Nashville Bits and Pieces

[CenterHill]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:21 PM, dragonfly said:

Can someone explain what those properties that are "Infill .." what does the infill mean? I love looking at those cute buildings, especially being here in Houston where they are being knocked down as the city goes more vertical. The nicest ones having been in Montrose where the 1905 2 story frame house I lived in for 12 years just bit the dust. Maybe the last 2 story framehouse I can think of in that district.

In this context “infill” means new construction in a historic neighborhood.  Usually built on an empty lot or replacing a non-contributing structure 

[markhollin]

A group of local organizations have come together to create the Alliance for an Affordable Nashville.

According to its website, the group is “a coalition of longstanding Nashville-centric affordable housing and community development nonprofits, [that] works with city leaders, financial institutions and developers to address the city’s complex and growing housing crisis.”

The alliance aims to bring attention to Nashville’s housing crisis, preserve and build affordable housing across the city and create private-public partnerships and policies around the issue.

- Members of the coalition include:

- Affordable Housing Resources Inc.

- Be a Helping Hand

- Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville

- New Level Community Development Corp.

- Pathway Lending

- Project Return

- Rebuilding Together Nashville

- The Housing Fund

- Urban Housing Solutions

- Woodbine Community Organization

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/05/30/alliance-for-an-affordable-nashville-created.html

[markhollin]

Intrepid Direct Insurance, based out of Kansas City, will open its first satellite office in Nashville at an undisclosed location. They plan on hiring 25 people initially.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/05/30/intrepid-direct-insurance-nashville-hiring.html

[markhollin]

Nashville has a proposal in the works that would require commercial developers to reclaim and recycle materials like cardboard, metal, masonry and concrete, shingles and untreated wood that would otherwise take up increasingly scarce landfill space.

Waste from construction and demolition sites currently makes up about a third of the waste in Nashville's landfills. Between 2007 and 2021, the amount of waste dumped into Nashville's construction and demolition landfills doubled (excluding 2020, an outlier year due to debris produced by several disasters).

New legislation proposed by the Metro Nashville Waste Services Division and the mayor's office would institute recycling and diversion requirements in phases starting on July 1, 2024. Middle Tennessee is already home to a handful of construction and demolition recycling processing facilities, but Nashville officials hope that a multiyear rollout would give the industry time to expand to meet the increasing demand for these services spurred by the new rules.

More behind The Tennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2023/06/03/nashville-proposes-recycling-requirements-for-construction-waste/70278129007/

[smeagolsfree]

36 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Nashville has a proposal in the works that would require commercial developers to reclaim and recycle materials like cardboard, metal, masonry and concrete, shingles and untreated wood that would otherwise take up increasingly scarce landfill space.

Waste from construction and demolition sites currently makes up about a third of the waste in Nashville's landfills. Between 2007 and 2021, the amount of waste dumped into Nashville's construction and demolition landfills doubled (excluding 2020, an outlier year due to debris produced by several disasters).

New legislation proposed by the Metro Nashville Waste Services Division and the mayor's office would institute recycling and diversion requirements in phases starting on July 1, 2024. Middle Tennessee is already home to a handful of construction and demolition recycling processing facilities, but Nashville officials hope that a multiyear rollout would give the industry time to expand to meet the increasing demand for these services spurred by the new rules.

More behind The Tennessean paywall here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2023/06/03/nashville-proposes-recycling-requirements-for-construction-waste/70278129007/

Metro can't enforce what rules they have now, so I do not see them being able to enforce this one. Heck, Metro does not enforce the rules it imposes on itself. To get all of your workforce on a site to comply will almost be impossible. Many of these guys do not speak English and a lot of the others are temps that are just there for the check that really do not care what goes in what dumpster. Now you really think Metro will have a dumpster policeman go around and check or they really give it a once over at the dump. Nope, the dump is just that; a dump and go. Why do you think dead bodies end up there??? Nobody checks it!

Not saying it will not completely work because some will attempt to comply.

[Bos2Nash]

I don't disagree Ron. Metro needs to get their stuff together when it comes to recycling as a whole. 

I think construction companies should absolutely be held accountable for their debris and waste though. So much waste in the industry, especially in smaller residential projects. A perfect example is my recent home renovation project. Our GC bought lumber for the project (even though I carefully demo'd my basement to reuse lumber) and did not use it all. When it came time to clean up the driveway, they sent a worker to cut up the perfectly new, unused lumber to just throw it in the dumpster!! I told them to stop and I have now stacked it and added it to my wood collection for a future project (little libraries is the goal). This is a perfect example of construction companies needing to be more accountable. This lumber was getting thrown in a dumpster with every possible amount of debris. There is a component to this that where the dumpster gets emptied needs to have more specific equipment and sorting capabilities, but this is a frame of mind that needs to go through the whole city and not just the end-of-the-line segment. 

[Luvemtall]

I agree and believe it’s a problem, not only in Metro but everywhere. I’ve been involved in numerous projects both hands on and as an investor, it’s rampant throughout the industry. Especially when someone else is paying for it, the jobbers don’t mind throwing your money (materials) away.

[smeagolsfree]

21 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

I agree and believe it’s a problem, not only in Metro but everywhere. I’ve been involved in numerous projects both hands on and as an investor, it’s rampant throughout the industry. Especially when someone else is paying for it, the jobbers don’t mind throwing your money (materials) away.

Bingo, it is a problem everywhere and requires a change in the culture of the construction industry culture. That was more to my point. 

To your point Craig, you can tell them 100 times what you want but unless you are down there holding their hands, they will do what they have always done.

[Bos2Nash]

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

To your point Craig, you can tell them 100 times what you want but unless you are down there holding their hands, they will do what they have always done.

And that's why I held their hands almost everyday haha. Gotta watch these crews like a hawk nowadays.

[markhollin]

“CMA Fest” will air on ABC on Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. with hosts Dierks Bentley, Elle King, and Lainey Wilson. The three-hour special will highlight footage from CMA Fest’s 50th anniversary this week and feature never-before-seen performances + surprise artist collaborations.

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 6/5/2023 at 8:55 AM, smeagolsfree said:

Metro can't enforce what rules they have now, so I do not see them being able to enforce this one. Heck, Metro does not enforce the rules it imposes on itself. To get all of your workforce on a site to comply will almost be impossible. Many of these guys do not speak English and a lot of the others are temps that are just there for the check that really do not care what goes in what dumpster. Now you really think Metro will have a dumpster policeman go around and check or they really give it a once over at the dump. Nope, the dump is just that; a dump and go. Why do you think dead bodies end up there??? Nobody checks it!

Not saying it will not completely work because some will attempt to comply.

There is a huge culture of non-compliance in much of the construction industry right now, it seems. The current seller's market combined with overwhelmed codes enforcement offices in many jurisdictions seems to have made it so that many construction crews just do whatever they want for the sake of convenience and expediency. I've run into this problem a LOT around here in NoVA, with everything from crews blocking sidewalks and bike lanes to tearing up streets with improper repairs to straight up ignoring permitting requirements for new construction. They know that the city will be slow to respond, and they'll be done by the time inspectors usually arrive after complaints are filed. On top of that, fines are rarely high enough to be a real deterrent, but rather are just considered a cost of doing business that they may or may not even have to pay.

[PaulChinetti]

@Nathan_in_DCthat's a great point about fines. Why follow the rules when the fine is nothing but a slap on the wrist. What's the saying, if a fine isn't high enough, then it's just the cost of doing business?

$50 dollars (I think that's what it is) fine to block the sidewalk is nothing compared to actually have to put up scaffolding and comply with the rules. 

[Bos2Nash]

Just now, PaulChinetti said:

$50 dollars (I think that's what it is) fine to block the sidewalk is nothing compared to actually have to put up scaffolding and comply with the rules. 

I really wish LC Germantown was getting hit with a much steeper fine and for each item blocking the sidewalk. I was at Monday Night Brewing for trivia last night and had to get off the sidewalk for three different dumpsters that the building had left out completely blocking the sidewalk. Shame on me as I did not report it to HubNashville though lol.

[PaulChinetti]

The building on Acklen Ave and 20th Ave S blocked the sidewalks for TWO YEARS PLUS. They finally unblocked it last week. Insanity. 

[Nathan_in_DC]

3 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

@Nathan_in_DCthat's a great point about fines. Why follow the rules when the fine is nothing but a slap on the wrist. What's the saying, if a fine isn't high enough, then it's just the cost of doing business?

$50 dollars (I think that's what it is) fine to block the sidewalk is nothing compared to actually have to put up scaffolding and comply with the rules. 

Exactly...the current fine structure for code violations in most cities is a complete non-deterrent. It costs more to comply than it does to pay the fines. $50 might have been a big deal when the code was written in 1980, but it's a rounding error for most construction projects now.  Some of my neighbors are running into a problem now where a nearby bar is constantly violating the noise ordinance with outdoor music and events that are inviolation of their special use permit. The bar owners have discovered that if they challenge every fine (which is only $50), no additional fines can be levied until the dispute is cleared, and the fine amount simply is not a deterrent. 

 

7 minutes ago, Bos2Nash said:

I really wish LC Germantown was getting hit with a much steeper fine and for each item blocking the sidewalk. I was at Monday Night Brewing for trivia last night and had to get off the sidewalk for three different dumpsters that the building had left out completely blocking the sidewalk. Shame on me as I did not report it to HubNashville though lol.

Unfortunately, if Nashville is anything like Alexandria, inspections are almost exclusively in response to complaints. It requires the constant attention of residents just hammering the system with reports of bad actors like this. If it's a construction company and it's especially bad or impactful of safety, I've taken to directly contacting them and asking them to fix the mess they made. Honestly, if they're leaving dumpsters on the sidewalk, then a call to the police non-emergency number to report illegal dumping might be a good course of action.

[markhollin]

Submit your feedback on the proposed Commercial Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials ordinance, which aims to reduce C&D waste sent to landfill from commercial construction and demolition projects in Metro Nashville:

https://www.nashville.gov/departments/water/developers/debris-management-plan/proposed-ordinance/proposed-ordinance-feedback?utm_term=nashtoday&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=nashtoday&utm_content=nashtoday

[dragonfly]

Tennessee finds itself in good company again. WSJ article groups states with most business in-migration against states with most business out migration. Evidence  piling up for decades on the outcome of social, fiscal, and economic policy at the state level. Count yourselves lucky -- the good fortunes of Nashville growth is linked to state policy makers. The same can be said for Austin in spite of its defunded/demoralized police and climbing crime rates.  WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-lockdowns-business-employers-migration-states-bureau-of-labor-statistics-85b7d592?mod=hp_trending_now_opn_pos3

[Argo]

1 hour ago, dragonfly said:

Evidence  piling up for decades on the outcome of social, fiscal, and economic policy at the state level. 

What happens when real grown ups are in the room.

Think about all of the towers (especially office) that were scheduled to get built but now will never happen because of the adults in the room.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Argo

[BnaBreaker]

I would respond, but then I'll probably just get blamed for "starting" a political argument instead of the only two posters on this whole message board who consistently post incendiary political commentary almost exclusively, and do so with seemingly few, if any, repercussions.  Oh well. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by BnaBreaker

[MontanaGuy]

I think they're both the same person and I'll just let it go at that.  I don't want to start anything either.

[Luvemtall]

Sometimes it’s just so hard to bite my lip, and look the other way. 

[smeagolsfree]

5 hours ago, Argo said:

What happens when real grown ups are in the room.

Think about all of the towers (especially office) that were scheduled to get built but now will never happen because of the adults in the room.

Office towers are not being built anywhere for the most part right now. I wonder what adults you are talking about as you keep on using that term. They are certainly not in this room trying to make a point in this thread by using that term over and over. 

TN does not have a state income tax and neither do any of the states on the list but NC. There is a draw of the Raleigh Durham area because of quality of life issues and Charlotte being a strong business and banking center. NC has been in the game for a long time. TN is a relative new comer with the exception of manufacturing. If TN had an income tax we would not be on the list. Given the current state of things the apple cart may turn over in some of these states with teachers fleeing like Godzilla is blowing radioactive fire up their rear ends. Public education is going to take a dive in TN, TX, & Fl due to teacher shortages and that is going cause a big problem in the next couple of years.

 

[dmillsphoto]

8 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

I would respond, but then I'll probably just get blamed for "starting" a political argument instead of the only two posters on this whole message board who consistently post incendiary political commentary almost exclusively, and do so with seemingly few, if any, repercussions.  Oh well. 

Hey I'm not a mod anymore and have more than 13 years part of the UP community... so....

 

9 hours ago, Argo said:

What happens when real grown ups are in the room.

Think about all of the towers (especially office) that were scheduled to get built but now will never happen because of the adults in the room.

Dude, do you actually believe what you type? The world changed with Covid and that included office space and the business that runs them. It has precisely ZERO to do with the government or the "adults in the room". My generation (and Bos2Nash and SeanBlackDog and others here who are of a certain age) has been trying for a decade to change how and where work is done. Apparently it took a million plus people dying from a somewhat preventable catastrophe to get there. 

 

Yes, office space and buildings will be pared back or canceled altogether. But it's got precisely f**kall to do with "adults in the room".

[KJHburg]

^^^ from that WSJ article NC has several growth engines the Charlotte region banking finance HQ, Raleigh Durham biosciences pharma technology and NC has the lowest corporate income tax of any state with one.  We pay a flat personal income tax rate which is declining yearly but less than GA SC or VA.  

anyway Nashville metro is building lots of new homes in 2023 so far  in fact the 9th most in the nations metro areas.  That is very impressive and more than LA metro area.  

https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/new-home-construction

[smeagolsfree]

10 hours ago, KJHburg said:

^^^ from that WSJ article NC has several growth engines the Charlotte region banking finance HQ, Raleigh Durham biosciences pharma technology and NC has the lowest corporate income tax of any state with one.  We pay a flat personal income tax rate which is declining yearly but less than GA SC or VA.  

anyway Nashville metro is building lots of new homes in 2023 so far  in fact the 9th most in the nations metro areas.  That is very impressive and more than LA metro area.  

https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/new-home-construction

The Sun Belt is dominating. Surprising that LA is still on the list as it is so expensive to build out there and they are having a net decrease in population. I do realize that the burbs are gaining at the expense of the city though.