Bristol West End

[Jeeper12]

A few months ago there was some discussion on The Velocity thread about what the expectations for that project should be considering Bristol's previous efforts. We also had a BonB buyer express disappointment with his purchase and request input on how to avoid making a similar mistake on a future project. In an effort to assist that buyer and others to see design details to be avoided I posted some photos of the Bristol West End. See those at this link: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...8452&st=143

Since the project wasn't finished I thought it would only be fair to revisit the building now that it's done to see how the final exterior turned out. Not surprisingly, the finished product was about what I expected: poor design, poor workmanship and an overall lack of substance and quality. It's really hard for me to fathom that buyers shelled out $300/sf or more for this throwaway architecture. Here are my more recent photos for the forum to form their own impression. Note: I attempted not to photograph anything twice unless I was doing so to illustrate a seperate detail in the same vicinity (which should figure more prominently in the frame).

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[ATLBrain]

Yikes!!! Whose going to have to pay up when that stuff starts to drop off the building in about 3-4 years?

[jcoop]

Unlike BonB, which I still think was a decent project for the area and had some attractive aspects to it, I have never had anything good to say about this project. It's an ugly ugly ugly design and you are clearly showing the poor work that was done on it. Some of those exterior details look like something you would find on some low rent apartment complexes that just get thrown up somewhere.

[barakat]

Thanks for taking/posting the photos. I don't completely agree with you on a couple points. I think the general appearance/design of Bristol West End is an improvement over Bristol on Broadway. One thing I like is that the first floor units around the building have entrances that address the street with stoops and stairs and connect to the sidewalk, something you dont see much of in projects of this size in Nashville. I also like that most of the building is covered in brick veneer. They did a decent job of creating a building that appears durable from a block away and aside from several major flaws, appears as if it could have been built around the 1930's.

The most disappointing things to me are captured well in your photos. Seriously, I can't believe how badly 'finished' some of the features are. The balcony railing that plows into the fake stucco wall just looks wrong, because it should have terminated at the wall. There are major issues with the flashing. The base ideally would have been clad in cut [or at least cast] stone. It would have helped if they had chosen one color for the base instead of the two-tone job on the stucco. The things that stick up from the roofline [not sure what they are called; someone help] degrade the appearance of the buliding because they look like bedazzler press-on decorations.

I think this had the potential to be a really nice project, but it's flaws are glaring. I've yet to see a Bristol project I would purchase a unit in. The bar must be raised.

[Lukin]

I've driven by there a few times in the last couple weeks and I completely agree with everything you said Jeeper. The building already looks like its about to fall apart. The materials are obviously of poor quality, the paint job is less than adequate and it looks like a rough storm could rip off about half the exterior. It's a great location but terrible design. I've been pretty excited about what Bristol is doing in the gulch, but if BonB and Bristol WE are any indication of what ICON or Velocity might turn out like, than I bet quite a few investors/buyers are going to be very disappointed.

However, I do have a bit of hope as the original renderings for BonB and Bristol WE are pretty close to how they turned out - I was never a fan of either of these buildings. Hopefully the fact that the designs of ICON and (to a lesser extenet) Velocity are promising will prove the skeptics wrong in then end....but I wouldn't cross my fingers

[Jeeper12]

However, I do have a bit of hope as the original renderings for BonB and Bristol WE are pretty close to how they turned out - I was never a fan of either of these buildings. Hopefully the fact that the designs of ICON and (to a lesser extenet) Velocity are promising will prove the skeptics wrong in then end....but I wouldn't cross my fingers

[jillr984]

At first glance of those photos, the problem to me does not seem to be in the material selection, the problem is in the installation. Granted, I haven't seen the documents to know how the building was detailed, but the installation of some of those materials is just awful. It looks like their EIFS sub has never installed it before, and didn't even bother to check with the manufacturer to review their standard detials. EIFS and brick are not cheap, throw away materials when detailed and installed properly. However, you can end up with a situation like this if you don't have a qualified installer AND good site visits by the architect to check for conformance with their details.

[BnaBreaker]

Geez, what cheap crap. Perhaps this is what we get for allowing a suburban developer used to getting "the most bang for their buck" and merely looking to cash in on the "trend" of urban living, to help shape our urban fabric.

[TopCat]

I didn't look at all your photos, but just from a few of them it is obvious that the contractor was either in bed with Bristol and no one cared, or completely incompetent, and the architect let them get away with it. (Personally I think it was a 3 way cluster ****) The photos you have of the parapet flashing and the window flashing should be held onto so when the buyers decide to sue they have a record of the - OMG! how bad can it be? - quality. This is a good example as you all have pointed out of a developer that does not care about the long term issues with a building. My two cents...Developers should be forced by law to maintain ownership for at least 10 years. Then I think you would see this sort of hit and run job stop.

The really scary part is, as a buyer of a condo, you put your money down early before ground breaking and you never see what you just spent a half mil on before you walk in. By then it's too late. Just consider if there are so many visible things that are so bad, then what on earth is hidden under the styrofoam?

[Flowers]

i assume this is the same developer we were discussing on the bristol on broadway thread. more depressing pics. i hope they don't build too many more of these.

[Flowers]

Geez, what cheap crap. Perhaps this is what we get for allowing a suburban developer used to getting "the most bang for their buck" and merely looking to cash in on the "trend" of urban living, to help shape our urban fabric.