uberkarnie

Like Eddie Arnold, Yucca filamentosa is native to TN.

apologies for the low light, but I guess they pulled this one down today.

They're also not as familiar with zoning/development procedure as some of us who are more obsessed. Many can't get over that the site is zoned for 30 units, even though that zoning also would allow additional office space. They don't realize that it's an outdated and ridiculous zoning designation from a more suburban focused era. I'm not sure the St Louis based developers were prepared for the blowback, but it's the same design team as before, so they should have been prepared.

I like it, and I think it will set the tone for 8-10 lots in this corridor that are also under-zoned/underdeveloped. I think my neighbors need to understand that we could almost extend the feel of the village all the way to Woodlawn with several of these projects over the next 15-20 years. Then we can start to talk about dedicated bus lanes, protected bike lanes etc. They all want and love a walkable neighborhood and also want expanded transit options. They don't realize that's not happening until the need is there with the way Nashville approaches transit. I'm going to suggest that they seek elevated crosswalks at every intersection on West Linden between Natchez Trace and 21st to be paid by the developer. This would alleviate concerns about speeding/cut throughs etc and be a template for the rest of the neighborhood/city. To my knowledge, these are not currently available solutions under the NDOT traffic calming program. (I have no idea how much this would cost, just thinking of possible solutions.) This, combined with the project already mitigating existing stormwater issues for properties to the west, ought to sway all but the owners closest to the project. [I still want to push for an affordable component, but that seems like a reach]

Also, 85% 1BR, 15% 2BR

I attended the first meeting between the development team and neighbors in my role on the HWEN board on Tuesday. This was an initial meeting meant for immediate neighbors of this project only (maybe 50 people,) future meetings will include the broader neighborhood/community. The plan is for "luxury" rental. The meeting was contentious, with several neighbors storming out during Q&A. I think the massing of this new design is a significant improvement, all height is located along 21st and the southern edge bordering the under construction animal hospital. The West Linden side would be designed in a row house/town house style with stoops etc. The western edge would be 3 stories. The design includes taking 12' on the west side of the property, combining that with an existing 12' ROW to add a buffer alley/entrance on the back side between the development and existing houses. It also takes 12' from the property on the West Linden side to add on street parking and landscaping elements. They want to put a small green space and outdoor dining for the retail space at the intersection of 21st and West Linden. The developers mentioned that NDOT will not allow a traffic signal at the intersection, but has agreed to the previous plan of a signaled crosswalk. They're going to have to go back to the drawing board on this or do some serious community outreach, though. Several neighbors insisted it should not be taller than 5 stories, others were mad about only having 217 parking spaces. The biggest concern was traffic. Both entrances would be on West Linden with the one closest to 21st being right turn only for ingress and egress. The other entrance would be from the newly created "alley" mentioned before. This would certainly funnel most traffic towards Natchez Trace or Woodlawn as a left turn onto 21st would be difficult most of the time. I certainly have traffic concerns and wish it included some percentage of affordable units, but the land owners have super deep pockets and are asking a fortune, so something has to give.

this is from two weeks ago, but thought the lighting elements were interesting.

In time this will merit a separate thread, but Vanderbilt announced it will close Morgan, Lewis, Mayfield, and Chafin in 2024 to begin demo/construction on “Highland Quad” on 25th ave. Expected to be completed for the 2027-28 academic year. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/07/26/three-new-residential-colleges-planned-for-highland-quad/

biked by this a couple of times over the last week and it is even more massive in person. an aside, are we going to get a steakhouse on the killing floor or what?

That view coming in from Ashland City where you can catch everything from 440/west end to downtown is going to be wild.

I think I joined shortly after the Siggy announcement . . . my bottles were drained long ago, not in celebration, but out of impatience.

My wife had a photography assignment, so I got to snag her season ticket and go to the game. It was a fantastic atmosphere. I was going to catch the bus from the Vanderbilt area, but kept walking since I was ahead of schedule. The bus never caught me so I walked the whole way. (maybe running more than one bus every hour+ on game days would be something the city could consider?) I didn't think traffic getting to the game was bad, but a buddy with parking on the race track offered a ride home and we sat on the track for over 45 minutes (after milling about the pro-shop/stadium for 30-45 mins+ post-game) before finally getting routed through the track tunnel to Nolensville Rd. They are going to have to figure out some logistics for post game, people seemed to come super early expecting the log jam pre-game, which probably helped minimize congestion ahead of time. Only real complaint I had was that the concourse is closed at club seating, would be nice to let people walk around the whole stadium.

Of the "major*" US cities, only Anchorage, Jacksonville, OKC, Houston, and Phoenix have a larger land area than Nashville. *population over 200K

To provide some clarity, the average student cost to attend Vanderbilt is only around $20k due to opportunity Vanderbilt. That program and all of these buildings are funded exclusively by the last two decades of extremely generous alumni giving fueled by a fairly aggressive outreach by the University. Also, no shareholders nor traditional profit margins at stake, it's all about building the brand of the University.

I'm on the HWEN board (obviously not commenting in that capacity here) and there seems to be strong opposition to this project. Primary concerns revolve around parking, traffic, density/massing, and stormwater. This plan represents a revision from one we saw last year and this is reflected in the step back in height on the back side of the property and the 10 fewer units from the initial proposal. Many seem to be concerned that the property is currently zoned for no more than 30 units so 180 seems like a huge jump, but there is evidence this spot can handle this development imo. The proposed traffic signal would just be a pedestrian crossing, not a full traffic light. I'm confident this will undergo several more revisions before it begins the zoning process with Metro. This certainly seems like a more thoughtful treatment of the lot than existing buildings between Blair and 440. Many in the neighborhood want expanded affordable housing options; that might be something the developers could use in their favor working towards a compromise.

This one looks to me like they were tasked with building another office building for Cool Springs, made up of parts from five existing Cool Springs office buildings.

I may be incorrect, but I remember hearing when this was announced that the dorms would all be in the primary structure and the tower would be apartments for visiting faculty, guest lecturers, etc. The University does not currently provide "preferred" housing to wealthier/more prominent students. Housing assignments are based only on a points system assigned by class (1 point per year attended up to 4) with extra half points given to students returning from GEO study abroad programs. The only preferential decision I'm aware of is anecdotal, but I did hear years ago that the card access system on all buildings was implemented as a security measure when one of the Perot children/grandchildren attended in the '90's.

In 1999 Vanderbilt had an acceptance rate of 61%. Applications have increased from 9754 in 2001 to 29500 in 2014 and 37310 in 2019. The most recent acceptance rate was 9.1%. Of the current student body, 67% receive financial aid and the average aid package is over $54000. Only 30% of graduates pursue graduate school(70% of those get into their first choice). All of these figures demonstrate that the quality of student has dramatically shifted in the last two decades. Average entrance test scores have increased over 10%. Vanderbilt doesn't have to accept all the good in-state/regional applicants anymore because they are swamped with elite applicants from all over. Yet, as NashWellington11 pointed out, Tennessee accounts for ~10% of undergrads, by far the most of any state. The South accounts for 32% of students this year. These are all expected side effects of dramatically changing the University profile in a relatively short period of time. So today, Vanderbilt is more diverse, more selective, has greater appeal, and is on average significantly more affordable than at any point in its history. Vanderbilt offers 69 majors compared to 53 at Duke, 54 at Belmont, 58 at Stanford, and 70 at Columbia. Athletics is an entirely different topic and largely unrelated to quality of education, but the last twenty years have been the most successful by far of any period in Vanderbilt athletic history. They are nationally competitive year in and year out in every sport outside of Football and Basketball. Yet, six of the nine bowls in University history came in the last 11 years. They've won five of the last eight against their biggest rival not long after ending a 22 year losing streak. Eight out of fifteen all time NCAA tournament appearances for men's basketball have come in the last 16 basketball seasons. This includes two of the six ever Sweet 16 appearances. Baseball has improved not because the talent pool has decreased, but because it has built a program that attracts elite talent away from the minor leagues. Though most elite players still go the route of the minors, the numbers of major leaguers coming out of the college ranks are at an all time high. Vanderbilt's athletic department has claimed 5 National titles in the last 13 years (UT has 3 in the same time frame). Obviously, there are issues at Vanderbilt that still need to be addressed and the last couple of seasons have been dreary for the revenue sports. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, Vanderbilt has undergone a transformation in two decades that is nothing short of remarkable and it isn't slowing down yet. Alumni should continue to apply pressure to the board and administration, there is still room for improvement; but there is so much to be proud of.

Is this . . . serious? I'd be interested to hear more details about what gives you this impression. I've spent daily time on campus the last couple of years after almost 20 years away. I assure you, the University is far more impressive in nearly every measurable way than it was in the late '90's. Vanderbilt has added new majors and encourages interdisciplinary studies so that most students now graduate with a double major or multiple minors. The campus plan has everything to do with recognizing changing dynamics in higher ed as well as responding to the new level of competition Vanderbilt faces, having raised the University profile dramatically in the last couple of decades. While Belmont is certainly doing good things and making bold changes, they also are facing some serious growing pains. I hope they keep improving, but these two institutions are not comparable. They serve dramatically different purposes. Vanderbilt has made some decisions I disagree with, but the Board is following a long range plan laid out twenty five years ago. The moves have transformed quality of life for the students (the financial aid changes alone have been unbelievably important). University leadership seems to be positioning Vanderbilt to be able to maintain and hopefully expand upon recent success. The campus plan is a big part of this, but overall it goes much deeper than fancy dorms and land banking.

I feel confident that a new gym is not something they are now or would ever consider.

Specific designs for that area are still in play. Parking seems to be something Vanderbilt believes is outside of the long term need with regard to broader University goals. I think this is interesting to watch; Vanderbilt seems firm in its understanding that mass parking will not be a long term University concern.

It's my understanding that scale is an important consideration in the campus redevelopment master plan. They could have solved some existing housing shortages by designing any of the recent projects taller, but the long term goal is about fostering a cohesive architectural environment. I think it will make more sense when this project and Greek Row are finished and designs for the next faze of redevelopment pending demolition of Branscomb, the Morgan/Lewis towers and Chaffin/Mayfield (including the 25th ave garage) are finally released.

Carmichael 3 and 4 are scheduled to come down beginning this May. Towers 1 and 2 are scheduled to come down beginning in May of '20.

400 degrees never closed; Aqui has just changed locations a couple of times. She left the third and peabody location a couple of years ago when she bought a building in Bordeaux. She has been running out of a food truck in the parking lot during a long remodel but opened up the inside last year. They have beer on tap now and are located next to the Auto Zone. As far as hot chicken: prince's, 400 degrees, and bolton's are the only hot chicken places in town. The rest . . . is wrong.

I was able to sample most of the Green Pheasant menu the week prior to open and the food was really good. They were revising some details, but they had decent variety, and I would gladly try any item again. The trout was absolutely stunning; it should be their signature dish. I'm not sure about the interior design, it felt fine when I was the only person there, but I stopped in briefly while they were busy last weekend and can see how the aesthetic might overwhelm some people.