10 Story Condo Tower

[ATLBrain]

Check out on Bidclerk from 3/2.

There is a 10-story, 3-tiered condo building listed for bid.

http://www.bidclerk.com/projects/projectDe...b9-fc24e39b53f3

This sounds different from the West End Condominiums now under construction. That one is 11 stories and it's not 3-tiered. Also, the bidclerk description calls for demolition of 3 houses. The West End is already rising from its foundation.

This one sounds like the building at Woodmont and Kenner.

[Hankster]

This one sounds like the building at Woodmont and Kenner.

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

[barakat]

Yep.. 34 units is the giveaway.

[it's just dave]

I'm not sure where I got this photo, but I think this is what we're talking about. Looks pretty sweet. A bit different than what one might expect, but I like it. Something a bit different sure doesn't hurt.

I think this just passed approval, so I guess that explains the bid request. Pretty convenient, just a short walk to Tony's new Harris-Teeter Belle Meade.

[Lexy]

Almost Mediterranian perhaps??? I like it.

[it's just dave]

I bet our friend linclink will like this one too. Good colors.

[Lexy]

I bet our friend linclink will like this one too. Good colors.

I was thinking that too. Good call Dave.

[NewTowner]

I wish architects would stick to using our perfectly good regional Tennessee traditions rather than barfing a bunch of cartoon Mediterranean McMansion crap in our city. We can expect enough fake stucco to get sprayed on the whored-up face of this crabstick La Quinta to fill a styrofoam subdivision. This sort of pedantic half-assed design, with its dispersed roof pitches and "fine-grained" multi-structured facade, is patronizing and demeaning, clearly arranged in the hopes of pulling a fast one on people who know what good architecture ISN'T (the mall), but not what it IS (the Paris Opera House, Flagler College).

The huge automobile cut-through serves to make this building as insulting as possible to the pedestrian, which in Nashville is sort of like pissing on a dead person. The perfectly lousy setback full of "green space" and what amounts to a NASCAR pitstop puts it firmly in the Stripmall Family Tree.

There are enough basic mistakes in this piece of garbage to render it inelligble for further analysis. Come on, people--let's have some higher expectations. Just because it has more than two stories doesn't make it a good idea. There are a lot of cities that would laugh this sort of nonsense into orbit, and Nashville should be counted among them.

The completely anti-urban ground floor of this glorified motel makes me angry, but mostly just very sad.

[it's just dave]

I just love your posts, NT. I'm a true fan.

[smeagolsfree]

I saw this on bidclerk today and you are correct about the development. This was approved by the council last week or whenever they met last. This one has been in the planning stages for a while. I remember Dave posted about this almost a year ago. They have not ventured much from the original rendering if any and this will be right off Harding to my understanding. These babies will go for around a million each. It will be neat t o see this one going up at the same time Tony is doing the Belle Meade Theater as well as the 5 story he has planned in conjunction with it. From what I understand the Kenner , another one of Tony's projects will be close by as well.

[Lexy]

I wish architects would stick to using our perfectly good regional Tennessee traditions rather than barfing a bunch of cartoon Mediterranean McMansion crap in our city. We can expect enough fake stucco to get sprayed on the whored-up face of this crabstick La Quinta to fill a styrofoam subdivision. This sort of pedantic half-assed design, with its dispersed roof pitches and "fine-grained" multi-structured facade, is patronizing and demeaning, cleary arranged in the hopes of pulling a fast one on people who know what good architecture ISN'T (the mall), but not what it IS (the Paris Opera House, Flagler College).

The huge automobile cut-through serves to make this building as insulting as possible to the pedestrian, which in Nashville is sort of like pissing on a dead person. The perfectly lousy setback full of "green space" and what amounts to a NASCAR pitstop puts it firmly in the Stripmall Family Tree.

There are enough basic mistakes in this piece of garbage to render it inelligble for further analysis. Come on, people--let's have some higher expectations. Just because it has more than two stories doesn't make it a good idea. There are a lot of cities that would laugh this sort of nonsense into orbit, and Nashville should be counted among them.

The completely anti-urban ground floor of this glorified motel makes me angry, but mostly just very sad.

I nominate this as best post of the year. Made me see some things in a different light. LOL!!

[Hankster]

Look at the size of this development yet it has only 34 units. The units must be huge! I beleive I read that the average unit inside will sell for over $1,000,000. This is an extremely upscale development.

[ATLBrain]

I agree with you NT... it's almost as ugly as Museum Plaza. Fortunately, it's not nearly as tall.

[Kheldane]

Almost Mediterranian perhaps???

Yes, I think you're right! It does seem to have a spanish/moorish inluence, especially the roof.

[it's just dave]

A monastary with a drive-thru? Drive up, swipe your card, sit in silent reflection for five minutes, and move on. I still like 'em. If I was a Belle Meade retired millionaire, I'd do something campy, too.

[NewTowner]

A monastary with a drive-thru? Drive up, swipe your card, sit in silent reflection for five minutes, and move on. I still like 'em. If I was a Belle Meade retired millionaire, I'd do something campy, too.

Ha ha...only, the vow of silence taken by these monks applied exclusively to their mental faculties when they carved an automobile canal through the scrap of turf where their "building" meets the "street" and helps to create a sense of "enclosure" and "space".

With so many badly designed buildings out there, it's an absolute wonder we aren't getting more good ones just out of sheer luck and happy coincidence, as developers roll the dice and hire morons to develop ad-hock isolated pieces of the earth's surface, without any regard for the whole town they could be creating, to the financial and spiritual benefit of all.

[linclink]

I bet our friend linclink will like this one too. Good colors.

Hey Dave and Lexy!!!

How'd you guess?!?!?! Yeah... I do love it.. The colors are great, and of course, being from South Florida, where the mediterranean style is everywhere, I do LOVE the architecture... Among the classics, I have to say that mediterranean IS my favorite. Having said that though, I don't know how it will fit in with Nashville, where one doesn't really see this type of architecture. I think they could have gone for a mediterranean feel (I can't believe I'm saying this since I LOVE LOVE LOVE this type of architecture) but done it in a more understated way, where it just hinted to its origins... That may have been a better fit in Nashville. But of course I will love driving by since it will remind me of home

And I AM hoping more developers will start using colors (like Bristol on Broadway for example.. those colors are LOVELY). They also did a great job on the Icon. To me, the Icon is a sort of Modern Mediterranean, in that there are all those terraces and also in the almost adobe colors used (though its probably brick), along with the green glass, etc... But I also get a little bit of an art deco vibe at the top (which is also VERY prevalent down here). Personally, I REALLY wish they were doing the Sounds Project. Thats one thing that REALLY worries me about Streuver... I have a feeling it will all be that Tan brick... or that faded red that they seem to use all over... Very closed, very solemn. Very serious. Hopefully, they will inject some color into their project... I don't mind having brick (red please, or something like the Icon, nothing faded that looks like its due for a reno any time soon), but they can couple that with colors as well... I think that an area around a stadium should be cheery and fun and even a little whimsical. All the while being cool and a bit elegant too, of course. I think Bristol on Broadway and Icon do these all these things really well. Anyways, I can't wait to see what Streuver comes up with. I know you really like them Dave, and there ARE some aspects of their work that I really like.. especially at street level. So I am still holding out hope that it'll be really great.

Oh, and New Towner,

I agree with you that the street level on this project is AWFUL. It would be MUCH better had it had retail and cafes on the street level. I still love my mediterranean architecture though, sorry... hahahaha

[it's just dave]

Actually, I don't think street level anything for outsiders is being considered, and if you knew Belle Meade as well as we do, you'd understand. It's not on main drag, it's to be somewhat available mostly to those who purchase there. If I purchased there, I'd want some exclusivity as well. There's plenty of other places for the public to visit. Like I said, this isn't particularly to be in the public realm.

But, I stumbled across another rendering dated 2006 and it appears the Med look is out. I know the other styrofoam job was quite old and early, so perhaps this stone and brick version will be more to our liking. I like it much better. It seems to have some Federal influence and it much "calmer" looking. See what you think. We may wrong altogether since no official renderings seem available, but this one I think is the most recent.

[linclink]

I like this... yeah I like the Med version MUCH better.. but again, I don't know that it would look at home in Nashville, without the blue of the ocean in the background... so I think this is much better suited for Nashville. And I certainly understand the exclusivity factor... but still, even rich people can enjoy a great Ritzy 5 star cafe/restaurant on the ground level, along with maybe a couture botique or 2 .

[NewTowner]

I like this... yeah I like the Med version MUCH better.. but again, I don't know that it would look at home in Nashville, without the blue of the ocean in the background... so I think this is much better suited for Nashville. And I certainly understand the exclusivity factor... but still, even rich people can enjoy a great Ritzy 5 star cafe/restaurant on the ground level, along with maybe a couture botique or 2 .

Totally right. I understand Belle Meade pretty well, what with me being from Nashville and all, and I think I still totally agree with the common urban sense as relayed by LinClink here about the ground floor.

Again, you don't have to create a NASCAR pit-stop as displayed in these renderings in order to create "exclusivity". Neither the effect of privacy, nor the illusion of wealth will be created by slavish obedience to automotive habits and a cheezy disregard for decent sidewalks. On the contrary, this juniper-bush encrusted, pillbox windowed, car-obssessed, rusticated styrofoam ground floor looks stupid and about forty years out of date...referring to a time, forty years ago, when incompetent street-level design was at least refreshingly weird.

This isn't a use issue. Upscale condo buildings don't have to have a Hard Rock Caf

[Lexy]

I like this... yeah I like the Med version MUCH better.. but again, I don't know that it would look at home in Nashville, without the blue of the ocean in the background... so I think this is much better suited for Nashville. And I certainly understand the exclusivity factor... but still, even rich people can enjoy a great Ritzy 5 star cafe/restaurant on the ground level, along with maybe a couture botique or 2 .

We could fund, as a city, a rehab of all the rooflines behind to be reclad in royal blue tin roofing! Not the same as a ocean, but it would radiat heat quite nicely.

[linclink]

We could fund, as a city, a rehab of all the rooflines behind to be reclad in royal blue tin roofing! Not the same as a ocean, but it would radiat heat quite nicely.

ooohh... that would be pretty!!! hehehehe... don't TEMPT me!!!!!! hahahahaha... seriously though... that WOULD bring some more color to Nashville....

[it's just dave]

Sometimes I just have to thank my lucky stars I don't have such a need to dissect things to the point of affecting my happiness at the things we do around here. I'm having a grand time and yes, I like this building. And yes, I'm glad they canned the fake South Florida look, and no, if I'd just bought a $5 million dollar condo, I wouldn't want someone from the public telling me how ugly my building was. I'd even pitch in for a gate.

[NewTowner]

Sometimes I just have to thank my lucky stars I don't have such a need to dissect things to the point of affecting my happiness at the things we do around here. I'm having a grand time and yes, I like this building. And yes, I'm glad they canned the fake South Florida look, and no, if I'd just bought a $5 million dollar condo, I wouldn't want someone from the public telling me how ugly my building was. I'd even pitch in for a gate.

Actually, it makes me very happy to dissect the things we do around here, because this urban design stuff is my passion and my chosen field. Nashville is my home, and I love it. There are a lot of great things happening in the city (Public Square, Schermerhorn) that I love to praise, but also a lot of moronic vomit (The Building in Question, for example) that I love to deride. I do it all in the spirit of patriotism and civic pride, and because I hope to make a difference in some pitiful little way.

And if you did buy a $5 million dollar condo, you obviously wouldn't want anyone telling you how ugly your building was, because you bought the thing and finding out that it is ugly would make you feel really dumb. It is not my goal to make people feel dumb, so if you bought a $5 million condo in a building like this piece of lukeworm pig crud, I would keep my opinion to myself out of respect for you, your family, and the whole concept of Manners.

That is why my criticisms of buildings are geared towards people interested in architecture and urban design, or for people who want to engage in a little merry-go-round of learning and discussion. I am sorry if I made you feel like you needed to defend your position on this building by questioning my temperment, and I am sincerely sorry, and I want you to know that I respect you and your thoughts. Perhaps my last post was too sarcastic...I was merely trying to be funny a lot of the time.

And I would also pitch in for a gate, since anyone crazy enough to buy a super expensive-ass condo in this Glorified Luxury-Outlet Stripmall would clearly pose a menace to society, and should be contained for the benefit of the greater public. Just...kidding!

[Lexy]

LMFAO!!! I love your post NT. They are as entertaining as they are informative.

I shall share a drink to that.