Creating Places: Projects of distinction

With the scrapping of The Streets of Brentwood, announced last week, I decided to craft a list of "distinctive projects" that Nashville both has seen materialized and scrapped since 2000. 

Of note, I did not include public/government projects, instead limiting the list to private development. As such, I did not include, for example, the Music City Center, the Music City Central and Cumberland Park (each, admittedly, noteworthy) or the Federal Courthouse. 

In addition, I did not include individual skyscrapers (such as The Pinnacle at Symphony Place and Icon in the Gulch), as those type buildings have been constructed in multiple cities and, as such, are not distinctive in a strict sense. The one exception, obviously, is Signature Tower, as very few cities our size will ever get such a building. Signature would have been highly distinctive and its failure to rise still pains me to this day. The building would have been an icon.

Also note the list includes nothing on any university campus — despite some impressive additions either finished or underway at Belmont, Lipscomb, Meharry and Vanderbilt.

Basically, I limited the list to either fairly or very unusual projects — often multi-building in nature.

Here we go.

Failed to Happen  (9)

Cumberland Yacht Harbor

Signature Tower 

Nashville Sounds/Struever Bros. project at Thermal site

H20 Urban Waterfront District 

Neuhoff site 

Pantheon Park

May Town Center

Nashville Medical Trade Center

The Streets of Brentwood (Note: Though it would have been located in a suburban area, TSofB would have been extremely urban in its design and function and, as such, could have sent an important message to the general region. So I included).

Yet to Happen and with, Seemingly, a Minimal Chance of Materializing (3)

The Project Nashville Skyline entertainment complex, to be anchored by an IMAX Theater at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds

Strings (Travis Kelty's proposed guitar-shaped office tower)

The Museum of African American Music

Yet to Happen but with a Strong Chance of Materializing (3)

Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Service North Gulch site

One City

West End Summit (I include given this will be a highly unusual three-tower project)

Yet to Happen and Remaining a Question (3)

Bus Rapid Transit line connecting the city's east and west sides

Nashville Sounds stadium

Thermal site amphitheater

Materialized (2)

Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Hill Center Green Hills 

Materialized but Questionable  as to Whether Meeting the Criteria of this List (3)

Omni/Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame expansion (This one was worth considering for inclusion in the "Materialized" category given it involves a speciality museum. However, the hotel is not a "distinctive" project in the strict sense and the bulk of the museum already existed. So I did not include)

Belle Meade Town Center (with Harris Teeter, the Marquee and Belle Meade Court)

Hill Center Belle Meade (anchored by Publix)