3 key hotels headed to the gulch

gulch’s w hotel coming fall 2020.

developers broke ground this month on the upcoming w hotel in the gulch.  shooting for a fall 2020 opening, the 16-story hotel will stretch along 12th avenue between pine street and laurel street, near the turnip truck.  marriott international has said the w hotel will boast 345 rooms, 2 “extreme wow” luxury suites and an over 1,600 square foot penthouse. it will also include two restaurants both helmed by chef andrew carmellini: the dutch nashville and italian chophouse. in classic “w” style, the lobby will feature a full bar and dj booth and highlight local artwork.

nashville saw over 14.5 million tourist in 2017, up 4.6% from 2016. the city is seeing no shortage of new hotels going up to meet the demand. over 100 different hotels are in various stages of construction across the city. 9 hotels have opened this year with another 10 scheduled still to open in 2018.

eleventh house

and the gulch has been the new frontier lately. earlier this year, m street restaurant hospitality owner chris hyndman announced plans to build eleventh house. chris hyndman and m street are known locally for their restaurant successes like virago, saint anejo, kayne prime, tavern and whiskey kitchen. the 112-room, 11-story building will include a rooftop pool and bar/lounge with city views, 30,000+ fitness center, luxury spa, a boutique performance venue and much more. eleventh house is tentatively shooting for a summer 2020 finish.

developers are currently eyeing a block in the north gulch for a 20-story boutique hotel as well. the site, which sits at the corner of 11th avenue and grundy street (near chahaun ale + masala house), is approved for a 16-story building. they go before metro december 13th for their height modifications request. no start date or hotel brand has been announced yet.

these three high profile hotels only add to the growing number of others in the works in the gulch. hilton is banking on the area with a hampton inn + suites in capital view (north gulch) currently under construction, a dual-branded hampton inn and a tru by hilton on 9th, and a canopy by hilton on division street. two additional hotels are in earlier stages: a 16-story, 380-room mcgavock street hotel which is sandwiched between adeles and interstate 65, and a 250-room hotel will be part of a trio of proposed towers at the corner of demonbreun and 12th avenue avenue south.

looking west at the corner of mcgavock + 12 avenue south. this trio of towers will feature a 20-story office building, 250 hotel rooms and 250–300 residential units.

 

metro approves new 11-story gulch hotel

i will try to save you my “i remember when” story of the gulch but it is fascinating to see how quickly it has gone from being an old train yard to one of the only LEED certified green neighborhoods in the country and the only one in the south when it was certified in 2009.

almost 10 years later, the neighborhood has flourished with office space, retail, residential and a thriving restaurant scene. this week, metro approved plans for a new 11-story boutique hotel on 11th avenue south across from kayne prime steakhouse. the developer is coincidentally chris hyndman, the founder and ceo of m street whose portfolio include kayne prime and a host of other neighboring restaurants nearby (saint anejo, virago, moto, whiskey kitchen and tavern).

currently a surface parking at the intersection of mcgavock and 11th avenue south, the 112-room eleventh house will feature a pub, upscale restaurant, juice bar, rooftop bar + grill with city views and a 7,000 square foot luxury spa. amenities will also include a 32,000 square foot fitness facility and a rooftop pool and lounge. the hotel is being designed by hastings architecture.

hyndman is shooting for a fall groundbreaking with completion summer 2020.

3 areas prepping for nashville growth

new entrance planned for the nashville international airport

growing pains are all around us. no big surprise since forbes declared nashville #6 best US city for job growth and #28 best place for business. adding to that, the city ranks 15th nationally in the number of fortune 500 companies headquartered here including the likes of HCA, dollar general and tractor supply. our low energy and labor costs have only continued to attract more new business relocations in recent months.

so how do we accommodate for the influx of new people in and out of the city? here’s three things in the works:

1-transit

drivers spend on average 34 hours in nashville traffic annually…although my guess is some even spend 34 hours in traffic a month. in october, mayor megan barry unveiled a $5.2 billion transit plan bringing a combination of 26 miles of light rail, rapid bus, and even an underground tunnel downtown. the light rail will have its own designated lane. there will be 5 main arteries ending downtown at the underground connection that will run under 5th avenue.

the main cost would come from an increase in sales tax that would jump 1 percent in 2023. the mayor is also proposing a hike in hotel tax, rental car tax and business & excise tax.

“it will not be free. it will be an investment in our future and i believe nashvillians will be willing to make the investment when they learn more about this proposal and how it will change the way they live.” -mayor megan barry

the downside: if approved in may 2018, service improvements and improved accuracy on the current bus service as well as new neighborhood transit centers could start next year. for those frustrated in traffic this week looking for relief, the light rail transit (LRT) service, however, would not be active until 2026, starting with gallatin pike in east nashville. the lrt plan would not fully be completed until 2032.

 

2-airport

the airport saw a 11.2% increase to 13.5 travelers in 2016, making it the fastest growing airport of its size in the nation. with the population of nashville estimated to top over 2.5 million by 2041, a $1.2 billion expansion was announced for the nashville international airport. no local tax dollars will be used. over the course of the next five years, the airport plans to triple their short term parking, add a 288-room on-site hotel and office building, expand concourse d and add a new international facility to name a few changes.  the entire look and feel of the airport is getting a facelift as well, almost complementing the design of the music city convention center with its curved roof line (see above).

 

with the new british airways direct flight to london in may 2018, the airport hopes to open up new global market opportunities in the future. also, if approved next year, the city’s transit plan includes a light rail line as part of the new airport design.

3-hotels

13.9 million visitors , a record number, came to nashville in 2016, up from 13.4 million in 2015. it was also a banner year for the hospitality world since we sold the most hotel rooms ever.

annual visitation is up 45% in the past 10 years so the need is greater than ever to continue to grow the city’s hotel options. more than 100 hotels are in some sort of development in the city currently, outpacing cities like los angeles, chicago, atlanta and dc. according to STR hotel market data this summer, actually only 3 cities in the country have more lined up: new york, houston, and dallas.

among the notable hotel developments in the works for nashville, virgin hotel nashville broke ground in september at 1 music square west. the 240-room, 200,000 square foot hotel will come with restaurants, a bar and a rooftop lounge + pool, being delivered in 2019.

virgin hotel nashville-coming 2019

dream hotel will be another prominent addition to the hospitality community. the 169-room hotel is a four-building development essentially rejuvenating a huge portion of printer’s alley downtown. printer’s alley is steeped in history dating back to the civil war era. there will be 6 new dining and nightlife venues on the street level and restorations of two of the main buildings has collaboration efforts from earl swensson architects with meyer davis laying out the interior.

the upcoming w hotel | 316 12th avenue south

 

plans for the upcoming W hotel in the gulch were revised and approved this summer, increased from 250 rooms to 350 rooms. the plan also calls for a rooftop bar, music venue and amenity deck. there will be a restaurant space on the corner of 12th and laurel (caddy corner to fin+pearl) as well as 12th and pine (near the turnip truck).

 

 

 

the history of the edgehill polar bears

winter 2017

you may not be able to tell it by the smiles on their faces but these two polar bears are knocking on the door of 90 years old. they have witnessed many changes to the city. they were the creation of giovacchino mattei who owned the mattei plaster relief ornamental company. initially commissioned for the polar bear frozen custard shops here in nashville in 1930, there was a set of polar bears created for each location: one on west end avenue and one in east nashville on gallatin road.

according to the former city paper, when those shops closed after world war II, edgehill resident zema hill bought them and brought all four back to edgehill village. two of them went into his front yard at 1408 edgehill avenue and two went in front of the neighborhood funeral home which were sold later in 1952. since 2004, the ones from his front yard now sit at the corner of edgehill avenue and 12th avenue south, ready to throw the first snowball. they have become celebrity icons of the neighborhood having recently been included in the new neighborhood signs.

6 dining spots shaping the gulch this fall

from celebrity chef maneet chauhan, the mockingbird promises to be “a classic diner with a global spin.” in a north gulch space long known for its late night music scene as anthem, mai and before that catatonic, mockingbird will sweep in offering something different to the spot, like frozen cocktails and adult milkshakes. | 125 12th avenue north

top chef maneet chauhan continues to gamble big on the nashville food scene: tànsuŏ, which means “to explore” in cantonese, will open later in 2016. sitting next to the mockingbird and maneet’s chauhan ale & masala house, the new asian eatery will offer up contemporary chinese cuisine at its best and she’s recruited brooklyn’s east wind snack shop chef/owner chris cheung to be in the driver’s seat. | 121 12th avenue north

texas-based del frisco grille will set up shop in their first nashville location in the next couple of months. sitting in a prime 10,000 sqft space on the street level of the new 15-story office building at the corner of 12th and demonbreun, del frisco will offer classic american bar & grille fare. due october 2016.  | 1201 demonbreun

local restauranteur tom morales, known for the southern and acme feed & seed downtown, has plans to open his newest concept, fin & pearl, in the twelve twelve high rise later this fall.  there will be a focus on seafood and steak as well as offering veggie and sushi options. similar to the southern, fin & pearl will be open for breakfast, lunch & dinner and will have an outdoor patio space. | 1212  laurel street

the 12-story, 224-room thompson hotel will open its doors in a few weeks. james beard award-winning john besh will put his fingerprints on a gulf-to-gulch concept called the marsh house. the seafood-driven, southern cooking will be helmed by chef brian landry, formerly of besh’s new orleans-based borgne. besh will also oversee the hotel’s rooftop bar/lounge.  | 401 11th avenue south

not a new name to the nashville food scene really but east side’s pop-up restaurant little octopus will land a permanent home in the former ru sans spot later than anticipated but still this fall.  offering global small plates and everything from pan-roasted chicken to you guessed it, octopus. | 505 12th avenue south