505 CST - 545 feet - 45 Floors

[TheRaglander]

If you look closely at the renderings, you will notice that each side is slightly curved, especially near the corners (including the back). Am anxious to see if there will be some sort of lighting element near the top to make it more distinctive at night.

 

I am beginning to see that now as I look closer to the color renderings.  I guess I should hold judgement in the event a better image comes out.  I guess the JW Marriott renderings just raised the bar for me and I am a little bitter about what the Westin's current renderings are showing.  

[nashvillwill]

I wasn't at the meet on Saturday, and I'm sure Tony may have filled in a few blanks, but would you guys mind sharing if there will be ground floor retail? I doubt that is "sensitive" information, but I would love to know if anyone has any info.

[Vrtigo]

We were unfortunately (for you) sworn to silence. It wasn't defined very clearly what was sensitive information and what was not, so I'm afraid we're all erring on the side of keeping mum.

 

Details will be widely available very soon, I hear!

[Skyscrapergeek]

I will say one thing...the FAA is the devil!

[Dale]

I will say one thing...the FAA is the devil!

 

Can we pry some more infor out of you ? Didn't seem to be a problem for Siggy.

[ruraljuror]

I will say one thing...the FAA is the devil!

 

I hope this means that Tony wanted to go taller, but the FAA limited him to 770 feet. 

[titanhog]

I don't like the thought of the FAA putting a limit on the height of our downtown buildings.  The airport is several miles away.  Fly around. 

[Skyscrapergeek]

Dale, I'm going to defer until a ruling from Ron. Sorry to be a tease. I had the same question as you. There is a simple "in general" answer to your question that I don't believe would violate our code of silence. It would actually make for a very interesting line of conversation in my opinion, Tony's projects notwithstanding. Again, I don't want to say anything I shouldn't. Ron?

[MLBrumby]

Well, with all the speculation as to the color of 505's glass, didn't anyone ask Mr. Giarratana what color the glass it would be?  

[farm_boy]

I hope this means that Tony wanted to go taller, but the FAA limited him to 770 feet.

It is public knowledge that the FAA never granted the variance for big Sig. There were several newspaper articles about that, at the time.

I THINK I recall an article 1-2 years ago about this and that is why the 505 office tower proposal (at the time) had two height options proposed, with 770 or 750 being the taller of the two proposals (the shorter option was <600). So, maybe 600 or (hopefully) 770 for that lot got approved

[titanhog]

It is public knowledge that the FAA never granted the variance for big Sig. There were several newspaper articles about that, at the time.

I THINK I recall an article 1-2 years ago about this and that is why the 505 office tower proposal (at the time) had two height options proposed, with 770 or 750 being the taller of the two proposals (the shorter option was <600). So, maybe 600 or (hopefully) 770 for that lot got approved

Would different parts of downtown have different height variances, per the FAA?

[Skyscrapergeek]

^Yes

[BnaBreaker]

I really don't understand the reasoning.  I mean, both Charlotte and Miami have airports as close if not closer to their downtowns than downtown Nashville is to BNA.  Why does Nashville get screwed over but the other two are allowed towers pushing 900 ft?

[UTgrad09]

It has already been reported that the FAA cleared the height to be 750 feet. The original 505 (NOT Siggy) proposal was 605 ft, because that was the max allowed at that time. Siggy never had its height approved.

 

 

Before we venture far off course with an FAA discussion, I'll leave you with this: the FAA cannot prevent a building that exceeds the height restriction from being constructed, but it may get some 'unwanted attention' in terms of being labeled a "hazard to navigation".

 

http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/advisory_circular/150-5190-4A/150_5190_4A.PDF

 

That's an old document, but I doubt anything has changed substantially. 

[farm_boy]

^^ Thanks for clarification ... at least I wasn't far off on the numbers

[farm_boy]

I really don't understand the reasoning. I mean, both Charlotte and Miami have airports as close if not closer to their downtowns than downtown Nashville is to BNA. Why does Nashville get screwed over but the other two are allowed towers pushing 900 ft?

Agreed, agreed, agreed. If Nashville is barred from having buildings over 1,000 feet, then please tell me now so I can start packing

[NashRugger]

FAA keeps spanking down Miami buildings but it's a fairly simple appeals process, compared to other things really.

That said, Nashville doesn't have runways aimed directly at the downtown core, unlike Miami, and neither does Charlotte, so it makes no sense.

Edited December 9, 2014 by NashRugger

[UTgrad09]

FAA keeps spanking down Miami buildings but it's a fairly simple appeals process, compared to other things really.

That said, Nashville doesn't have runways aimed directly at the downtown core, unlike Miami, and neither does Charlotte, so it makes no sense.

 

You are correct that none of the runways are aimed directly at the core, but 13/31 is not far off (it more or less aims at 5 Points in East Nash). It's also important to note that flight paths are not always going to be perfectly straight lines. 

 

Do I think the height restriction downtown is silly? Yes. I think it would be easiest to just avoid all of downtown. But as this is the only proposal in the last....well....long, long while where we have even flirted with the restriction, I'm not sure it's that big of a deal right now. 

[nashvillwill]

But as this is the only proposal in the last....well....long, long while where we have even flirted with the restriction, I'm not sure it's that big of a deal right now.

I would say it IS a big deal. Mainly because it would set a precedent. No, I don't think Nashville will become a city of super-talls anytime soon, but this would essentially write in stone that we can NOT be and that the ceiling is set at X height.

[Skyscrapergeek]

I think the idea is to take the 750' now and see it as a stepping stone to incrementally push the limit in the future. It is agrivating though as these opportunities don't come around that often. Still, 505 is very exciting and will be a great addition to the skyline. If it does for downtown as a whole what "Batman" did in the 90s, I'll be more than satisfied.

[dmillsphoto]

The FAA height limit is silly anyway. That far from the airport, planes should be over 3000 feet AGL

[smeagolsfree]

If a pilot hits a building that tall, it is on purpose or the pilot should not have a liscense.

[MidTenn1]

Last time I flew over downtown, we missed it by only this much....

 

[mirydi]

Dang, that was a close call. I bet you were scared to death you might fly right into the AT&T building. If the Signature tower were there, you might not have made it. 

 

Edit: Looks to be a good 7 to 10 thousand feet up. Just barely making it over the skyline as the FAA would say I guess...

Edited December 9, 2014 by mirydi

[samsonh]

You guys are ignoring that a 1000 foot building won't be built here because of cost. Plain and simple