Omni Hotel/Convention Center hotel/24 stories/800 rooms/complete

[MLBrumby]

Yeah... uncanny! Just a mini version of the Atlanta hotel without that little 1990s circular doohickie at the front edge. So now we know Nashville gets (yet another) recycled design.

[timmay143]

Yeah... uncanny! Just a mini version of the Atlanta hotel without that little 1990s circular doohickie at the front edge. So now we know Nashville gets (yet another) recycled design.

Haha, true. I think it'll look ok once complete though. At least it's in an L shape . Encore...Novare...similar design in ATL and maybe CLT.

[timmay143]

Topping out ceremony was today.

[nashvillwill]

Did they raise a tree by chance? I love that tradition. Wish we saw it more.

[nashvylle]

For the impact on Sobro's entertainment and hospality scene (hotel + addition to CMHOF) I give the project an A

For aesthetics I give the project a C

For a covention center hotel that was financially incentivized by metro, I was expecting a much, much greater visual impact, unfortunately.

[timmay143]

Did they raise a tree by chance? I love that tradition. Wish we saw it more.

Yup. From FB page.

[bigeasy]

I live in Nashville but I almost want to stay at the Omni when it opens just for that view of downtown.

[arkitekte]

Sorry for the low quality photos from inside of the car...I literally got off of the interstate to take these and then got right back on.

Yes, the Omni could be a lot more...it looked really nice in the renderings, but I am impressed as of now. The density is nice, and in the right lighting the glass is pretty sharp.

[UTgrad09]

You don't give yourself enough credit, ark. Those are some great shots, even if they are hastily taken.

And I agree. I think the building will look pretty nice, once completed.

[arkitekte]

^Thanks.

[timmay143]

Yeah, great shots. Like you said, could be more, but I think it looks pretty good. It will look even better once some other buildings go up in the area so that it isn't "sticking out."

[smeagolsfree]

Driving back into town on Thursday night with the lights on now at the CC and the Omni, really gives Downtown a lot more depth. Looks a lot more imposing coming up from the south for sure.

[e-dub]

yep, nice shots arkitekte. snapped this one on my mobile phone walking home from crema:

i dunno if it's just me "coming to grips" with it, but i don't really take much offense to the building.

eric b

[MLBrumby]

I didn't know the best place for this link. A story from the NYT on the MCC and Omni...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/realestate/commercial/nashville-gambles-on-appeal-of-new-623-million-convention-center.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1353886140-Ph2qN9dYcyz/nZI0VjxVpQ

[Nathan_in_DC]

I didn't know the best place for this link. A story from the NYT on the MCC and Omni...

http://www.nytimes.c...Ycyz/nZI0VjxVpQ

Interesting article.

The last comment about the convention center not doing anything to make downtown more liveable was interesting. I disagree with that position though. The MCC will create activity downtown, bringing more foot traffic, stores and restaurants and, through that increase, will make it safer and more inviting. That will, in turn, make it more livable and make people want to stay downtown instead of commuting back and forth from the suburbs.

I do LOVE seeing such focus on Nashville in national print media though.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Nathan_in_PHL

[producer2]

Mr. Allyn is a Metro writer for the Tennessean. Draw your own conclusions.

[po-boy]

Interesting article.

The last comment about the convention center not doing anything to make downtown more liveable was interesting. I disagree with that position though. The MCC will create activity downtown, bringing more foot traffic, stores and restaurants and, through that increase, will make it safer and more inviting. That will, in turn, make it more livable and make people want to stay downtown instead of commuting back and forth from the suburbs.

I do LOVE seeing such focus on Nashville in national print media though.

I actually tend to agree that huge buildings like MCC make an area less inviting to actually live. That thing is just so out of human scale. I also don't like the way it breaks up the grid (although at least one road continues through/under the building). Nashville is a natural tourist destination, and I hope the investment pays off, but I would have preferred to have seen that money going to transportation which I think is Nashville's biggest issue.

[timmay143]

Interesting article.

The last comment about the convention center not doing anything to make downtown more liveable was interesting. I disagree with that position though. The MCC will create activity downtown, bringing more foot traffic, stores and restaurants and, through that increase, will make it safer and more inviting. That will, in turn, make it more livable and make people want to stay downtown instead of commuting back and forth from the suburbs.

I do LOVE seeing such focus on Nashville in national print media though.

I wonder what was the context of the quote. Anyways, felt a negative tone to the article. Informative, but a less friendly piece.

[dmillsphoto]

I pretty much ignore a lot of what the Tennessean authors write. I always feel like I am reading a biased piece based on who is interviewed and how the articles are framed.

[arkitekte]

One from the other day that I forgot to post. Gives a little more context. Taken on the 23rd.

[Neigeville]

Interesting article.

The last comment about the convention center not doing anything to make downtown more liveable was interesting. I disagree with that position though. The MCC will create activity downtown, bringing more foot traffic, stores and restaurants and, through that increase, will make it safer and more inviting. That will, in turn, make it more livable and make people want to stay downtown instead of commuting back and forth from the suburbs.

I agree. A lot depends on how the area around it develops, but it will bring thousands of visitors downtown and promote an even livelier restaurant and entertainment scene, and that will bring locals and make DT an even more desireable place to live.

I think the convention center is a brilliant investment, coming right at the time when financing costs are low, and at the point in the city's development when downtown is up and coming, but it's still possible to find this huge more or less vacant site right in the middle of things. Most convention centers are compromised in their location, kind of offset from the main action. Plus Nashville is a fun city to visit and well positioned to compete for convention business.

I'm hoping the conventioneers make use of the free green circulators, they are a great idea but I think they'd be fantastic and really practical if they had the ridership to run more frequently, and they're a great step toward getting middle class people to use transit. And an ideal conveyance for drunks getting entertained in the entertainment district.

[timmay143]

Again on the article, some wanted mass transit to be a priority over the MCC. I think it could have been done either way. I now think that mass transit will be a next priority with the E/W connector in the mix. However, it could be argued that building the MCC first was better due to prices and whatnot. Now once all these people get here we will need a way to move them around if they want, especially to and from the airport.

[Nathan_in_DC]

I agree. A lot depends on how the area around it develops, but it will bring thousands of visitors downtown and promote an even livelier restaurant and entertainment scene, and that will bring locals and make DT an even more desireable place to live.

I think the convention center is a brilliant investment, coming right at the time when financing costs are low, and at the point in the city's development when downtown is up and coming, but it's still possible to find this huge more or less vacant site right in the middle of things. Most convention centers are compromised in their location, kind of offset from the main action. Plus Nashville is a fun city to visit and well positioned to compete for convention business.

I'm hoping the conventioneers make use of the free green circulators, they are a great idea but I think they'd be fantastic and really practical if they had the ridership to run more frequently, and they're a great step toward getting middle class people to use transit. And an ideal conveyance for drunks getting entertained in the entertainment district.

Here's to hoping they advertise the heck out of it and make copious amounts of easy-to-read maps available to people in as many places as possible. Making people understand that it's not a standard bus route that can often be hard to follow and end you up in places you don't want to be is the key to getting people to use it.

Again on the article, some wanted mass transit to be a priority over the MCC. I think it could have been done either way. I now think that mass transit will be a next priority with the E/W connector in the mix. However, it could be argued that building the MCC first was better due to prices and whatnot. Now once all these people get here we will need a way to move them around if they want, especially to and from the airport.

Agreed. I think it's twofold though, putting transit in place before the MCC was built would be akin to putting the cart before he horse in the mind of the public. Having increased traffic (both pedestrian and automotive) that follows set high and medium density corridors caused by the MCC will make getting effective mass transit that much easier politically speaking. And, as you said, construction costs are just going to keep going up for the foreseeable future. The earlier you build the cheaper it'll be in the near term.

[EastOfTheCumberland]

Design is not at all too bad. We have many buildings like this in Atlanta, or should I say when I lived in Atlanta.

[smeagolsfree]

Welcome to the forum EastOfTheCumberland. I have seen you post on SSC and you are welcome. Looking to more post. Great to have the Atlanta perspective for sure.