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

[titanhog]

3 minutes ago, NashvilleObserver said:

If a restaurant, convenience store, or other retail tries to function normally while being smack-dab in the middle of Broadway, they are going to have a hard time doing so. The hostesses at Merchants for example (which is not a bar, but a restaurant) are very used to drunk tourists stumbling in, demanding a table, and then belligerently complaining about the wait. Not to mention the amount of people who push in and try to crowd the bar.  In order not to be affected by the goings-on of Broadway, whatever businesses occupy the area must fit in somehow, or try to keep those people out.

I can only imagine that 5th and Broad's retail thoroughfare will be inundated with spillover from the bars and honky-tonks. I hope this won't be the case, but the area really needs to have a way to promote the fact it's not a continuation of the "party zone."

This actually may be the reason we haven't seen any high-end retail announced for 5+B (yet).  Not saying we don't have a lot of tourists who wouldn't love to shop some high-end stores...but have to think this development may be too close to the tourist zone to feel comfy bringing in elite retail.  Will be interesting to see.  Seems Nashville Yards may be better suited for "higher-end" retail.

[UTgrad09]

7 hours ago, titanhog said:

This actually may be the reason we haven't seen any high-end retail announced for 5+B (yet).  Not saying we don't have a lot of tourists who wouldn't love to shop some high-end stores...but have to think this development may be too close to the tourist zone to feel comfy bringing in elite retail.  Will be interesting to see.  Seems Nashville Yards may be better suited for "higher-end" retail.

I don't think that's the reason, per se. It's not the fact that it's drunk partiers. It's probably that the overall demographic visiting The District doesn't seem like it would support high end retail.

 

I was in Vegas over the weekend. You can literally take your booze almost anywhere and no one bats an eye. There are also tons of high end retailers that aren't even in our market on every other block of The Strip. 

I think, as much as anything, it's about creating a critical mass of retail. What's going into 5+B is about the equivalent of what you would see in a single Vegas casino development. I don't see people going out of their way to shop somewhere with so few options (relatively speaking). I think high end downtown retail is something that will have to be built up slowly over time, or have some large anchor that really lures a lot of high end shoppers. And I don't think 5+B is going to be that.


Not that this is going to happen, but I could see it being much more realistic for high end retail to jump into storefronts away from Lower Broad, such as around 4th and 5th Aves between Church and Union, where there are a lot more high end residential units and boutique hotels.  I could also see someone propose a large retail center in the Gulch (like the Tennessean site) where it would make sense to place some high end retail. Lower Broad is more fit for a Super Walmart and and Old Navy.

[Nashville Cliff]

19 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

I have seen in some locations that Walgreens sometimes has multiple locations within blocks of each other. I guess it all comes down to marketing. In the larger cities sometimes within blocks.

True, but is that something we should aspire to?  Especially when there are still so many other service and retail gaps downtown?

19 hours ago, Nash_12South said:

It's not so convenient for those of us south of Broadway. Not much fun when it's 25 degrees or 95 degrees either.

Which is why it makes more sense to put one somewhere in SoBro, not on Broad.

[Vrtigo]

Well, it's ugly, but a concrete foundation does not have to be straight in order to be structurally sound. I'm sure it'll be covered up in short order and we'll have a Meetup there to celebrate (to @Mr_Bond's chagrin). 

[Nash_12South]

1 hour ago, Nashville Cliff said:

True, but is that something we should aspire to?  Especially when there are still so many other service and retail gaps downtown?

Which is why it makes more sense to put one somewhere in SoBro, not on Broad.

I don't disagree, but the options are limited, currently, south of Broad. It's mostly new buildings, mostly hotels, none of which want a Walgreens. I understand the arguments against, but I don't see what FedEx or Cotton Eyed Joe's actually  contribute to the area. I think Walgreen's would be more welcomed than one more multilevel bar that is only slightly different from 20 others already there. I think that folks that live and work downtown should have some say in what goes in.  

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Nash_12South said:

I think that folks that live and work downtown should have some say in what goes in.  

Under what rationale should you have any say in what goes at this location? Not being snarky but seriously? The market already has a say at what will go at the location.

Of course in the long run folks that live and work downtown do have a say...they can decide to not support a business. However, visitors to our fair city also deserve a say and they may choose to party down and make the bar a big success.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Guest

[Mr_Bond]

1 hour ago, Vrtigo said:

Well, it's ugly, but a concrete foundation does not have to be straight in order to be structurally sound. I'm sure it'll be covered up in short order and we'll have a Meetup there to celebrate (to @Mr_Bond's chagrin). 

If the coffee is excellent, I'm there.  I'll do almost anything for a single origin coffee.

[Nash_12South]

47 minutes ago, nashville_bound said:

Under what rationale should you have any say in what goes at this location? Not being snarky but seriously? The market already has a say at what will go at the location.

Of course in the long run folks that live and work downtown do have a say...they can decide to not support a business. However, visitors to our fair city also deserve a say and they may choose to party down and make the bar a big success.

It's just my opinion, my wishful thinking. Is the retail coming to 5th & Broad all misplaced because it won't be bars? I'm just offering my 2 cents, which I'm the first to admit, is all it's worth.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Nash_12South

[memphian]

15 hours ago, titanhog said:

This actually may be the reason we haven't seen any high-end retail announced for 5+B (yet).

Watch out - we are getting a flasghip something store, which you can tell is super important to me since I already forgot the name. However, it will probably fill a need for bachelorette parties once the attendees have spilled their drinks all over themselves.

[BnaBreaker]

31 minutes ago, memphian said:

Watch out - we are getting a flasghip something store, which you can tell is super important to me since I already forgot the name. However, it will probably fill a need for bachelorette parties once the attendees have spilled their drinks all over themselves.

I think it's an H&M, which sells quality clothing but is relatively affordable.  So really, in a way it could fit in just fine on lower broad as a supplier for quick wardrobe replacements for bachelorette party attendees that puked all over the dress they had on the night before.   

[e-dub]

Flagship H&M, they offer higher-end brands and designers a regular H&M doesn't.

[markhollin]

Some shots from the interior redesign of Renaissance Hotel:

 

[markhollin]

Hampton Inn Skyline (7 stories, 126 rooms, restaurant) update.  Cladding nearly complete.

Looking NE from intersection of Dickerson Pike and Doverside Drive:

Looking NW from Doverside Drive, 1/2 block east of Dickerson Pike:

[markhollin]

TheMayor's office today confirmed plans to buy the Morris Memorial Building (which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places) from the National Baptist Convention for $12.7 million.  It is still not clear how this might be part of the land swap with Tony Giarratana, who wishes to purchase the Church Street Park a few blocks away, and make his parking lot next to the Morris Building available to convert into a new park as part of the deal.

 

"The Morris Memorial Building is a significant downtown landmark and a site that represents an important piece of our city’s African-American history," Thomas Mulgrew, the mayor's spokesman, said in a statement. "The National Baptist Convention approached us about entering into a partnership to purchase the building. We believed that the property was too special to Nashville to leave its fate to the private market to decide."

He continued: "We will soon announce details about a committee the mayor has formed to help decide the future use of the building. The committee includes stakeholders from advocacy, business and housing-related organizations, as well as the mayor’s office and the National Baptist Convention. While the final use of the property is still to be determined, preservation is and will be the group’s No. 1 priority."

Metro would use a portion of $25 million worth of approved bond money that's earmarked for affordable housing projects to pay for the property, according to Mulgrew.

More behind the NBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/02/20/exclusivemetro-to-buy-historic-downtown-building.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

 

[Guest]

^^ This is exactly why I and others rail against government double-speak.

1) They overpaid for this building.
2) They did it for political cover.
3) The money they are spending on 'preservation' will be excessive 
4) They are using the funds they took under the auspices of increasing affordable housing  for -

"While the final use of the property is still to be determined, preservation is and will be the group’s No. 1 priority."

Edited February 20, 2019 by Guest

[markhollin]

Got to tour the construction going on at the Moxy Hotel SoBro this morning. The firm that Bos2Nash (Craig) works for is handling the design.  The original warehouse was built around 1940, and they have worked hard to retain a lot of the industrial vibe of the facility, utilizing original brick walls, ceilings, metal doors in areas, etc.   The developers hope to be open sometime in May.  I'll share more photos of the rooftop bar and exterior work tomorrow.

Here's a story in today's Tennessean as well:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2019/02/20/millennial-focused-moxy-hotel-prep-downtown-nashville-opening/2907813002/
 

[Buildtall]

That bed doesn’t look very comfy. 

[MLBrumby]

Those rooms are going to get so trashed... every week. 

[Guest]

Durable is the word! Very industrial....the next Saw movie installment could be filmed at this location with minimal work. 

[thenorthchannel]

Is there room for a bar/restaurant in The Moxy?   I had someone try to tell me that a Tilted Kilt was going in a floor on this building.   

[UTgrad09]

4 hours ago, nashville_bound said:

Durable is the word! Very industrial....the next Saw movie installment could be filmed at this location with minimal work. 

I like the style. We'll call it...Axe Murderer Chic.

[BnaBreaker]

3 hours ago, UTgrad09 said:

I like the style. We'll call it...Axe Murderer Chic.

Easy to clean!

[Pdt2f]

10 hours ago, markhollin said:

 

Hell no, I’m never staying anywhere where I have to use a square toilet. That hurts my legs and backside just looking at it! 

[markhollin]

More from the hard hat tour of Moxy Hotel SoBro yesterday.  They have done a great job incorporating elements of the original storage warehouse.

The rooftop bar:

Shots from some of the  4th floor hotel rooms:

Use of old heavy duty doors throughout:

Looking down the former freight elevator shaft, which will be utilized for newer lifts.

Looking SW from 2nd Ave. South, 1/2 block south of Broadway:

Looking SE from 3rd Ave. South, 1/2 block south of Broadway:

All of the lower level brick will remain the same, including the painted signage from Richards Storage. Looking NE from 3rd Ave. South near intersection with Symphony Place:

The front entrance and main lobby will be this former truck entrance along 3rd Ave. South.  Looking east across 3rd Ave. South from Johnny Cash Museum:

The Broadway side will have an entrance to as yet-to-be-announced bar.  Looking SE from Broadway near intersection with 3rd Ave:

Looking NW from base of Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, a block east of 3rd Ave. South:

[titanhog]

Does this have any kind of entrance of Broadway?

Btw...I LOVE the gradient grey.

Edited February 21, 2019 by titanhog