Creating Places: A Citizen Observer's Look at Nashville's Built Environment


Writer's Note: William Williams' interest in the manmade environment dates to 1970, at which point the then-young Williams started a collection of postcards of city skylines. The collection now numbers 1,000-plus cards. Among the writer's specific interests are exterior building design, city district planning, demographics, signage, mixed-use development, mass transit and green/sustainable construction and living. Williams began his Creating Places column with The City Paper in February 2005. The column in its original form was discontinued in September 2008 and reinvented via this blog in November 2008. Creating Places can be found on the home page of the website of The City Paper, at which Williams has worked in various capacities since October 2000.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Creating Places: Park Central crane update

A quintet of tidbits as I ponder the realization that Ben Folds and Jason Ringenberg are possessed of — on some songs — similar sounding singing voices.

* My good friend Ron Brewer, whose passion for Nashville's manmade environment commands credit and respect, tells me the tower crane is up at the Park Central (formerly Park 25) construction site (located on 25th Avenue North across from Centennial Park). Thanks for the feed, RB.

* Concrete and rebar for Hyatt Place is now above (albeit barely) street level.

* I exchanged an email today with Dr. Anil Patel, who noted equipment will soon be on the site for his  mixed-used project slated for the 1800 block of West End Avenue (next to Hutton Hotel). The original plan was to have started Sept. 1 but, as is often the cases with large-scale construction projects, that goal was not met. However, if work commences by the end of the month, any delay will have been minimal.  Dr. Paten and I have emailed a few times the past several months and I gather he is a very conscientious and meticulous gentleman who moves discretely with his developments.

* The Vision Hospitality site is showing a contemporary design for the Chattanooga-based company's hotel proposed for Division Street in the Gulch. The image is too small to allow one to ascertain the building's materials, but it  does appear the hotel (the developer is seemingly wanting a Fairfield Inn) will at least not be bathed — as so many hotels nowadays are — in cream synthetic stucco and topped with a cartoonish fire-engine-red metal cap.

* Nashville businessman Gordon Gilbreath has a fascinating idea for a train/trolley line to encircle Nashville's urban core. Gilbreath, chief manager of Dovetail LLC and the genius behind South Nashville's Houston Station and East Nashville's historic Ambrose House, has talked to city officials about his proposal — I'm sure with much earnest. And though the idea is not yet ready to be brought to fruition, I commend the man for getting the dialogue started. More on this later.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 7:12 AM

    And just where is the Park 30 construction site? What type of project is it? Once again, enquiring minds wants to know and would appreciate a bit more information about these projects. Most readers do not know them as well as WW does. Thanks.

    DK

    ReplyDelete
  2. SimonSeptember 20, 2012 at 8:21 AM

    Park 30?!?!? Park 30?!?!?! I thought that project was dead. You don't mean the Giarratana project dubbed "Park 25", do you?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 8:24 AM

    Not sure which project you are referring to. Can you provide more info????

    ReplyDelete
  4. William WilliamsSeptember 20, 2012 at 8:33 AM

    Friends,

    My fumble. I did, indeed, mean Park 25. Just changed and added the street. It's at 220 25th Ave. N.

    Thanks,

    WW

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    Park 25 is renamed Park Central and is on the corner of Brandau Place and 25th Ave and is a 9 story project under construction. Park 30 is on 30th between Poston and Burch. That project was built as office suites and converted to apatments.

    ReplyDelete
  6. William WilliamsSeptember 20, 2012 at 6:37 PM

    Good catch, A-Mous10:12AM.

    ReplyDelete

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