The Dave Luna Urban Planet Forum Meet-Up (online, too), Sat. April 6th, 10 AM to noon; Copper Branch patio at Downtown Library at 6th Ave. North and Church St.

[markhollin]

Our next in-person Meet-Up will be this Saturday, April 1st, from 10 AM to noon Central Time at The Copper Branch in the NE corner of the Downtown Library Building (at SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).   

Parking is available in the Library Garage at $6.00 per hour--but if you bring your ticket in and have it stamped at the front desk at the Library you get 1.5 hours free.  Smeagolsfree (Ron) and Predsboy18 (Brian) will be arriving early to get tables and chairs set up. 

We should have things set up for folks to participate online via Zoom as well, that will be administered by LA_TN (Bob). If you would like to join remotely, please send me your name and e-mail address via private message by Friday evening, March 31st, and we will get you the particulars for logging on.   We will presume that if you took part any previous virtual meet-ups, that you will be interested again this month...so no need to send your info again (we've  kept it from May of 2020 onward and will include you automatically for this upcoming meeting). Everyone on that list will be getting an e-mail this week with log-in info for remote access.

A full agenda of discussion items will be posted on this thread in a few days.   : )

[smeagolsfree]

Remember there is a Preds game at noon so park and plan accordingly.

[markhollin]

NASHVILLE URBAN PLANET MEET-UP AGENDA,  APRIL 1st, 2023

Here's an overview of what can be covered at the Dave Luna Urban Planet Meet-Up IN-PERSON this Saturday,  April 1st, from 10 AM to noon at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library (on the SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).  Smeagolsfree (Ron) and Brian (PredsBoy18) will arrive early to help get tables set up. Bob (LA_TN) will be with us again to serve as our AV tech to get the proceedings  captured for anyone who wishes to attend via Zoom.  Please PM me by Friday evening at the latest if you would like to get the link to join us remotely.

INITIAL BUSINESS:

• Meet any new folks in attendance.
   
• Get reports from anyone who traveled to other cities in the past month for quick overviews of what they experienced.
   
• Cranes up: None
  
  Cranes down:  Prima Tower/Paseo South (1); 1001 Church-Nash Yards (1); Gibson Residences (1)
   
• Total cranes currently up in Davidson County: 45. Total Cranes YTD: 52
   
• Topped out:  Topped out: Paseo South Prima Tower (16); Haven Charlotte (10); Neuhoff Plant Block Four (10); 900 at Cleveland Park (7); Paragon Townhomes (4); Cherry Oaks Apts. (4); Chabad House (3)
  
  AGENDA:
   
• Numerous developers and other stakeholders in the area from Demonbreun St. down through Rolling Mill Hills along the river are wanting to rebrand that area as "South Bank."  At one point, the same folks had proposed "LoDo" last year. The South Bank district should keep developing as an urban neighborhood with quieter, upscale options — not become an extension of Lower Broadway or the Music City Center, according to Ray Hensler. Some stakeholders imagine the emerging neighborhood as a kind of antithesis to Lower Broadway: no honky-tonks or themed bars, and fewer party buses and pedal taverns. Just waterfront views, luxury towers and green space.In coming days, developers and other stakeholders plan to work with city leaders to brand the area clearly — like how the Gulch, Wedgewood-Houston and River North have been branded, according to the news release. Those efforts could include everything from pole banners to kiosk maps.
   
• A park is being planned for 1st Avenue North near Gay Street along the Cumberland River for sports, play areas, and community gatherings. Overall site will include new lighting, updated landscaping, and enhanced views of the river and East Nashville. Diagrams available.
   
• 7th & Jefferson will be the moniker for the next phase of Mainland Companies' several-block project at the gateway to Germantown. Located on half a block west of their recently opened Elliot School Condos, this will be 3 and 5 stories in height, featuring 10 condos and 6 townhomes. Renderings available.
   
• MarketStreet's 4.3 acre mixed-use project from 2100 to 2200 Bransford Ave. could be 6 and 8 stories tall and will feature up to 700 residential units, 12,000 sq. ft. of ground level retail, and an internal garage. The developer recently paid a cumulative $15.85 million for the 20 residential properties that make up the site. No renderings yet.
   
• Hudson Automotive has moved the Beamon Toyota and Beaman Buick-GMC dealerships from 1501 Broadway site, along with the Beaman Auto Collision Center from 1000 Hawkins St. This makes all those sites ready for pending redevelopment featuring up to 7 towers along Broadway.
   
• 1900 Broadway (the former Broadway Brewhouse site)  has sold for $7.25 million, which works out to $616 per sq. ft., a hight price for Midtown.  The new owners are going by the name 1900 Broadway LLC, and it is unclear who is behind that.  A source who asked to go unnamed said the new owners are considering reinventing the building’s space with a restaurant and bar. But this seems unlikely for the price paid. 
   
• Lincoln Property Company has altered the plans for the 2400 Elliston Place project, reducing it from 16 to 11 stories and from 350 units to 300.  If they can purchase an additional .4 acre on the black, it would bring the site to 1.4 acres, allowing them to spread the footprint wider.  Still no word on how things will proceed in getting all of the land, and how they will deal with the long-term lease that current resident Martin's Bar-B-Que has. New renderings and diagrams available.
   
• 915 12th Ave. North will be the location of 24 townhomes (12 on each side of Ireland St.) by Ireland Street Partners LLC.  The group paid $2.9 million for the cumulative 1.07 acres for the sites. No renderings yet. 
   
• Belmont University is exploring a third student residential hall at 1407 Caldwell Ave., just to the west of the recently completed Caldwell Hall (11 stories, 600 beds).   Rumors are that it will be at least 11 stories as well. No renderings or further details in this exploratory phase. 
   
• 1003 Douglas will be a 5 story, 300 unit residential project with ground level retail and an internal garage by Ortsac Capital Group. It will sit adjacent to the Lincoln Campus Development off of Gallatin Ave.  Rendering available.
   
• 253 Nesbitt Lane will be a mixed use project featuring a 4 story structure with 115 residential units, 79 two-three story townhomes, 7,000 sq. ft. of retail, and green space  on 9.88 acres. The site is  currently a field featuring 4 radio towers for Nashville Public Radio, who sold the land for $1.2 million to Kensington Media Parnters 15 months ago. 
   
• 1636 Lebanon Pike will be a 4 story, 48 unit apartment complex on 3.9 acres by Robert Berard. 
  
  
  
  NASHVILLE REMAINS HOT:
   
• Nashville comes in at #5 on Southern Living's list of "The South's Best Cities of 2023."
   
• Nashville International Airport recored its best February ever with 1.5 million passengers, up 164,000 from previous best February.
   
• Nashville ranks sixth in the country in net migration among Gen Z.  There were 11,138 who moved to Nashville, while 4,462 moved out, giving the city a net gain of 6,676.  That total ranks behind only Washington D.C., Columbia, S. C., Boston, Mass., Atlanta, Ga. and Austin, TX, according to a study from Today's Homeowner.
   
• Nashville ranked #8 in the nation in "Top 50 Best Sports Business Cities in the U.S." by Sports Business Journal.  I bet 30 years ago, the city wouldn't have even been in the Top 100.  
  
  Hope to see you this Saturday either in-person or online at our next fun and informative Meet-Up.   : )

[markhollin]

We had 14 folks in person and another 2 joining via Zoom for our monthly Urban Planet Nashville Meet-Up this morning.  Several had to leave before we could snap our pic.  Thanks to Ron (smeagolsfree) for moderating, LA_TN (Bob) for administrating the Zoom call and taking the photo, as well as PredsBoy18 (Brian) for arriving early to set up our meeting area.  Our next gathering will be Sat. May 6th at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library.   : )
 

[markhollin]

There has been some structural damage found in the Downtown Library Garage, and it is closed until further notice with testing going on.

So, the best economical place to park that is close (it's free, actually) is on the 6th Ave. North curve around the north side of the Capitol Building. It's about a 2.5 block walk from the Copper Brach in the Library Building.  

Will try to get a status update on the Library Garage as it gets closer to May 6th.
 

[smeagolsfree]

A Metro built garage. "On the cheap is the Metro Way"

[Nash_12South]

Didn't they add additional levels to the garage some years ago. I wonder if it's related to that in some way.

[Pdt2f]

On 4/24/2023 at 7:27 AM, smeagolsfree said:

A Metro built garage. "On the cheap is the Metro Way"

Metro didn’t built it, they have bidding processes due to laws about government spending. If you don’t want cheap stuff, vote for people who don’t want Metro’s finances to be subject to public scrutiny. I don’t get blaming Metro for having to go through financial processes that they’re forced to go through. 

[smeagolsfree]

You can change your bidding criteria to a higher standard. The lights on the Division Street connector is a prime example of a bad design Metro accepted and had bid out. Every time a drunk jumps the curb a light pole comes down. Several solutions that could have been done, but Metro decided to go on the cheap.

The same goes for the bollards.

The same for the lighting around the KVB Plaza. Metro bid out something pretty instead of practical that crawling blind drunk could tear up. They spend money on Parks and fail to maintain after the first couple of years.

They do have success from time to time. The MCC and the Fairgrounds seem to have turned out OK except not enough parking at the Fairgrounds.

[markhollin]

Our next in-person Meet-Up will be this Saturday, May 6th, from 10 AM to noon Central Time at The Copper Branch in the NE corner of the Downtown Library Building (at SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).   

Currently the Library Garage is closed for repairs,  so the best economical place to park that is close (it's free, actually) is on the 6th Ave. North curve around the north side of the Capitol Building. It's about a 2.5 block walk from the Copper Brach in the Library Building.  

(Ron) and Predsboy18 (Brian) will be arriving early to get tables and chairs set up. 

We should have things set up for folks to participate online via Zoom as well, that will be administered by LA_TN (Bob). If you would like to join remotely, please send me your name and e-mail address via private message by Friday evening, May 5th, and I'll get you the particulars for logging on.   We will presume that if you took part any previous virtual meet-ups, that you will be interested again this month...so no need to send your info again (we've  kept it from May of 2020 onward and will include you automatically for this upcoming meeting). Everyone on that list will be getting an e-mail this week with log-in info for remote access.

A full agenda of discussion items will be posted on this thread in a few days.   : )

[markhollin]

NASHVILLE URBAN PLANET MEET-UP AGENDA,  MAY 6th, 2023

Here's an overview of what can be covered at the Dave Luna Urban Planet Meet-Up IN-PERSON this Saturday,  May 6th, from 10 AM to noon at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library (on the SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).  REMINDER: the Downtown Library Garage is closed for repairs. Should you wish to try free parking, go to the 6th Ave. North curve around the north side of the Capitol Building. It's about a 2.5 block walk to the Copper Branch in the Library Building.  

Smeagolsfree (Ron) and Brian (PredsBoy18) will arrive early to help get tables set up. Bob (LA_TN) will be with us again to serve as our AV tech to get the proceedings  captured for anyone who wishes to attend via Zoom.  Please PM me by Friday evening at the latest if you would like to get the link to join us remotely.

INITIAL BUSINESS:

• Meet any new folks in attendance.
   
• Get reports from anyone who traveled to other cities in the past month for quick overviews of what they experienced.
   
• Cranes up:  Vanderbilt Univ. Power Plant (1); Poplar Bend (3); Chartwell at Marathon Village (2nd of 2); Vanderbilt LINK Hospital (1 of 2)
  
  Cranes down:   Neuhoff Plant (2 down, 1 remaining); Lofts at Marathon Village (1); Cambria Corkdorks (1); T3 Wedgwood Houston (1); Finery (1)
  
  Total cranes currently up in Davidson County: 45 . Total Cranes YTD: 58
   
• Topped out:  WeHo Nashville (6 stories); Duke II (5); Alto 615 (5); Mainstead Apartments at Century Farms  (5 & 4);  Vintage Nashville (5 & 4 ); Emblem Park (5 & 4); Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places (4); The Northern (4); Maxwell Apts. (4); Views of Music City South (4); Poplar Bend Apts. (4 & 3); Chestnut Flats (4 & 3); The Crossings (4 & 3); Burkitt Place Phase III (3); Burkitt Ridge, Phase Four (3); Dupont Townhomes (3); Sunnymeade Apts. (3);  Chestnut & Trimble (3); 1264 3rd Ave. South (3)
  
  AGENDA:
   
• 10th + Clark Residential will be a two tower (37 stories/409’/414 units, and 34 stories/354’/354 units) project featuring a common pedestal with 20,932 sq. ft. retail and an 847 capacity garage.  The site encompasses 2.16 acres at 810 Lea Ave. and 905 Clark Place, just to the west of The Westin Hotel. Lincoln Property Company is the developer, and ESa will serve as the architect.  The development will require the demolition of the pre-World War II-constructed two-story brick-and-stone Brandau Building, one of downtown Nashville’s few remaining such structures. Lincoln also owns nearby property, located close to the SoBro roundabout, on which it has long eyed a multi-building development called Circle South.
   
• Tishman Speyer has seemingly made the final transaction related to a SoBro property on which it plans a major project at the SE corner of KVB and 1st Ave. South . According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, they paid a collective $29.3 million in two previous deals, and have now paid $10,176,000 for the two-building Rutledge Terrace Condominiums complex at 430-464 Presidential Ronald Reagan Way (Second Avenue South). The real estate purchases come after Tishman Speyer added two hotel development companies as partners in the project. They not yet disclosed plans for the property other than to call it "First and KVB," describing it as a "flagship mixed-use development in the heart of downtown Nashville." Rumors of a 36 story tower are still circulating, However, one of these new documents references two buildings for the site.
   
• Davidson Riverview might be made up of 20, 15, 12, 8, and 7 story structures of mixed-use on 15.5 acres on the north shore of the Cumberland River at 690-1400 Davidson St.  Possibly as many as 1,000 residential units, plus office space, a hotel, and restaurant/retail spaces are in the plans. The large undertaking will be built in phases, but no timetable has been given. No renderings available yet. Various partnerships comprised CA South and Belpointe own the properties and seek to undertake their redevelopment. They paid a collective $39 million for the multiple properties. A specific plan rezoning will be sought. The architect is Gresham Smith; Thomas & Hutton will oversee engineering.
   
• Endeavor Music Row at 7 Music Circle North will be 15 stories/180', with 258 residential units, and an internal garage . It will be across the street to the south from the BMI Music Row complex. Endeavor Real Estate is the developer.  They paid $6.52 million for the site in 2021. SAE Institute of Technology has a non-historic structure on the site that will be razed. Gresham Smith is the architect.  No renderings yet, but a few diagrams have been released. Endeavor also paid $8.15 million for the adjacent site at 1 MusicCircle North a year ago.  It appears that they will update the 27,000 sq. ft. structure on that site for office space.
   
• Some more info on the Marriott Tri-Brand build-out adding 36 more rooms in the 21 story structure: it will be converting 26,700 sq. ft. the 3rd level of parking at a cost of $8.73 million.  There will also be additional storage and housekeeping space will be created. Alos, a Hal's Steakhouse and a sushi restaurant will be added to street level. 
   
• Wildhorse Saloon at 120 2nd Ave. North is going to be reimagined/rebuilt as a Luke Combs-themed multi-level entertainment complex. 
  The 69,000-square-foot complex — to offer an indoor/outdoor capacity of nearly 3,200 people — will be “customized to reflect Combs’ passions for music, songwriting, whiskey and sports." Features will include a 250 seat honky-tonk featuring daily live performances, 1,500-person capacity concert venue for ticketed events, a songwriters room, a 3rd floor sports bar,  as well as a proposed 9,000-square-foot rooftop bar with views of the Cumberland River and Nissan Stadium. A summer 2024 completion is planned, with the Wildhorse Saloon to stay operational during the update. Wildhorse originally was opened in the early 90s.  No word on what the costs to Ryman Hospitality will be for the rebrand.
   
• Some new renderings for the 2nd Ave. North between Church and Union St. (the block north of the blast area) show better street activation, foliage, lighting, etc.
   
• 419 Broadway covers 8,694 sq. ft. on its 3 floors and was built in 1900. It will remodeled and have an additional floor and a rooftop bar added to become the Hank Williams Jr. Boogie Bar.  The new space will bring the square footage up to 11,895 sq. ft.  Ruble and Brenda Sanderson will remain the owners of the structure. Big Plan Holdings (which is also in charge of the new Bon Jovi themed bar being constructed at 405 Broadway) will be the management of the building that was formerly home to Nashville Crossroads. It sits immediately to the west of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, which will also be undergoing remodeling/expansion. 
   
• 611 9th Ave. South in The Gulch covers 4,140 sq. ft. over its singe floor and was built in 1971 as an auto repair shop.  It will be the new home for Craig's Nashville, an American cuisine restaurant. A 4,230 sq. ft. 2nd floor addition will be part of the complete renovation costing $3.5 million. Pfeffer Torode is the architect in charge.
   
• 648 Fogg St. covers 13,200 sq. ft. over its 2 floors and was built in 1964.  Part of the site has been occupied by Bad Axe Throwing for several years, and now the owners will add a sister attraction to be known as Fogg Street Lawn Club, which will be a British-style bowling lawn and pub. The club will span about 8,000 square feet of outdoor rooftop space (with a bar), while a ground-level pub of about 2,500 square feet will offer a soccer and rugby theme and British-inspired food and drink menu.. Renderings available.
   
• The 3.7 acre site at 800 Main in East Nashville will have a two phase build-out featuring a 10 story building, a 5 story building, and several more 2-4 story structures featuring 379 apts., 45,000 sq. ft. office space, 40,000 sq. ft. retail; 316 capacity garage, one acre outdoor space.  Much of the project will be mass timber design. The cost of the land and construction is $210 million. Rise Investors is the developer, and is led by Uday Seghal, who was a long-time partner at AJ Capital, and struck out on his own last year. They hope to break ground in early 2024.
   
• 714 Main St. will be a 6 story mixed-use structure with 56 residential units, 1,510 sq. ft. of ground level retail, and a 3,933 sq. ft. restaurant space. Richland Building partners is the developer; Smith Gee Studio is the architect. The site is immediately to the west of the proposed 800 Main project. 
   
• Envision Cayce's Boscobel V & VI (2 -5 stories, 300 apts?, 30 townhomes?) update: MDHA Design Review Committee will vote on the specifics for this segment located at the northeast corner of the intersection of South Seventh and Dew streets.  Smith Gee is the architect.  The public housing units on the site were razed in the past few months.  New renderings available.
   
• 1401 Church St. news: CCB Nashville/Bosa Properties has hired J.E. Dunn as the contractor, and plans a fall groundbreaking for the first tower closest to Church St., which will rise 30 stories.  Also, there will no longer be a 250 room hotel as part of the plan....just residential and commercial. Some new renderings should be out within the next two months.
   
• The proposed massing for the Martin & Merritt Somera Road project  shows a boutique hotel of 6 stories that will be on the SE corner of Merritt Ave. and Martin St., and a large residential block appears that is also 6 stories at its tallest, and scaling down as low as 3 stories in some sections along Hamilton Ave. There is also a public green space along Merritt Ave. 
   
• 475 Humphreys by Somera Road is being proposed at 5 stories (ground level retail and 4 stories of office space). Somera Road's company HQ will be located in this structure. They will pursue an SP that calls for the site to be rezoned from commercial/manufacturing to mixed-use retail/office with an internal garage. No massing render for this one.
   
• United Record Pressing at 453 Allied Drive in the Radnor neighborhood is going to invest $10.8 million to expand their current manufacturing and employ an additional 209 people, more than doubling their staff.  For over 7 decades they were located at 453 Chestnut in WeHo, but moved to this newer facility  several years ago.  They still own the old building and adjoining surface lot in WeHo, but have not disclosed their plans for that site. 
   
• Bell Center Place will feature 42 townhomes in six buildings, and 42,000 sq. ft. of retail in three structures on 5.32 acres at 532-538 Bell Rd. EHE Properties is the developer, and hopes to break ground by mid 2024.
   
• Belle Meade Plaza appears to be passing via several Metro Council votes. AJ Capital has reduced the size to nine buildings of 12, 11, 10, 8, 2, and 1 stories, 388 residential units, 78 room hotel, 80,000 sq. ft. of retail, underground garages, and creekside park.
   
• 3900 Charlotte (5 - 7 stories, 249 apartments, 42,600 sq. ft. grocery, internal garage) on the NE corner of Charlotte Ave. and 40th Ave. North is moving forward.  CHM Development is now partnering with Chartwell Residential on the project.   CHM currently owns about 90% of the land, and hopes to close on the remaining amount by the end of summer. It appears that the grocery will be a Publix, as CHM has ties to that retailer, having built the Publix on 8th Ave. South a few years ago.  The architect is Cooper Carry; Thomas & Hutton will be in charge of engineering. A specific plan that includes rezoning will be presented, but no word on the timetable yet.
   
• 7848 McCrory Lane will be a 94 townhome project built on 42 acres surrounding Hutton Lake/former Bellevue Quarry. Dalamar Homes is the developer.
   
• Ewing Heights will be an 8 building, 3 story complex featuring 170 apartments and 10 townhomes of affordable housing at 334 Ewing Drive in North Nashville. DDG Development is in charge; Studio A is the architect; Catalyst Design is overseeing land planning/engineering. Excavation is underway. Completion is planned for mid 2024.
   
• 3539 Dickerson Pike will be the site of a 370 unit residential complex on 35 acres by Holladay Ventures. No renderings yet.
  
  
  NASHVILLE REMAINS HOT:
   
• Wall Street Journal says Nashville has the hottest job market in the nation for 2023. The study was done in conjunction with Moody’s Analytics, which looked at the unemployment rate, labor-force participation rate, changes to employment levels, the size of the labor force and wages in 2022 in about 380 metro areas. Austin ranked No. 2, followed by Jacksonville, Florida at No. 3.
   
• The Steamboat Transportation Group relocate from West End Ave. to 105 Continental Place in Brentwood and will spend $2 million to expand from 40 to 100 employees.  It is a third-party logistics company that provides freight transportation.
   
• Whisper Aero, a two-year-old company whose electric-powered fan--kind of like a propeller--creates quieter and more efficient thrust,  will be moving part of its operations from Shelbyville to Nashville, doubling the size of their staff with around 50 new local employees at an 8,000 sq. ft. facility near the airport. 
   
• Wallethub ranks Nashville #17 on their list of "2023's Best Large Cities to Start a Business" chart.
   
• Southern Living magazine picks Nashville #5 on "South's Best Cities List of 2023."  Franklin comes in at #14.
   
• Nashville's Four Seasons Hotel was selected #2  on the list of "The 24 Best New Luxury City Hotels Around the World" by Travel + Leisure magazine. It also made the "100 Best New Hotels" list at #22
   
• Franklin’s Southall has been selected as one of the "2023 It List of Best Hotels" in the world by Travel + Leisure.
   
• Airport had 1,927,948 passengers in March. This is up 22.2% over March of last year, and is just shy of the all time record set in October 2022. We are up 20.3% over FY 2022 so far. If this holds we will end FY 2023 over 22 million passengers. 
   
• Loveless Cafe ranked #7 in RestaurantClicks website of "Top 100 Diner Destinations in America 2023.”
   
• Yolan inside The Jospeh Hotel was chosen #1 on Food & Wine’s "11 Best Restaurants for Ambiance in the U.S.”
   
• Vanderbilt University comes in at the #13 school in the "Best National University Rankings for 2023" by U.S. News and World Report.
  
  Hope you can join us this Saturday morning for fun, informative, and lively discussion on all the development new in/around Music City!
  
   

[markhollin]

WSMV just now reported that levels 1-4 have reopened in the Downtown Library Garage.

[markhollin]

We had 15 folks in person and another 2 joining via Zoom for our monthly Urban Planet Nashville Meet-Up this morning.  Several had to leave before we could snap our pic.  Thanks to LA_TN (Bob---our marathon-running miester) for administrating the Zoom call, as well as Ron (smeagolsfree)  and Predsboy18 (Brian) for arriving early to set up our meeting area.  Special thanks to Lucas Hendrickson from The Nashville Ledger who took the photo, as well as covered the meeting for feature story that will be coming out soon. Our next gathering will be Sat. June 3rd at The Copper Branch at the Downtown Library.    : )
 

[markhollin]

Our next in-person Meet-Up will be this Saturday, June 3rd, from 10 AM to noon Central Time at The Copper Branch in the NE corner of the Downtown Library Building (at SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).   

(Ron) and Predsboy18 (Brian) will be arriving early to get tables and chairs set up. 

We should have things set up for folks to participate online via Zoom as well, that will be administered by LA_TN (Bob). If you would like to join remotely, please send me your name and e-mail address via private message by Friday evening, June 2nd, and I'll get you the particulars for logging on.   We will presume that if you took part any previous virtual meet-ups, that you will be interested again this month...so no need to send your info again (we've  kept it from May of 2020 onward and will include you automatically for this upcoming meeting). Everyone on that list will be getting an e-mail this week with log-in info for remote access.

A full agenda of discussion items will be posted on this thread in a few days.   : )

[smeagolsfree]

I may be missing this one as I have to go to Huntsville and help my brother. He is not in good health, and neither is his wife, so I need to go mow his two acres and wash the house and start a paint job. I will contact Brian and let him know.

[markhollin]

NASHVILLE URBAN PLANET MEET-UP AGENDA, JUNE 3rd, 2023

Here's an overview of what can be covered at the Dave Luna Urban Planet Meet-Up IN-PERSON this Saturday,  June 3rd, from 10 AM to noon at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library (on the SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).  The Downtown Library Garage is now reopened after repairs. Should you wish to try free parking, go to the 6th Ave. North curve around the north side of the Capitol Building. It's about a 2.5 block walk to the Copper Branch in the Library Building.  

Brian (PredsBoy18) will arrive early to help get tables set up. Bob (LA_TN) will be with us again to serve as our AV tech to get the proceedings  captured for anyone who wishes to attend via Zoom.  Please PM me by Friday evening at the latest if you would like to get the link to join us remotely.

INITIAL BUSINESS:

• Meet any new folks in attendance.
   
• Get reports from anyone who traveled to other cities in the past month for quick overviews of what they experienced.
   
• Cranes up: Modera SoBro (1); Station by Alta (2nd of 2); LINK Vanderbilt Hospital (2 of 2);
  
  Cranes down: Paseo South Gulch Prima Tower (1); Airport Hilton (1)
  
  Total cranes currently up in Davidson County: 49. YTD: 61
   

• Topped out: Haven Charlotte (10 stories); 900 @ Cleveland Park (6 & 7); 445 Park Commons (6); Music Row Apts. (6); 405 40th Ave. North (6); Permanent Supportive Housing (5); Broadstone Berry Hill (4); Neo (4); Fairfield Inn Bellevue (4); Donelson Library (3)
  
  
  AGENDA:|
   
• The Countrypolitan Hotel (301-315 Union) and former Nashville Trust Building (231 3rd Ave. North) have been purchased by Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (a time share company with 71 resorts nationally) for $53 million from JMI Realty.  The new owner plans to update and/or add to the 301 Union St. building a lobby, a fitness center and a lounge.  The updated guest rooms and “presidential units” will be sold as vacation ownership interests, or timeshares. The 2-story 231 3rd Ave. North building will be converted to a sales center. No word yet on their plans for building vertically on top of that Nashville Trust structure, which had previously been approved for a 15 story addition by MDHA Design Review Committee in 2019.
   
• The Depot (3 stories, 70 seat bar, 3 residences) on 1/10 acre at 630 Division St. is moving forward with Specific Plan Rezoning being sought at the June 22nd Metro Planning Commission meeting.  Renderings available.
   
• 2820 Dickerson (five 4-5 story buildings, 362 units, 8,000 sq. ft. of ground level retail on 13.3 acres) will break ground by year's end, after over 2 years since its initial announcement.  
   
• Belmont Univ. has released more plans for the 11 story, 714 bed Caldwell Two Residence Hall at 1407 Caldwell Ave., just to the west of the existing Caldwell Hall.  It will include 4,134 sq. ft. of ground level retail . A Belmont spokesperson said the university hopes to break ground by summer's end.  Belmont will go before the Metro Planning Commission to request a final site plan approval on June 22. Renderings available.
   
• 1301 Herman by Leftbank Holdings (7 stories, 345 units, internal garage) has filed for a building permit. The former Nashville Tent and Awning building will need to be demolished.  Leftbank paid $4.99 million for the property in May 2021. Still no renderings.
   
• The Mainstead will be the moniker for Phase I of 407 Great Circle Road in MetroCenter (5 stories, 365 units, 9,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space) will be getting underway in August by Oldacre McDonald developers.  Phase II of the 15 acre project will feature another 300 units and and additional 12,000 sq. ft. of retail. 
   
•  Metro Council finalized the rezoning on the Belle Meade Plaza project 28-1. The 10.5 acre development will replace the 1961-era shopping center with four structures between 100 and 150 feet, 78 hotel rooms and 388 residential units. There will be several two story structures of retail/commercial space, a Richland Creek water feature and river walk are planned. About 60 percent of the site's 10.5 acres will be devoted to green and open space. Rendering available.
   
• 1906-1908 Acklen Ave. (3 stories, 10,770 sq. ft., circa 1920) is going to be converted into a boutique hotel by Mainland Companies.  No word on how many rooms. They will go before the Metro Planning Commission on June 22 for final site plan approval related to the urban design overlay in place for Hillsboro Village.
   
• 3509 Charlotte Ave. will be a 32 unit residential project of unknown height on 1/2 acre.  There is currently a small 1 story home on the site. No word yet on the developer, architect, etc. 
   
• 4037 Murfreesboro Pike will be home to a 8.5 acre mixed-use project featuring five 3 story structures with residential and commercial elements.  No word on how many units. 
  
  
  NASHVILLE REMAINS HOT:
   
• The Mt. Juliet Costco will break ground in August, and the May 2024 opening will bring 275 new jobs.
   
• Intrepid Direct Insurance, based out of Kansas City, will open its first satellite office in Nashville at an undisclosed location. They plan on hiring 25 people initially.
   
• Naptser music streaming service will be relocating its HQ from Seattle to Nashville.  Now word on location or how many employees.  They also have international offices in London, Paris, Munich and Sao Paulo.
   
• Preliminary data from U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics estimates Tennessee earned $27.5 billion in travel spending last year — a record-high for the state and increase of 14% from 2021. Out of the 25 highest-ranked states, travel spending moved Tennessee to No. 11 in the nation, previously sitting at No. 14 in 2020. The leisure and hospitality industry is the state’s second-leading industry, employing 350,000+ residents and supplying $1.8 billion in state tax collections in 2022.
   
• Nashville ranks No. 4 in the latest Best-Performing Cities Index from The Milken Institute, a global nonpartisan economic think tank. The report weighs job growth, wage gains, high-tech industries, broadband access and housing costs over a five-year span.
   
• Nashville is ranked #2 in "Hottest Housing Market for Large Metro Areas in the Nation" by Bankrate website.
   
• Airport set a new single day passenger count of 40,069 on Sunday, May 7th.
   
• Airport had 1,909,643 passengers in April, up 17% from last year.  Biggest April ever.
   
• The May 5-7 weekend that featured Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson, Oprah Winfrey (TSU Graduation speaker), and more generated $37.34 million in hotel rents. There was 97.3% downtown hotel occupancy that weekend with an average of $570 per room.  Across the larger Nashville region, 94.2% rooms were filled with bookings for an average of $318 per night.
   
• Nashville comes in at #2 in Cvent's 2023 Top 10 Meeting Destinations in North America list.  Orlando is #1.  The last list they published in 2019 had Nashville at #6. Conventions are a significant part of Nashville’s tourism industry, roughly 40%, and Music City Center alone hosted 150 events with 300,000 attendees in the 2022 fiscal year — amounting to 357,550 room nights and more than $382 million in direct economic impact.
   
• Despite shoddy U.S. economic outlooks, especially from banks, Tennessee businesses are amassing big profits and growing in record numbers. Tennessee leaders expect the boom years to continue for the foreseeable future because of the high rates of in-migration. In the past 12 months, 76,767 new business entities were created and 337,760 annual reports were filed statewide. “Tennessee set new records for business formations and renewals in the first quarter of 2023,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “They’re the highest totals of any quarter in the data’s 25-year history.”
   
• Bridgestone Arena was ranked No. 1 in Stadium Journey's rankings of all 32 NHL arenas for the 2022-23 season with a score of 4.86/5. The scoring system is based on several criteria including food, atmosphere, neighborhood, fan support, access and return on investment. The No. 1 ranking by Stadium Journey comes after Bridgestone Arena was named the 2023 Arena of the Year by Pollstar Magazine.
   
• Harpeth Hotel in Franklin is recognized as on the the Top 500 Hotels in the World for 2023 by Travel + Leisure Magazine, as well as receiving a Connie Award, the highest award granted by Hilton Worldwide and showcases the best of the best for each brand within the Hilton portfolio.
  
  Hope you can join us Saturday morning for informative, lively, and fun discussion on all the latest development news in Music City!

[markhollin]

We had 13 folks in person and another 3 joining via Zoom for our monthly Urban Planet Nashville Meet-Up this morning.   Thanks to  LA_TN (Bob) for administrating the Zoom call and taking the photo, as well as PredsBoy18 (Brian) for arriving early to set up our meeting area.  Our next gathering will be Sat. May 6th at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library.   : )
 

[markhollin]

Our next in-person Meet-Up will be this Saturday, July 1st, from 10 AM to noon Central Time at The Copper Branch in the NE corner of the Downtown Library Building (at SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).   

Predsboy18 (Brian) will be arriving early to get tables and chairs set up. 

We should have things set up for folks to participate online via Zoom as well, that will be administered by LA_TN (Bob). If you would like to join remotely, please send me your name and e-mail address via private message by Friday evening, June 30th, and I'll get you the particulars for logging on.   We will presume that if you took part any previous virtual meet-ups, that you will be interested again this month...so no need to send your info again (we've  kept it from May of 2020 onward and will include you automatically for this upcoming meeting). Everyone on that list will be getting an e-mail this week with log-in info for remote access.

A full agenda of discussion items will be posted on this thread in a few days.   : )

[markhollin]

One of our resident Nashville historians, Rookzie (Ricky), is going to be joining us on Saturday morning!  : )

[smeagolsfree]

I may be there late as I have a funeral/visitation to go to. I will likely not go to the funeral, so I will try and be there around 11AM, so save me a seat.

[markhollin]

NASHVILLE URBAN PLANET MEET-UP AGENDA, JULY 1, 2023

Here's an overview of what can be covered at the Dave Luna Urban Planet Meet-Up IN-PERSON this Saturday,  July 1st, from 10 AM to noon at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library (on the SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).  

Brian (PredsBoy18) will arrive early to help get tables set up. Bob (LA_TN) will be with us again to serve as our AV tech to get the proceedings  captured for anyone who wishes to attend via Zoom.  Please PM me by Friday evening at the latest if you would like to get the link to join us remotely.

• Meet any new folks in attendance.
   
• Get reports from anyone who traveled to other cities in the past month for quick overviews of what they experienced.
   
• Cranes up: Vanderbilt LINK Hospital (2 and 3 of 3); Aspire Midtown (1); River North Landings (3rd of 3); Modera McGavock (1); Modera Germantown (1);  Station by Alta (3rd of 3); Hyatt Caption Hotel (1)
  
  Cranes down: Belmont Frist School of Medicine (1 of 2)
  
  Total cranes currently up in Davidson County: 53    YTD: 68

• Topped out: Neuhoff Plant, Building 3 (9 stories); 405 40th Ave. North (6); Comfort Inn at OHB/I-40 West (5); 1010 Music Row (5); Fisk Univ. Dorm (4); 915 West Trinity Townhomes (4); The Northern (4); Brick Church Pike Townhomes (3); West Trinity/Free Silver Townhomes (3); Fusion WeHo Phase IV (3); Music Row Villas (3)
  
  AGENDA:|
   
• 11N will be a 3 tower residential development of 47 stories (525'), 28 stories (313'), and 29 stories (311') featuring 1,475 total units, plus 40,000 sq. ft. of retail and 41,600 sq. ft. of greenway/park space.  Internal garages will hold 1,870 cars.  The total land space is 5.14 acres bordered by Church Street Viaduct on the south, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Blvd. (Charlotte Ave.) on the north, 11 North Apartment complex on the west, and the CSX tracks on the east.  The current site is all surface parking and undeveloped space. Of note: the largest tower will actually be 567' above grade, as there is a 42' section from ground level before reaching the Church Street Viaduct official entrance level. The project may have a total of ten years to roll out in phases. We hear the tallest building will be erected first. There is a possibility of a 16 story office structure going on the Grainger site--but it is only hinted at in one of the diagrams.  Renderings available.
   
• The Element Hotel on Lafayette has received approval from MDHA Design Review Committee. There are updated renderings for the project that is now being listed as 15 stories, with the same 205 rooms.  4,300 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space, 3,265 sq. ft. of meeting space, and a 1 level underground valet parking garage are now listed.
   
• Iconix will open a 40,000 sq. ft. high-end wellness and recovery-focused fitness club in the summer of 2025 in the 13 story tower within the AEG portion of Nashville Yards.The club will have a dedicated entry on the ground floor with a retail space offering high-end fitness apparel.  The club also plans to activate the development’s more than seven acres of open green spaces for special events and classes.
   
• The Residence Inn on .82 acre at 206 North First St. on the East Bank that had previously been announced at 11 stories/175 rooms, has now been expanded in scope to 15 stories/181’, 235 rooms, 8,000 sq. ft. retail, and 245 capacity internal garage.  Renderings available.
   
• A new rendering was released for the pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland River connecting the Oracle Campus to Germantown.  Its cost will be part of the $175 million upfront fund for fund new infrastructure on the riverfront, including the pedestrian bridge, greenways, parks, roads, and public utilities. Metro will reimburse that investment through a 25-year, 50% property tax discount. Costs beyond that $175 million will be borne by Oracle.
   
• Tennyson Germantown will be 4 story, 16 townhome joint project by Cottingham Capital Partners and FronFour on the .8 acre site at 400 Hume St. It will feature 2 capacity garage for each unit (total of 32 spaces).
   
• Barrel Proof will be a 1 story whiskey and beer bar concept at 1010 4th Ave. North just to the north of Von Elrod's Beer Hall in the North Capitol District next to First Horizon Ballpark. It will share a building with the soon-to-be relocated DeSano's Pizzeria. 
   
• LG Development group is seeking a stormwater grading permit for the 20 story, 396 unit 1711 Broadway residential tower.
   
• M2 Development has purchased the 1.7 acre triangular lot at 1308 4th Ave. South for $6.5 million and most likely will have plans for a mixed-use residential project of unknown size. The current business on the site, Choice Construction, bought the land for $425,000  decades ago. The land is located between the Bento Box residential/STR project to the north, and the u.c. Emblem Park Apartments to the south.
   
• 1401 Gallatin (4 stories, 292 units) will break ground this summer on 7.3 acres. 
   
• Southern Land Company has finalized the purchase of the 15 acre Lincoln Tech campus site for $33.75 million. No word yet on when things might get started for the large mixed-use project that will feature residential, office, and retail elements in some structures up to 7 stories tall.
   
• The long-awaited Walden Phase III on Eastland Ave. will be 64 townhomes, 17 apts., 48,000 sq. ft. of retail space. But it still might be a while before this breaks ground.
   
• After nearly 4 years of sitting on the empty site they purchased for $860,000, Core Development has finally announced a 3 story mixed-use project on .83 acre at 4706 Gallatin Pike. It will feature 32 residential units and ground level retail.   Groundbreaking should happen soon, with a fall 2024 completion planned.
   
• 1201 Porter Rd. covers 2,109 sq. ft. over its single floor and was built in 1959.  It will now become home to Bill Miller's latest endeavor, Schulman's Restaurant, which will be an eatery/bar with an East Nashville neighborhood feel.  The building had been home to Southern Grist Brewery for years before they relocated to the Highland Yards makeover last year.  No word on the opening date yet. 
   
• The former Red Lion Hotel at 2425 Atrium Way near Briley Parkway is going to be converted into apartments in the three 3-story structures (built in 1980) on 2.62 acres.  There will be a total of 120 units when work is done.
   
• Rock Harbor Marina in the west side will undergo renovations and expansion  Besides increasing its boat capacity by 50%, there will also be new retail, restaurant, and even residential elements to the development. A water taxi service to downtown is being explored as well.
   
• A 3 story, 255 unit garden style apartment complex is being planned for 8.5 acres at 3837 Clarksville Highway.
   
• A 2 story, 24 unit apartment complex on 2.91 acres at 408 American Rd. is being planned.  
   
• A proposed mixed use residential and commercial development will transform downtown Murfreesboro off Broad, Church and Vine streets. The "Keystone" project includes 239 apartments, which is a reduction from previous proposal for 340 rental units. The new proposal also has 80 to 100 condos, a hotel with 80 to 150 rooms, ground floor retail spaces that total 30,000 to 40,000 square feet, two parking garages and parking lots with spaces for 780 cars. 
   
• Nashvillian Trip Miller, founder of hedge fund Gullane Capital Partners, is looking to be the controlling partner in a group wanting to buy the Tampa Bay Rays for $1.85 billion. Could this be the big money player that has been needed to bring a MLB franchise to Nashville?
   
• In related MLB news, TSU has released a diagram showing where a baseball stadium with retractable roof and Baseball Village would be located along Dr. Walter S. Davis Blvd. near the Cumberland River.
  
  
  NASHVILLE REMAINS HOT:
   
• In-N-Out Burger’s Eastern U.S. HQ will be built on 28.9 acres at GooseCreek Drive Bypass near Lewisburg Pike. They finalized the $36.1 million purchase of the site where they will invest $125.5 million to create the 100,000 sq. ft. office and employ 277 people by its opening in 2026.
   
• Clarksville will see Kewpi Corporation's 125,000 sq ft. factory at the intersection of Corporate Parkway and International Blvd. being built now on the  20 acre plot they purchased for $1.28 million.  The plant will cost $65.2 million employ 85 people in production on mayonnaise, salad dressing and other sauces in 2025.
   
• Feintool metal forming company will expand its Antioch plant at 6033 Dana Way by 25% and add 25 new jobs to the existing 250 employed there.
   
• Nashville ranked fourth in the country for job growth after Austin, Dallas and Raleigh. Growth was up 9.1% from February 2020 to March 2023 with 96,100 more jobs now than in 2020.
   
• Nashville has a 2.5% unemployment rate as of March 2023, which is one of the lowest rates in the history of the Nashville region, according to Hite.
   
• Nashville ranked second in GDP growth from 2021-22 at 12%, second only to San Jose.
   
• Nashville is fifth in in nation in population growth from 2016-2021 with 9.3% (171,182 new residents) and ninth in population growth from 2021-22 with 35,624 new residents.
   
• Airport set new passenger record in May, crossing 2 million for 2nd time at 2,071,705 (up 14% from last year).  Have decent chance of setting FY record of over 22 million with a strong June.
   
• Nashville showed a top-10 per capita income growth from 2021-22.
   
• According to the Nashville/Davidson County planning department, $5.6 billion in building permits were issued during FY 2022.
   
• Nashville is #9 in nation for new home construction in 2023, with 9,166 houses underway. This places us ahead of Los Angeles, and about on par with peer cities Charlotte (#6 with 10,903), Austin (#7 with 10,880) and Orlando (#8 with 9,261).
   
• CMA Fest outdid itself for its 50th anniversary. The largest and longest running country music festival set records with over 90,000 attendees each of the four days and had the biggest audience to date at nightly Nissan Stadium concerts. The daily attendance represents 12% growth over 2022, while the stadium increased its attendance 10% year over year.  All 50 states were represented among CMA Fest attendees, as well as 51 countries — also a record for CMA Fest.
   
• CMA Fest will air on the ABC Network on Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. with hosts Dierks Bentley, Elle King, and Lainey Wilson. The three-hour special will highlight footage from CMA Fest’s 50th anniversary this week and feature never-before-seen performances + surprise artist collaborations.
   
• The NHL Awards and Draft were broadcast live on TNT earlier this week, featuring live concert performers on a special stage built on Lower Broadway.  Lots of great publicity to the millions watching around the globe.
   
• East Nashville’s Rice Vice, a 70s-inspired sake bar, landed a spot on Esquire’s “The Best Bars in America, 2023” list.
   
• The historic Hermitage Hotel has been named "Hotel of the Year in U.S./Canada" by Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which is the 650 hotel/resort brand that runs it. 
   
• Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt lands at the top of the latest ranking from U.S. News & World Report, tied for #1 in the Southeast with Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center in Durham, North Carolina, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
  
  Hope you can join us Saturday morning for fun, informative, and lively conversation about all the development news in and around Music City!  : )

[markhollin]

We had 14 in attendance today, as well as another person online for our monthly Urban Planet Nashville Meet-Up this morning.   Thanks to  Bos2Nash (Craig) for administrating the Zoom call, as well as PredsBoy18 (Brian) for arriving early to set up our meeting area.  Our next gathering will be Sat. Aug. 5th at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library.    : )

[markhollin]

Our next in-person Meet-Up will be this Saturday, Aug. 5th, from 10 AM to noon Central Time at The Copper Branch in the NE corner of the Downtown Library Building (at SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).   

Smeagolsfree (Ron) and Predsboy18 (Brian) will be arriving early to get tables and chairs set up. 

We should have things set up for folks to participate online via Zoom as well, that will be administered by LA_TN (Bob). If you would like to join remotely, please send me your name and e-mail address via private message by Friday evening,  Aug. 4th, and I'll get you the particulars for logging on.   We will presume that if you took part any previous virtual meet-ups, that you will be interested again this month...so no need to send your info again (we've  kept it from May of 2020 onward and will include you automatically for this upcoming meeting). Everyone on that list will be getting an e-mail this week with log-in info for remote access.

A full agenda of discussion items will be posted on this thread in a few days.   : )

[smeagolsfree]

I will be there this month!

[markhollin]

NASHVILLE URBAN PLANET MEET-UP AGENDA, AUG 5th, 2023

Here's an overview of what can be covered at the Dave Luna Urban Planet Meet-Up IN-PERSON this Saturday,  August 5th, from 10 AM to noon at The Copper Branch inside the Downtown Library (on the SW corner of 6th Ave. North and Church St.).  There is paid parking in the Library Garage, and free parking, go to the 6th Ave. North curve around the north side of the Capitol Building. It's about a 2.5 block walk to the Copper Branch in the Library Building.  

Ron (Smeagolsfree) and Brian (PredsBoy18) will arrive early to help get tables set up. Bob (LA_TN) will be with us again to serve as our AV tech to get the proceedings  captured for anyone who wishes to attend via Zoom.  Please PM me by Friday evening at the latest if you would like to get the link to join us remotely.

INITIAL BUSINESS:

• Meet any new folks in attendance.
   
• Get reports from anyone who traveled to other cities in the past month for quick overviews of what they experienced.
   
• Cranes up: Ashwood 12 South (1); Aspire Midtown (2nd of 2); 1010 Church (1st of 2); Chestnut Flats (3rd of 3); Modera Germantown (2nd of 2); 900 Division (1); Nashville Zoo Garage (1)
  
  Cranes down: Poplar Bend Apts. (all 3)
  
  Total cranes currently up in Davidson County: 57   YTD: 75
   
• Topped out: River North Landings (7 stories); 1010 16th Ave. South (6); Broadstone Berry Hill (5 & 4); Liviano at Nations (5 & 4); Views of Music City South (5 & 4); 722 Mcferrin (3); Martin Street Townhomes (3); Belmont Univ. Curb Center addition (3); Chelsea at Oceola (3); Watts Lane Townhomes (3); 7335 Old Charlotte (3)
  
  
  AGENDA:|
   
• Tishman Speyer’s development on SW corner of KVB and 1st Ave. South will be called 133 KVB and feature two 49 story towers (574' and 512') featuring condos, apartments, and a hotel  (no word on how many units/keys, or hotel brand yet). There will be 8 levels of parking, of which  2-4 levels will be above grade, and 3-6 levels will be underground  (depending on which part of the hill they are situated). The towers will share a common pedestal with retail/commercial elements that will feature a publicly accessible park. Bonus height above the 30 story code limit for that area will be sought based on LEED qualifications. Massing renders available.
   
• The 1100 Porter Edition Marriott Hotel plan is now going to be expanded by 11 floors to include condos and will grow from 17 stories to 28 stories/355’.  It will include 272 hotel rooms (instead of previous 282), along with 72 new condo units, 10,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space (up from 8,900), and a 126 capacity internal garage. Tidal Real Estate Partners (formerly Flank, Inc.) has not announced groundbreaking date yet.  They will be seeking bonus height for the high-rise, with a Sept. 14 date scheduled with the Metro Planning Department Downtown Code Design Review Committee. Lots of new renderings and diagrams available.
   
• Cannery Hall (3 & 4 stories, circa 1883)  is continuing its full interior rebuild: The top floor will be home to Amaranth, a 380-person capacity event space accepting bookings for 2024. Row 1 Stage can accommodate up-and-comers, with a 325-capacity audience. The Mil stage holds 625 people. The Mainstage allows for 1,200 fans.Keeping in mind the 140-year history of the building, the renovations are focused on fan and artist experience. Examples are lighting and sound systems, improved sight lines, venue flow, bathrooms, parking, new food and beverage offerings, easy tour bus parking and updated backstage and green-room facilities. 
   
• 2nd & Van Buren (two 7 story residential buildings with 303 units, ground level retail, and internal garage) is finally moving forward after 18 months of silence. Developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living has finalized the deal on the land for $4 million. This project will site 1 block to the NW of the Neuhoff Plant project.
   
• Wood Partners have announced some more details for their residential project on 5 acres at 210 Cumberland Bend (just north of their recently completed Alta Riverwalk project).  It will be 5 stories with 325 units and an internal garage.  It will face the Cumberland River Greenway and river.  
   
• Best Western Plus Music Row is going to make a 9 story addition at 1407 Division St.  that will include about 180 new rooms and an internal garage. Rajesh Aggawal owns the  property including the existing hotel and will be in charge of the added development. 
   
• Tennessee Oncology (5 stories, 200,000 sq. ft. ) at 316-322 22nd Ave. North in Midtown has secured a $98.3 million construction loan from Truist Bank to get underway. It will consolidate the company's clinical imaging lab and pharmacy and will also include three levels of parking below ground.  Still no renderings.
   
• A 24,000 sq. ft. portion (about 60% of available space) of the 1985 era 1 level warehouse at 1400 3rd Ave. South that was updated several years ago will become Larks Shuffleboard Club. It will also have a space for live music, a restaurant and cocktail bar and full arcade, making it a place to “play, eat, drink, socialize or just lounge,” according to the website. The venue also plans to host a game show.   Build-out for the space is $2 million.
   
• The  Berry will be the name of a project on  the  .8 acre site at 2526-2528 8th Ave. South that was formerly home to Athens Restaurant. It will be a 5 story mixed-use development featuring 54 residential units, 7,000 sq. ft. of ground level retail, and a 113 capacity garage.  Originally, a 4 slot single floor retail strip had been planned.  T. Construction has begun.  
   
• The Powell is a 3 story mixed-use project featuring 4 apts. and ground level retail on Bransford Ave. in Berry Hill.
   
• Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville campus at 100 White Bridge Rd. will build a 3 story, 33,000 sq. ft. , $22 million addition to it allied health programs.  No groundbreaking date has been set, but a late 2025 completion is planned.  
   
• The Chelsea at Oceola will be a 3 story, 32 unit townhome project.
   
• More details are coming out regarding 714-730 Main (6 stories, 80', 56 units, 5,4334 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space,  internal garage). This will sit just to the east of the proposed 10 story 800 Main St. project. Richland Building Partners will be the developer thru their 730 Main Street LLC. Renderings available.
   
• A potential hotel project at 701-707 Main St. is being put together by Omega Hotel Group (which owns 14 hotel, including Holiday Inn Express in MetroCenter and Hyatt Place near the airport). They hope to acquire properties at which are located two empty buildings. The structures previously housed a Subway and a UPS Store, among other businesses, that were heavily damaged in the March 2020 tornado. 
   
• The Eastwood Village project (repurposing the 1851-era original church structure and 1924 larger sanctuary for commercial purposes) at 1716 Greenwood Ave. has announced a major tenant.  Switchyards, and Atlanta-based members-only work club will fill up most of the 8,000 sq. ft. former sanctuary space, and will include a large cafe area, two libraries, spaces for “deep focus,” eight soundproof phone booths, and three meeting rooms.
   
• Ben Allen Ridge at 301 Ben Allen Rd. will be made up of seven 4 story buildings featuring 238 affordable apartments on 10.7 acres. Clear Blue Company is the developer and they will invest $65 million for the construction. Land has already been cleared, and construction is imminent.  A 24 month timetable for completion is planned. 
   
• Yet another set of routes being proposed for Amtrack/Tennessee Inter-City train routes. This time by TDOT. Nashville would serve as hub to routes of Memphis, Chattanooga/Atlanta, and Louisville.
   
• Analysts at S&P Global Ratings boosted their assessment of Metro's debt, in an analysis published July 10. The higher "AA+" mark from S&P Global Ratings — one step below a perfect AAA grade — is the first upgrade that agency has given Metro's general obligation bonds in more than four decades, according to Metro financial records. Bond ratings are one signal of a city's financial health, which is one of the many qualifications executives consider when scouting where they will move or expand their businesses. The ratings also inform investor decisions about whether to loan Metro money: The stronger the rating, the lower interest rate Metro typically can fetch, reducing the cost of its borrowing.
   
• A new Arena Football League is being proposed, and Nashville will have one of the 16 franchises if all goes as [planned with the first games in 2024, according to TMZ.  No word on who the ownership group is, or where they would play.  The only reasonable choices would be Bridgestone Arena or Municipal Auditorium.  Initially there will be a 10 game schedule, plus playoffs. Other franchises of note include Austin, Chicago, Denver, Cincinnati, Orlando, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Denver.
   
• There is continued debate regarding the upgrades to the historic Nashville Fairground Racetrack to 30,000 capacity.
  
  
  
  NASHVILLE REMAINS HOT:
   
• Murfreesboro will see McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing investing $25.2 million to expand its manufacturing presence in Middle Tennessee. The investment will add 100 new jobs to the company’s facility.
   
• The Joe Muer Seafood restaurant will open Aug. 23rd in the 500 11th Ave. North (the HealthStream building in Capitol View and employ about 100 people.
   
• The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce announced the Metropolitan Statistical Area is among the top five cities across the nation for post-COVID-19 job growth. US Census Bureau data indicates 110,000+ added jobs in the area since the start of the pandemic.Tennessee comes in #3 on CNBC's "America's Top States for Business" ranking.
   
• Nashville chosen #5 on the "Top Ten Best Cities to Start Your Career" list at Bankrate.
   
• The Nashville area population growth has rebounded to an average of 98 people a day, back to the 2016 levels, according to the United States Census Bureau According to findings analyzed by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s research center, the Nashville area grew by 35,624 people in 2022, or 98 people per day. Those figures rank Nashville as the 10th highest among the 56 metros with a population of at least 1 million. The current 1.8% growth rate positions Music City as the ninth highest among similarly sized metros.
   
• Metro Codes Department issued $5.88 billion worth of permits this past fiscal year, which ended on June 20th. The sum creates a new record — up nearly 18% from the previous fiscal year.  Fiscal year 2023’s construction value comprised 13,808 permits, according to Metro Codes. Only about 18% of those were for commercial construction, but the category contributed $4.39 billion, or nearly 75%, of the total dollar amount.
   
• The Nashville Health Care Council’s new economic impact report shows that: Nashville is home to 46 major health care companies; one in every 12 occupations is health care, with the industry growing 8% during 2018 to 2022; the average wage for health care occupations is $92,470, surpassing Nashville’s average annual wage of $57,560.
   
• For first time, Airport had two straight monthly 2+ million passenger counts with 2,071,000 in May and 2,065,000 in June.  Grand total for the Fiscal Year was 21,899,979…the first time ever over 20 million in a single year. The total was up 18.7% from fiscal year 2022, which saw 18.4 million passengers. May 2023 proved to be a record-breaking month for BNA with 2,071,705 passengers. On May 7th, 39,745 passengers were screened through the checkpoint. An average of 300 departures and 300 arrivals operate at the airport daily, and BNA has a record-breaking 99 nonstop destinations.  In the last fiscal year alone, BNA opened its new 200,000-square-foot Grand Lobby and 215-foot pedestrian bridge, opened 18 new concessions, added two nonstop routes, opened a new cell lot and opened Garage B.
   
• The number of scheduled flights at Nashville International Airport has soared past pre-pandemic levels. The Nashville airport had 8,888 scheduled flights in July, compared to 7,793 in July 2019, according to statistics from data aviation company Cirium Inc., an increase of 14.1%. That increase far outpaces other U.S. airports, which saw an average decline of 10.5%. The number of available seats has grown at an even faster pace. There were 28.5% more seats available in July 2023, 994,765 compared to 1,278,363 in 2019. Six hundred commercial flights come and go daily, ferrying a record surge of passengers. Operating revenue will jump 25% this fiscal year to $282 million.
   
• Nashville secured the No. 8 spot on Travel + Leisure’s “15 Favorite Cities in the US of 2023.”
   
• Hattie B’s secured the No. 4 spot on USA Today’s 10 Best ranking for Best Regional Fast Food Chains. The Nashville-based hot chicken restaurant is in the company of fast food joints such as Whataburger, Cook Out, and In-N-Out Burger.
   
• This is a weird/silly one: Nashville ranked #5 in most rooftop bars in the nation, and #7 overall for best rooftop bar experience via Roof Gnome.
  
  Hope you can join us Saturday morning for informative, lively, and fun discussion on all the development happening in and around Music City!