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Originally Posted by watchmanonthewall
To me personally this is not the best news. I live in the Nashville metro area and have been ecstatic over the growth Nashville has experienced. Being born in the 50s, I remember when for years the LC tower was the focal point of downtown. Then we got the batman and again went though a long period of not much activity. Sometime during the Bredesen administration things really took off. Obviously the last several years have been phenomenal. However, in my opinion, the skyline is starting to flatten out. These clusters developing around the lower Broadway area ( SoBro, The Gulch, Midtown, etc.. and even The Yards ) are starting to pull the eye away from the center of downtown because we are sort of stuck in this range of medium tall buildings. My personal opinion is that Nashville needs to break the 700 to 800 foot barrier soon or it runs the risk of becoming SanDiego, Vancouver, etc... These are beautiful cities but moving around them you sort of lose the sense of their true depth of development because without those sky piercing towers like many cities have in the center I believe you lose that wow/majestic sort of feel that should exemplify the status due a large, important, city. Does anyone else agree, or do you think I am making something out of nothing? I hope that I live long enough to see the skyline pulled back to the center with one or two marquee structures. No disrespect to anyone meant to anyone living anywhere else intended.
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I agree. I love Vancouver and it's a city that for a long time its tallest buildings were primarily in the 20, 25, 30 story range with some 40 story and I believe one 50 story building. While there are some absolutely beautiful vistas of Vancouver, it did appear to be very horizontal even with as many towers as they have. However, in the last 5-10 years, there's been some additions to their skyline that are in the 60+ story category and more buildings in the 45+ story range. Those additions have added drastically to their skyline in that it caused me to be drawn to several focal points and examine their skyline from various perspectives.
Should developers really be concerned about that when building in Nashville? Probably not. I wish that they would
. But, I just don't see that happening. Mind you, Nashville's skyline is far better than it's ever been and I can see buildings in the 20, 30, 40 story range at the truck stop property off I-24 adding to the skyline in a way in which it's not clustered with downtown and should provide a nice view as you drive south beyond the I-65/I-24 split. As you travel north bound on 1-24 and as you cross over the Cumberland, the addition of towers along I-24 will give more depth to the skyline and draw your eyes into different areas. The stadium want be the primary focal point. It'll be even more expansive if the River North development comes to fruition the way that it has been designed to include multiple 20 to 30 story buildings.
I don't see Nashville getting an office building that will be in the 50, 60 or 70 story range anytime soon. As already stated by someone else, most companies just aren't interested in those size buildings anymore unless they intend to get into the office leasing business. If any company that is locating in Nashville was going to do that it would have been Amazon. But they chose to go with two 20+ story buildings instead. Hotel wise Nashville is probably going to level off with major hotel construction. Especially luxury brands that tend to lean towards tall structures. So, I don't see a hotel announcing a 50 to 60 story property in Nashville. Hope I'm wrong. So, that leaves residential. Should Nashville continue to grow population wise and should the city continue to promote downtown living, that is probably where Nashville might see a major tower or two in the 50 - 60 story range. Which brings me back to Vancouver, their tallest building is a mixed use building that is 62 stories and 659 feet. The first 15 floors are a hotel and remaining floors are condo's. The second tallest is 63 floors and 616 feet, but it's all hotel. So, I think Nashville's future tallest is going to be a mix use tower or all residential. The question is where will it be, should that happen? The downtown core is unlikely, unless it happens in Nashville Yards. Sobro and the eastern edge of Mid-town are the mostly likely locations.