Inner Loop - CBD, Downtown, East Bank, Germantown, Gulch, Rutledge

[CenterHill]

Has anyone read this report? From the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the 2014 Downtown Nashville Employee Survey:

http://www.nashvilledowntown.com/_files/docs/2014-employee-survey-report-for-website.pdf

 

A few things that I noticed:

- Reducing aggressive panhandling is #1 suggestion for improving safe feel of downtown (not surprising at all, unfortunately)

- 3% fewer respondents live in Davidson County compared to 2013 (very surprising)

- 79% of respondents drive their own car to work, over half of which park in employer-provided spaces; 3.6% walk or bike

Interesting that 72% of respondents were women. Not sure what the male/female split of downtown workers overall is and how that number compares. It strikes me as high (ie, we men are slackers at filling out surveys).

96% agree or strongly agree that downtown is a "positive and energetic atmosphere." Good stat!

No. 1 change that would make downtown cleaner/more attractive: fill vacant storefronts. Seems the perennial #1, but really, there aren't that many vacant spaces. I expect this is really a comment on tenant mix. Storefronts occupied by services firms (real estate, medical, lawyers, gov't services, discount stores, etc) are considered "boring dead space" by many downtown workers venturing out for lunch or shopping. They pass these by on their way to lunch or whatever, but there are tenants in these spaces doing business and paying rent.

On the aggressive panhandling complaint, people have different views on what degree of panhandling makes them uncomfortable. I've worked downtown for 26 yrs and will say that it used to be much worse than it is today. Frankly, I'm not one who is bothered by panhandlers but I have coworkers who are and who complain about it and some who even feel threatened. I don't count the Contributor salesmen as "panhandlers" but these good folks are out there manning their posts on their chosen downtown street corners every day and I know some people would rather have them conduct their business elsewhere. I've gotten to know all of the Contributor sales people in my area of downtown and will just say that they are not "aggressive" (although they are selling, but you will get a "god bless" from them whether you buy or not). I'm not saying panhandling isn't present. It is and there are a few regulars and the occasional transient looking for bus money. If you want to experience "aggressive panhandling", walk around, e.g., Union Sq. in San Francisco. Anyway, I think the Downtown Partnership has made significant strides in minimizing the amount of panhandling in the CBD, so that's one point from the survey that I just have to disagree with.

[Nashville Cliff]

Most cannot afford 2200 a month and also save money for their future. That 26,400 which is roughly $35k before taxes. You need to be making some serious money to afford that and be saving 10-15% for retirement if you are planning properly.

 

What is this retirement thing of which you speak?

[FromParkAveToTN]

Has anyone heard about when the Thompson Hotel and when it's going to break ground? This is going to be one of my favorite projects. I don't know if I've ever told you guys, but I work in the AT&T building and I love looking out and seeing all the cranes and I'm looking forward to seeing the Thompson Hotel crane and the W crane added to the skyline.

[Rockatansky]

Side note, does anyone have numbers on what the daytime workforce population of the CBD is?

According to the Downtown Partnership, Nashville's Downtown daytime population is around 55k.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Rockatansky

[HGMIII]

Most cannot afford 2200 a month and also save money for their future. That 26,400 which is roughly $35k before taxes. You need to be making some serious money to afford that and be saving 10-15% for retirement if you are planning properly.

Not everyone can afford to live downtown, but there are plenty of people who can.  There are plenty of Apt complexes in outlining cities that have a lower rent.  

 

A recent graduate who gets an analyst job at UBS/Regions/Bridgestone/etc. will come in making 50,000+ with a signing bonus.  These are the types of people these high rent communities are being built for.  

Edited February 20, 2015 by HGMIII

[samsonh]

Not everyone can afford to live downtown, but there are plenty of people who can.  There are plenty of Apt complexes in outlining cities that have a lower rent.  

 

A recent graduate who gets an analyst job at UBS/Regions/Bridgestone/etc. will come in making 50,000+ with a signing bonus.  These are the types of people these high rent communities are being built for.  

 

 

$50,000 cannot afford a $1500 a month apartment. That is $18,000 a year or $22,500(assuming 20% tax rate) before taxes. Spending 45% of your income on rent is simply not feasible. You should not be spending $1,500 a month on rent unless you are making $80,000 + imo.

 

Maybe I am too conservative fiscally, who knows.

[bwithers1]

I suspect that many people renting these apartments are either couples or singles with roommates and so they would potentially have two incomes for a one-bedroom apartment, and at least two incomes for a two-bedroom apartment.  $80K = 2 incomes averaging $40K, which is not everyone, certainly, but is within reach of relatively young college graduates with the right degrees and fields.  In addition, not all of the apartment renters are at the stage in their life where they are saving up for retirement beyond investing in a 401(k), and they many not yet be saving up for a down payment on a house, either.   They may not rent these apartments at that rate forever, but when they leave for more pragmatic living arrangements, there are others to take their place.  If not, the market will dictate that landlords lower the asking rents.

 

When I was a young person renting an apartment in Chicago, I spent close to 2/3rd of my take-home pay on rent.  Granted, I didn't do that forever, but for those years in my life location trumped everything.  Plus, I did not need to own a car, so I wasn't paying a car note and insurance, gas, maintenance, or even parking fees.  I realize that we're not there yet in Nashville, but for a lot of young people moving to Nashville from larger cities, the idea of paying a large percentage of your income on rent in order to be close to the action is perceived as normal for urban living.

[volsfanwill]

I dont mind the Contributor people at all, in fact they are much more aggressive in cool springs than downtown. I am much more likely to buy a contributor than give change to someone else.

as far as pan handling goes, the worst I have seen was actually at krispy kreme in cool springs, not downtown.  I actually had a woman knock on my car window there before.  I asked her how she got to the middle of a commercial are without driving.  she moved on to the next person after that.

[MetroTN]

Most complexes want to see 3x the monthly rent in income. That means a $1500.00 apartment would like to see $4500 a month in gross income or $54,000 a year. Im sure they'd have some room in there though and arent hard-lined about it.  

[MLBrumby]

Getahn Ward at the Tennessean gets the scoop on Cambria Hotel...  

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/02/20/goodyear-tire-store-closing-room-cambria-hotel-suites-planned/23758451/

 

[MLBrumby]

I was just thinking with the story about the Cambria Hotel in Sobro... and began to wonder why there hasn't been a hotel of similar size (or smaller) proposed for the Sounds Ballpark.  As things are now, there isn't a hotel to be found in that whole section of town.... and it will soon be a very big draw for baseball fans... and families who would visit the capitol and surrounding area.  So question: Did I just miss a part of the plan for the ballpark that includes a hotel?  Seems like a 150-200 room hotel would do quite well there. 

[Bezoar]

Getahn Ward at the Tennessean gets the scoop on Cambria Hotel...  

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/02/20/goodyear-tire-store-closing-room-cambria-hotel-suites-planned/23758451/

 

It's better than the Goodyear, bless its heart.

[UTgrad09]

Looks like......a hotel.

[titanhog]

Looks like a 1970's bank to me.

[samsonh]

As a finance guy if I had a friend spending $1500 a month plus utilities on $54k. Year I would tell them they are nuts. It's that type of behavior that left us with the financial crisis and a looming retirement crisis.

But that's just me and I might be too conservative in terms of personal finance.

[fieldmarshaldj]

[CenterHill]

Looks a lot like the Edwin Keeble designed Methodist Publishing House building one block away that Turnberry will raze. Swap?

[donNdonelson2]

Is this a rendering of the proposed Nashville location? I got the impression this illustration is of the new hotel in Washington DC.

[MidTenn1]

Is this a rendering of the proposed Nashville location? I got the impression this illustration is of the new hotel in Washington DC.

 

 Yep! It's the DC building.

[HGMIII]

$50,000 cannot afford a $1500 a month apartment. That is $18,000 a year or $22,500(assuming 20% tax rate) before taxes. Spending 45% of your income on rent is simply not feasible. You should not be spending $1,500 a month on rent unless you are making $80,000 + imo.

 

Maybe I am too conservative fiscally, who knows.

It was an example, I don't care what the real income is.  The point is this, these downtown apartment complexes are continuing to be built and the rent isn't going down.  

[mundiejc]

I'm noticing a lot of posts on Facebook for people who have bought 300k+ houses who are renting out rooms. I suspect that's a lot of what's going on. I don't know who is renting the one bedrooms, but if you want a nice place in the urban core, you are looking at 600-750 a bedroom. 

 

Market for a nicely remodeled small 2 bed house in north nashville now (west of 65) is 900-1000. The bottom of the barrel for a 3 bedroom is around 800-850.

 

I really think the majority of these units are going to people who have been living in high rent cities and have moved here. Many of them are telecommuting so they are still making LA/NYC/Chicago wages but living in Nashville.

[rookzie]

I'm noticing a lot of posts on Facebook for people who have bought 300k+ houses who are renting out rooms. I suspect that's a lot of what's going on. I don't know who is renting the one bedrooms, but if you want a nice place in the urban core, you are looking at 600-750 a bedroom. 

 

Market for a nicely remodeled small 2 bed house in north nashville now (west of 65) is 900-1000. The bottom of the barrel for a 3 bedroom is around 800-850.

 

I really think the majority of these units are going to people who have been living in high rent cities and have moved here. Many of them are telecommuting so they are still making LA/NYC/Chicago wages but living in Nashville.

 

I think that's a good perception.  Nashv'l is not even close to approaching a state of flourishing on its own, as if it were a self-sustaining island, and w/r/t that matter, those cities which might have been viewed as such have become less so, in the ever-rising realm of telecommuting for collaborative and distributive corporate interaction.  It’s becoming more and more integrated into the workplace culture of this region, and it’s manifesting itself increasingly in the wolfing up of condos, more modest houses, and apartments.  As you have stated, dwellers are taking to the more trusted of the social media like Facebook for sharing living spaces, especially if these workers are transients in the sense that they travel much or most of their time, and whose employers tend to dispatch them on “client” or “branch” missions to other physical locations (whether they telecommute or not).

A high percentage of the corporate workforce targeting near- and in-town housing are individuals whose work comprises a mix of physical presence and who muster as “virtual employees”, and, from my personal interaction with people, I am led to conclude that many of these work as contractors or long-term freelancers, for which job postings have become a norm.  Especially in tech companies, having remote and virtual employees is not only a way to get things done round the clock, without physically commuting, and with hard-to-find skill sets, but it also is a way to meet the needs of employees who don’t want to or can’t live near the corporate or branch office, which may or may not physically exist within the region.  I suspect that, not only do virtual employers work for firms located within the Nashv’l MSA and have personal preferences to live close to DT, but also they frequently inter-mesh with more than one geographical point, either to co-workers, superiors, or subordinates, or to end-users and clients.  While I am not interested in working with Red Hat Inc., from time to time I have received “beckonings” to a career in open-source development with them.   Red Hat is one example of a highly distributed company, which seems to thrive on the establishment of a virtual workforce from just about anywhere.

Remote definitely is not for every career tract, that that op is not well-suited for remote working but instead is better served with an on-premise office setting.  Employers have been realizing that not everyone wants to, or can afford to, live in the cities popularly recognized as technology centers, and employers realize that workers must possess the disposition and skills to succeed and to align themselves as team members in a virtual environment.  Employers also need a complementary set of skills to manage these remote workers, while maintaining a supportive corporate culture to enable remote employees to be successful.   Of course, all this could be for naught without the physical communications and technical infrastructure (Google, Verizon,…) in place to empower virtual collaboration.  For the home market in Nashv’l, this is identified as a cause and effect of one marketplace interlaced with another ─ the ramification effect – which has helped spark off Salemtown , HBV and Eliz. Park, and as some posters have indicated in other topics, this includes some slivers of Bordeaux.  The same has been happening for a number of years now in Sylvan Hts/Park, and Hope Gardens, although much of the rather confined yet convenient Hope Gardens consists of units which replaced much of the existing deteriorated housing back during the early 2000s.

-==-

[Bezoar]

Demo permit issued for building at 1407 3rd Ave N, the site of the Fountains project.  

[markhollin]

Getahn Ward at the Tennessean gets the scoop on Cambria Hotel...  

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/02/20/goodyear-tire-store-closing-room-cambria-hotel-suites-planned/23758451/

 

If they go with a similar floor plan for Nashville's tract, then 224 rooms might be a few floors taller than this Washington DC version.  Guessing i would be in the 11-12 story range.

[dmillsphoto]

Property purchased by Ohio group Lifestyle Communities...

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/real-estate/2015/02/apartment-developer-nabs-sobro-site.html?ana=twt