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Pinnacle tower. Looking SE from the Gulch Greenway, with CSX maintenance equipment in the foreground.

NewsChannel 5's Ben Hall moderated a Monday night mayoral forum at the Rotary Club. From the Nashville Banner, here's what the candidates had to say about a MLB stadium: Hall asked both candidates about potential Major League Baseball expansion and what role the city might play in it. “I would be delighted to entertain a conversation with anybody who wants to fully privately finance our next civic entertainment facility,” O’Connell said, seemingly shutting the door on the city paying for a stadium. MLB has successfully leveraged public dollars from cities for stadiums in the past and three franchises, the Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, are currently near the end of their leases and have stadiums in need of an upgrade. Rolli said her focus would be on making the Titans stadium successful rather than building a new baseball stadium. “I don’t see a public appetite at this moment for that,” she said.

John Burns Research & Consulting tracks domestic migration data using postal address change forms. You can access their high-level findings for free here. Per their latest report: Strong housing demand: Nashville, Charlotte, Houston, Fort Worth... Previously strong housing demand slightly weakening: Dallas, Tampa, Boise, Raleigh-Durham... Previously strong housing demand now barely positive: Austin, Phoenix... Previously strong housing demand now negative: Denver, Seattle... Negative housing demand still negative: Miami, Boston, Chicago, San Fransisco...

As long as Metro or the State of Tennessee don't have to subsidize a new stadium, I welcome any team that wants to relocate here and build their own stadium (or use an existing stadium).

Metro Council Members Russ Bradford (D13, Donelson) and Mary Carolyn Roberts (D20, the Nations, Cockrill Bend) have joined Metro's lawsuit against the State's airport takeover. In addition to changing the makeup of the airport board, the controversial state law significantly expanded the airport's eminent domain powers. This provision flew relatively under the radar until BNA announced preliminary planning for a second terminal last week. From the Tennessee Lookout: "[A]dded to the new state law was a provision granting the authority sweeping eminent domain and zoning powers to buy property around its facility, which no other airport in Tennessee can do. Previously, the airport had to go through Metro Nashville Council to activate the eminent domain process. Now, the airport board can bypass input from Nashville’s local representatives giving it government-like authority to seize land deemed necessary for its expansion." Nashvillians in Bradford and Roberts' districts, who live near BNA and John C. Tune respectively, are understandably concerned about this broad new eminent domain power. And, with the State rather than Metro now controlling the airports, there will be less incentive to mitigate airport expansion impacts to Nashvillians.

Haven Charlotte (10 stories, 316 units, internal garage) update. Looking north from City Place:

Thanks @markhollin for pulling out the highlights. If anyone wants to read the full Q2 Nashville Downtown Partnership Market Conditions report, here is the link.

NewsChannel5 posted a Reel showing off construction progress on the central marketplace area. From rebeccaschleicher_nc5: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwNSDNLIKt6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Screenshot:

BNA expects to announce direct flights to Paris and Frankfurt as soon as next year. From rebeccaschleicher_nc5: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwNSDNLIKt6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== The report also includes shots of current construction progress on the central marketplace area.

I'll be interested to see how this leases without on-site parking. I'm honestly a bit concerned, although I'm thankful Tony is making a bold push in this direction.

This quote from the NBJ article sums up Nashville's incredible passenger growth: "When the airport began its expansion in 2017, officials expected to hit 23.8 million passengers 20 years later. Now they expect to reach that point this fiscal year."

NewsChannel5 covered last week's BNA airspace expansion. See the full article here. "Pugliese said the city's annual July 4th celebration is a great example of why the larger airspace was needed. 'There could be twenty aircraft flying that exact location and half of the aircraft aren’t required to communicate with the air traffic controllers,' he said, 'they’re just outside of their airspace, so this expansion is going to... require everyone to be communicating. And provide more safety for everyone involved.'"

BNA's updated Class C airspace went into effect at 4:01 a.m. this morning. The gist is that BNA's controlled airspace is now larger than it was yesterday. Previous Ceiling: 4,600' MSL; New Ceiling: 6,000' MSL Previous Outer Ring Radius: 10 NM; New Outer Ring Radius: 15 NM Previous Surface Area Radius: 5 NM; New Surface Area Radius: 7NM (although the 230° to 335° slice of that area will still have a 5 NM radius). The expanded BNA outer ring would conflict with John C. Tune (JWN)'s airspace, so the FAA has lowered JWN's ceiling from 2,500' MSL to 2,400' MSL so it slots below BNA's outer ring. As for why this change is needed: "Annual air traffic volume in BNA TRACON's area has increased by 49.2% since 2015, including significant volume increases at M54, JWN, MQY, and BNA airports. Due to the continuing rise in traffic, the predictability resulting from the BNA Class C airspace modification is needed to provide a safe and stable environment for arrivals and departures at BNA as well as the surrounding airports" [Emphasis added]. The full FAA action, with more details, is available here.

It would have been much nicer to just commission a giant mural. Something colorful and lively, celebrating Nashville's resilience. Make the blank wall an asset rather than a liability to hide. Instead, we got this. About as interesting as stock images in a quarterly sales PowerPoint.

WeGo Public Transit has announced a new West Nashville and Bellevue weekday bus route, terminating at James Lawson High School. WeGo Public Transit is announcing a new bus service in West Nashville and Bellevue. It will serve James Lawson High School. Route 70 Bellevue will operate on weekdays from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and connect to routes 3B West End/Bellevue and 50 Charlotte Pike. Transfers for route 3B will happen at the Bellevue Park & Ride and at stops in Bellevue along Highway 70S. Route 50 transfers will occur at the Walmart on Charlotte Pike in West Nashville. See the full press release here.

The new 12th Avenue bike lanes headline a new attack ad against Mayoral Candidate Freddie O'Connell. The parties behind the controversial ad are not big fans of the bike lanes. The ad features the following voiceover: "Freddie calls this a transit plan? To me it’s a pain in the neck. There’s room for flowers, you get caught behind buses, and let’s not forget bikes which I never see. This is not a transit strategy, it's an obstacle course. Come on Freddie, this is not a solution." via the Nashville Scene.

If they move forward with this, I hope Metro is intentional about color temperature. I'd like to see 3000k along main thoroughfares and 2700k in residential areas. The American Medical Association has issued a statement on street light color temperatures, and cities like Phoenix have worked with the community to develop specific standards, Of course, we'll need to carefully vet our suppliers to avoid the massive, premature light failures that have plagued Detroit. All that to say, this is a wonderful opportunity; we just need to do it correctly.

My primary issue is Metro backstopping the bonds. I don't see why we should agree to a worse deal than the MLS stadium right next door. If Nascar wanted to pay for the whole thing, I say go for it.

The FAA has temporarily blocked the State's airport board takeover, pending the outcome of Nashville's legal challenge to the state law. From Axios Nashville: In a letter Monday, the FAA told the city and the Airport Authority leadership it will recognize the existing board of directors until the litigation reaches its conclusion.

Fairfield Inn Bellevue (4 stories, 100 rooms) update: topped out with cladding installed. Looking NW from One Bellevue Place, just north of Ford Ice Center:

Cities grow. When the track was built, it was on the outer edge of town. Now it’s surrounded by densifying neighborhoods. Should residents have anticipated a major investment and resumption of large races at the old track? Maybe? But regardless of whether the nuisance was foreseeable or not, it’s a nuisance all the same. Should this deal move forward, it will be another clear example of Nashville prioritizing event-driven economics and tourists over residents.

Nashville's downtown has a strong mix of uses compared to many other cities. We're relatively well-positioned for an office downturn. This NYTimes analysis of downtown uses has stuck with me for years. If your downtown is 70% office, it's time to be worried.

A bit more information on JSX airlines' upcoming Nashville service, via The Points Guy: Semiprivate air carrier JSX plans to launch year-round flights from Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Westchester County Airport (HPN) and Dallas Love Field (DAL). It'll also launch seasonal service to Florida's Destin Executive Airport (DSI). All three routes begin flying June 22. These semi-private psuedo-charter flights don't typically operate out of the primary passenger terminal. Instead, I expect JSX to operate out of one of the facilities on Hanger Ln. JSX's current route map:

Metro Council passed the Belle Meade Plaza SP rezoning on third reading tonight, capping a contentious, months-long rezoning process. The vote was 28-1-3. CM Druffel, who represents the adjacent district, tried and overwhelmingly failed to pass amendments requiring unlimited free parking forever and a developer-funded sidewalk into Belle Meade. He was ultimately the sole no vote. CMs Suara, Hurt, and Johnson abstained.

I doubt that the stadium will be used frequently enough to cause regular headaches for TPAC. Regardless, hopefully we come up with a workable transit plan so it's less of an issue!