SKYHOUSE NASHVILLE | 25 stories/289' + 7 & 70' | 10,708sqft Retail |

[rookzie]

This comment isn't in response to a specific post but rather to the general sentiment that I often hear - and that some have referenced in this thread - about "not wanting to become Atlanta."  

 

If we don't want to become Atlanta, developing a critical mass of office, residential, retail, hotel, nightlife, and civic/cultural institutions in downtown / SoBro / midtown / the Gulch / Music Row is actually a great way to do that.  

 

Atlanta became the dreaded "Atlanta" because of sprawl, highway over-development, lack of coordinated transit and planning, dysfunctional local and regional governments, decades of cheap mortgage debt and gasoline, white flight, and most simply because of the idea that downtown was only fit for skyscrapers and 9-to-5 workday uses and nothing else.  That mentality has thankfully been finally pushed aside in Atlanta, but it reigned for decades with devastating consequences.  There's a very good rationale for protecting truly historic buildings as well as cultural locations that are uniquely Nashville.  But opposing dense urban development here in general will have unintended effects, many of which would make us much more "Atlanta" than these folks seem to realize.  

 

Well stated, RC.

-==-

[Hey_Hey]

Unfortunately, most people (incorrectly) assume that tall buildings and dense development equates to Atlanta-esque traffic and congestion. Tall buildings, dense development, and traffic all mean "big city" in people's minds. They have no idea that the biggest driver of congestion and traffic is living on 1 acre subdivision developments that induce more and longer travel by car. It blows their mind even more when you try to discuss how building densely is cheaper from an infrastructure and public safety standpoint than building low density housing. In the suburbanite mind, the suburbs subsidize the city, when in reality is is usually the other way around.

[CenterHill]

These historical "gadflies" might just be effective in the longer run in helping to preserve some of Nashville's old structures.  However, I must say I haven't seen any signs of their effectiveness.  BTW: Kudos to the developers of the historic buildings in Germantown/Salemtown, including Geist... No Dogs... Centerstone... Stockyards (granted, we haven't seen the finished product of the latter example). 

 

Agree with your comments, MLB, on Nashville's development.   There are no real remnants here today, as there are in peer cities like Louisville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, even Memphis, of vast neighborhoods of 19th and early 20th century structures.    Nashville, being much smaller than those cities during that era, simply had a far smaller inventory of building stock to begin with.    Nashville, for reasons I as a non-native can't articulate but others here may be able to shed light on, never developed much of a "preservation culture", and therefore many examples of historically significant architecture were steadily lost throughout the 20th century and on into the 21st.   Really, preservation didn't enter the Nashville lexicon until a handful of neighborhood leaders in the 60's and 70's, in reaction to runaway scorched earth urban renewal programs, banded together to push for zoning protections to preserve some of the city's remaining intact historical neighborhoods.  The Metro Historical Commission came to exist in the mid-60's out of these efforts, although it was given no real enforcement power, and to this day has none other than review of historic zoning applications.    

 

Rather than calling them ineffective, I would actually say that but for the work over the last 40 years of the "historical gadflies" at the Commission and in neighborhood groups, we wouldn't have the few protections for these old structures that we have today, like historic and conservation zoning in two dozen neighborhoods, including Edgefield, Lockeland Springs, Richland-West End, Second Avenue, etc.     The problem, for those who are of the mind that the loss of historical (ie, 50+ yrs old and architecturally significant) structures is a problem, is that there are still many historical buildings that are not subject to any such protections, zero.   And because many of these today are isolated, stand-alone gems located amongst newer, often cheap or crappy, construction there are no champions pushing for their preservation - except for groups like Historic Nashville and their Nashville Nine list and other lone voices.   The only appeal is to the property owners or the developers and we all know how that story typically ends in a booming real estate market.  

[markhollin]

At one time--up until about the 1930-40s, there were blocks worth of Victorian-styled mansions in the neighborhood just to the east and west of the Capital grounds, as well as a stretch along 8th Avenue South (between Demonbreun and the RR overpass), and along Broadway west of the Gulch. But, nearly all of them were torn down because they were either starting to crumble, or expanding commerce wanted to utilize those spaces as the "old money" folks started dying off or moving to the newer suburbs.  Far more of the beautiful old architecture of the city was torn down in that era, and up through the 60s than anything that has happened in the last decade. Nearly all of the new development we are seeing now is replacing parking lots and low grade industrial dreck that has no historical value.  If anyone is to be blamed for the loss of grand edifices of the past, it would be civic leaders and developers of 50-75 years ago.  

But when you look at most American cities, you will see that a tremendous amount of change has occurred in the central zones during the same time period.  For instance, there are still some majestic old structures in Pittsburgh, but 85% of the downtown is completely transformed from the "glory days" of the steel, RR, and coal empires of the late 1800s thru the-mid-1900s into a gleaming, modern, more beautiful/functional center city today. 

As Neil Peart has written, "constant change is here to stay."  50 years from now, there will people lamenting that many of the structures going up right now are being torn down if favor of who-knows-what…and wondering why they aren't being preserved in some fashion.  This is the reality of imminent and ongoing evolution. That doesn't mean we just throw our hands in the air and give-in to any new development willy-nilly.  But, there is a balance to it all.

Yes, I would love it if we still had the Hippodrome, Tennessee Theater/Sudekem Building, The Vendome, The Knickerbokker, The Andrew Jackson Hotel, The Gulch Roundhouse, The Railroad Shed,  and maybe a block or two of those old mansions. But, unfortunately, the captains of commerce and industry three and four generations ago didn't have the foresight to protect any of these things. Not much I or anyone else can do about it now.

I am just so glad for what we DO have that is still stately/historical and being effectively utilized: Union Station, Customs House, the Capital, The Ryman, Hemitage Hotel, Masonic Temple, 6 classic downtown churches, War Memorial Theater, Frist Fine Arts Center (former Post Office), Cordell Hull Buildings, Robertson Hotel, Barbershop Quartet HQ, the Parthenon, at least 4 old buildings that have been transformed in hotels in the CBD, the Printers Alley rebirth, the 2nd Avenue and Broadway preservations, much of Germantown, the Rolling Mill Hill/Trolly Barns preservation/revitalization, Cannery Row, Marathon Village, Worthen Lofts, The Bridge Building, the Shelby Street Bridge, Stockyard building, etc.  It really is a pretty strong list when you think about it.  I know that many of my friends who come to visit from out of town are struck by the amount of cool older things we have here along with the amazing new construction boom blending alongside.  

[rookzie]

At one time--up until about the 1930-40s, there were blocks worth of Victorian-styled mansions in the neighborhood just to the east and west of the Capital grounds, as well as a stretch along 8th Avenue South (between Demonbreun and the RR overpass), and along Broadway west of the Gulch. But, nearly all of them were torn down because they were either starting to crumble, or expanding commerce wanted to utilize those spaces as the "old money" folks started dying off or moving to the newer suburbs.  Far more of the beautiful old architecture of the city was torn down in that era, and up through the 60s than anything that has happened in the last decade. Nearly all of the new development we are seeing now is replacing parking lots and low grade industrial dreck that has no historical value.  If anyone is to be blamed for the loss of grand edifices of the past, it would be civic leaders and developers of 50-75 years ago.  

But when you look at most American cities, you will see that a tremendous amount of change has occurred in the central zones during the same time period.  For instance, there are still some majestic old structures in Pittsburgh, but 85% of the downtown is completely transformed from the "glory days" of the steel, RR, and coal empires of the late 1800s thru the-mid-1900s into a gleaming, modern, more beautiful/functional center city today. 

As Neil Peart has written, "constant change is here to stay."  50 years from now, there will people lamenting that many of the structures going up right now are being torn down if favor of who-knows-what…and wondering why they aren't being preserved in some fashion.  This is the reality of imminent and ongoing evolution. That doesn't mean we just throw our hands in the air and give-in to any new development willy-nilly.  But, there is a balance to it all.

Yes, I would love it if we still had the Hippodrome, Tennessee Theater/Sudekem Building, The Vendome, The Knickerbokker, The Andrew Jackson Hotel, The Gulch Roundhouse, The Railroad Shed,  and maybe a block or two of those old mansions. But, unfortunately, the captains of commerce and industry three and four generations ago didn't have the foresight to protect any of these things. Not much I or anyone else can do about it now.

I am just so glad for what we DO have that is still stately/historical and being effectively utilized: Union Station, Customs House, the Capital, The Ryman, Hemitage Hotel, Masonic Temple, 6 classic downtown churches, War Memorial Theater, Frist Fine Arts Center (former Post Office), Cordell Hull Buildings, Robertson Hotel, Barbershop Quartet HQ, the Parthenon, at least 4 old buildings that have been transformed in hotels in the CBD, the Printers Alley rebirth, the 2nd Avenue and Broadway preservations, much of Germantown, the Rolling Mill Hill/Trolly Barns preservation/revitalization, Cannery Row, Marathon Village, Worthen Lofts, The Bridge Building, the Shelby Street Bridge, Stockyard building, etc.  It really is a pretty strong list when you think about it.  I know that many of my friends who come to visit from out of town are struck by the amount of cool older things we have here along with the amazing new construction boom blending alongside.  

 

And some 50 years (or less) from now, it perhaps may become a blessing that some of these structures of recent or currently being erected will come down (one way or another).

-==-

[GreenHillsBoy]

At one time--up until about the 1930-40s, there were blocks worth of Victorian-styled mansions in the neighborhood just to the east and west of the Capital grounds, as well as a stretch along 8th Avenue South (between Demonbreun and the RR overpass), and along Broadway west of the Gulch. But, nearly all of them were torn down because they were either starting to crumble, or expanding commerce wanted to utilize those spaces as the "old money" folks started dying off or moving to the newer suburbs.  Far more of the beautiful old architecture of the city was torn down in that era, and up through the 60s than anything that has happened in the last decade. Nearly all of the new development we are seeing now is replacing parking lots and low grade industrial dreck that has no historical value.  If anyone is to be blamed for the loss of grand edifices of the past, it would be civic leaders and developers of 50-75 years ago.  

But when you look at most American cities, you will see that a tremendous amount of change has occurred in the central zones during the same time period.  For instance, there are still some majestic old structures in Pittsburgh, but 85% of the downtown is completely transformed from the "glory days" of the steel, RR, and coal empires of the late 1800s thru the-mid-1900s into a gleaming, modern, more beautiful/functional center city today. 

As Neil Peart has written, "constant change is here to stay."  50 years from now, there will people lamenting that many of the structures going up right now are being torn down if favor of who-knows-what…and wondering why they aren't being preserved in some fashion.  This is the reality of imminent and ongoing evolution. That doesn't mean we just throw our hands in the air and give-in to any new development willy-nilly.  But, there is a balance to it all.

Yes, I would love it if we still had the Hippodrome, Tennessee Theater/Sudekem Building, The Vendome, The Knickerbokker, The Andrew Jackson Hotel, The Gulch Roundhouse, The Railroad Shed,  and maybe a block or two of those old mansions. But, unfortunately, the captains of commerce and industry three and four generations ago didn't have the foresight to protect any of these things. Not much I or anyone else can do about it now.

I am just so glad for what we DO have that is still stately/historical and being effectively utilized: Union Station, Customs House, the Capital, The Ryman, Hemitage Hotel, Masonic Temple, 6 classic downtown churches, War Memorial Theater, Frist Fine Arts Center (former Post Office), Cordell Hull Buildings, Robertson Hotel, Barbershop Quartet HQ, the Parthenon, at least 4 old buildings that have been transformed in hotels in the CBD, the Printers Alley rebirth, the 2nd Avenue and Broadway preservations, much of Germantown, the Rolling Mill Hill/Trolly Barns preservation/revitalization, Cannery Row, Marathon Village, Worthen Lofts, The Bridge Building, the Shelby Street Bridge, Stockyard building, etc.  It really is a pretty strong list when you think about it.  I know that many of my friends who come to visit from out of town are struck by the amount of cool older things we have here along with the amazing new construction boom blending alongside.  

While all of us feel we have many historic losses, it does seem way too many on this site focus on the losses and not the positives.  Thanks Mark Hollin for brining something positive to this forum.

[wmaddbb2018]

The Skyhouse people don't mess around, I drove by the site earlier and demolition is well underway.

[evansnathan]

Woah! That was quick.. http://oxblue.com/open/SkyHouseApartments

[nashvylle]

which construction site is the actual site for the apartments? If it's not the site that has 2 floors already built, what is that?

[titanhog]

Woah! That was quick.. http://oxblue.com/open/SkyHouseApartments

You're not joking!  I guess the houses will be soon.

[ajs]

which construction site is the actual site for the apartments? If it's not the site that has 2 floors already built, what is that?

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/real-estate/2014/09/dallas-developer-buys-site-for-apartment-complex.html

 

That is Cadence.  Skyhouse will have a tower at the corner where SubStop was and a few floors of parking on the corner where the two old houses still stand (at the moment anyway) at corner of 17th and Division.

[dmillsphoto]

4 down, 2 and 2 trees to go... at this rate next week the crane bases will be in place and we should be topped out by Halloween...

[titanhog]

People may be living here before they even break ground on the Virgin Hotel.

[chris holman]

pictures from the skyhouse site today

[Nathan_in_DC]

[attachment=10230:20150711_094949.jpg][attachment=10231:20150711_095003.jpg]

pictures from the skyhouse site today

Can you re-post? The new format seems to have jacked up your image.

[dmillsphoto]

 

Can you re-post? The new format seems to have jacked up your image.

We're working on it. It's all still in transition. Having seen the images, though, picture in your mind the street level view of what the OxBlue camera shows...

[chris holman]

I can't log back into the site , 

[Neo]

I can't log back into the site , 

If you can post then you are logged in. FYI, I sent you an email...twice, but your ISP sent it back to me saying that you weren't a valid customer. You can PM me if you have any more issues or use a different email address when submitting from the contact form. I assume your issues have been resolved since you are posting however.

[AUNash]

From this morning

[wmaddbb2018]

What is the estimated ETA for topping out on this building?  I know Skyhouse usually works quickly. 

[Paramount747]

Novare website says 2016

[MLBrumby]

The two queen anne style townhouses are being toppled as I type this.  They will have that whole site cleared by weekend. 

[Vrtigo]

The action starts at 10:19 AM today on the webcam. Destruction!

[titanhog]

It's a shame they're going to take up that much land just for one building and a parking garage.

[RonCamp]

It's a shame they're going to take up that much land just for one building and a parking garage.

The other way to think about this comment, and the accompanying picture, is that the adjacent lot (forefront of picture) is almost exactly the same size and holds a bank branch and surface parking.  Approximately 10 people on that lot at any given time, from 9-5, 5 days a week.  

I'll take the SkyHouse density, massing, and 24/7 usage every time.