Nashville Bits and Pieces

[markhollin]

A review of some of Nashville's more popular boutique hotels.  Includes a handful of pics of room interiors:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/life/entertainment/12th/2016/08/22/nashvilles-boutique-hotels-closer-look/89064450/

[CenterHill]

2 hours ago, bhibbs said:

The TennesseanVerified account‏@Tennessean

The Tennessean to sell offices, pursue new Nashville home http://tnne.ws/2bpOVFM 

 

The Tennessean is putting its longtime offices up for sale, as the media company considers a new downtown Nashville home better suited for its expanding digital operation.

Though no sales price has been named, the 10-acre property at 1100 Broadway covers a full city block adjacent to the booming Gulch neighborhood and is expected to fetch a sizable price for The Tennessean's parent company, Gannett Co. Inc.

Whoa.   This is huge.  Between the Tennessean's 10 acres, the LifePoint campus and the Endeavor project, the west side of downtown could be completely transformed over the next 10 yrs.    

There are 8 developers with ready to go plans from the MDHA Trolley Barn bid process.   With a few modifications, any of those could work on the Tennessean site.    

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, bhibbs said:

The TennesseanVerified account‏@Tennessean

The Tennessean to sell offices, pursue new Nashville home http://tnne.ws/2bpOVFM 

 

The Tennessean is putting its longtime offices up for sale, as the media company considers a new downtown Nashville home better suited for its expanding digital operation.

Though no sales price has been named, the 10-acre property at 1100 Broadway covers a full city block adjacent to the booming Gulch neighborhood and is expected to fetch a sizable price for The Tennessean's parent company, Gannett Co. Inc.

GREAT news!!

[smeagolsfree]

Based on what other land has sold for in that area, they asking price is probably in the 80 million dollar range.

[markhollin]

Nashville's top 5 commercial real estate firms ranked by volume:

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2016/08/22/top-of-the-list-commercial-real-estate-firms-sales.html

[Nashtitans]

Wonder if a high rise could be built in that area

[markhollin]

Nashville having hard time keeping up with demand for new homes:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/08/22/nashville-struggling-meet-demand-new-homes/89099810/

[NissanvilleTitans]

Just got back from Buffalo Wild wings. They have a Nashville hot chicken wing sauce now. It's pretty killer. 

[UTgrad09]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

Nashville having hard time keeping up with demand for new homes:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2016/08/22/nashville-struggling-meet-demand-new-homes/89099810/

88,000 homesites needed in 5 years??

Whoa.

[Pyramid Scheme]

14 minutes ago, UTgrad09 said:

88,000 homesites needed in 5 years??

Whoa.

Is that more evidence that high rises aren't necessarily wrong for Nashville?

[bigeasy]

Quote

 

In the second quarter, the average prices of a new, detached, single-family home in the Nashville area rose to a record $381,100, up from $346,000 at the same time in 2015, according to Metrostudy's latest field survey. "With prices above the $300,000s, affordability may soon become an issue," said Eugene James, the firm's senior regional director over the Nashville market.

Guess I am going to be stuck in my townhome for the rest of my life. Or just have to move to another city. Do people in Nashville make this much money, or are most people having incredibly high mortgages? 

Edited August 24, 2016 by bigeasy

[Will]

That stat is misleading. The median price for a single-family detached home in Nashville is $267K. What it looks like they did is average that with the median for Williamson County, which is $452K, and presto, a "Nashville-area" home looks really expensive. Of course, if they factored in Cheatham, Sumner, Wilson, etc., the average would likely be lower than $267K.

The article also only focuses on the supply of vacant raw lots, which is only a portion of the calculation for housing supply. I don't see the point of publishing such an article without including the larger context of multifamily units, rentals, existing lots, HPRs, etc. 

[shanky]

21 hours ago, NissanvilleTitans said:

Just got back from Buffalo Wild wings. They have a Nashville hot chicken wing sauce now. It's pretty killer. 

Speaking of Chicken, Prince's is opening up new location on South side, mere minutes from me, and they're serving beer as well!  I have put my cardiologist on speed dial!!!

[bigeasy]

3 hours ago, shanky said:

Speaking of Chicken, Prince's is opening up new location on South side, mere minutes from me, and they're serving beer as well!  I have put my cardiologist on speed dial!!!

Woot! I saw that also. Will be about a mile from there. Did you ever go to the place it is replacing? 3rd Base Bar or something like that. 

[markhollin]

The fifth season of "Nashville" will debut on CMT on Jan. 5th:

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2016/08/24/cmt-sets-premiere-date-for-new-season-of-nashville.html

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 1/5/2016 at 5:08 PM, Nathan_in_DC said:

Just got back to DC after two weeks home in Tennessee. Sad that I didn't make any meetups (again...).

Some thoughts:

- I continue to be shocked by the ongoing construction. New stuff going up in all parts of town. It has its concentration in the CBD, Gulch, and Midtown areas, but it is by no means contained there. I wish I had bought stock in crane companies in the Nashville area 10 years ago.

- The hotel stock seems like it is set to double from just a couple of years ago. The Westin and Thompson projects seem to be the most visible, and what people are talking about, but it's incredible just how much it's grown since the completion of the MCC.

- The KVB/8th South/Lafayette roundabout is set to become a focal point of the city, I think. Unfortunately we're stuck with Stix. I know I've harped on it enough, but having seen it up close and personal in its almost-complete state, I still am extremely underwhelmed. No, not underwhelmed...angered. Huge opportunity that was lost to some New Age design-by-committee crap.

- Very impressed with how the Gulch is filling in. Not necessarily my cup of tea to hang out at, but it has its moments.

- Hipsters are EVERYWHERE. I seriously felt like I was in Portland or Williamsburg, Brooklyn in a few places. Not that it's a bad thing...I tend to like things that come out of hipster-dom.

- Speaking of which, bring on the Bongo Java and Barista Parlor! Over priced, sure, but damn fine coffee that beats anything I can find in DC.

- Even if the city is getting a major infusion of hip-ness, it still has a lot of Old South vibe, especially out in the western parts of town, and is keeping the traditional country scene front and center. I don't think Nashville is about to lose its soul any time soon. It will continue to evolve, but it'll remain recognizable.

- Apartments may be expensive, but the beer is still cheap. I can get a Yazoo at a restaurant or bar for $4 and it isn't Happy Hour? The PBR is still $2.50 in a lot of places? Sign me up.

- Transit, transit, transit! I hope that Mayor Berry will attempt something useful in that regard. By all accounts, NYE was a nightmare trying to get out of the CBD and beyond. Tried getting an Uber and a Lyft in the vicinity of 14th Ave and South St., gave up and walked. Having a reasonable bus system, or, *gasp*, a fixed route service, would just make Nashville a better place to live, work, and visit. It's reaching its carrying capacity and without something soon, people are going to start giving up on living any semblance of an urban lifestyle.

A few months ago I made the above observations, and I wanted to give an update after being in town last weekend and doing a little drive-around.

-To start, the above comments still apply. The only major change is to my reservations about Stix. I got the chance to finally see it up close, in and out of the car, and while going around the roundabout. It looks cheap. It looks hokey. It is poorly constructed (the posts aren't treated or lacquered and are already graying). It plays on the Native American theme to get away with being bad public art. Worst of all though is the fact that it's just unimaginative. In a city with such a vibrant creative scene, Nashville got stuck with a bunch of monotonously painted telephone poles thrust in odd angles in a new, exciting focal point.

-Not impressed with the under-construction downtown diner. The exterior faux-brick panels look absurdly hokey.

-Traffic isn't good, but it's not bad. Definitely nothing like DC or Philadelphia, for sure. But it's going to be if things keep growing like they are now.

-Nashville continues to have some of the worst sidewalks I've ever seen. Was walking to Cumberland Transit and Three Brothers on Saturday morning, dodging weeds, broken concrete, and poorly timed lights. I feel like I've never seen so many huge weeds on sidewalks connecting to a major thoroughfare in such a high profile location. 

-Not only is pedestrian infrastructure bad, the attitude of drivers towards pedestrians, even in the CBD, is worse. Almost got hit a number of times going through a crosswalk with the light because people weren't paying attention or expressing any intent to yield.

-The issue with homelessness in Nashville doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon, and the city or state doesn't seem to have any plan or interest with dealing with it. I don't mean to start a flame war with this bullet, but something has GOT to be done. The fact that visitors and residents can't enjoy a park downtown (namely, the one across Church Street from the Library), because it's a full-on homeless encampment, is absurd. I don't know what the solution is, but I imagine it lies within a combination of better mental health and rehabilitation services, and enforcement of existing or new anti-vagrancy/anti-panhandling laws. All I know is that I watched an obviously mentally unstable woman dig a piece of pizza out of a trash can, throw a mouse off of it, and chow down. 

[rookzie]

1 hour ago, Nathan_in_DC said:

A few months ago I made the above observations, and I wanted to give an update after being in town last weekend and doing a little drive-around.

Thanks for that recap of your assessment, Nathan.  Since you've been living away from the region for quite some time now, it's likely probably a bit easier to be a bit more objective in your observations than those like me, who have become so disgusted and used to it, that they have become "comfortably numb" to it.  I'm sick and tired of having to walk into the roadway beneath the 4th and 5th Ave. North RR underpasses, because the sidewalks constantly have pigeon droppings (and toppings) from roosts beneath those overhead girders, and it's very easy to "spin off" on it, if one passes unaware of these hazards.  RR underpass pedestrian-way maintenance is the responsibility of the city, not the railroad. 

Plus, the stink trees (Ailanthus) literally have taken over, city-wide, and frequently observed growing and hanging over the wing-walls of bridge underpass abutment piers.  One's taking a leap of faith (and courage) to walk under the CSX underpass over Murfreesboro Road at Aladdin Industries and the Lane Motor Museum (between Menzler Rd and Arlington Ave.), as the passageways of this ancient structure stay clogged with hanging vines and washout debris, something for which there is absolutely no excuse.  Metro Public Works "never" should have to be informed of this by the reporting process, as they always should be proactive on handling such commonly known "no-brainer" problem areas.  And the trees intentionally planted along the street parkway strips have become so overgrown that they hang in one's face and buckle and break the sidewalk pavement.  Obstructions along most sidewalks force a zig-zag path, and at times an "edgewise" side-step when passing others, as on the south ped-way of the Demonbreun Street viaduct.

[MLBrumby]

Keep in mind. These are the same folks who brought you MDHA.  

[Hey_Hey]

12 hours ago, bigeasy said:

Guess I am going to be stuck in my townhome for the rest of my life. Or just have to move to another city. Do people in Nashville make this much money, or are most people having incredibly high mortgages? 

Also, these include only NEW, detached houses.  It does not include existing home sales.  There is definitely a premium paid for a new house. 

I do think attitudes will change toward housing in Nashville just as it has in larger cities previously.  No one expects to own a single family detached house in Manhattan, and people are fine with that. People rent, they buy condos, or they get roommates.  While Nashville isn't anywhere near that same level of expense for a house, I do think the expectation of purchasing a single family house in the urban core/Green Hills/Crieve Hall/etc on anything less than a 6 figure salary is gone. Condos, townhomes, and triplexes are alternatives as is buying around transit hubs away from the core that will yield easy access to the city. 

[shanky]

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 1:24 PM, bigeasy said:

Woot! I saw that also. Will be about a mile from there. Did you ever go to the place it is replacing? 3rd Base Bar or something like that. 

Yeah I used to go in there.  I would usually venture in when I didn't want to run into a big crowd.  Unfortunately, the lack of a crowd probably had a lot to do with their closing

[markhollin]

I am serving this week on a jury trying a case between some development entities around a downtown concern.  I can't say anything more right now, but it is very interesting, and my involvement on this discussion board has given me great insights as to all the behind-the-scenes machinations.  Will give a full report once the case is decided several days from now.

[titanhog]

54 minutes ago, markhollin said:

I am serving this week on a jury trying a case between some development entities around a downtown concern.  I can't say anything more right now, but it is very interesting, and my involvement on this discussion board has given me great insights as to all the behind-the-scenes machinations.  Will give a full report once the case is decided several days from now.

Hope you get to send someone to the pokey.  Will up your street cred. 

[MidTenn1]

3 hours ago, markhollin said:

I am serving this week on a jury trying a case between some development entities around a downtown concern.  I can't say anything more right now, but it is very interesting, and my involvement on this discussion board has given me great insights as to all the behind-the-scenes machinations.  Will give a full report once the case is decided several days from now.

Tell Taylor Swift we said Hi!

 

Edit: I see where she has now been excused....

Edited August 30, 2016 by PHofKS

[CenterHill]

It's always interesting, for perspective, to see other cities grappling with the same issues we are.    In Edmonton, a city roughly the size of Nashville in population, the community is upset about the city's approval of an above-grade parking pedestal under what will be the city's new tallest (a 45 story residential tower called The Emerald).   The developer explains (pretty well, actually) that it comes down to the economics of going below grade vs. what the market will pay for the units.   Above-grade pedestals are common here (way too common for my taste), but in communities that aren't used to them, people call them out for what they are - poor urban design.     

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/calgary-and-edmonton/above-grade-parking-hobbles-edmontons-tallest-high-rise/article31583437/

"Oliver residents also turned out in force to voice their concerns. “The biggest issue we have is the urban design,” says Dustin Martin, civics director for the Oliver Community League. “The developer is proposing above-grade parking, which means the second, third and fourth levels aren’t in active use. The retail bays at ground level, in our opinion, are too large. We want developments to support smaller, local business owners. We also want more affordable options and three-bedroom units for families.”

“Edmonton is still in a mentality of ‘any development is good development,’ but that’s incorrect and the faster we grow the more incorrect it becomes. Suburban councillors approved the Emerald; councillors representing the city’s core disputed it. There’s some catching up to be done in terms of how Edmonton see’s itself.”"

 

[Nashtitans]

The Nation’s 10 Busiest Submarkets For Apartment Construction... Nashville at #3.

 

http://www.realpage.com/mpf-research/mpf-research-examines-nations-10-busiest-submarkets-for-apartment-construction/

http://www.realpage.com/mpf-research/the-nations-10-busiest-submarkets-for-construction-central-nashville-tennessee/