The Metro Planning Commission signed off Thursday night on 40-story twin towers that could become the most prominent building in Nashville. The intense debate focused on the shape of the skyline itself.
This proposed mixed-use building isn’t just tall — it’s massive and pricey. With a $350 million price tag, it takes up an entire city block on First Avenue downtown, where most structures are just a few stories tall.
“It’s a fine-looking building. It’s just in the wrong part of our city,” said Gary Everton, an architect who spoke in opposition to the project.
The resistance came primarily from lawyers who have offices in the Pinnacle building and tenants of the Encore condo tower, both close to where the new building would be. Most of the other nearby structures are still under construction.
The chief complaint from the neighbors was about traffic, which the developers pointed out wouldn’t change drastically even if the 10 extra stories they wanted were denied.
Jennifer Farr, who is one of the city’s planning commissioners, also said she didn’t understand how First and Second Avenues could possibly handle the additional traffic. But her primary concern was about aesthetics.
“My first impression when I looked at this is: There’s now a wall facing downtown,” she said.
The guiding architectural principal for many years was that downtown Nashville should look like a tiered wedding cake, stepping up in height as the buildings got further from the river. That was the central argument in a
30-page opposition letter filed by former planning director Rick Bernhardt, who retired last year.
The new planning director, Doug Sloan — irritated that his predecessor has started lobbying against this project — pointed out that when Bernhardt was in charge, he approved the Pinnacle building, which is closer to the river and yet taller than the neighboring Encore condo building.
“That’s a contradiction to everything that he has in this document,” he said Thursday night. “I’m certainly willing to point out further contradictions, but I don’t want to belabor the point.”
To appease city planners, the Boston-based developers have agreed to set aside 10 percent of the condo units in the building for workforce housing, selling them below market rate. If granted final approval by the Metro Council, the structure is also slated to house what would be only the second 5-star hotel in town.
The city’s tourism agency has argued on behalf of adding a high-end hotel, especially so close to the Music City Center, the convention space on Demonbreun. Terry Clements with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation spoke on behalf of the development.
“Every few years our skyline needs something new,” he said. “And this is something new.”
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