Project Thread/New Construction/Photo du jour/Const. CAMs

[markhollin]

Looking SE in July, 2017 (courtesy of Stephen Davis).

 

[BnaBreaker]

I thought I'd take a little time today to devote some well-deserved attention to one of the most unsung gems in Nashville's architectural collection.  It rarely, if ever, gets discussed on this forum, but it just might be my favorite structure in all of metro Nashville.  What building am I talking about, you ask?  Why none other than the astoundingly gorgeous, SRI GANESHA TEMPLE & HINDU CULTURAL CENTER in Bellevue.  If you haven't made it out there before PLEASE do yourself a favor and go.  I was there several years ago for a friend's Mehendi ceremony, which is a huge celebration of dancing and eating and drinking surrounding the application of sacred henna art to the extremities of a bride-to-be.  The people who tend to the temple itself could not be more friendly and welcoming, and they will likely enthusiastically provide you with a tour of the grounds if you ask.  

The Sri Ganesha Temple is absolutely the real deal.  It is not some cheap, temporary structure.  It was built to last.  From their website:

"The Sri Ganesha Indian Temple was designed by Sri Muthiah Sthapathi, and resembles the temple architecture of Chola dynasty (900AD -1150AD). Thirteen acres of land with a gentle sloping hill and a magnificent view were purchased in Bellevue, TN in July 1982.The ground breaking ceremony of the main temple complex, or phase 2, took place in November 1989, and the basic construction was completed in September 1990. Ten shilpis from India worked for over 2 years to complete Indianization of the temple with delicate ornamental work. The Vimana, or tower on top of Ganesha sanctum, is 48 feet tall and has 5 tiers. Other Vimanas are 24 feet tall. Sri Ganesha Temple also has 16 forms of Ganesha placed on the outer wall of the Ganesha sanctum. Although I so wanted to take photographs of the inside, that day I was not allowed."

Now to some photos.  Local professional photographer Steve Owen has a small but remarkable gallery of the Sri Ganesha Temple located here: https://www.steveowenphotography.net/Other-1/Portfolios/n-qhxSXs/Churches/Sri-Ganesha-Temple-Nashville/i-xMZvPn6

Coincidentally, high quality shots of the place that AREN'T copyrighted are difficult to find...But here are some more basic shots of it I found: 

 

 

 

[KJHburg]

Sent a spy to Nashville today and they took these photos of your skyline.  

[Tennessine]

Too bad he/she didn't feast eyes on our signature beige and brown Hyatt  it's Nashville UP's favorite building!

[KJHburg]

More from my brother who took my niece to Belmont.  Went downtown and saw your booming tourist business.  Today.  Your bars are literally overflowing with business this Saturday! 

What is the first photo of what construction site? 

[CenterHill]

Good photos.      Construction site in the first photo is the 5th and Broad development.  

[MLBrumby]

That is the 5th and Broad project. 1 residential and 1 office (Alliance Bernstein) and a ground level like your EpiCentre, including the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and a rooftop beer garden/food court. 

[KJHburg]

5 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

That is the 5th and Broad project. 1 residential and 1 office (Alliance Bernstein) and a ground level like your EpiCentre, including the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and a rooftop beer garden/food court. 

Yes and Charlotte based Spectrum is developing the office portion of it I think. 

[markhollin]

Beautiful new shot (except for the foreground) from our very own Michael Davis (Lexy) looking NW from the I-24 Cumberland River overpass:

[titanhog]

Hope you don't mind Lexy...

 

[Lexy]

7 hours ago, titanhog said:

Hope you don't mind Lexy...

 

Not at all!  Thank you!  Here's another...

[markhollin]

Looking SW at Fifth Third Bank Tower from Fairlane Hotel:

 

[Binbin98]

This was spotted by me when connecting through heathrow on a flight to Zürich to see a friend. Note that all of the European, middle eastern , African and Asian destinations on here are now one easy connection through heathrow away from nashvillians.

[markhollin]

[PillowTalk4]

On 6/3/2018 at 10:35 AM, markhollin said:

Beautiful new shot (except for the foreground) from our very own Michael Davis (Lexy) looking NW from the I-24 Cumberland River overpass:

That view is a prime reason why I believe the entire East Bank should be developed into a mixed-use stretch of housing, retail, hotels, dining and entertainment that would be a live and play zone.    It's large enough to have a variety of housing,  from row homes, to mid/high rise condos/apartments.  It could easily support boutique hotels and the mid-range properties like Hyatt Place.  I would love to see the area develop like Southwest Washington, DC.  It includes a stretches that is a similar distance as the East Bank in Nashville.  It also includes the National's Baseball Stadium.  Yet it is surrounded by housing of various types, hotels, entertainment venues, bars/restaurants.  The newly developed DC Wharf is really nice and was a multi-billion dollar renovation of the area.  The new soccer stadium DC United is also being built in the area.

Just imagine the the warehouses and of course the metal scrape yard near Nissan Stadium being replaced with something more like this....

That's just a portion of the Wharf and small portion of SW DC.  That's the newest area and it's very nice.  There's a coblestone walk that runs the full length of that area that is also open to some vehicular traffic but very limited.  There's parking underneath it for both residents and those visiting and working in the area.  There 's also boardwalks/piers that take you out over the water like the one featured in the photo that ends with an artistic fire pit.  The arches that you see along one side of the pier are bench swings that are pretty cool  that people seem to love.  There's also a water taxi area to take people to other spots along the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.

Anyway, just imagine if the photo of Nashville didn't have to be cropped to remove the blight of the area and instead the East Bank was developed to be less industrial.  Just imagine some of the parking lots for Nissan Stadium being replaced with garages topped with hotels and apartments.  I know tailgaters might not be a big fan of that, but tailgating only takes place from September to December.  Creating a livable/working East Bank would be year-round and generate revenue for the city.

[Neigeville2]

Looks very cool, but the strangest thing about DC (architecture-wise!) to me is the way the buildings are all chopped off due to the height restriction.  Not a bad idea to preserve the dome-dominance but the buildings seem all to be chafing at the bit to go higher.  It gives so much of the city an odd look as everything's the same height.  One thing I like about Nashville is the huge differences in scale (as well as age and style) of buildings DT.

[Tennessine]

4 hours ago, Neigeville2 said:

Looks very cool, but the strangest thing about DC (architecture-wise!) to me is the way the buildings are all chopped off due to the height restriction.  Not a bad idea to preserve the dome-dominance but the buildings seem all to be chafing at the bit to go higher.  It gives so much of the city an odd look as everything's the same height.  One thing I like about Nashville is the huge differences in scale (as well as age and style) of buildings DT.

Agree. I wonder if it would economically benefit DC to scrap, or at least raise, the height restriction? 

I do appreciate the historic preservation and height limits- D.C. is America's only large city that feels European (how ironic, haha). The only other well-traveled American city without a penchant for a tall skyline is Charleston, South Carolina, which has beautifully preserved its history by restricting any buildings from exceeding the height of the church steeples. On top of that, Charleston is significantly smaller than D.C.  It's truly amazing how such a large American city has avoided building tall to this day! To put it in perspective, the D.C. and Atlanta metro populations are roughly the same, yet the two cities look completely different. 

[markhollin]

Looking SW at Doubletree Hotel:
 

[PillowTalk4]

10 hours ago, nativetenn said:

Agree. I wonder if it would economically benefit DC to scrap, or at least raise, the height restriction? 

I do appreciate the historic preservation and height limits- D.C. is America's only large city that feels European (how ironic, haha). The only other well-traveled American city without a penchant for a tall skyline is Charleston, South Carolina, which has beautifully preserved its history by restricting any buildings from exceeding the height of the church steeples. On top of that, Charleston is significantly smaller than D.C.  It's truly amazing how such a large American city has avoided building tall to this day! To put it in perspective, the D.C. and Atlanta metro populations are roughly the same, yet the two cities look completely different. 

There have been numerous attempts to increase the height restrictions in DC since I moved here in the fall of 2000.  All have pretty much failed.  A few years ago the city did grant exemptions in certain areas, but trust me they didn't allow much of an exemption.  I don't know what it equates to in terms of height, but in terms of stories I think a few buildings were allowed to go as tall as 14 or 15.  Granted there were already 14 story buildings in the area, but these buildings don't have high ceilings as they are mostly residential or hotel properties.  There's a Hyatt Place Hotel that might be 15 stories.  In the area where that building is located the height restrictions were relaxed a bit.  Most of the tall buildings in the DC metro area is outside of DC proper.  The tallest being the Capital One Tower in Tysons, VA (31 stories 470 ft) where they are building a suburban city.  The tallest building closest to DC is 31 story, 390 ft office tower across the Potomac River in Rosslyn, VA.

Here's an interesting article about DC versus cities around the world in terms of height limits... DC's height restrictions are contentious:  Here's what we could learn from cities around the world.  I suspect Nashville could learn a little something as well given how the city still seems to be reluctant to go taller than 40 stories.  But hey, at least they finally approved 40 stories.  Can we get to 50 or 60 should an offer come along?

[smeagolsfree]

It would literally take an act of congress to ease the height restrictions there. There is a law titled The Height of Building Act of 1910. The original act was passed in 1899. 

[bwithers1]

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 9:33 AM, PillowTalk4 said:

That view is a prime reason why I believe the entire East Bank should be developed into a mixed-use stretch of housing, retail, hotels, dining and entertainment that would be a live and play zone.    It's large enough to have a variety of housing,  from row homes, to mid/high rise condos/apartments.  It could easily support boutique hotels and the mid-range properties like Hyatt Place.  I would love to see the area develop like Southwest Washington, DC.  It includes a stretches that is a similar distance as the East Bank in Nashville.  It also includes the National's Baseball Stadium.  Yet it is surrounded by housing of various types, hotels, entertainment venues, bars/restaurants.  The newly developed DC Wharf is really nice and was a multi-billion dollar renovation of the area.  The new soccer stadium DC United is also being built in the area.

Just imagine the the warehouses and of course the metal scrape yard near Nissan Stadium being replaced with something more like this....

That's just a portion of the Wharf and small portion of SW DC.  That's the newest area and it's very nice.  There's a coblestone walk that runs the full length of that area that is also open to some vehicular traffic but very limited.  There's parking underneath it for both residents and those visiting and working in the area.  There 's also boardwalks/piers that take you out over the water like the one featured in the photo that ends with an artistic fire pit.  The arches that you see along one side of the pier are bench swings that are pretty cool  that people seem to love.  There's also a water taxi area to take people to other spots along the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.

Anyway, just imagine if the photo of Nashville didn't have to be cropped to remove the blight of the area and instead the East Bank was developed to be less industrial.  Just imagine some of the parking lots for Nissan Stadium being replaced with garages topped with hotels and apartments.  I know tailgaters might not be a big fan of that, but tailgating only takes place from September to December.  Creating a livable/working East Bank would be year-round and generate revenue for the city.

The River North project for the area between the Cumberland and I-24 north of Spring Street (along Cowan) will very much be like a riverfront Gulch if developed as proposed. 

[markhollin]

TBT: Downtown 1969 as Snodgrass Tower and Andrew Jackson State Office Building are both nearing completion.

[markhollin]

Looking NE from 19th floor of Cambria Suites Hotel:

[chris holman]

On 6/7/2018 at 10:09 AM, markhollin said:

TBT: Downtown 1969 as Snodgrass Tower and Andrew Jackson State Office Building are both nearing completion.

 

[markhollin]

Looking NW from 505 amenities deck: