fxvol

August 18, 2022

Thanks guys, I'll passed along the news.

August 14, 2022

There's a rumor floating among Southern Land's the Vertis residents (probably started by Southern Land management) that George Tomlin has canceled his plan to construct Eden House on the old fire station property on Richard Jones Rd. in Green Hills (next to the Vertis).

July 15, 2021

5 hours ago, Native said:

This picture, taken a few days ago looking east from Commerce and Rosa Parks, would give Guilford Dudley heartburn if he were still alive. To think that one could not see his beloved L&C Tower from four blocks away (except for the corner of the air conditioner and radio antenna which he wouldn't like either) would certainly be troubling to the former president of Life and Casualty Ins. Co.

But we like it. And we have invented words like "infill" to describe it in glowing terms. Nashville is about to get a lot more of that, whether Mr. Dudley likes it or not.

And it's all Tony G's fault! Did he have it in for Mr. Dudley? :)

June 7, 2021

Just now, fxvol said:

I'm like Smeags in that I don't remember the details about the mishandling of the 2010 flood by the Corps of Engineers; however, I was in attendance at a Wednesday night presentation given in 2014 (I think) at our church to about 400 people by Representative Jim Cooper about his investigation into the Corps and how Congress forced the Corp to change. I do remember that the investigation found that the communication system used by the Corp to measure and send water level data and to open and close flood gates to the control center malfunctioned.

Rep. Cooper pointed out that the Corp's Mission Statement included five priorities. My memory has faded, but I think the Mission Statement was changed after the investigation to move "flood control" from the fifth priority to the top priority. Cooper was rather angry that the Corp had place Electricity Generation, Fishing, Navigation and Recreation above Flood Control. He felt that the investigation showed that the Corp's Flood Control System had been neglected, poorly funded and mismanaged. Subsequent to the investigation, Rep. Cooper said he made a presentation on his plans to change the way the Corp was organized and operated to a Nashville civic club and afterward one member said to Cooper, "It would take an act of Congress to do that!" Cooper said he responded with, "Who do you think I am?"

Smeag's history lesson on TVA is very important. For those who may no have lived in Tennessee very long, it's important for you to understand TVA's uniqueness and how it has benefitted what is know as the Tennessee River Valley. TVA serves all of Tennessee and parts of seven other states. Prior to WWII, Tennessee was an agrarian state and "dirt poor," Dolly Parton can tell you all about it. Those who lived in the Tennessee River Valley suffered from frequent flooding and not having access to electricity. Farmers' crops were often destroyed by flood waters and pests.

Today, there are three types of electric companies (1) Investor-owned Utilities known as IOUs, City-owned utilities known as Municipals, and member-owned utilities known as Member Service Corporations, or Cooperatives, and usually referred to as "the Co-ops"

In general, think of the IOUs as the Big Boys like Consolidated Edison in NYC, Detroit Edison, Texas Utilities and Pacific Gas & Electric. These are large publicly-traded entities. They have the highest electric rates and are regulated by some sort of rate commission. Their tax status if for-profit. There are no IOUs in Tennessee.

The Municipals are a smaller group and were founded in the smaller cities like Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga by the local government.

Those living in rural areas had no electric service until the farmers banded together and formed electric cooperatives. Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act (and the TVA Act) in 1933 creating an agency known at the REA which makes low-interest loans to co-ops so that they can build sub-stations, power lines and service drops for commercial and residential service. Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is one of the largest co-ops in the country. It, like Duck River EMC, Nashville Electric Service and Knoxville Utilities Board are known as "TVA Distributors." TVA, which reports to Congress, is the "Generation and Transmission Company," or G&T. TVA built the facilities like the Gallatin Steam plant and the Kingston Steam Plant which are fired by coal to generate electricity. It then wholesales electricity to the "Distributors" (NES, MTEMC etc.), then the Distributors build and maintain "the grid" and retail the electricity to everyone.

Because of TVA, the Distributors in the Valley have historically had some of the lowest electric rates in the nation. For decades now, with flooding under control by TVA Hydroelectric and US Army Corp of Engineer Dams Tennessee is no longer "dirt poor." These historic initiatives created the foundation for everyone to thrive and prosper. This model has been copied by many countries around the world, and the US, through agencies like the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, REA, USAID, and the World Bank, over the past 60 plus years has assisted countries in Asia and South America and elsewhere to provide electricity to the rural parts of their countries by copying this model.

It's a great success story and having been raised in Tennessee, I will be forever grateful to the men and women at TVA and the electric power distributors for what they have accomplished. Noble is cause and deed, they are.

June 7, 2021

On 6/6/2021 at 12:08 PM, AsianintheNations said:

Cool, thanks for correcting me on that! Always appreciate a good history lesson. Do you have insights into how the dams were managed during the 2010 flood and whether there have been improvements in flood mitigation capacity since then? I was not here but what I've read is that the water had to be released from the Old Hickory Dam when Old Hickory Lake was about the overtop the dam.

May 22, 2021

On 5/21/2021 at 8:36 AM, smeagolsfree said:

Been trying to reach out!

Strange thing about the ownership on the project at 1601. The ownership is supposedly Scenic investments, but the address goes back to a student housing entity out of Austin TX. I am unsure what all of this means. The building came down in January. I am unsure what all of this means.

As to the West End Broadway split, I would not expect anything to happen for a long time. They are trying to get a tenant for the property under the Broadway sign if that says anything. These folks have never developed a dog house much less a high-rise mixed-use development. It will be a huge learning curve for them and they will have to get a development partner.

Smeags,

I'm right there with ya, pal. I did a deep dive on Scenic, and all I found were rabbit trails that exponentially raise the number of questions I have. Any info on any partner that is published is ambiguous and means nothing. Nor could I find any evidence that they have developed anything. It's clear to me that they don't want anyone to know anything about their business. IMHO, the likelihood that they are nothing but a banker is very high or nefarious.

FX

May 18, 2021

33 minutes ago, titanhog said:

Really cool. Just a few years after the Revolution.

I was studying my family’s ancestry…and discovered that most men who fought in the Revolution for America received land in TN and surrounding areas as a “thank you” for fighting and also to further expand the states westward. I had several relatives who were living in NC at the time of the Revolution…but then moved to TN when they were given large tracts of land.

I am here because of an ancestor who fought in that war from New York for which he was granted land in White County Tennessee. I was told, that at that time, White County stretched from the Kentucky line to the Alabama line. I'm unsure of the eastern and western boundaries. When my ancestors arrived in Tennessee and learned their acreage was in the wilderness they settled on Market St. in Nashville.

May 5, 2021

Haha, you're alright, you know that Smeags, you're alright.

May 5, 2021

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

Wrong Buckingham Companies, If you Are You are talking about Larry Glazer who was the founder of Buckingham Residential out of Rochester NY. This is The Buckingham Companies out of Indianapolis. Glazer and his wife died in a plane crash in 2014.

Yeah, that's the guy, Glazer. I didn't know about the plane crash and my time line was off. Thanks for letting me know, Smeags. Just one thing, did you find that in the 8 ball?

May 3, 2021

1 hour ago, Jarno said:

Hate to lose those projects (Buckingham dead for years though), but if you look at how Nasville built right through Covid while announcing new projects along the way, I would say the future is bright. When compared to Atlanta, Seattle and others, you can see how we are just now getting ready to start the boom.

When the CEO of the Indianapolis development company that built the Aertson, died unexpectedly, just as construction was beginning, I strongly doubted that the Buckingham Tower would ever be built. I'm still hopeful that it will, though.

May 1, 2021

We are so fortunate that Oracle has chosen Nashville. This development will open thousands of doors of opportunity for Nashvillians for many years to come.

February 9, 2021

3 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Great question!

I am not sure but I would bet that Metro codes is partially to blame as they cant chew gum and scratch their rear at the same time. They are running weeks if not months behind and sometimes work just has to stop because they are so backed up. Another reason maybe the fact the the Chicago construction companies just get it done more efficiently. Yates Construction is OK but the are not a Turner or AECOM. The revenues of those companies dwarf Yates by a lot.

Sounds quite plausible. Thanks Smeagol

February 9, 2021

1 hour ago, Nashcago said:

I have a question on these two towers and I'm confident someone here can help educate me. This is NOT a post to compare projects and say this is better than that, etc. but rather an observation which has me curious. I went back in the pages, and the Embassy & 1 Hotel property saw digging begin on or around January 24, 2019. Today, a little over two years later, they've recently topped out the 18 floor 1 Hotel, and seem to be near or at topping out the 30 floor Embassy. I've always felt like this development moved at a far slower pace than many others. I currently live in Chicago (but born & raised in Nashville), so I looked to see how developments here compared in terms of timeline.

There is a 2 tower development here called One Chicago. Digging on that project began on or around March 13, 2019, roughly 2 months after the Embassy property broke ground. Today One Chicago has just topped out the shorter tower at 49 floors (574ft) and has passed about 700ft on the taller tower, on it's way to a final height of 971ft.

I'm sure there are myriad reasons why comparing timelines on a hotel property versus a residential property are not apples to apples, but can you all help me understand why the Embassy/1 Hotel property has risen 18 and roughly 28 or so floors in two months more time than another development has risen 49 and roughly 60 floors? Just curious how engineering, foundations, etc. may differ to explain the different. I find this stuff fascinating and am always keen to better understand the process.

Great question. You make a good point. No doubt the One Hotel / Embassy project is slow. I'd like to know why, too.

September 29, 2020

From the looks of things at The Pit and at Amazon 2, it appears that SWVP is taking a breather. The question is for how long?

September 24, 2020

5 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

Now if this just sits with nothing happening for a while then there is a problem. Hopefully they will go right into construction mode but from the neat gravel look of things, that does not seem to be the case.

If this project stagnates, for those who make maps, how deep does the water have to be and how long does it have to exist before it's depicted on a map as Lake 'O the Yards?

September 18, 2020

I just received a message from my sister, who is very well connected in Metro politics, that the feeling now is "Cooper is toast." She attended a meeting of politicians and political influencers at 11:00 this morning and some heavy hitters are planning to fund another recall effort via another petition. They feel the most recent attempt was under capitalized. She said she will believe when the checks clear. Entertainer John Rich is now floating the idea of organizing a $2 billion class action lawsuit by downtown businesses and their employees against Metro Govt.

She's been told that Gov. Lee is now denying Cooper's $80 million funding request from the state, and that Cooper has lost his credibility and the trust of the electorate and is considering resigning as opposed to fighting a second recall attempt. Word coming from a long-time staffer inside the mayor's office is that Cooper is often angry, often slamming an open hand on a table during fits of rage, frequently berates staff members, especially the bearers of bad news and runs his office by fear. This staffer is thinking of quitting. Dreads going to work. If Cooper resigns, who takes over the reigns of Metro Govt. Jim Shulman? Does anyone here know what kind of mayor he would be?

Reading between the lines, personally, my take is that Gov. Lee has been very displeased with Cooper's arrogance and tone-deaf style, and he now is seizing the opportunity to help Metro Nashville change the course that Cooper has charted for the city.

March 19, 2020

Is that an "I Dream of Jeannie" bottle?

February 21, 2020

3 hours ago, MLBrumby said:

Afraid this could be 'fallow' for a long time. I think the election of John Cooper at this time is most unfortunate for the trajectory that Nashville has found itself in recent years. I'm referring specifically to a site like the Tennessean lot... and coming from Atlanta, I can tell you that each boom was built upon a spark such as a relocation of a big company. That goes back to early post WW2 (or before if you count Delta Airlines). I love to study the growth of cities and can tell you that the Amazon selection of Nashville was HUGE... but what would be even larger would be the 'ripple effect'. I'm afraid that Cooper's administration has already done a lot of damage... insofar as tempering the momentum just as it's starting to build. I hope I'm wrong b/c I think Nashville is one of the most unique, charming, beautiful and welcoming cities anywhere (especially in the South)... but I also know its history. I know there was a lot of resistance to several post WW2 growth initiatives. I've heard stories of Beverly Briley giving major hell to the Belle Meade establishment in the 1960s for going out of town (Atlanta, NYC, LA, etc.) to shop and spend money. I don't know a lot about him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was very instrumental in bridging the gulf between Music Row and Belle Meade... two major money sources in the local economy. I'm fascinated by the stories of the hick hillbilly overgrown town of Nashville suddenly spreading its wings in the 1960s/70s. But I can't say I know first hand... I came along much later.

Mr. Brumby, to learn more about Mayor Briley, I suggest your read the book, "Murder in Music City."

February 18, 2020

Many thanks for posting the CBS story on the new music museum. The CBS hosts didn't mention it during the interview, but the fact that it is going to be an interactive experience will make it more attractive. It will bring people to Nashville that probably would otherwise not visit. I imagine black folk from across American visiting this museum and the Country Music museum, and white folk from across America visiting both museums, as well. Both will come away from each experience with much more knowledge, understanding and appreciation for both genres and the ties that bind us. I am hoping this will help to heal wounds.

February 17, 2020

I believe it was Nashville's Taylor & Crabtree Architects who designed Riverdale and Oakland which opened simultaneously in August 1973. Both schools used the same construction plans. The Rutherford County Board of Education, chaired by my father, believed it to be important that both schools be built exactly alike, so that one faculty / student body couldn't claim their facilities were superior to the other. BOTH SCHOOLS WERE BUILT WITH OLYMPIC SIZE SWIMMING POOLS. Every student was taught to swim as Swimming was a required subject for each student for one semester. Both schools were built for $9.5 million, and the Rutherford County Court (the county's legislative body, if you will, at that time) issued 20-year bonds to pay for the design and construction. The bonds were retired using a County Court-issued annual $20 Wheel Tax. Some small rural Rutherford County high schools were closed (Walter Hill, Lascassas, Christiana, Rockvale, Kittral and maybe three others, I don't remember along, with Murfreesboro Central. All of those students were divided among Riverdale and Oakland, and all of those schools, except Central maintained their 1-8 grades. Central, which didn't have 1-8, became a middle school for the City of Murfreesboro. The enrollment at both schools was approximately 1,500 students. Ironically, the most important high school sport among taxpayers was football, and neither school had a football stadium. Instead, the county school board paid for the cost of installing AstroTurf on MTSU's football field, and, in return, MTSU allowed both high schools to play their home football games for 20 years at MTSU. Riverdale and Oakland no longer play at MTSU, as they each now have on-campus football stadiums.

Quote

November 5, 2019

On 11/3/2019 at 11:43 AM, markhollin said:

Excellent summary, Baronakim! Thanks! : )

Hey Mark, I private messaged you today about a summary you posted a few weeks ago. - Jay

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

This relates to the conversation in the Paramount thread about largest employers in the State and thought I would post a pic of Eastman Chemical in Kingsport incase you guys have never seen it. Very impressive to say the least.

Good post, Ron. Eastman Chemical flies under the radar. They have plants in countries around the world.

November 4, 2019

I quickly grew tired of his negativity, too. Thank you for taking action.

October 25, 2019

27 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

As for North Carolina's population growth in the last year came from these 5 states

The most popular previous residences for people moving to N.C. in 2017 were:

Florida (32,000) Virginia (29,000)   South Carolina (27,000)   New York (27,000) California (20,000)

while a chunk are from the NY metro they do not dominate the city but sure you will meet lots of people from NY many from upstate NY who came south for jobs and better opportunities.

with high taxes NY, NJ and CT will continue to cause their residents to flee south to NC and Tennessee. How many people were Alliance Bernstein moving from NYC to Nashville? Charlotte is the 2nd largest financial center in the country after NYC so it is natural there would be a lot people moving to Charlotte from NYC. Very expensive to raise a family in +\NYC even on a big salary. I know many people from NY and NJ and they would NEVER go back to their home states they are so happy here. I am sure it is the same in Nashville. Yeah they talk funny, drive without abandon but most mellow out when they move here and enjoy life which is much easier here than there.

and I will be sure to ask  everyone I meet where they are from when I am in Nashville in a few weeks.

Hey KJ, welcome to our forum and thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective!

October 19, 2019

17 hours ago, LA_TN said:

I don't know why, but they have really been pumping out planes on the 13-31 crosswind runway for 2 weeks now. Maybe just load balancing. I haven't heard anything about it

I fly several Learjet 45's out of BNA for a living, and 02L and 20R are closed for maintenance. I've been cleared to takeoff twice this week on 31, which is unusual, and I have landed on 02C and 02R, which is normal.

September 12, 2019

I think about 97% of the buildings in nearly every major city are rather ho-hum and unremarkable. While drab, it's good infill. But as Mark Hollingsworth recently pointed out in another thread, in less than four years Nashville will have doubled the number of 200 foot-plus buildings that it took the last 62 years to accumulate. Now THAT IS REMARKABLE.

Sign In

Profiles

Forums

Gallery

Project Database

User Guide

Store

Events

Posts posted by fxvol

Important Information