xtianpoop

Not the best quality, but a screenshot I ripped from Cashew shows nice progress west along the North Shore. 10 North apartments about finished Crane showing 5 Points at North Shore's progress CADAS building about finish can be seen as well 325 Cherokee office completion 300 Cherokee progress 427 Cherokee office completion Signal Mill progress and several developments along N Market Density looking nice. If only we could throw in a stop light or two along Cherokee to help tame the speed, and we may just yet have a thriving, pedestrian corridor to add to our roster. It's interesting to see development patterns going west simultaneously- North Shore (leaving Frazier to move along Cherokee), Southside (firmly developing W Main St), & even Westside (Riverfront Pkwy)

I think the coliseum/auditorium project will go a long way for the city, especially if the grid is returned. Add to it the new downtown hotels in works, the old Baptist hospital site, and Cumberland's completion, and Knoxville is getting its shine back.

No doubt a possibility. If it could happen with NPSL darlings CFC with Volkswagen & VfL Wolfsburg of Bundesliga, then I would it expect to happen sooner rather than later with USL/MLS Nashville with Nissan & any English team, like Manchester City, at minimum.

There is definite construction and growth, but not many active UPers. I think the lack of enthusiasm compared to places in Nash & Chatt is that because Knox - from my experience living there for 4 years recently - is mostly suburban/metro with downtown seen more as student & novelty (though this is changing). Nash is growing from reinvestment, but also from a strong economy coupled with great infrastructure on all levels (minus transportation, of course). Chatt is growing a lot because of the economy (downtown in particular) & the years of reinvestment efforts, but the demand for housing has been strong in part to a debit of housing stock. Knox has a wonderful stock already, especially rental. They are economically growing, but as far as downtown - with exception to Regal - the university is their only center. I've said for years: remove UT from Knox, and the city would be unrecognizable. The same couldn't be said for Vanderbilt, U of Memphis, UTC. Being said, here are some recent developments. Beautiful addition to Fort Sanders Children's Hospital: the Scripps Network Tower Knoxville had large & successful growth with breweries, and they are quite tasty. http://knoxvillealetrail.com/ In the same vain, Knoxville is growing in the food scene as well. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/knoxville-better-than-nashville_us_56e19658e4b0b25c9180edd2 New housing project downtown: Regas Square http://www.knoxnews.com/story/money/business/2017/02/06/regas-square-developers-break-ground-40m-downtown-project/97550526/ With Cumberland Ave work wrapped up, I imagine we will see more development along it ("The Strip") and surrounding downtown areas. http://wate.com/2017/08/17/28-month-construction-project-wraps-up-on-cumberland-avenue/ These are just a few examples of growth. I have a feeling that with the renewed energy and sense of place Knoxville is experiencing, we will begin to see much more growth like seen in Nashville & Chattanooga. Offices relocating downtown, more firms coming online, etc. TVA is vacating their towers downtown, which leaves plenty of spaces for recruitment, relocation, or many new types of office use, such as a co-working space.

Hotel on Frazier Ave receives OK to add 4th floor from street. Request for 50 ft settled at 45 ft. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2017/nov/10/north-shore-hotel-proposal-wins-city-okreques/456725/

Very tasteful finish. Reminds me of the new LifeWay HQ

I'm having a lazy Sunday, so I decided to throw together progress on the E 3rd St corridor while maybe inciting some fun conjecture of the future. State Building Commission okays planning for new UTC building, put at 160k-200k sq ft, is to be finished in 5 years should everything go smoothly. Spot is E 3rd St and Palmetto. What could this look like? Let's take a look at Campus Master Plan from 2012. Seems to bleed into Erlanger's ongoing expansion, doesn't it? Let's see. UTC pings that block in 2012 study as "residential." Looks like that's changed now with combining student programs into one building and partnering with Erlanger & UT Health Science Center. What does the River City Company's 2016 report show for this spot? Maybe closer to an idea of what the facility could look like, but as we knew from the start of the post, the design is not only far from here, it will likely change many times over throughout the course of 5 years, as can be seen from the 4 years worth of reports above. Nonetheless, it's still fun to see the potential and what-could-have-been. Bonus fun: Remember this? From 5 to 8-stories, this mixed-used apartments building on E 3rd & Central Ave (or location #7 in image above this), across from Erlanger looks to be moving forward. I haven't seen or heard signs, but DeFoor has been attached to it. The brothers are coming towards the end of their work with the Westin and the surrounding few blocks - now regrettably being referred to as the "West Village" - so they may soon take this on. Unless they are waiting for the Central Ave extension to Amnicola. We'll see if this one stays afloat or not. Last update 6/2017.

There used to be 2 motels off 27. I remember reading about opposition to hotels on the North Shore, but I've no idea. Guess would be until recently, the only part worth getting into was Frazier Ave, but it has been difficult for developers of any sort there for any type. Add the price to the difficulty, the growing CBD south, and the hotels clustering (in small part to River City Company), that would be where I hang my hat. Wasn't the time for North Shore.

Yes! I saw the sign up, and someone tipping off on Chattanosy.com. Nice to see this happening, and with photos I hope he gets the rezoning, and that he builds it to the height of the penthouses being built next to the Nautillus building at Market x Frazier x Cherokee corner. Here's the updated CTFP blip on it: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2017/oct/11/north-shore-hotel-proposed21-room-hotel-would/453802/ "'I don't know that the hotel part bothers me," she said, rather it's adding the extra height. "I'm reserving judgment.' David Sherrill, manager of the Brewhaus pub at 224 Frazier, said a hotel could boost business. However, he said, the Walnut Street Bridge needs to be considered. 'If it's not built right, it could put a damper on the walking bridge," he said. "It sounds great if they take into consideration the walking bridge.'"

Strange trend to note, too, because within the last year, an LA family and Chicago family have moved into my parents' neighborhood in North Chattanooga. Beautiful, to be sure, but a run-of-the-mill, mixed-income neighborhood about 50 years+ age. Their neighbor's house was put up for sale, and within 14 hours, it had 17 offers on it- the winning going to Chicago family. I remarked at the time about the events as "very Nashville."

Yes, John Wise. Noticed today, too, a permit (?) sign on Williams St. for "Williams St. Townhomes" presumably of the surface lot there.

Nabbed this picture from the opening vid on TenGig Festival's page. Surely not the most clear, but it must have been shot within the 2 weeks. You can see a lot of the construction progress in it. Couldn't resist adding another angle to this from a Westin Chattanooga ("Gold Building") video:

I may be an outlier here, but I wish Amazon would break up the lot a bit more strategically. I understand why many metros are excitedly rushing to put together their best packages, projections, and accolades, but it as I see it now, there isn't a perfect city for HQ2. That is, there isn't one city that hits every single mark 100%. Especially on the, "will x city be able to fill 50k jobs?" notion. Beyond the 10-years+ plus expected rollout, I wouldn't hesitate to say that 50% of the jobs will come from domestic immigration. That Nashville can't fill the jobs now, doesn't knock it out of the running. I want to highlight the above, and posit the following: would a statewide effort led by Nashville weigh more heavily in the favor of landing Amazon? Surely not every office communicates with the frequency of needing a 10-minute minimum walk from one building to the next. Amazon Web Services, for instance, could exist in its own right. With data center expansion, old-school-industry strong software companies, top-5 smartest grids in the world, reliable & inexpensive electricity (not to mention 1gb-10gb internet speeds), and a fiber-optic line direct connection to ATL...couldn't there be a strength for AWS or another strategic infrastructure of the Amazon company to locate in SE TN (Chattanooga or thereabouts)? This brings me to my greater point, but before I go there, Tennessee cities all have their strengths on a competitive level enough to elicit all the needs of an HQ2. Dare I say even more than we may realize.* Greater point: Stemming from the success & idea of the state aligning all levels of government to secure the most competitive offer, could you imagine the success that could be had regionally? The most obvious triangle to me would include the two points of Nashville & Atlanta (including Marietta, Roswell, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, WilCo) anchoring the partnership, with the other candidates being Charlotte (a personal favorite for HQ2 if had to go to SE city, sorry Nashville, you are in my dreams) or Birmingham. Birmingham the least, least, least likely, BUT I include because the existing connections to the 2 major points of NSH and ATL are stronger than were we to include Charlotte. Details and semantics aside, what do we think about a regional (state to literal, southeast region) approach? * Fun side-note while we're noting Amazon connections: a lesser-realized connection is that Nash and Chatt have so far been the only cities to host the worldwide Alexa conference, dealing with Amazon's Alexa audio technology.

Agreed. YES, Waterside. You're right. This initial rendering (subject to change with public input, financing, etc), does leave quite a bit to be desired. It's abutting the interstate, right, but there is a lot to be left to the imagination as far as a premiere "gateway" to the city. Heck, Baltimore's stadium is much more of a welcome than what can be determined here. Even our current stadium at the wrong entrance (not including the bright new billboard in this). I'm not so impressed, I guess is what I'm saying.

I know it's only an urban neighborhood, not CBD, but I feel dejected seeing these surface lots. To put all this effort into raising a development (or plural) to only have it devalued by the suburban nature of surface lots? (Of course, the argument with the market is there is more ephemeral value WITH the lots; I get it.) Glad nonetheless, especially with the minimum one deck. Disappointed in not seeing the transit station in the concept, at least. Tangent, sorry! Was anyone able to make it to the meetings on this? I'm sad I missed them.

Agreed, and the spot is a much more advantageous gateway to the city than by the river. If you're traveling south on 27, chances are you're living in greater Chatt, and potentially have been for a while.

That's disappointing, especially when Finley was finally just starting to see life come back to those old bones. I remember about 10 years ago when people at the Lookouts (back when they helped manage) complained about the state of Finley, saying things like "Frank didn't build Finley" to the effect of "this place is falling apart." On the flip side, a new, multi-use stadium holding two teams could be a beautiful asset to the city. Image-wise, especially, it would elevate this growing place. Spoke to a Lookouts person this weekend, and I was told "it's definitely happening," re: new stadium at the foundry site.

To piggyback off this, the stadium really is falling apart. The ball started rolling with this project a few years ago, too. The new owners have a business model that they are retrofitting into the current stadium. Add these constraints with the condition, the potential growth, southward momentum, and the existing business connections to the foundry site- it's a critical mass that can't be ignored (not to mention competition with CFC). My hope is that this helps the train (which I believe would go near the site, if not have a stop there with pre-existing lines) get off the ground. Basically, current stadium: Poor condition Poor vendor access Outdated facilities (including media) A/C (not enough boxes) Parking problems Not apart of the community My personal additions: People have always complained about the angle it's facing Tensions with the site

Taken from the Edney rooftop today. Process on Chestnut street (center, between TVA peaks). Foreground is luxury apartments, Birmingham developer, and background is the 1905 Chestnut St. abutting the highway (111?)

Yeah that was very surprising. I wonder, too, if the horse stables are going to move off that street.

I finally found the time to upload these shots taken sometime within the last 3 months (has anyone else had an incredibly busy summer?). I apologize now for any poor, cellphone quality shots, and for delivering scattered development updates that are also behind to their current builds. With that, you can cross-reference and up-to-date (in a sense) list here with River City Co., but can also check out the new https://chattanosy.com/ site, which seems like a novel idea that's breeding some urbanist interest with the periphery. I like. RIVERFRONT / BLUFF VIEW ARTS DISTRICT Edwin Thatcher luxury, boutique hotel by Vision Hospitality (Gettys Group on brand dev; Vision aspires to make this a Conde Nast hotel) I'm not sure how welcome these may publicly be, so I will share the outset of the nixed expansion plans of the children's museum on Chestnut (intentionally avoiding posting name) for the now-renovation plans. The dates on the slides individually are mixed, so some of these may be old news (re: the thwarted, pipe-dream 4th St Pedestrian zone) UTC DISTRICT New dorm on Vine St. Grabbed a snap from the camera, too. CITY CENTER DISTRICT Couldn't help but screenshot these aerials from @rockcreekaviation on Instagram. They have great shots, and they will share to their story the downtown flights usually. Edney Building (10-story yellow, foreground, attached to Warehouse Row) currently undergoing renovations of first floor mainly, plus exterior & general upkeep. Westin (gold building left) is undergoing renovations, as is Read House (10+ story brick in front of striped, faux-brutalist box left-center frame) the old Bank Building as it's becoming Indigo Hotel (white creme left-center 16-story First TN 60's ugly gray/brown clad to right which has 14 floors being turned into apartments). The green-roof building hiding behind a larger twin, the MacLellan Building, is currently under renovations to become apartments. 2nd photo shows finished Tomorrow Building (where you can find a Zuckerberg as of this weekend), almost-finished 10-story mixed-used, majority residential in foreground. Let's not forget the aging Smithsonian displayed Federal and Court building or the finished and currently largest mural in the United States just peeking out from the top. SOUTHSIDE HISTORIC DISTRICT 1905 Chestnut housing next to Finley. Supposed to be affordable for downtown workers. Lot on Main St across from fire station, in front of Flying Squirrel, next to Niedlov's. Haven't found anything regarding, but from a friend who did PT a few years back at the now-razed facility, the plan for the site was long set to be condos. Just up the street (seriously) you'll find these "SoHo-inspired" townhomes*** on the newly renovated Passenger Street (inspiration: Printer's Alley, Beale St) with the Songbirds Guitar museum, Revelry Room, Comedy Catch, Stir, Hush, and Frothy Monkey all up and running full-speed ahead. Soon, there is to even be a private dog park to be housed within a building (did I read that right?). Of course on the Choo Choo property, a public road will be added back to the city grid with the moving of Track 29, another hotel->residential conversion, and the building of luxury apartments in the back near the disputed historic train building & the also-disputed chicken plant (1/2). ***To be candid, I find the marketing & descriptor of build to be as lazy and generic as the design, BUT I will take the infill, taxes back on roll, and economic impact. Silver lining (and to be fair, the graffiti-art facing it from the Choo Choo has equally uninspired lyrics, design, and use of Comic Sans (not joking) font, so the buildings are in good company).

100% agree. As Nashville moves further up the market into a top-tier city, or even further as a global city, these tentpoles are not only wanted, but expected. On the tourist end, I know that whenever I'm up working in NYC or Philly, I make a point to stop by Uni Qlo. Now THAT is a place to experience.

@Titans10 I'm glad to see the Bristol project finally start. I tried to search using http://chattablocks.com/, but nothing pulled up. Is there another way to look at permits?

Could it be the CADAS 4-story you're talking about? I think I saw them starting it. Or maybe it's already started?

Some photos from the tower at the children's museum this weekend. Edwin Hotel just peeking out behind those townhomes & apartments on Walnut Hill.