6 buildings changing nashville’s midtown skyline

nashville’s upcoming virgin hotel opens fall 2016

1-driving into nashville, one of the first things you’re likely to see are cranes going up everywhere.  it’s not just downtown either.  midtown is seeing a huge growth spurt.  virgin released renderings this week of their upcoming music row location.  the 240-unit hotel will include 15 residential penthouses, rooftop pool, gym, wellness center & 14,000 square feet of meeting space.  the ground floor will feature the commons club, a “hybrid bar/lounge with a laidback study and restaurant with the vibe of a membership club except without the fees.”  expect virgin nashville to open its doors fall 2016.

novare group & batson-cook development’s skyhouse

2–skyhouse, a new 25-story, 352-unit luxury apartment high rise, is proposed to be located on the corner of broadway and 17th avenue. the building will also include more than 10,600-square-feet of ground level retail and a 25th floor clubhouse, fitness center, pool and an outdoor plaza boasting 360-degree views of the city.

m residence

3-if all gets approved, m residences, a 19-story 300-unit, mixed-use apartment building by lennar multifamily will rise on 19th avenue south.  the street level will offer retail space on 19th and a 4,000 square foot restaurant space on the corner of 19th and chet atkins.

4-where division, broadway and 21st avenue all meet lies the upcoming buckingham midtown project.  the 17-story development will include a 180-room kimpton hotel, 350 apartments, 35,000 square feet of ground-level retail, 630 parking spaces and 6,500 square feet of meeting space.   completion is set for early 2017.

5–HCA broke ground last fall on a 16-story north gulch mixed-use development.  over 500,000 square feet of the building’s office space will headquarter two of HCA’s subsidiaries, sarah cannon research and parallon business solutions.  hca’s portion is only 10 acres though of the 32.5 acre lot.  the rest of the game plan for the project will include up to 1 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail, grocery store & restaurant space, sites for two separate hotels and 1,000 apartment units.  it will be quite the undertaking.

12-story thompson hotel

6-a 12-story, 224-unit thompson hotel will be built on the peninsula where 11th & 12th split in the gulch.  it will wrap around 404 kitchen and station inn and include boutique retail and restaurant space on the street level.    chicago’s famed doughnut vault is one the first signed up.  they will sit across from the hotel lobby.  the hotel will also feature an indoor/outdoor rooftop equipped with a bar, lounge & venue space for events.

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6 upcoming buildings changing our skyline in sobro

side profile of the bridgestone americas tower

it’s been a big month in development announcements around the city.  bridgestone americas plan to move their corporate offices to a yet-to-be-built 30-story high rise in sobro was probably one of the biggest victories.   sandwiched between the river and the country music hall of fame on demonbreun street, the bridgestone tower will be one of the tallest towers in the city.

the upcoming jw marriott & office building on 8th. or a very large deodorant stick…hard to tell.

bridgestone will bring 1,700 employees, including 600 currently out-of-state ones, to the downtown.  they will be the lone tenant in the building.

4 blocks up on 8th & demonbreun, a 35-story jw marriott hotel and a 25-story office building are in the works on a 3.7 acre lot.  the project includes 500-600 room hotel rooms and about 400,000 square feet of office space.  the hotel will create 650 jobs for downtown and the office space could house upwards of 1,200.  they hope to break ground next summer with a late 2017 opening.

sobro’s westin

next door on the 8th avenue roundabout at 100 clark place, developers plan to break ground any day on nashville’s first westin hotel as well.   the 27-story, 452-room tower is also scheduled to be completed by 2017.

a little closer to the river at 418 second street, tony giarratana’s 33-story luxury apartment project is currently being erected.  the aptly named sobro will include 342 apartments, 378 parking spaces and 18,000 square feet of street level retail.

the 33-story sobro

lastly, a $75 million 23-story apartment high rise is being proposed at 641 division street, right behind pour house burgers and frugal mcdougal on 8th avenue south.  currently, the 1.2 acre lot is home to myers flooring.  the crescendo will be 330 apartments, ground level retail, and a garage that will house 600 parking spaces.   construction will begin in late spring 2015.

it’s worth noting for comparison purposes, the very visible twelve twelve high rise which is wrapping up construction this week in the gulch is 23 stories.   the at&t building downtown, most commonly known as the “batman building,” is 33 stories.

 

 

6 picks for your caffeine fix

coffee is the new black.  new hotspots offering free wi-fi, baked treats and all the java you need are cropping up all over the city in the last few months.  for a lot of the people, these locales become their office-away-from-their-office.  for others, it is a chance to escape the daily grind to recharge.  here is your guide to a few pitstops to consider next time:

germantown’s new red bicycle coffee & crepes

red bicycle coffee & crepes-housed in the heart of germantown, rb serves up 40 different delicious crepes all day for breakfast, lunch & dinner.  they offer up gluten-free and vegetarian options as well. 1200 fifth avenue north | 615.516.1986

family-owned roast, inc sits in the fastly gentrifying eighth avenue south corridor across from zanies comedy club.  these guys even produce their own bottled cold brew coffee, in black or sweet.  available now also at whole foods and local farmers markets.  2108 eighth avenue south | 615.730.8074

frothy monkey coffeehouse, a longtime staple in the 12 south community, has branched out in recent years with locations now in the art district on 5th avenue north as well as downtown franklin.  with a strong desire to brand themselves as more than just a coffeehouse, fm is now open for dinner and serves up “conscientiously crafted meals” derived from the chef’s passion for southern comfort food and made with locally fresh, sustainable ingredients.  2509 12th avenue south | 615.292.1808 

 fidos-once named by usa today as one of the top 10 places for coffee & conversation, this wi-fi hotspot in hillsboro village is ideal for the hungry laptop-carrying students and urban career-minded networkers alike.  1812 21st avenue south | 615.777.3436

barista parlor

barista parlor–opened in 2012 on the eastside, this ultra-trendy hipster epicenter combines beautiful art and minimalist design with incredible coffee. they take great pride in serving up perfect cup of joe.  you can find them now in the gulch behind the icon high rise as well as germantown.  519 gallatin avenue, 615.712.9766 

the well coffeehouse-coffee with a cause.  a non-profit organization with a passion for making a difference in the local community and in the world .  they serve you a cup of coffee.  you pay them.  they serve others in need.  it’s a rather wonderful concept.  coming to shops at seven springs in brentwood in april . 4002 granny white pike, 615.730.5016

6 picks to kick-off spring in nashville

1-zoovie nights at the nashville zoo-“zoovie” nights at the nashville zoo kick off friday night, april 25th at 6pm with the croods.  zoovie nights are included with your admission to the zoo or your zoo membership.  if you arrive after the park closes at 6, its $5.  additional zoovie nights are scheduled for may-september. | 3777 nolensville pike

2-nashville bcycle program-with over 190 bikes at 20 automated kiosks all over the city, the nashville bcycle program is a great way to see the city.   pick one up from one station, drop it off at another.   two new locations this spring:  12south at 12 south flats and 12south at sevier park.  for more locations & costs, click here.

3-experience the greenways-with close to 200 miles of paved or primitive trails in the nashville area, you could hike or run for awhile before you had to repeat the same course even. for maps, click here.

4-las paletas gourmet popsicles-located in the 12south neighborhood, the sister team that brings you these delicious mexican desserts changes out the menu regularly with flavors that vary from spicy chocolate wasabi to avocado.  a great way to cool off after you’ve cycled from downtown.  and hiked one of the greenways. | 2905 12th avenue south

the croods-april 26th at the zoo

5-cheekwood botanical garden-what better way to usher in spring than 100,000 tulips of every color, 250 varieties of daffodils and so much more.  april 19th 10am-4pm, celebrate spring with their spring art hop.  there will be an egg hunt, crafts & performances rain or shine.  they will hide over 20,000 eggs so don’t forget your basket.  | 1200 forrest park drive

6-jeni’s ice cream-wall street journal dubbed jeni’s cookbook the “homemade ice cream making bible”.  definitely a unique cold treat culinary experience, her ice cream flavors range from absinthe & meringues to queen city cayenne to my personal favorite, brown butter almond brittle.  | 1892 eastland avenue, 2312 12th avenue south

6 picks: how nashville is shaping up & slimming down

with the new year around the corner, everyone typically chooses this time to reflect and regroup.  turn over a new leaf.  eat better.  be nicer.  drink less.  get in shape.  although realistically, if i’m going to be nicer or eat better, i’ll need to continue to drink so that’s out.  i did decide recently to tackle firsthand trending workouts around town.  this plan has kind of kicked my butt and took me a lot longer than i expected but alas here they are:

1-shakti yoga/kelly farina (thursday)

65 music square east, nashville ,tn 37203 | 615.942.8100

the class was a vigorous combination of  both traditional and modified versions of ancient postures but also incorporated a good balance of meditation.   although hot power yoga is designed to energize you and center you, i longed to collapse somewhere in a cold, dark place afterwards.

first class: $18

2- barry’s bootcamp/antonio compton, instructor (sunday)

308 11th ave s nashville, tn 37203 | 615.457.1571

initially, i was going to do 6 consecutive workouts in 6 days and blog about it.  after doing barry’s full body workout right out of the box and being rendered useless for a day or so afterwards, i decided to pace myself.  the session lasted an hour and was a full body with 50% cardio/running, 50% weights.

costs for one session: $22

3-results fitness/josh rogers, instructor (friday)

1617 16th avenue south, nashville, tn 37212 |615.457.3644

this “ultimate” session had running at the end but the cardio was mostly driven around rowing which tones up the legs, shoulder & back.  we alternated between rowing & weights and finished with the treadmill.  everyone seemed really in shape in my class especially the reigning miss tennessee who rowed next to me…i was thankful to be in low light.

first class:  free

4-hot box/jamie bryant, instructor (wednesday)

125 12th avenue south, nashville, tn 37203 | 615.881.5795

one hour that seemed to solve any anger management problems i had.   the punching worked the arms and abs evenly i felt like and the kicking seemed to work the quads and gluts a lot for me personally.  so much sweat.  had to be a good thing right?

5-yoked/trace faubel, instructor (tuesday)

65 music square east nashville, tn 37203 | 619.200.7022

i did a class called “raw yoked” which has no treadmill but is essentially “cardio-lifting.”  pretty well-rounded class, working everything.  and it was half an hour.  i thought to myself  ‘i got this’.    20 minutes in, i was crashing.  burpees, mountain climbing, crunches, dead weights, bicep curls, etc and they were all timed.  i’m realizing i don’t love working out.  i’m also realizing i need classes like this to push me to do it.  left to my own devices in the gym and i will just get stuck in a rut doing things i like to do.

first class: free

6-crossfitgulch/rebecca brown, instructor

602 9th avenue south, nashville tn 37203 | 615.293.4439

no machines.  rebecca says barbell exercises are the most efficient way to train.  although there is some pre crossfit barbell exercises, the core part of crossfit really only lasts 6 minutes.  i took my class with some high school football players and as she wrote how many reps we did on the dry erase board, i felt my competitive spirit come out.  the outcome: initially i won although they were probably fine the rest of the week as i laid on a heating pad.  know your body.

are any of these working for you?  what are you doing to stay in shape, nashville?  any good tips?