Nashville's downtown to change faster than ever

I’ve always been fascinated with architecture and central city layouts.  As a youngster, I spent many a Saturday wandering around downtown Columbus, OH taking notes and sketching various structures.  I enjoyed the classic lines of the white limestone State Capitol, but was equally enticed by new highrise bank buildings, and urban renewal tracts.  I read Architecture Digest, and would work for hours on my own designs for public and private sector buildings, boulevards, parks, and stadia. 

Hence, I considered myself a bit of an amateur city planner, taking note of new projects and plans in whatever metropolis I have lived in.  Being a proud citizen of Nashville for a quarter century now, I have watched as our downtown area has made some significant changes.

In the 80s into the early 90s we saw the initial Nashville Convention Center, the Fifth Third Center and US Bank towers, Renaissance Hotel, Double Tree Hotel, James K. Polk Bldg. (including Tennessee Performing Arts Center), One Nashville Place, Nashville City Center, two state office buildings along James Robertson Parkway, and the Church Street Shopping Mall built.

The true boom really began around 1994.  In the past eighteen years or so, there has been a remarkable expansion that has rendered photos of the downtown area before that era nearly unrecognizable.  Consider all these changes:

·      Bridgestone Arena. 18,500 capacity. Home of Nashville Predators NHL hockey team and 100 other concerts/events per year.

·      LP Field. 70,000 capacity. Home of Tennessee Titans NFL team.

·      Bicentennial Mall State Park

·      Downtown Library (built on the site of the former Church Street Mall)

·      Schermerhorn Symphony Hall

·      Country Music Hall of Fame

·      Gateway Bridge

·      Music City Center (new convention center)

·      Davidson County Justice Building

·      AT&T Center, aka “The Batman Building” (40 stories, tallest in state at 617 feet)

·      The Hilton Hotel  (13 stories)

·      Omni Hotel (23 stories)

·      Baker Donaldson Building (11 stories)

·      Sun Trust Plaza (13 stories)

·      Cumberland Apartments (28 stories)

·      Encore Condominiums (21 stories)

·      Veridian Condominiums (35 stories)

·      Icon Condominiums (22 stories)

·      Terrazzo Condominiums (14 stories)

·      The Pinnacle Place (30 stories)

·      Hyatt Place Hotel (11 stories)

·      Music City Central Metro Transit Terminal

·      New Greyhound Bus Station

·      Musicians Hall of Fame into first level of Municipal Auditorium

·      Nashville Rescue Mission (conversion from old Sears Building)

·      Farmers Market remodeling

·      Frist Center for the Arts (conversion from US Post Office Bldg.)

·      Davidson County Courthouse remodeling

·      Public Square Park (with 4 level garage underneath)

·      Hall of Fame Park (with 4 level garage underneath)

·      Korean Veterans Blvd. (KVB)

·      Roundabout at 8^th Ave., Lafayette Ave., and KVB

·      Ryman Auditorium remodeling

·      War Memorial Auditorium remodeling

·      Cummins Station remodeling

·      Stahlman Building remodeling into condos

·      Shelby Street Bridge remodeled into pedestrian walkway

·      Riverfront Park upgrades

·      Cumberland River Park

·      Bridge Building remodeling

·      Numerous other smaller apartment/condo buildings and remodels in The Gulch

·      Broadway revitalization with many new restaurants and shops

·      2^nd Avenue revitalization

·      Rutledge Hill revitalization

·      Marathon Village revitalization

·      Germantown revitalization

As impressive as all of that is, consider that in the next five years, downtown Nashville will see the most construction in its history that will radically change the look, feel, and function of the city…

·      505 Church Street Tower. 60 stories, 750 feet. Corner of 5^th Ave. and Commerce St. Mixture of offices, condos, and hotel. Plus 700 car garage.

·      Sheet Music Tower, 44 stories, 500 feet tall. Corner of 4^th Ave. and Demonbreun St. Mixture of offices and condos.  600 car garage.

·      SoBro Apartment Tower. 33 stories, 400 feet tall.  Primarily apartments, with some retail, restaurants.  Plus 500 car garage (Two renderings below).

·      Westin Hotel. 30 stories. 410 feet, 8^th/KVB Roundabout .  Plus 400 car garage.  A couple of restaurants. No artist renderings yet.

·      Adelcia Condo Tower. 23 stories. 270 ft. tall.  Corner of 12^th Ave. and Demonbreun St.. in the Gulch. All condos.  Plus 400 car garage.

·      NCC Site Tower. 28 stories. 380 ft. tall.  Corner of Broadway and 5^th Avenue (site of old convention center).  Mix of offices, condos, entertainment, restaurants.  Also will include African American Music Museum, and House of Blues Club.

·      Crescent Apartment Building. 20 stories. 250 feet tall.  Corner of Division St. and I-65. All apartments.  Plus 300 car garage. No artist renderings yet.

·      Hyatt Hotel. 17 stories.  250 feet tall. Corner of Broadway and 3^rd Avenue.  A couple of restaurants. Plus 300 car garage.

·      Marriott Hotel. 15 stories, 200 feet tall. Corner of 8^th Avenue and Demonbreun St.  Couple of restaurants. 250 car garage.

·      Gulch Crossing Office Bldg. 10 stories, 130 feet tall. Corner of Demonbreun and 11^th Ave. in The Gulch.  Plus 300 car garage. 

·      Four Seasons Hotel. 10 stories. 150 feet tall.  In the Gulch (site still being negotiated). Plus 200 car garage. No artist rendering yet.

·      Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. 12 stories. 170 feet tall. Corner of 2^nd Ave. and KVB. Plus 200 car garage.

·      12^th and Laurel Apartments. 12 stories. 150 feet tall. Corner of 12^th Ave. and Laurel St. in The Gulch.  Plus 200 car garage.

·      Marriott Residence Inn. 14 stories. 180 feet tall.  Corner of 5^th Ave. and KVB. Plus 200 car garage. No artist renderings yet.

·      Spring Hill Suites. 12 stories. 150 feet tall. Corner of 5^th Ave. and KVB.  Plus 200 car garage. No artist renderings yet.

·      Sulpher Dell Baseball Stadium.  Home of Nashville Sounds AAA baseball team. 10,000 capacity. Corner of 5^th and Jackson St. Plus 1,000 car garage.

·      Sulpher Dell Stadium Apartments. Corner of 3rd^th and Jackson.  Plus 200 car garage. (see layout above)

·      Sulpher Dell Stadium district development. Corners of 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and Harrison.  Numerous restaurants, clubs, and shops. (see layout above)

·      Gulch/SoBro Pedestrian Bridge. 600 feet long, 30 feet wide, with 160 foot tall suspension tower. From Pine Street in Gulch, over railroad yard into Clark St. Will include foliage, benches, bike paths, shops, and elevators at both ends.

·      New Tennessee State Museum. Corner of 6^th Ave. and Harrison. Plus 200 car garage. No artist renderings yet.

·      New Tennessee State Library.  Corner of 6^th Ave. and Jackson St. Plus 200 car garage. No artist renderings yet.

·      Riverfront Amphitheater and Park. Capacity of 2,000 to 8,000 for seasonal concerts, events. Corner of 1^st Ave. and KVB.

·      Stix Art Sculpture in Roundabout at KVB and 8^th Ave. 90 feet tall, and internally lit at night.

Beyond these that are in the formal planning stage, I also see further changes on the immediate horizon:

·      Several more major hotels in the blocks immediately around the Music City Center, especially along KVB and around the 8^th Ave/KVB/Lafayette St. Roundabout.

·      SoBro, especially along First Avenue opposite of the new Riverfront Amphitheater, and on the three other corners at KVB should have major structures in place by 2020.

·      The East Bank of the Cumberland River should also finally see relocation of the scrap metal recycling plant, opening up a huge 500 acre area for housing, retail, and entertainment which could include a boat marina, continuation of Cumberland River Park, big box retail outfits like Ikea, condominiums, restaurant park, cycling velodrome, etc.

·      The large 200 acre tract at corner of Charlotte Ave. and I-40/65 has now been completely cleared.  Something large is going to be announced soon.  Could it be a massive complex for HCA?  Could it be The Gulch North? One thing is certain, it is valuable property with great access, and it will end up having as much impact on the northwest side of downtown as the Gulch did for the southwest sector.

·      Jefferson Street corridor revitalization brought on by Sulpher Dell Ballpark, apartments, and new Tennessee State Library and Museum.

·      Rutledge Hill, Germantown, Marathon Village, and Gulch revitalization continuing with multiple additional apartment and condo buildings, homes, duplexes, restaurants, and shops.

Additionally, just outside the inner-belt that surrounds downtown, there are numerous other neighborhoods that will see continued development:

·      Midtown (just west of downtown along Broadway and West End Ave.) as had a spike of construction in the past decade.  That will continue with the Summit Center (featuring 24 and 18 story towers and garages), the 19 story tall 1505 Demonbreun Apartments, The Buckingham Complex (14 story hotel, 18 story condo, 10 story offices at 21^st Ave. and Broadway), more mid-size and small hotels, and high end restaurants.

·      8^th Avenue South and 12 South will continue adding more condos, apartments, retail and restaurants, along with the continued housing boom (remodels and rebuilds)

·      East Nashville’s Main/Woodland Corridor leading out to Five Points. More condos and apartments, retail, restaurants, churches, and continued housing boom (remodels and rebuilds).

·      Metro Center continues its decades long growth with more corporate headquarters,  auto sales/service, education elements, and entertainment.

·      Fisk Univ./Meharry Hospital area along Jefferson Street will continue its revitalization with more apartments, retail, and entertainment, and housing remodels and rebuilds.

·      The J. Henry Hale Housing Development 10 square blocks along the western edge of I-64/40 and Charlotte Ave. will continue to grow, bringing in more retail and businesses.

·      Belmont University shows no signs of slowing down, and could become Nashville’s largest university (jumping past Vandy) within a few years.  This means continued purchasing in area neighborhoods and constructing additional educational and service structures, as well as even more dormitories.

·      Vanderbilt is not finished either.  Both on the collegiate and medical center sides. 

·      Travecca University is also growing, but not at quite the same pace.  A few new structures will be built there. 

Other areas in the center city that will see significant attention in the next 5 years:

·      Greer Stadium Site (soon to be former home of the minor league baseball team). Could become part of a Civil War Museum complex to go along with the recently renovated Fort Negly on the hill immediately next to it.  Some think it may become a high tech business park.  Others think it could be trendy housing for the arts district that is developing a few blocks away.

·      Old State Fairgrounds site.  This has been debated for the past decade.  But movement will finally happen within the next half decade.  My guess is that it will be a mixed use site of high tech, condos, apartments, and some retail/restaurant.

·      North Cumberland stretch along the river from Woodland Ave. up to Spring St.  This is all industrial warehousing now, but the views of downtown are spectacular along here, and I see some high rise condos, apartments, and other upgrades in the not-to-distant future.  Perhaps even a major league baseball stadium in the next ten to fifteen years?

All in all, in the next half-decade there are going to be more construction cranes, cement trucks, road detours, and hardhats within a two mile radius of The Ryman than Music City has ever seen before. Some may bemoan it, but I, for one, am very bullish on what all this means for our city and its future.  

The Wit, Whimsy, and Wonder of David Wilcox

A few nights ago, at the packed little artistic alcove of songwriting known as The Bluebird Café here in Nashville, I experienced David Wilcox in concert for the fifteenth time. And I was transported back to the first encounter twenty years prior at that very same locale. Very few musicians are endowed with the ability to elicit such a vast array of response and interaction. At times you can hear a pin drop, at others raucous laughter; at one turn there are sniffles as tears are fought off, and another there will be a sing-along that would make Phil Ochs proud.

In 1990, on a Compassion Artist Trip to Ecuador, my good friend Bob Bennett introduced me to David Wilcox via a cassette of his astounding major label debut on A&M Records, How Did You Find Me Here? I nearly wore the ferromagnetic oxide off that tape with repeated listens to songs about lost loves, youthful rebellion, grief, reviving dreams, relaxing in the wisdom of accepted tenderness, and longing for adventure amidst the mundane. It was like hearing James Taylor in the early 70s, but even better. Nothing was overplayed or buried in splashy arrangements; no wasted words…just the perfect verbiage and meter for each well-crafted line. It was the antithesis of everything that was going on in the music biz at that time, what with all the harpy hair metal, chest-thumping rap, and the overwrought balderdash of Michael Bolton, Taylor Dayne, or George Michael. Wilcox was such a breath of much needed fresh air.

When I heard he was coming to the tiny Bluebird, where he had been discovered, I bought several tickets, including one for Mr. Bennett, who was going to be in town for some shows in the area. Bob had heard that Wilcox was a fan of his music (David would sometimes play his “Carpenter Gone Bad”), and was excited to be able to see him for the first time, and perhaps even meet him. Right as we were arriving, I noticed David was chatting with some folks in the line outside the front door. Never one to be timid, I sauntered up and introduced myself, mentioning that Bob Bennett was with me. David’s eyes lit up. “Really?! Oh man, I dig his music so much!” I signaled for Bob to come over, and it quickly became a mutual admiration society.

As they visited, David asked about a particular chord progression on “Carpenter Gone Bad” that he had never been able to figure out. “Oh…that’s because we double tracked two guitar lines in the studio just at that point,” Bob explained.

“Well, that resolves it then!” David exclaimed, followed by his rambunctious, joy-filled laugh that has become so well known to his fans. “You don’t know how many hours I slaved trying to configure the fingering for that in the past decade! Let’s talk some more afterwards, OK?”

Bob, our mutual friend from Compassion Canada, Paul Sharrow, and I where then transported for several hours by Wilcox’s song craft, storytelling, and exquisite playing. Besides sharing all of the tunes from How Did You Find Me Here, he also played numerous other unreleased gems, and even recited folksy poems that held deep truths. Here’s one that sticks with me to this day…

"Wake up!" she said,

"You dreaming fool, 


Don’t throw your life away. 


Because life's too short and you're too smart 


To want to hurt yourself that way. 



And what's this talk about the fellow man? 


Look, its catch as catch can, understand? 


You muscle and struggle and get what you can 


Or you'll never get anywhere at all, young man. 



And what's this talk about loving everybody 


And trying to be a neighbor and helping out your brother? 


Oh, fine and dandy, but you're getting a little carried away," 
is what she'd say. 



She said, "I'm not saying that love ain't fine, 


But every little thing's got its place and time. 


Now there's people out there who want what's mine,

And they're going to try to take it away. 



So save your love for those who care, 


And buy some clothes and wash your hair. 


Just relax and don't you dare 


Start dreaming about saving the world." 



And Jesus said, "Yes, mom."

When the concert came to a close, he was given a two minute standing ovation…something not often seen in a cynical entertainment capital like Nashville, especially in a room full of songwriters.

Bob and I decided to stick around to hopefully visit some more with David. Once most of the crowd had filed out, there were just a handful of us left—mostly songsmiths. David then announced, “Let’s grab some chairs and circle up here on the stage. I wanna hear what each of you are creating.”

We all huddled on that tiny stage and took turns sharing songs. Some were pretty new to the genre, and Bob was certainly the most accomplished. That “guitar pull” (as it is known in the Music City) went on for another two hours. The camaraderie and mutual encouragement fostered by David was one of the most beautiful creative spaces I had ever been privileged to witness. On several occasions I looked at Bob and he back at me with tears welling in his eyes. It was nearly 1 AM when the club owner was the only staffer remaining…and we decided the fellowship needed to come to an end.

As I drove Bob back to his hotel, he was smiling, but quiet. After a few minutes, he declared, “You know, outside of my wedding day and seeing my children born, this has to be the most satisfying moment of my life.”

So, here I was two decades later in nearly the same seat as that first night in ’91. My hair is shorter and overtaken by more gray than the dark brown of yesteryear. David’s is noticeably thinning, and his smile lines are more pronounced. But the many journeys around the sun have deepened the timbre of his warm tenor, and his always-fluid guitar playing is so accomplished now that it is nearly perfection. In fact, even watching him change the strings in complex tunings after every song (sometimes utilizing two capos) in a matter of seconds is awe-inspiring in its own right. I have never seen anyone do it so often, so quickly, and with such precision all while nonchalantly speaking with his audience.

Normally Wilcox can pack out the five-times-larger Belcourt Theater when he comes to town now. I’m not sure why he chose to return for a one-off at this tiny eighty-person capacity club, other than for old time’s sake. In the course of two and a half hours he performed thirty-three songs, including five new ones, and one he had written in 1979. He told new stories and poems, and even did a hilarious seasonal street rap about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Keeping with the holiday theme, he did a glowing cover of Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song” followed with bemused wonderment over the brilliance of the chord structures within.

Later in the set, as he was setting up yet another song with his trademark vignettes, he got frustrated with himself, saying “I feel like I’m interpreting for the metaphorically impaired. Someday I’ll learn to gift-wrap presents instead of describing them while giving.” With that thought in mind, here are some random notes I scribbled throughout the night, some taken from what he shared, others from my reactions…

I play guitars as shiny as a hearse.

There is evil cast around us, but it is Love that wrote this play.

The ocean grinds the stone.

It’s all rag water and blue ruin.

When it comes to debt, red is the new black.

Spin is the new no-need for proof.

Under these cobalt skies.

Rage is lazy, and “the edge” sounds dull; love like crazy…its wonderful.

Both the high view and the muddy miles.

No need to rush this drift along the river.

When the silence of sorrow won’t leave you alone.

From 2:45 to 4:15 AM, the Waffle House serves as some sort of intergalactic portal.

The waves of change are daunting; better learn to ride the waves. Surf’s up, dude.

Start with the coarse and take it down to fine.

I like putting pieces of a picture together instead of singing the same old bad news.

We keep playing poker in the panic.

I don’t get mad at poser surfers anymore, ‘cause the ocean is so big, it’ll work on ya.

We all need some musical medicine.

Songs are supposed to be about emotion, and not ideas…but here’s an idea song.

It’s impossible to get a snapshot of meaning.

You can’t capture wind in a box..

If a swan can have a song, then I think I know that tune.

Staring at a math problem that is trying to calculate the incalculable.

One hundred miles of vista represented by an inch.

The old guitars have their stories, but by now, so do I.

There is so much wit, whimsy, and wonder in a David Wilcox concert, that any of this seems like a first grader trying to diagram the inner workings of Hoover Dam. I’ll just leave it with some of David’s own words:

There's just too much view to capture

When we stand on sacred ground


Though my mind cannot explain it,

My heart's filled up to the sky


I know words could not contain it,

But I'm fool enough to try

(“No Telling Where” by David Wilcox from Airstream, 2008)

Nashville Predators Celebrate 1,000th Game Saturday Night

It’s hard to comprehend that it was fourteen years ago that we learned Nashville was going to be granted an expansion franchise in the National Hockey League. Many naysayers, especially those north of the border, thought that this franchise would not only fail on the ice, but would subsequently leave Nashville within five years of inception.

Neither could be farther from the truth.

Here we are thirteen seasons later, and the Predators are as fiscally healthy as they’ve ever been, and are once again one of the top tier teams of the highly competitive Western Conference of the NHL. And this Saturday’s game against one of the NHL’s oldest and proudest franchises, the Montreal Canadiens, marks the 1,000^th regular season game for the Preds.

The franchise, which went through some frustrating times with changing ownership and rumors of a possible relocation five years ago, have not only weathered that storm, but have come out all the stronger on the other side. This is primarily due to a committed local ownership group, amazingly loyal fans, and a core of exciting (mostly homegrown) one-ice talent that has fostered a winning environment.

And at the center of all of this stands the only Head Coach the Predators have ever known, Barry Trotz, and the sole General Manager in the team’s history, David Poile. Together they have formed one of the best leadership tandems the NHL has to offer.

These two have steadily improved the Predators success on the ice during the formative years, consistently winning more games each season than any prognosticators could’ve predicted. Simultaneously they built a strong scouting and minor league system that has developed most of the Predators players, making up over 85% of their current roster, the highest percentage of any team in the league.

And once the Preds started making the playoffs in 2004, they have been back to the tournament for Lord Stanley’s Cup six of the last seven years (only three other franchises in the league can say that).

Most Predator faithful have come to take Trotz and Poile for granted, but here is an interesting stat to put things in perspective: Since 1998, the other four teams in the Central Division have had a combined twenty-three different coaches and eleven General Managers.

Preds fans have been a vocal lot in supporting their squad. In those first four seasons, despite little hope of making the playoffs, they filled the arena at a 94% capacity rate, earning the reputation as one of the loudest barns in the world. Then there was a lull when the uniqueness factor started to drop off and the average dipped to 79% for three years. But as the team began building into a regular playoff participant, the percentage grew back to 88%. And now, the past two seasons, it is returning to the 95% range, with sellouts occurring more often than not. And the rabid enthusiasm of these fans has helped the Predators consistently place in the top three across the league in home won-loss record for the past five seasons. It is a mutual admiration society, with players regularly commenting how they feed off the intense energy brought into the confines of Bridgestone Arena every time they take the ice for another battle.

It is therefore appropriate that when the Preds take on the stalwart Canadiens this Saturday evening at 6 PM, it will be the featured game on Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts across that entire nation on the CBC. And, it will be yet another opportunity for the Predheads of Nashville and the core of young talent on the ice featuring Rinne, Weber, Suter, and Smith can show all of those hockey purists north of the border that Smashville, just like Trotz and Poile, is here to stay.

Let’s let them see and hear our Predator Pride throughout the night, and give them a glimpse of the next 1,000 games with all the grit and drama that will be needed as we strive together to bring the Cup to Hockey Tonk.