadway, Demonbruen, and KVB.
   
• Maybe draped strands or archways of lights strung from one side of the street to the other. Some streets could look like canopies.
   
• Corporate entities like hotels, office buildings, apartment/condo towers could join in.  Perhaps large entities like Nissan, or Bridgestone, or AT&T would want to provide significant underwriting sponsorship.
   
• And it could spill out to neighborhoods, with associations and individual families joining in the city-wide celebration.  Perhaps have contests for best entries in various categories based on size of house/lot, or themes, or types of lights used, etc. The prizes could also be sponsored corporately.
   
• Perhaps have a public candlelight service at Ascend Amphitheater on Christmas Eve.
   
• Maybe city buses and the Music City Star could have special lights.
  
  As this would build in participation and intricacy each year, it would not only be another tourist attraction for out-of-towners, but local citizenry would come out to tour not just downtown and Opryland, but all the various neighborhoods to see the creativity on display. And that could generate other activities like concert series, ice shows, Christmas caroling, outreaches to the needy, etc. 
  
  Any other ideas?

[Jamie Hall]

On 7/22/2018 at 7:46 AM, markhollin said:

Music City Festival of Lights

A lot of communities have turned their Christmas parades into a nighttime parade that allows for lighting of floats and other entries, so that could potentially tie in. Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge used to do a really nice one.

With so many of our downtown buildings incorporating outdoor LED lighting concepts, that adds more potential. I recall several of them going with red and green lighting around Christmas in past years.

[markhollin]

42 story mixed-use tower for Commerce St. and 7th Ave. North.

This  tract has been a surface lot (70%) for decades, along with a small, nondescript 1 story building that currently houses Tin Cup Coffee, The Horton Group, and a few loft apartments.  With the advent of Nashville Yards and the Federal Courthouse, this block along Commerce is going to become much more highly trafficked and desirable for top tier development.

My rough rendering is just to give some ideas for the scale of a tower that could go here.  The thought on the stair step concept was to have terraces facing 7th Ave. North every 7 floors or so that might be utilized for restaurants, corporate break areas, amenities deck for hotel/residential, etc. Massive LED light/image projections would be shown above each deck on the eastern side, featuring a fully dedicated screen at the top with topical images and colors for various themes, events, etc. On the western side (facing Rosa Parks Blvd.) would be a similar screen the full 42 story height. There is technology now that would allow for these screens to be  essentially transparent from the inside (see pics below). 

On the north and south side, there would be LED accent lighting up and down each block in the evening. So, overall, the tower would be spectacular…especially at night.

 

[e-dub]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

42 story mixed-use tower for Commerce St. and 7th Ave. North.

This  tract has been a surface lot (70%) for decades, along with a small, nondescript 1 story building that currently houses Tin Cup Coffee, The Horton Group, and a few loft apartments.  With the advent of Nashville Yards and the Federal Courthouse, this block along Commerce is going to become much more highly trafficked and desirable for top tier development.

My rough rendering is just to give some ideas for the scale of a tower that could go here.  The thought on the stair step concept was to have terraces facing 7th Ave. North every 7 floors or so that might be utilized for restaurants, corporate break areas, amenities deck for hotel/residential, etc. Massive LED light/image projections would be shown above each deck on the eastern side, featuring a fully dedicated screen at the top with topical images and colors for various themes, events, etc. On the western side (facing Rosa Parks Blvd.) would be a similar screen the full 42 story height. There is technology now that would allow for these screens to be  essentially transparent from the inside (see pics below). 

On the north and south side, there would be LED accent lighting up and down each block in the evening. So, overall, the tower would be spectacular…especially at night.

There are apartments there?

[bnacincy]

The Sound of Music City.....a music fest to close out the summer featuring local bands.

[henburg]

2 hours ago, bnacincy said:

The Sound of Music City.....a music fest to close out the summer featuring local bands.

Live on the Green is pretty similar, although not all of the bands are local.

[titanhog]

7 hours ago, bnacincy said:

The Sound of Music City.....a music fest to close out the summer featuring local bands.

Love the name!  Very clever.

And you could have it be a week-long festival...with country one night...rock...hip hop...pop/edm/dance...bluegrass...christian...

[bnacincy]

8 hours ago, titanhog said:

Love the name!  Very clever.

And you could have it be a week-long festival...with country one night...rock...hip hop...pop/edm/dance...bluegrass...christian...

Now we're talkin'-thanks!

[markhollin]

Nashville Medical Mart

The concept that was proposed a decade ago for the old Nashville Convention Center site at 5th and Broadway to be transformed into a large Nashville Medical Trade Mart still has merit. Obviously that corner is no longer an option, but there are several other similar sized parcels near the MCC which could serve as a complimentary center to serve the medical industry year-round with displays and conventions regarding new equipment, trends, etc.  If we are to remain one of the national leaders in the medical field, a development like this would be quite beneficial.

Here’s what it should include:

• At least 400,000 sq ft of exhibit space spread across 4 tall floors, as well as lots of meeting rooms.
• Easy access loading docks for semi trucks. 
• Street activation would be important on at least two sides.
• Several levels of underground parking (which could also be utilized for public events in the evenings).  
• The primary exhibit block would probably be about 80 feet tall.
• I believe that a host hotel would be a crucial element, too.  It would be built on top, or dovetailed into the side of the convention space, with a main entrance lobby on the primary thoroughfare.  I could see this being around 250 rooms at an additional 10-12 stories.
  
  The 3 sites I have picked are on the map below.
  
  1) KVB and 6th Ave. South, SW corner.  Currently this is owned by the Patel Family. Zoned for up to 30 stories. It is #1 because of it’s proximity to so many hotels, being directly across the street from MCC, and probably the quickest/easiest to develop. I would see the hotel having great visibility at the core of 5th Ave. South and KVB, with lobby facing KVB.
  
  2) The First Baptist Church parking lot at NW corner of Demonbreun and 6th Ave. South. Superb location, but getting the church to play ball could be problematic.  If FBC were to have control of 3 levels of parking, that it would generate much more money for the congregation in the long term than just having a surface lot.  They could have have control of one level on Sunday mornings for free, and otherwise it would be paid parking where they would control the lion’s hare of the profits.
  
  3) Part of Shelby Smith’s parcels at SW corner Lafayette and Peabody. The main drawback here is that it is a triangular lot, which might create some challenges in the conventions space. 
  
  Here is info on the original plan for the Medical Mart at the old convention center:
  
  http://granthammond.com/market-news/nashville-medical-trade-center-announced/
  
  http://www.venturenashville.com/medical-trade-center-would-expand-convention-center-cms-405
  
  Here is info on the Cleveland Global Health Center which was recently completed.  In some ways, this would be Nashville’s primary competitor.  But, it is 500 miles away….and—not to besmirch Cleveland—but where would you REALLY like to spend convention time?
  
  http://www.theglobalcenter.com/about-us
  
  Locations:

 

The Cleveland Global Health Center:

[markhollin]

The surface lot at the SW corner of 2nd Ave. and Broadway (200 Broadway) has been crying out for development for decades. In the heart of the honky tonk district, a 5 story structure (the same height as the neighboring Moxy Hotel expansion, and the 201 Broadway building across the street to the north) it would all be done in dark red brick, with arched window treatments on the upper floors to fit with architecture of other century-old structures in the neighborhood.

It could serve as another series of restaurant/bars, including a rooftop feature.  But, it could additionally include a music personality museum (Dolly Parton or Willie Nelson, or Garth Brooks, etc.), and perhaps a family entertainment attraction (who knows--maybe Madame Tussauds Wax Museum will come to their senses and relocate from Opry Mills Mall to downtown, where it would do MUCH bigger business).

Several levels of underground parking could go here as well.

Looking to the SW:

[CenterHill]

If I recall, the company that operates the hop on bus tours bought this property a couple years ago and their intention is to keep it as is - a parking lot with a bus tour kiosk.     But, if they were to sell....

[markhollin]

Downtown garbage/recycling underground conveyor system:

With the ever-growing popularity of downtown’s entertainment district has come larger amounts of garbage, primarily with bottles and cardboard.  I have heard there are some days/night where over 100,000 beer bottles are discarded within those 10 square blocks.  Waste management and city garbage trucks make 3 rounds per day to these bars/eateries, but there are times when they simply can’t keep up.  Additionally, since there are not alleys between several key blocks, much of the pick-up needs to be done on main thoroughfares that are heavily trafficked, especially by thousands of pedestrians.

So, what are some solutions? 

One that is intriguing to me would be a series of underground pneumatic tubes that would feed into several collection points on the edges of the district where trucks could continually have access for pick-up and then take to various places (land fills, recycling centers, etc.).  I would suggest enclosed areas, perhaps even underground ramps down to the pipes, where the smell could be contained.  Within these centers would be staff to separate the glass from cardboard/paper, etc. Here’s an article on how it is implemented another cities:

https://waste-management-world.com/a/the-future-of-waste-collection-underground-automated-waste-conveying-systems

Of course, since many of the owners of the Broadway establishments were against the idea of tunneling for mass transit, they may be equally opposed to this (although the tubes are only a couple feet in diameter).

But one thing is for sure: these honkey tonks need to step up to help create (and help pay for) a system for that will take care of this issue.  Many of these establishments are grossing between $10 and $25 million per year, primarily in beer sales…so they are directly responsible for the problem. Vermin are becoming more commonplace, as well as the stale stench of accumulating, beer-soaked waste wafting through the air.

Thoughts?