Creating Places: A Question

Sometimes I wonder what percentage of Nashvillians would list the manmade environment (that is, issues related to planning, design, construction, development, etc.) among their 10 main interests. Could it be 10 percent? I doubt it. I would think 5 percent at best.

Creating Places: The Little Things

With minimal major construction slated for Nashville's urban core in 2010, I will be closely watching the additions and modifications of "less significant built fabric elements." A fine example is the retaining wall accompany the soon-to-open Pinnacle Financial Center building in Berry Hill. In a classy and visually attractive manner, the wall, which anchors the northwest corner of Bransford Avenue and Thompson Lane, reads "Welcome to Berry Hill." Sometimes it's the little touches to our manmade environment that can make a underrated difference.

Creating Places: 1700 Midtown

A recent tour of cutting-edge apartment building 1700 Midtown spurred me to ponder the following: Is there a similar rental building within Nashville's urban core? 1700 is unusual in that if features multiple elements found at the city's post-2000-completed urban condo buildings, including a secured parking garage, a very sleek club room, a fitness room and even a "green room" devoted to recycling. Each unit offers a washer/dryer, which is unusual. Of note, 1700 lacks a pool but beyond that, the building offers big-city apartment living on a different level compared to Nashville's other cool apartment houses.