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Regions Bank's possible New tower


chris holman

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You don't think the move to "greener" pastures (i.e. more urban settings) on account of LEED buildings and the younger vibe of downtowns will cause companies to want to locate in large intown buildings? There is already in fact a move from older (less efficient) office buildings to newer LEED certified buildings just a few blocks away. As usual, this is not yet happening en masse in Nashville, but it's happening in larger cities. It's usually not towers, but there are several on the drawing boards in Atlanta and Dallas that I know of.

I think some companies will recognize the trend and locate downtown...but I don't think that will make up a majority of businesses. Definitely not around here.

But LEED cert. does not necessitate an urban setting. Look at the Nissan HQ. It's not LEED, but it could be if it wanted to be certified. I think it's important that Nashville's downtown/midtown tries to brand itself as energy efficient and environmentally friendly in order to differentiate itself from its suburban competitors. We need to make our goals, then state our goals.

As for ANYTHING happening "en masse"....what exactly is happening "en masse" these days? This isn't the halcyon pre-bubble 2000s. In this economy, I'm not really concerned about companies moving across the street into a more efficient building. Having them be here....having them move here is the priority. Moving into a new building is just gravy.

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I'm quite aware that these are not the go-go days of yore, but (OMG!) let's hope this doesn't last for years on end. I can see at least Hentzler and some other developer succeeding in the next 2-3 years. Of course that will only happen if this economy turns around, and I acknowledge there's not a lot of hope for change these days. But you better hope this doesn't last 5-10 years.

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I'm quite aware that these are not the go-go days of yore, but (OMG!) let's hope this doesn't last for years on end. I can see at least Hentzler and some other developer succeeding in the next 2-3 years. Of course that will only happen if this economy turns around, and I acknowledge there's not a lot of hope for change these days. But you better hope this doesn't last 5-10 years.

Just a note that Hensler is not an office tower developer. He has only done one residential building with another one planned.

There could be more office tower development in the next couple of years if Nashville continues to grow and the local companies need more space.We could also see some corporate reloctions here as some companies flee the high rents of NY, Chicago and other large cities.

There is an article in the NBJ today saying there could be more office space needed because some companies may need large contiguous space that may not be availale DT. If they are building more office space in Cool Springs then they can build more office space DT. Its just how you market your product and if there is a demand for urban space then it can get built.

I do agree that the economy is a major factor and we will have to wait and see what happens in Europe and now Asia.

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Good point, I meant John Eakin. Not being in Nashville, I'm rusty on the names, but Eakin has the plan for the office building on the corner next to Hensler's proposed residential tower. But just to bolster my point further, the NBJ today has a lengthy piece on the Sarah Cannon Research Institute needing about 150k, up to 200k of space... and who saw that one coming? That's my whole point, while the national economy sucks, and Nashville has seen some large proposals tabled because of it. I just don't believe this is the permanent situation. It's just so hard to say "NO office towers will be built again!" when nobody even expected BellSouth to build anything back when I was at Vandy... and one day they announced their new tower. I mean, Emery just announced his newest lure for Fortune 500, obviously with an eye to companies not in Nashville right now. Why do those companies ONLY have to be the ones that want a suburban office park? There is interest out there... and it will bubble from beneath the surface. With the old ages of Nashville's downtown inventory, there will be demand for replacement alone... that's where Regions may tip the scales in favor of ... ? ... maybe Eakin, Palmer... maybe even Giarratana. Then again, there's that guitar building guy.

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Good points. I am constantly surprised by these announcements. Hopefully, we will see some of this come to fruition. Just when I think things are slowing down we have announcements like this. Of course as MTSU has pointed out, Nashville seems to be the king of proposals (at least in high rises) with little ever built.

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My recollection (such as it is) is that it was AmSouth that was proposing that change... it never happened, and then they were out and Regions was in.. so I figured Regions just wasn't that into the idea of the addition.

Good to know. I still would like NCC2 built. Perfect for Regions, although First Tennessee is in tower 1.

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This would be a fantastic location for apartments/condos with retail/restaurant/etc at the street. I wonder what sort of improvements the building needs to bring it up to date? I think the exterior is quite handsome, never been inside. Wish I had $6 million.

I've always thought these kinds of towers, with their strong basic structures and their open floor plans, should be used and reused for different purposes for many, many decades (even centuries?). I hate to see a building like that torn down, no matter what replaces it.

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Yeah, look up The Tower in downtown Fort Worth. It used to be Bank One's main office for the Metroplex but a F3 tornado on 28 March, 2000 significantly damaged the 488ft tall skyscraper. It stood empty for years and covered in plywood because over 60% of the windows were blown out, and it was almost imploded. Now it's a very successful condominium. I mean it is an extreme case but shows what I mean in the conversion of an office tower into a residential tower.

The Tower website:

http://www.thetowerfortworth.com/

Before the tornado as Bank One Tower:

bank1.jpg

Right after 28 Mar. 2000 tornado

bank1-t.jpg

The Tower as of today

thetower1.jpg

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no one is discussing tearing the building down, right?

The only reason I could see for tearing it down is if a developer wanted to put an even larger building in its place...and there are a number of large enough parcels in the CBD, SoBro, and The Gulch that would work that wouldn't require an expensive demolition.

It's not a pretty building...but I actually don't mind it too much. I'd much rather they just put a new skin on it rather than tear it down.

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no one is discussing tearing the building down, right?

It would cost as much to tear this down as it would to build a new one, plus if you go to wikipedia and see the largest building ever torn down, there is only one building over 300 feet ever peacefully destroyed, and that was the Singer Building in NYC in 1967-1968. It was not imploded either. Unless the building is unsafe, they don't tear down 354 foot towers! This building will be converted to apartments or condos. There is no need to even think this building will ever come down. The building in Memphis that has been vacant for 30 years in downtown Memphis is not going to be torn down. That is the 29 story Sterick Building.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterick_Building

Besides the Singer Building in NYC which was over 600 feet, this building at 380 was demolished. It was the second tallest EVER. So no, the Regions Tower will not be demolished.

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