jice

I've been working on this.. got several photos uploaded.. not the greatest photos as I had to do pano's, but better than nothing I guess. I might try to get some better ones eventually. One thing I noticed, i'm not sure the SunTrust building page is correct.. .maybe it was the previous home to SunTrust? I don't really know.. .but some of the references are incorrect as the building that was sold for $6mil to Eakin was the parking garage across from the new SunTrust Plaza, at 4th & Commerce. Here's a pic of the building sold to Eakin:

here's the press release: http://www.nashvillemta.org/news/news549.pdf also, apparently this is now called the 'East-West Connector'

Charlotte Pike runs parallel to West End/Broadway.. and I expect vehicular traffic to realize this road tends to be less utilized than West End, and take advantage. If more lanes are needed, I would rather see Charlotte expanded. Plus you have Church Street that also runs parallel until you get to 25th.

So when they say they might tear it down and rebuild.. you think they mean tear down 50% or less only? That would suck. I hope they re-imagine it as an urban building.

Well I think the article mentions that it will either be rebuilt or repaired, after the fire they had. So either way, it will be the new look. My question is, is there any chance that it would be an urban building.. instead of your typical drive thru suburban fast food place?

McDonald's on Broadway.. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120118/NEWS01/301180111/McDonald-s-Broadway-reopen-new-look-date-still-question?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE If this ends up being torn down and rebuilt.. is there any chance at all that they would make it more urbanized? I doubt it.. but we can dream, I guess..

Great article. I, for one, am pretty excited about the idea of a real BRT system in Nashville. Nice to know that NYC is implementing one as well.

This was interesting: I think one thing to keep in mind is that we do not want to do a streetcar system that sucks.. i'd much rather have a full BRT system that actually gets the job done. Also, check out this article.. Public image is important to BRT success

What's the deal with the construction on site anyway? I think someone said at some point it was a metro thing of some sort.. is this true? Seems like there's a decent amount of activity there..

I understand what you mean about streetcars, but I still think people could get excited about BRT once they see real stations and dedicated lanes. It will be almost the same (if they do it how they should).

If it is done right, I think there could be little difference between a BRT system and a street car system - as in the look, how it works, speed, etc. The BRT system on Gallatin Pike started out as basically a joke.. but they've added nice looking stations with real-time signs.. and probably other things that I don't realize.. so it's getting there. Hopefully the West End line would take this multiple steps forward into a real BRT. The best news is that we get it up and running super fast (comparatively speaking). I'd love to see light rail, but i'd also love to see something within my lifetime too.

I didn't even notice the other 4 rendering until now.. oops! I grabbed the links for those as well:

The rendering hosted on the Giarratana website..

But hey apparently they are adding a parking garage to NCC..

I noticed trucks/equipment on site as well..

Wow.. its amazing to me how a jury could say Tower Investment's property more than doubled in value since 2007.. http://nashvillepost.com/news/2011/7/25/jury_rules_towers_convention_center_property_worth_30m

Hatch Show Print may move or open a 2nd location in the Hall of Fame facing 5th http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110417/BUSINESS/304170078/Hatch-Show-Print-may-help-revive-Fifth-Avenue

Signature Tower site zoning is going to be changed from SP to DTC ...never heard of DTC...? So apparently this means Signature Tower, as planned, is dead.. incase anybody had any hope left for it http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2011/04/15/giarratanas-signature-tower-site-up.html

The new renderings make it look a little silly, in my opinion.. I definitely liked the flowing all green roof better. http://www.tennessean.com/assets/gif/DN16877219.GIF Hopefully they could add more greenery down the road?? If not, it seems like the full green roof would be a good investment and worth the extra money.

Yet another record has been set!

The Star just keeps breaking ridership records... great to hear!

I agree completely.

According to bidclerk, it's a March start date.. http://www.bidclerk.com/project.553499.html 800-room hotel, including 80,000 square feet of meeting space with two ballrooms, 560 parking spaces, restaurants, bars

Check out this fairly new CMT billboard I saw the other day.. at the West End & Broadway split.. I borrowed the pic of it from Richard's blog site.. hope he doesnt mind!

Got an email today from RTA.... good news! Music City Star ridership continues to climb More than 1,000 passenger trips recorded twice in September Ridership on the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) Music City Star topped 1,000 passenger trips per day twice last month and continues to rise. Ridership on the train has increased from 614 passenger trips per day in December 2008 to 866 passenger trips per day in September 2010, which is an increase of 41 percent since the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) became the new management team less than two years ago. On September 28, 1,006 passenger trips were recorded, marking the second time in as many weeks that more than 1,000 passenger trips were taken on the state’s only regional rail service. Earlier in the month, the Star had 1,015 passenger trips, the most trips recorded on the train for a single day of regular weekday service in several years. A third train car was added to the Music City Star earlier this year due to increasing ridership. Since then, the upward ridership trend has continued. “More people are choosing public transportation for their way to get around,” RTA Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Ballard said. “We believe this ridership trend will continue as more people realize the many wonderful benefits that transit offers to them and the environment.” Over the past four months, ridership has steadily increased. In June, average daily ridership was 801, followed by 843 in July and 852 in August. The average daily ridership of 866 in September represents an increase of 8 percent compared to June. “As someone who has ridden the Star since the beginning, it is exciting to see more people realizing how great it is to travel by train,” said Sheila Varga, a daily rider and president of the Regional Commuters Association. “I am confident that this is just the beginning of the trend in increasing ridership.”