Comments on: 5 Best Condo High-Rises in Nashville

By: 2011 Most Read Real Estate Articles & Pages | Nashville Real Estate

2011 Most Read Real Estate Articles & Pages | Nashville Real Estate — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:55:54 +0000

[...] 5: http://www.granthammond.com/2010/condos/5-condo-highrises-nashville/ [...]

By: Grant Hammond

Grant Hammond — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:44:00 +0000

Guest – I have just looked on the US Green Building Council’s website http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/CertifiedProjectList.aspx and the Icon is not currently listed as one of the 5,476 LEED certified projects. Perhaps, it is eligible, but simply has not paid the annual fee?

By: Guest

Guest — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:13:00 +0000

Are you sure the Icon is not also LEED certified? I’m pretty sure it says that in their literature.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:04:43 +0000

I had a noise problem in a unit in the Viridian purchased for my son. The other side of the bedroom wall was the living area of the neighboring unit – and they were loud. With a little understanding of wall construction and sound insulation, $150 of materials and a days time for a 2-man crew we fixed the problem completely. It only took 1.6 inches out of the room and we complied with the unit-to-unit fire barrier requirement. My contractor was a kid in his 20s that does general house construction. I told him he ought to drop a flyer in every condo unit in Nashville. It was a cheap solution and the condo has zero noise coming through the wall now.

By: Falcon2

Falcon2 — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:35:28 +0000

I agree with you about the preferences of an older buyer but I think this developer missed the mark with, among other things, his location. I think most of those emptynesters not looking for the urban character of something like the Adelicia have tended to buy along West End on the other side of 440. I believe that area has been more of a source of competition for The West End than the Adelicia. And I think the 3 most recent projects in that area, The Jacksonian, West End Close, and Rochford's project across the street (can't remember the name) all have more appeal than TWE. For starters, those buildings are just more attractive and obviously were more thoughtful, architecturally. I think this is important when trying to appeal to an older, experienced buyer, though less so for the less affluent within that demographic. So in a big way I think TWE evolved (vis a vie the auction) into a project that appeals to the less sophisticated niche within that older buyer profile. Unfortunately though, the discount that finally made it appealing (or affordable) also attracted a bunch of investors who need the (apparently) rowdy young kids to make their returns work. As they say, you get what you pay for.

On a slightly different note, it doesn't appear there has been much, if any, selling going on there since the auction. Perhaps the developer will be forced to cut yet again to close out the remaining third of the building. We'll see.

By: Grant Hammond

Grant Hammond — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:11:37 +0000

It appears that there is an answer to the question I posed about Crosland's 40+/- acres off Charlotte. Say hello to Greyhound's temporary Nashville bus depot. Ugh. Who says that Nashville even needs a Greyhound bus station, we already know that absolutely no neighbors want it (at least not verbally). It is a very 'NIMBY' type of business.

By: wad06

wad06 — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:42:16 +0000

I think the two buildings aren't aimed at the same demographic. The people who live in Brentwood, with kids that have all gone off to college, and are looking for "home replacement" condos, will find the West End appealing (absent the auction that resulted in it being full of college kids). That has to be the logic behind the size and layout of those condos. The plan, it seems, was not very well executed.

The Adelicia is undoubtedly more of an "urban living" building. The intent at the Adelicia seems to have been to capitalize on the trendiness of the urban living movement, with high end fixtures, amenities, etc. It was a well executed plan, as well.

Coming from San Francisco, I definitely prefer the Adelicia to the West End. But, I could see my parents preferring the opposite. The fatal flaw in my logic is that the West End auction seems to have ruined that niche/demographic.

I have moved into the Adelicia. It is a great building, with very friendly people. I think I may go from renting to buying. My only complaint (and it is a small one) is that I can't figure out what all the wires coming out of the wall are for and/or go to. It is obviously pre-wired for audio/video (and seemingly whole-home distribution), but there are more wires coming out of the main wall than I can find terminations for. It is very frustrating.

By: Falcon2

Falcon2 — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:13:50 +0000

Very astute observations, Shelley. The West End is a very (large) inefficient design. When urban buyers are forced to cough up big bucks per square foot they don't expect to have to pay that hefty premium for the same oversized foyers, extra wide hallways, and mcmansion style bedrooms that they might enjoy in a single family home. The projects that will command the highest price per square foot (from end users not investors) in the end will be the ones that have taken this into consideration and given people the space where they really need it. Kitchens and living areas are generally more of a priority for sophisticated urban dwellers than an extra bedroom or the silly single family style accoutriments noted above. IMO, the tremendous inefficiency of The West End was a major contributiing factor to the 50% discounting off of original pricing that it took to sell the auctioned units back in Jan.

By: Falcon2

Falcon2 — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:02:29 +0000

When condos are built the developer has many options where sound attenuation is concerned. Unfortunately, many developers hire architects with little condo experience and even then don't spend the money to hire an experienced acoustical engineer to review the architect's design as the drawings progress. Neither code nor statute require the developer to do this as long as the architect certifies that it meets the minimum STC code rating, which by the way is the same for a low income apartment project as it is for a luxury high rise condo. And even if the developer did go to the expense to have the drawings reviewed (and attempt to achieve an STC rating commensurate with a luxury condo) most don't incur the additional expense to have the acoustic engineer make multiple visits throughout the project to ensure that the contractor is actually doing all the things required in the design. Caulking metal studs properly, installing proper sound batt insulation and avoiding back to back outlet placements are just some of the basic things that done right can make a huge difference. It's obvious expensive to have an engineer looking over the should of both the architect and the contractor (slowing things down at times when mistakes are found) and, sadly, many of the projects that were done in kind of a gold rush mentality just didn't worry about those details. I know from conversations with Brasfield & Gorie, the Adelicia contractor, that an Atlanta acoustic engineer was nipping at their heels throughout the buildout of the Adelicia. It sounds like it's paying dividends.

By: Shelley Kinselman

Shelley Kinselman — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:22:34 +0000

When I lived at the West End it was almost empty in all the adjoining condos and , of course, very quiet. But when it started to fill up after the auction, you could hear every sound in the other condos. So I guess I would say that either filled with professionals or students, I would still prefer the quietness of the Adelicia. I never heard the other residents there, not once.
I lived in a 2000+ condo at the Adelicia and at the West End it was approximately 2400 so the size was not an issue for me at either location. I did find more useable space at the Adelicia but that was due to the floor plan. Much of my space was not used at the West End.
I found the surrounding neighborhood at the West End much more industrial and much less desirable. It is surrounded by other lower priced apartments and rentals. And with the six lane West End, Walgreens next door, there was a lot of noise around the clock. The Adelicia is located on a side street with a much more neighborhood feel, even though they do have many restaurants & clubs nearby. The Adelicia had dry cleaning pick up by several companies. Not sure if the West End has this now but they did not offer it when I lived there. The Adelicia has a building dedicated fenced dog park that was very convenient for me. The West End does not. The West End had parking garage doors that were not very reliable. Residents are given a garage door opener like you would have for your home and these openers would sometimes work & sometimes not. That was very aggravating especially when coming home after a long day of work. Also each condo at the West End came with only one parking space. It wasn't a problem for me as I live alone but a couple would find this very challenging. My condo at the Adelicia had two spaces.
The security at the West End can't even be compared to the Adelicia. Having a front desk person AND a roving security person 24 hours a day is a big plus especially for a woman living alone. I never had to worry at the Adelicia. The West End has no one there after 6:00 p.m. other than residents.
But more than any other factor, when comparing the two properties, it was the noise. Street noise or neighbor noise was not heard at the Adelicia. At the West End I heard everything from neighbor's voices to ambulances & garbage trucks on West End.