Music City Center, 1.2 million sq. ft., $623 million

[timmay143]

Hmm, not really a fan of that design.

[BnaBreaker]

Hmm, not really a fan of that design.

Agreed, but I think it's more daring a design than what we got in the Omni. Also, at night all of those little vertical lines you see in the glass light up for a unique look.

[timmay143]

Agreed, but I think it's more daring a design than what we got in the Omni. Also, at night all of those little vertical lines you see in the glass light up for a unique look.

Yeah, I imagine that does look good. I'm waiting on the Omni to finish before I totally decide on it. I like it ok for now, but we'll see once the product is done if it gets better, worse, or just stays at, eh, for me. Regardless, I don't think it is ugly, and I'll take the build and activity for now. One day we might get something a little more spectacular.

[MLBrumby]

That hotel in Indy looks more like a "skyline" building, as opposed to a street "activator". IMHO, it looks very suburban, although the nighttime appearance sounds cool.

[TNinVB]

You are correct, theoretically a building could have no height restrictions. By right properties fronting KVB have 30 stories, with that restriction lifted if the building attains certain benchmarks (which I am not sure what they are). SoBro roundabout site seems to be very interesting.

Wouldn't it be nice if this was the view from a building one day? :-)

[dmillsphoto]

Bruceman: Yes, but just slightly to the east. This would be the view if the building was where Mercy Lounge currently is, and that building shouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon...

[timmay143]

Haha, where would that be land-wise?! The interstate?! Burj Nashville.

Edit: nm, I see dmillsphoto got it!

Edit2: Oh, and to the north a bit on KVB since there is no height limit already there.

[bwithers1]

Regarding Indianapolis, they also have this...the world's biggest JW Marriott:

I truly don't know how I missed that one - LOL! Indy has definitely been upping their game in the last few years, both in terms of new construction downtown as well as reuse of more historic buildings downtown, which now feature a lot of restaurants, bars, and retail on the ground floors. Even the Circle Center, which is a downtown mall that in some ways pulls foot traffic off the streets into corridors (which is great in the winter!), seems to me to have contributed to, rather than detracted from, their street activation.

With some buildings excepted, such as the main Hilton, Hyatt, and I guess the JW Marriott, Indy now has a very active streetlife downtown. Still, as I mentioned, they have a good array of hotel sizes from small, to medium and a few quite large ones, but their downtown isn't totally taken up by blank-walled buildings like a lot of the boxy convention hotels that I have seen.

Maybe in some respects Indy is a good model to follow?

[UTgrad09]

Kind of off topic, but I was at the convention center for the car show, and I was reminded just how cramped some of the area feels. It's still sort of an interesting building...but definitely a limiting design.

The interior decoration reminds me of that of an airport. A very 80s airport.

And just a thought...I don't think it would be too difficult to utilize at least the base of the exhibition hall as a parking garage (if they actually keep some of the building itself. A couple levels of parking would be good for Lower Broad and the arena.

[bwithers1]

The convention center is definitely very 1980s, but in sort of a good way. It's relatively timeless because it (surprise, surprise) didn't take many of the architectural or interior decorating risks of the day. No neon-colored this or that, nor the faux Victorian details that were all the rage in the late 1980s.

I'm not opposed to underground parking. But to be honest, as much as we complain about surface lots downtown, it is also populated with some pretty bad parking garages. There really are a lot of garages downtown. So if this space becomes a garage, it would most likely be built to serve whatever is constructed on the convention center site itself. Which I am hoping will generate some street activity on its own.

[markhollin]

MCC to get $20 million in upgrades including new eatery that faces out onto the intersection of 8th Avenue South and Demonbreun.  Terrific news to help activate that upper/western Demonbreun end of the building on a street that is going to become very busy with foot traffic over the next several years.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/01/05/music-city-center-receive-20m-upgrade/96207842/

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/01/05/20m-expansion-aims-to-help-nashville-beat-other.html

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/development/article/20848275/mcc-to-undergo-199m-expansion

[UTgrad09]

I started this thread...almost 12 years ago....

 

It's a neat idea....but I kind of wish they would spend money on the KVB side if they're going to do anything. That side is pretty much barren. Maybe it will feel different once development starts to fill in on the south side.

[titanhog]

9 minutes ago, UTgrad09 said:

I started this thread...almost 12 years ago....

 

It's a neat idea....but I kind of wish they would spend money on the KVB side if they're going to do anything. That side is pretty much barren. Maybe it will feel different once development starts to fill in on the south side.

Great minds... 

[smeagolsfree]

We have enough talent on this board to start a consultant company for sure. That has been discussed , tongue and cheek at the meets.

[UTgrad09]

10 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

We have enough talent on this board to start a consultant company for sure. That has been discussed , tongue and cheek at the meets.

Let's do it.

[markhollin]

From today's Nashville Post:

The Metro Development and Housing Agency Design Review Committee Tuesday voted to approve a concept plan that will see a major addition to the outdoor plaza at SoBro’s Music City Convention Center. The $19.9 million MCC expansion will include additional concourse, retail, kitchen and prefunction space.

Construction at the SoBro convention facility is expected to begin soon and is slated for completion by the end of the year, according to a release. Specifically, the project will see the construction of a food and beverage outlet and an expansion of the Exhibit Hall and Davidson Ballroom concourse space, according to the release.

The expansion will add 5,000 square feet of additional concourse space and 4,350 square feet of retail and kitchen space on the Exhibit Hall level as well as 2,000 square feet of additional pre-function space outside the Davidson Ballroom.

[markhollin]

Work underway on the restaurant space to face the outdoor plaza on the NW corner of the MCC.  Looking eastward from intersection of 8th Ave. South and Demonbreun:

 

[VSRJ]

Somewhat off topic, but are there any renderings of some of the other convention center proposals that didn't make the cut? I'm just curious as to what the options were, and my search hasn't turned up much.

[markhollin]

MCC generates $56.3 million in economic impact in first quarter of 2017:

http://www.nashvillepost.com/business/tourism/article/20857715/mcc-generates-563m-in-impact-for-quarter

[TheRaglander]

Work being done on the KVB side. Upper level. 

[RonCamp]

20 hours ago, TheRaglander said:

Work being done on the KVB side. Upper level. 

[pic removed]

Anyone know what this is about?

[PruneTracy]

1 hour ago, RonCamp said:

Anyone know what this is about?

Metro is expanding the mezzanine concourse and adding a reception area for the oft-forgotten Davidson Ballroom.

[markhollin]

MCC restaurant update on NW corner of site.

Looking east along Demonbreun from intersection with 8th Ave. South:

 

 

Looking SE from intersection of Demonbreun and 8th Ave. South:

[KJHburg]

Your convention center is great no wonder you are in the big leagues of conventions and it looks like you are working on surrounded it with hotels in every direction. 

[Nashtitans]

^Please keep taking pictures. They're great