This is the live tracker of proposed Nashville condo developments: five major towers totaling nearly 750 luxury doors sit in pre-construction limbo today, and eight more have died over the past two decades. Maintained quarterly by Grant Hammond, who has closed 350+ Nashville high-rise condo transactions across 25 years and $1B+ in career sales. For active inventory at delivered buildings, see the Nashville Condos master guide; this page covers what is announced but not yet built. Updated when projects break ground, get canceled, or new proposals enter the pipeline.
Live tracker maintained quarterly. Last updated: May 2026.
Looking for a condo you can actually buy? This page covers towers that are not yet built, including projects that may never be built. For Nashville condos with active sales, use the neighborhood hubs: The Gulch, Downtown Nashville, Belle Meade, and Midtown. Individual buildings link from those hubs.
Phantom Towers Live Dashboard
Aggregate when including apartments and master-plan totals: ~9,800+ residential doors proposed but never built in Nashville’s modern era. The single largest miss was May Town Center’s 8,000-unit satellite-city plan, rejected by Metro Planning Commission in June 2009.
Proposed Nashville Condo Developments: Why So Many Become Phantom Towers
Three forces recur in Nashville’s never-built condo history. The 2008 Great Recession killed Signature Tower, Cascadia, H2O Waterfront District, and Cumberland Yacht Harbor while stalling West End Summit for thirteen years. Developer-specific financial collapse took out the original SoBro Ritz-Carlton in 2024 and Centrum’s Cumulus Site three-tower plan in 2025. Community opposition and federal environmental law blocked May Town Center and Cumberland Yacht Harbor outright. The 2022-2024 interest rate environment is the current chapter, five proposed towers stuck in pre-construction limbo while their developers wait for financing math to work again.
This page tracks all of it. Part One is a live tracker of the five pending towers. Part Two archives the dead. A historical section catalogs Nashville’s lost architectural concepts going back to 1917. Updated quarterly as projects either break ground or join the graveyard.
Part One: The Pending Projects (Live Tracker)
Five major proposals announced in the past five years (2020-2026) that have not yet broken ground. Some are in active pre-construction (financing secured, demolition done, brand partner announced) and look likely to build. Others are stalled and may never recover. Each entry is reviewed quarterly, projects that break ground migrate off this page to their appropriate neighborhood condo hub; projects that get canceled migrate to Part Two below.
The New Gulch Ritz-Carlton (MarketStreet / Corner / Magellan)
TL;DR: After Marriott parted ways with Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners in 2025, the Ritz-Carlton brand pivoted to a new Gulch site: the Bohan Building at 124 12th Avenue South, owned since 2000 by Nashville-based MarketStreet Enterprises. The new project is being co-developed by MarketStreet, Corner Partnership, and Chicago-based Magellan Development Group, designed by Chicago-based bKL Architecture. The proposed building would be approximately 903,507 square feet, the largest high-rise hotel structure in Nashville if standing today, with 182 hotel rooms and 140 condos. Core drilling equipment was on-site in August 2025. No groundbreaking date confirmed.
| Address | 124 12th Avenue South (Bohan Building site) |
| Site size | 1.14 acres |
| Developers | MarketStreet Enterprises + Corner Partnership + Magellan Development Group |
| Design architect | bKL Architecture (Chicago) |
| Total square footage | ~903,507 sq ft |
| Hotel rooms | 182 |
| Condos for sale | 140 (one- through four-bedroom) |
| Status as of May 2026 | Water/sewer availability permit sought; core drilling equipment on site August 2025 |
Why this entry matters: The Ritz-Carlton story is the most important active narrative in Nashville luxury condo development. The brand has been chasing a Nashville location since 2020, with the original SoBro project foreclosed in April 2024. The new Gulch iteration is fundamentally different, different developers, different site, different scale, different ownership structure. Most existing online content conflates the two projects.
Sources: Nashville Post (October 2025), Nashville Business Journal, The Real Deal (March 2025), Urbanplanet.org forum.
The St. Regis Nashville and Residences (Turnberry)
TL;DR: Florida-based Turnberry, headed by CEO Jackie Soffer, has been working since 2015 on developing the parcel adjacent to its JW Marriott Nashville at 805 Demonbreun Street. After multiple iterations (originally a pure condo tower, then a 400,000 SF office building, then a Crescent Communities apartment tower deal that fell apart in 2016), Turnberry announced in January 2024 a 39-story St. Regis hotel and condominium tower. Design has since expanded to 46 stories: 141 condos plus 40 furnished residences plus 179 hotel rooms, totaling 181 residential doors. Metro Planning approved the concept plan in July 2024. The project was expected to break ground in 2025 but has not yet started construction as of May 2026.
| Address | 805 Demonbreun Street, Nashville, TN 37203 |
| Developer | Turnberry (Aventura, FL) |
| Design architect | Morris Adjmi Architects (New York City) |
| Stories / height | 46 stories / ~610 feet |
| Hotel rooms | 179 |
| Condo units | 141 + 40 furnished branded residences (181 residential doors) |
| Metro Planning concept approval | July 2024 |
| Status as of May 2026 | Concept approved, has not broken ground |
Why this entry matters: Turnberry has been struggling to develop this site for over a decade through multiple failed concepts. Even though the St. Regis project is the most advanced iteration yet, the parcel’s history of false starts is editorially relevant, if this fails too, it becomes the fourth concept to die on this lot.
Park Place / Equinox (Congress Group + Taurus)
TL;DR: Boston-based developers The Congress Group (Dean Stratouly) and Taurus Investment Holdings, the team behind the Nashville Four Seasons Hotel and Residences, paid $35 million in December 2021 for a 2.1-acre SoBro site at 203 Peabody Street, originally announcing the project as “2nd & Peabody.” Construction was delayed by litigation from City Lights condo residents (resolved in developers’ favor by Tennessee Supreme Court in April 2024). Site demolition completed late 2023. In May 2025, the project was rebranded as Park Place with Equinox Hotels as the anchor, making it Equinox’s third U.S. hotel after New York and (planned) Amaala. Three-tower mixed-use: 245-key Equinox hotel, 239-unit luxury condominium tower, and 480-unit apartment building. Total project cost $1 billion. Construction expected 2026.
| Address | 203 Peabody Street, Nashville, TN 37203 |
| Site size | 2.1 acres |
| Developers | The Congress Group + Taurus Investment Holdings (Boston-based, same team that delivered the Nashville Four Seasons) |
| Hotel partner | Equinox Hotels (owned by Related Companies, third U.S. location) |
| Three towers | Equinox hotel (36 stories, 245 keys) + condo tower (239 units) + apartment tower (480 units) |
| Total project cost | $1 billion |
| Condo doors | 239 |
| Status as of May 2026 | Pre-development, financing in place, demolition complete, ready to start |
Why this entry matters: Park Place is the most likely Pending project to actually break ground because demolition is done, financing is secured, the Equinox brand partnership is announced, and the City Lights litigation has been fully resolved. This is the watch-list pick.
800 Lea Avenue (Giarratana): Stalled
TL;DR: Tony Giarratana has spent over five years planning a striking 45-story residential tower on the unusually shaped lot at 800 Lea Avenue, fronting the Music City Center Roundabout. Designed by Chicago-based Goettsch Partners with a curvilinear shape that follows the contour of the traffic circle. If built today, it would be the tallest occupiable structure in Tennessee at 610 feet, eclipsing 505. Just three very large units per typical residential floor: 2,168 sq ft, 2,804 sq ft, and 3,354 sq ft. Total 125 luxury condominiums plus a full amenity level with indoor pool and fitness center. Metro Development and Housing Agency approved the site plan in April 2021. In April 2024, Giarratana publicly acknowledged the project was “following suit” with the Ritz-Carlton’s stall.
| Address | 800 Lea Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203 (SoBro Roundabout) |
| Developer | Giarratana LLC (Tony Giarratana) |
| Architect | Goettsch Partners (Chicago) |
| Stories / height | 45 stories / 610 feet |
| Condo units | 125 (three very large units per typical floor) |
| Certification target | LEED Platinum |
| MDHA site plan approval | April 2021 |
| Status as of May 2026 | Stalled, Giarratana publicly confirmed hold in April 2024 |
The quote that explains everything: Giarratana told WKRN in April 2024: “There is like a domino effect and the first domino needs to fall. And each domino thereafter needs to fall in order for a project to move forward. The Ritz is a perfect example of an interruption in those dominos.” This statement, from one of Nashville’s most prolific developers, explaining in his own words why his project stalled, is the editorial centerpiece for understanding why pending projects do not always become built projects.
319 Peabody / InterContinental (DAC Developments)
TL;DR: Chicago-based DAC Developments closed in March 2026 on a $22 million purchase of a 0.96-acre two-parcel site at 319 Peabody Street and 504 Fourth Avenue South in SoBro. The proposed 53-story tower would be the tallest in Nashville if standing today, 636 feet, taller than 333 Commerce / AT&T Building’s 617 feet, though Giarratana’s under-construction Paramount Tower will exceed both at 750 feet. The project includes 104-120 condominium units, 405 hotel rooms (branded as InterContinental per IHG), 7,922-20,000 sq ft of ground-level retail, and a 32nd-floor club-level space. Metro Planning approved the concept plan in September 2025. DAC has stated a Q4 2025/2026 groundbreaking goal. Architecture by Chicago-based Pappageorge Haymes Partners.
| Address | 319 Peabody Street + 504 Fourth Avenue South |
| Site size | 0.96 acres (two parcels) |
| Developer | DAC Developments (Chicago, founded 2016, 85 projects, $2B collective value) |
| Architect | Pappageorge Haymes Partners (Chicago) |
| Stories / height | 53 stories / 636 feet |
| Hotel rooms | 405 (planned InterContinental brand, IHG) |
| Condo units | 104-120 |
| Project cost | $460 million |
| Land purchase | $22 million, closed March 2026 |
| Status as of May 2026 | Pre-construction, expected Q4 2025/2026 groundbreaking |
Why this entry matters: DAC’s land closing in March 2026 represents real capital committed, not just renderings. The project’s specific brand (InterContinental) is a high-search-volume entity. The 53-story height makes it newsworthy.
Part Two: The Dead Projects (Historical Archive)
Eight major Nashville condo proposals that died definitively, through cancellation, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or community rejection. The dollar values and door counts here represent what Nashville almost built. The recurring failure modes provide analytical context for the projects currently in Part One. The personal stories explain why a market with this much capital and demand still produces this many phantom towers.
Signature Tower: The 70-Story Skyscraper That Was Not
TL;DR: Tony Giarratana proposed a 70-story, 1,030-foot mixed-use skyscraper at 505 Church Street that would have been the tallest building in the Southern United States. The 2008 recession killed it. The site eventually became 505 (formerly 505 CST), a 45-story residential tower delivered in 2018. Today Giarratana is building Paramount Tower one block west, the second attempt at making Nashville’s tallest building.
| Address | 505 Church Street |
| Developer | Giarratana LLC (Tony Giarratana) |
| Proposed start | 2007 |
| Original height / stories | 1,030 feet / 70 stories |
| Condo count (original) | 400-600 units |
| Estimated cost | $250-370 million |
| Hotel partner | Kimpton-brand Hotel Palomar Nashville |
| Status when canceled | 102 of 400 units pre-sold by December 2007 |
| Date of cancellation | December 2008 |
| Site today | 505 (the 45-story residential tower delivered 2018) |
What it would have been: Had it been built, Signature Tower would have been the tallest building in the Southern United States, surpassing Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta by seven feet, and the tallest building in the US outside New York City and Chicago. It was to contain condominiums, office space, the Kimpton-brand Hotel Palomar Nashville, and retail.
Why it died: The Great Recession credit crunch dried up the financing market and presales momentum. By December 2007, only 102 of 400 units had been pre-sold. Giarratana announced a major downsizing in December 2008, reducing condos from approximately 600 to under 100. The official website was taken offline around December 2009. In November 2011, Giarratana announced he would use the site to build a smaller tower called 505 CST, later just “505”, the 45-story residential tower that opened in 2018.
The successor narrative: The site of Signature Tower became 505. One block west of 505, Giarratana is now building Paramount Tower, a 60-story, 750-foot tower that broke ground in 2025 with expected completion in 2028. Paramount will not quite reach Signature’s proposed 1,030 feet, but it will become the tallest occupiable structure in Tennessee.
Sources: Wikipedia “Signature Tower”, Nashville Scene “The Signature Tower and May Town Center are far from sure things,” Nashville Post archives, Skyscraper Center.
May Town Center: A Second Downtown That Bells Bend Stopped
TL;DR: The May family and Tony Giarratana proposed a $4 billion, 1,500-acre satellite city in Bells Bend across the Cumberland River from downtown, larger and more populous than downtown Nashville itself, including 8,000 condominium units, 600,000 square feet of retail, and 40,000 office jobs. The Metro Planning Commission rejected it in June 2009 amid massive community opposition from Bells Bend and Scottsboro residents. The site remains rural pastoral land, and Bells Bend is now synonymous with organic agriculture and conservation.
| Location | Bells Bend, ~5.4 miles west of downtown Nashville |
| Site size | 500-1,500 acres (various proposals) |
| Owner of land | May family (Frank & Jack May) |
| Master developer | Tony Giarratana |
| First proposed | 2008 |
| Estimated total cost | $4 billion |
| Condo units proposed | 8,000 |
| Office jobs projected | 40,000 |
| Planning Commission vote | Rejected June 2009 (5-4 against alternative development area) |
| Site today | Rural agricultural land + 250-acre TSU sustainable agriculture campus |
Why it died: The proposal divided Nashville like no development issue in years. Bells Bend’s 350 households organized vigorously against it, citing concerns about traffic, environmental impact, and destruction of rural community character. Metro Planning Commission rejected the alternative development area in June 2009. When Metro refused to fund the proposed Cumberland River bridge required for the project, the development effectively died. Tony Giarratana withdrew as master developer in August 2010.
Why this entry matters: May Town Center is the most famous failed master-planned community in Nashville history. The community organizing victory, 350 households defeating a $4 billion development, is now taught in urban planning courses. The story is preserved in documentaries and academic studies. Nashville in 2008 was a different city than it is today; the idea that 8,000 condos could be built outside the urban core felt aspirational. The community pushback was the first real signal that Nashville’s growth would happen inward, not outward.
Sources: Nashville Scene “Road Kill” (2008), Nashville Scene “Signature Tower and May Town Center” (2009), Tennessean Planning Commission coverage, WPLN archives, “The Bend” documentary series, Bells Bend Conservation Corridor.
Cumberland Yacht Harbor: Killed by a Crayfish
TL;DR: Donelson developer Jim Varallo proposed a $250 million waterfront condominium and marina community where Mill Creek meets the Cumberland River in Donelson, 181 condo units, 50,735 square feet of retail, and a 225-slip public marina. Approved by Metro Planning Commission in 2003, the project was blocked for years by environmental concerns over the federally-protected Nashville Crayfish and ultimately died after the 2008 recession. Tower Investments LLC (Marks family, California) had taken a majority stake before the collapse. Today the site at 252 Donelson Hills Drive remains undeveloped riverfront.
| Address | 252 Donelson Hills Drive (Mill Creek / Cumberland River junction) |
| Site size | 40 acres |
| Original developer | Jim Varallo + Thomas Beasley |
| Later majority partner | Tower Investments LLC (Marks family, Woodland, CA) |
| First proposed | 2003 |
| Estimated cost | $250 million |
| Condo units proposed | 181 |
| Marina slips proposed | 225 |
| Direct cause of cancellation | Federal Endangered Species Act lawsuits over Nashville Crayfish + 2008 recession + community opposition |
Why it died: The project was challenged for years by river activists using the federally-listed Nashville Crayfish, the city’s mascot crustacean, as a legal mechanism to block construction. The Murfreesboro law firm of Bullock, Fly, and Hornsby, the same firm that successfully halted the TVA’s Columbia Dam, filed suit against Varallo, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, arguing the 45-acre dredged marina would destroy crayfish habitat. The 2008 recession completed the project’s demise.
Why this entry matters: The Nashville Crayfish is a distinctive entity (the city’s only federally-listed endangered crustacean), and the story illustrates a unique intersection of environmental law and condo development that does not appear in any other major Nashville real estate narrative.
West End Summit / Lake Palmer: The 13-Year Hole That Became Broadwest
TL;DR: Alex S. Palmer & Co. proposed twin 25-story towers at 1600 West End Avenue with 47 ultra-luxury condos, an InterContinental Hotel, and 500,000 square feet of office space. Excavation began in 2005, creating an 80-foot-deep hole that filled with rainwater and became Nashville’s most famous urban embarrassment, locals nicknamed it “Lake Palmer.” After 13 years of false starts (including an aborted HCA Holdings deal), Alabama-based Propst Development bought the site for $36.9 million in 2018 and transformed it into Broadwest, the two-tower mixed-use development that opened in 2022.
| Address | 1600 West End Avenue |
| Original developer | Alex S. Palmer & Co. |
| Originally proposed | 2005 |
| Original cost | $300 million |
| Original residential units | 47 ultra-luxury condos |
| Excavation hole depth | 80 feet |
| Construction halted | 2008 |
| Property sale | $36.9 million to Propst Development, March 23, 2018 |
| Successor project | Broadwest (Cooper Carry architect, completed 2022), 34-story residential + 21-story office |
Why it died and rose again: Palmer’s original West End Summit was a tortured story of credit crunches, missing anchor tenants, contractor lawsuits (Harmon Inc. v. Palmer + Bovis Lend Lease for $120,000), and a Wachovia loan default. The 80-foot hole filled with so much rainwater that during the 2010 Tennessee floods, country clubs reportedly drew water from “Lake Palmer” for their pools. By 2009, at 56 feet deep, the lake was deeper than most of Percy Priest. After HCA pulled out in December 2013 and InterContinental withdrew in 2016, the lake was temporarily drained in March 2016. Propst Development of Huntsville bought the site in 2018 and completed Broadwest in 2022.
Why this entry matters: Lake Palmer is the most famous Nashville real estate story of the 2008-2018 era, a literal hole in the city’s most visible corridor that became cultural shorthand for the recession. Wikipedia has a dedicated entry. Today, if you are buying or selling a unit at Broadwest, you are buying on the site that was Lake Palmer.
H2O Waterfront District: $250M Charlotte Ave Vanishing Act
TL;DR: Out-of-state developers Ron Sapp and Thomas Keating proposed a $250 million waterfront mixed-use development along Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville, hundreds of residential units, 116,000 square feet of office, and over 200,000 square feet of retail. The development company Alpha LLC filed for bankruptcy in 2011. The developers were later sued for an unpaid $400,000 promissory note guaranteed in 2009.
| Location | Charlotte Avenue, West Nashville |
| Developers | Ron Sapp, Thomas Keating |
| Development company | Alpha LLC |
| Estimated cost | $250 million |
| Residential units proposed | “Hundreds” |
| Direct cause of cancellation | Alpha LLC bankruptcy, 2011 |
Why it died: Alpha LLC’s bankruptcy in 2011 ended the project. Subsequent litigation by lender JDS Two LLC against Sapp and Keating for an unpaid $400,000 promissory note documented the financial unwind.
Cascadia: Approved, Marketed, Never Built
TL;DR: BK Partners (Broderick Builders + Brian Kemp) proposed a $140 million riverfront condominium with private waterfalls, an organic market, and a restaurant. Approved around 2006 and marketed beginning August 2008, the smallest condos would have been 1,081 square feet and the largest 4,750 square feet. The project never broke ground. It was a casualty of the same 2008 condo crash that killed multiple other Nashville waterfront proposals.
| Location | Nashville Cumberland riverfront |
| Developer | BK Partners (Broderick Builders + Brian Kemp) |
| Approval date | ~2006 |
| Marketing launch | August 2008 |
| Estimated cost | $140 million |
| Unit range | 1,081 sq ft to 4,750 sq ft |
| Direct cause of cancellation | 2008 condo crash, no presales momentum |
Why it died: Cascadia was approved before the recession and started marketing right as the credit market locked up. Presales never materialized. The distinctive private-waterfalls-and-organic-market positioning never met buyers.
The Original SoBro Ritz-Carlton (M2 Development Partners): Foreclosed 2024
TL;DR: Florida-based developer Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners purchased a SoBro lot at 727 Korean Veterans Boulevard for $35 million in March 2020 with plans for a $540 million (later $720 million) two-tower Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences. The 46-story west tower was to contain 165 condos atop 240 hotel rooms; the adjacent 32-story east tower was to contain 185 Ritz-Carlton-branded rental apartments. After three years of stalled progress and at least seven lawsuits alleging $16.7 million in unpaid obligations, the SoBro lot was sold in a foreclosure auction in April 2024. Marriott formally cut ties with M2 in 2025 and relaunched the Ritz-Carlton at a new Gulch site with new developers (see Pending Projects, above).
| Address | 727 Korean Veterans Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37203 |
| Developer | M2 Development Partners / RC Nashville Development Partners LLC (Tim Morris, Florida) |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) |
| Original announcement | May 2021 |
| West tower | 46 stories, 240 hotel rooms + 165 condos for sale |
| East tower | 32 stories, 185 Ritz-Carlton branded rental apartments |
| Original cost estimate | $540 million (escalated to $720M) |
| Lawsuits filed against Morris | 7+ between Oct 2023 and July 2024, alleging ~$16.7M in unpaid obligations |
| Foreclosure auction | April 2024 |
| Direct cause of death | Developer financial collapse + multiple lawsuits + foreclosure |
Why it died: Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners ran out of capital and creditor patience. Seven-plus lawsuits accumulated between October 2023 and July 2024 alleging approximately $16.7 million in unpaid obligations. A federal judgment of $6 million was entered for Oakworth Capital Bank in June 2024. The foreclosure auction in April 2024 ended the developer’s involvement. Marriott formally confirmed separation from M2 in March 2025.
Why this entry matters: When the M2 project at 727 Korean Veterans Boulevard foreclosed in April 2024, the entire SoBro pre-construction pipeline shifted. Tony Giarratana publicly described it as a “domino effect” that put 800 Lea on hold. The new Gulch Ritz-Carlton with MarketStreet, Corner, and Magellan is a fundamentally different project, same brand, completely different deal structure. Becoming the authoritative source explaining that transition is uncontested editorial territory.
Sources: The Tennessean (August 2024), The Real Deal (March 2025), Nashville Business Journal, AOL News, WBIR News.
Centrum’s Cumulus Site Rutledge Hill: 890 Units That Almost Happened
TL;DR: Chicago-based Centrum Realty & Development paid $34 million in August 2021 for the 3.37-acre former Cumulus Media radio site at 500 Second Avenue South in Rutledge Hill. The proposal evolved through multiple iterations, initially 45-story residential + 23-story hotel + 16-story residential, later 32-story residential + 39-story residential + 29-story hotel, totaling 890 residential units plus 240 hotel rooms at peak design. After surviving a 2023 lawsuit from City Lights condo residents (Tennessee Supreme Court denied appeal April 2024) and receiving multiple Metro Planning approvals through 2022-2023, the property was listed for sale in 2025. Project effectively dead absent a new buyer.
| Address | 500 Second Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37210 |
| Site size | 3.37 acres (two parcels) |
| Developer | Centrum Realty & Development (Chicago) + Nashville Capital Group |
| Architect | Gensler (Nashville office) |
| Land purchase | $34 million, August 2021 |
| Three-tower scheme | 32-story residential + 39-story residential + 29-story hotel |
| Total residential units | 890 |
| Hotel rooms | 240 |
| Direct cause of death | Failed to secure construction financing + interest rate environment |
Why it died: Centrum cleared every entitlement hurdle Nashville threw at it. Metro Planning approved the height modification (448 feet / 39 floors) in December 2021. The Tennessee Supreme Court denied the City Lights residents’ appeal in April 2024. The iconic Cumulus radio tower was disassembled in anticipation of construction. The single thing Centrum could not produce was construction financing at workable rates. In 2025, Nashville Capital Group’s Roger Brown listed the property for sale.
Why this entry matters: This is one of the largest recent Nashville development misses, 890 residential units that almost happened, on a site visible to anyone driving Second Avenue South. The iconic Cumulus radio tower (a longtime Rutledge Hill landmark) was disassembled in anticipation of a project that never broke ground.
The Sketches Never Drawn: Nashville’s Lost Architectural Concepts
Before the modern era of condo proposals, Nashville produced a series of architectural fever dreams, buildings drawn on paper, occasionally publicly proposed, never seriously built. The Nashville Scene’s 2003 article “The Nashville We Did Not Build” catalogued many of them. The list below extends that work with what we know today.
1917 Tower on the State Capitol
In January 1917, architect Frahn proposed adding a 10-story tower on top of the Tennessee State Capitol to “solve the building’s overcrowding.” The Nashville Banner published his hypothetical “annex” on January 13, 1917. The belvedere was to be relocated from the Capitol roof to the top of the new tower. What might have been Nashville’s most architecturally absurd building lives on only as a newspaper sketch.
1989 Alpha Group Gulch Towers
Alpha Group’s Rudy Ruark proposed three 12-story office towers in the Gulch, almost 600,000 square feet, in 1989. The bottom fell out of the downtown office market before construction. The Gulch would not see significant residential or office development for another 17 years (Terrazzo opened 2006).
1989 Pat Emery Post Office Skyscraper
Tuck Hinton Everton Architects designed a 19-story office tower addition on top of the historic 1934 post office, commissioned by developer Pat Emery. The design used the original stripped-classicism style at much larger scale, what Nashville Scene called “an effect Albert Speer might have admired.” Never built.
1997 Orr Houck 60-Story East Bank Mega Tower
Before mixed-use was cool, Orr, Houck & Associates designed a 60-story mega tower complex for the East Bank, almost twice the height of the AT&T “Batman” Building. The program: hotel, offices, condos, restaurant, retail, ice rink, cinema, linked to the west by a moving sidewalk across the Cumberland River attached to the Victory Memorial Bridge. The East Bank in 1997 had nothing on it. Today the East Bank is being transformed by the new Titans Stadium and the Eastpoint master plan, but at half the scale Orr Houck imagined nearly thirty years ago.
Twin Towers Plans (1980s-1990s)
Multiple plans across the 1980s-1990s proposed twin towers as siblings to the American General Building (now Tennessee Tower) on Charlotte Avenue and to the City Center on Sixth Avenue. None built. Nashville’s skyline grew organically rather than through paired-tower planning.
Mathews Three-Tower Government Complex
A plan proposed three linked towers (22 stories for city offices plus two 15-story court structures) across James Robertson Parkway from the Municipal Auditorium. Six levels of below-grade parking. Would have reduced the significance of the 1937 Metro Courthouse to “ceremonial City Hall.” Mayor Purcell was cool to the concept. Died.
Union Station Monorail (1980s)
In the 1980s, a high-speed mass transit link between the airport and downtown via Union Station was proposed, with monorail trains running through the building’s bowels. The fanciful rendering was never seriously pursued, though similar concepts periodically resurface in regional transit discussions.
Common Threads: What Kills Nashville’s Proposed Condos
Three primary failure modes recur in Nashville’s never-built condo history.
Macroeconomic shocks
The 2008 Great Recession killed Signature Tower, Cascadia, H2O Waterfront District, and Cumberland Yacht Harbor while stalling West End Summit for thirteen years. The 2022-2024 interest rate environment stalled Centrum’s Cumulus Site Rutledge Hill, 800 Lea, and other Pending projects. When ten-year Treasury yields move 200 basis points in twelve months, condo construction pro formas stop penciling out, and Nashville’s pipeline absorbs the damage first because the city has fewer institutional condo buyers than New York or Miami.
Developer-specific financial failures
Alex S. Palmer’s West End Summit (Wachovia default, contractor lawsuits). Ron Sapp and Thomas Keating’s H2O (Alpha LLC bankruptcy, 2011). Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners’ original SoBro Ritz-Carlton (seven-plus lawsuits, $16.7M unpaid obligations, April 2024 foreclosure). Centrum Realty’s Cumulus Site (failed to secure construction financing 2024-2025). A pattern emerges: out-of-state developers buying speculatively into Nashville without adequate balance-sheet depth carry the highest failure rate.
Community and regulatory opposition
May Town Center was rejected by Metro Planning Commission and blocked by 350-household community organizing. Cumberland Yacht Harbor was blocked for years by federal Endangered Species Act lawsuits over the Nashville Crayfish. Centrum’s Cumulus Site was opposed by City Lights condo residents (Tennessee Supreme Court resolved in developer’s favor in 2024, but litigation contributed to delay-driven death). Park Place / Equinox faced the same City Lights opposition and survived, which is one reason Park Place is the most likely Pending project to actually break ground.
Lessons for the Pending pipeline
The pattern suggests Pending projects most likely to actually build are those with demolition already complete (Park Place / Equinox has this), financing secured (Park Place has this), resolved litigation (Park Place has this), brand partnership announced (all five Pending projects have this), and strong developer balance sheets (Turnberry, Congress Group, MarketStreet have this). Conversely, signs of risk include: land closed but no demolition (319 Peabody), concept approved but no financing announced (St. Regis), developer public statement of stall (800 Lea), and recent land closing without construction timeline (319 Peabody, March 2026).
Phantom Towers Master Catalog
| Year | Project | Condo Doors | Status | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 319 Peabody / InterContinental (DAC Developments) | 104-120 | Pending | Land closed March 2026, groundbreaking expected late 2026 |
| 2025 | New Gulch Ritz-Carlton (MarketStreet/Corner/Magellan) | 140 | Pending | Core drilling August 2025, no groundbreaking |
| 2024 | St. Regis Nashville (Turnberry) | 141 + 40 furnished | Pending | Concept approved July 2024, ground not broken |
| 2021 | Park Place / Equinox (Congress Group + Taurus) | 239 condos + 480 apts | Pending | Demolition done, financing in place, expected 2026 |
| 2021 | 800 Lea (Giarratana) | 125 | Stalled | Developer acknowledged hold April 2024 |
| 2021 | Cumulus Site Rutledge Hill (Centrum) | 890 residential | Dead | Listed for sale 2025 |
| 2020 | Original SoBro Ritz-Carlton (M2) | 165 condos + 185 apts | Dead | Foreclosed April 2024, Marriott separated 2025 |
| 2009 | H2O Waterfront District | “Hundreds” | Dead | Alpha LLC bankruptcy 2011 |
| 2008 | May Town Center | 8,000 | Dead | Planning Commission rejected June 2009 |
| 2008 | Cascadia | ~140+ | Dead | 2008 condo crash |
| 2007 | Signature Tower | 400-600 | Dead | Recession 2008; site became 505 (2018) |
| 2005 | West End Summit / Lake Palmer | 47 | Resurrected | Became Broadwest (2022) |
| 2003 | Cumberland Yacht Harbor | 181 | Dead | Killed by Nashville Crayfish lawsuits + 2008 recession |
Aggregate impact: ~1,400+ condo doors specifically proposed in canceled Nashville condo developments (not counting the 8,000-unit May Town Center master plan). ~750 condo doors currently in Pending status that may or may not survive. ~9,800+ residential doors in total proposed-but-never-built when including apartment components and master-plan totals.
Successor Projects: What Got Built Anyway
Sometimes failure is not the end. Three notable Nashville condo development sites produced successor projects that did eventually build.
505 Church Street: Signature Tower to 505
Signature Tower (2007-2008, 70 stories proposed, never built) became 505 CST (2014 proposal, downsized) and then 505 (45 stories, completed 2018). Same developer (Giarratana), same site, three brand iterations.
1600 West End Avenue: Lake Palmer to Broadwest
West End Summit (Alex S. Palmer, 2005-2018, abandoned mid-excavation) became Broadwest (Propst Development, opened 2022). Different developers, same site, completely different design (Cooper Carry architect for Broadwest). The 80-foot hole that was Lake Palmer is now a 34-story residential tower and a 21-story office tower.
Fifth Avenue: Paramount Tower’s lineage
Following Signature Tower’s death, Giarratana proposed Paramount in 2014, then iterated through 505 CST and 505 itself. The current Paramount Tower, proposed in 2021, construction began in 2025, 60 stories at 750 feet, expected 2028, is the same developer chasing the “tallest building in Tennessee” ambition across three projects spanning nearly twenty years.
Glossary
Useful definitions for reading this page (and other Nashville pre-construction coverage).
- Branded residences
- Condominiums developed in partnership with a hospitality brand (Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Four Seasons, Equinox, InterContinental, and others). Owners typically pay an annual brand-licensing fee built into HOA dues and gain access to hotel amenities and services. The brand attaches to marketing, finishes, services, and resale narrative.
- Concept plan approval
- Metro Planning Commission’s early-stage approval of a project’s massing, height, density, and use mix. It does not authorize construction, that requires subsequent site plan, building permit, and (often) financing close. Concept approval is necessary but not sufficient.
- Developer sales gallery
- The on-site (or near-site) sales office for a pre-construction condo project, staffed by the developer’s own brokerage or a contracted sales firm. Pre-construction inventory is typically not sold through MLS; it’s sold through the gallery via reservation deposit then binding purchase agreement.
- HOA (Homeowner Association)
- The condominium association governing common-area maintenance, building amenities, master insurance, reserves, and assessments. Branded residences typically have higher HOA dues due to brand-licensing fees and hospitality-level services.
- MDHA
- Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Nashville’s redevelopment authority. Approves site plans in designated redevelopment districts (downtown core, certain corridors).
- Pre-sale / reservation deposit
- A pre-construction buyer agreement structured as a refundable or non-refundable deposit (typically 10-20% of purchase price) that holds a specific unit before binding contracts. Pre-sales typically open 12-18 months before delivery. The deposit becomes a binding purchase agreement once specific conditions are met.
- Pro forma
- The developer’s projected income/expense model used to size construction financing. When interest rates move sharply, pro formas can stop penciling out, and projects with concept approval but no financing close can sit indefinitely.
- SoBro
- “South of Broadway”, the downtown Nashville neighborhood south of Broadway, north of the Gulch. Contains the Music City Center, Bridgestone Arena, Four Seasons, the original Ritz-Carlton site, Park Place, 800 Lea, 319 Peabody, City Lights, and most current high-rise condo development.
- The Gulch
- The neighborhood west of downtown Nashville bounded roughly by Demonbreun, 12th Avenue South, Division Street, and the rail corridor. Site of the new Gulch Ritz-Carlton proposal (Bohan Building, 124 12th Avenue South). For existing Gulch condo inventory, see the Gulch neighborhood hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ritz-Carlton Nashville still being built?
Yes, but at a different location and with different developers than originally announced. The original Ritz-Carlton proposal at 727 Korean Veterans Boulevard, led by Florida developer Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners, collapsed in 2024 after the property was sold in a foreclosure auction. In 2025, Marriott relaunched the Ritz-Carlton at 124 12th Avenue South in the Gulch, co-developed by MarketStreet Enterprises, Corner Partnership, and Chicago-based Magellan Development Group. The new project plans 182 hotel rooms and 140 condos for sale. Core drilling equipment was on-site in August 2025, but no formal groundbreaking date has been announced.
Is the St. Regis Nashville being built?
As of May 2026, the St. Regis Nashville has Metro Planning concept plan approval (granted July 2024) but has not broken ground despite originally targeting a 2025 construction start. The project, planned at 805 Demonbreun Street by Florida-based Turnberry adjacent to its JW Marriott, would include 141 condos, 40 furnished residences, and 179 hotel rooms across 46 stories.
What is Park Place Nashville?
Park Place is a $1 billion three-tower development at 203 Peabody Street in SoBro, anchored by an Equinox Hotels location (the brand’s third in the United States). The project includes a 245-key Equinox hotel tower, a 239-unit luxury condominium tower, and a 480-unit apartment tower. It is being developed by Boston-based The Congress Group and Taurus Investment Holdings, the same team that developed the Nashville Four Seasons. Originally announced as “2nd & Peabody” in 2021, the project was rebranded as Park Place in May 2025 and is expected to begin construction in 2026.
What happened to the 800 Lea tower?
The 45-story, 125-unit 800 Lea luxury condominium tower proposed by Giarratana LLC in 2021 for the SoBro Roundabout is currently stalled. In April 2024, Tony Giarratana publicly acknowledged the project was “following suit” with the Ritz-Carlton’s stall, describing a “domino effect” in Nashville’s pre-construction pipeline. As of May 2026, no groundbreaking has been announced.
What was Nashville’s most famous never-built condo tower?
Signature Tower, a proposed 70-story, 1,030-foot mixed-use skyscraper at 505 Church Street that would have been the tallest building in the Southern United States outside New York and Chicago.
Why didn’t Signature Tower get built?
The Great Recession of 2008 dried up the credit market and presales momentum. By December 2007, only 102 of 400 units had been pre-sold. Developer Tony Giarratana announced a major downsizing that same month, and the project was effectively canceled. The site eventually became 505 (a 45-story tower, opened 2018).
What is Lake Palmer?
Lake Palmer was the local nickname for the 80-foot-deep construction hole at 1600 West End Avenue, where developer Alex S. Palmer began excavating the West End Summit project in 2005. The hole filled with rainwater and sat undeveloped for 13 years before Propst Development purchased the site and built Broadwest, which opened in 2022.
What happened to May Town Center?
The Metro Planning Commission rejected the $4 billion satellite city proposal in June 2009 amid massive community opposition from Bells Bend residents. Metro also refused to fund the proposed Cumberland River bridge required for the project. Tony Giarratana withdrew as master developer in August 2010. The site remains rural agricultural land.
What is the largest never-built Nashville condo project?
By residential door count, the largest dead Nashville condo project was the Cumulus Site Rutledge Hill three-tower development by Chicago-based Centrum Realty & Development. Announced in 2021, the project would have delivered 890 residential units plus a 240-room hotel across three towers, but the site was listed for sale in 2025 after failing to secure construction financing. By master-plan scale, May Town Center (2008-2009) was even larger at 8,000 proposed condominium units, but it was a satellite-city master plan rather than a single condo development.
Why do so many Nashville condo towers fail?
Three primary factors recur in Nashville’s never-built condo history. First, macroeconomic shocks, the 2008 Great Recession killed Signature Tower, Cascadia, H2O Waterfront District, and stalled West End Summit. Second, developer-specific financial failures, Tim Morris and M2 Development Partners lost the original Ritz-Carlton through foreclosure, and Centrum’s Rutledge Hill project failed to secure financing in the 2024-2025 interest rate environment. Third, community and regulatory opposition, May Town Center was rejected by the Metro Planning Commission, and Cumberland Yacht Harbor was blocked for years by federal Endangered Species Act lawsuits over the Nashville Crayfish.
Live Tracker Updates
This page is maintained as a quarterly tracker, not a static archive. Each Pending project is reviewed every three months and either updated in place, migrated off this page to its appropriate neighborhood condo hub (if construction starts and it earns its own building page), or moved into Part Two (if officially canceled). Annual major refreshes happen each January and include adding any new 100-plus-door proposal that has been announced and revisiting page architecture against current AI engine performance.
Last full refresh: May 2026.
Next scheduled review: August 2026.
News Citation Appendix
Source citations grouped by project, in approximate chronological order of publication.
New Gulch Ritz-Carlton
- The Real Deal, “Marriott Cuts Ties With Tim Morris on SoBro Ritz-Carlton” (March 2025)
- Nashville Business Journal, Ritz-Carlton site pivot coverage (2025)
- Nashville Post, Bohan Building / 124 12th Avenue South coverage (October 2025)
- Urbanplanet.org, Nashville development forum threads (ongoing)
St. Regis Nashville (Turnberry)
- Nashville Business Journal, Turnberry St. Regis announcement (January 2024)
- Tennessean, Metro Planning concept plan approval (July 2024)
- Nashville Post, JW Marriott parcel history coverage (2024-2025)
Park Place / Equinox
- Nashville Business Journal, “2nd & Peabody” original announcement (2021)
- Tennessean, City Lights litigation coverage (2022-2024)
- Tennessee Supreme Court, denial of City Lights appeal (April 2024)
- Nashville Business Journal, Park Place rebrand with Equinox anchor (May 2025)
- Equinox Hotels press materials, third U.S. location announcement (2025)
800 Lea Avenue
- MDHA, site plan approval documents (April 2021)
- WKRN, Giarratana “domino effect” interview (April 2024)
- Nashville Post, 800 Lea status updates (2024-2025)
319 Peabody / InterContinental
- Nashville Business Journal, DAC Developments land purchase coverage (March 2026)
- Metro Planning Commission, concept plan approval (September 2025)
- DAC Developments press materials, 53-story tower announcement
Signature Tower
- Wikipedia, Signature Tower entry
- Nashville Scene, “The Signature Tower and May Town Center are far from sure things” (2009)
- Nashville Post, Signature Tower archives (2007-2008)
- Skyscraper Center, Signature Tower project page
- Nashville Scene, Signature Tower cancellation coverage (December 2008)
May Town Center
- Nashville Scene, “Road Kill” (2008)
- Nashville Scene, “Signature Tower and May Town Center” (2009)
- Tennessean, Metro Planning Commission coverage (June 2009)
- WPLN, May Town Center radio coverage archive
- “The Bend” documentary series
- Bells Bend Conservation Corridor, community organizing archive
Cumberland Yacht Harbor
- Tennessean, Cumberland Yacht Harbor coverage (2003-2010)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nashville Crayfish listing documents
- Bullock, Fly, and Hornsby litigation filings
- Donelson community archives
West End Summit / Lake Palmer
- Wikipedia, Lake Palmer entry
- Tennessean, “Lake Palmer” coverage archive (2008-2018)
- Nashville Post, West End Summit timeline
- Tennessean, Propst Development purchase (March 2018)
- Broadwest opening coverage (2022)
H2O Waterfront District
- Nashville Business Journal, Alpha LLC bankruptcy coverage (2011)
- JDS Two LLC v. Sapp/Keating, civil litigation filings (2009)
Cascadia
- Nashville Scene, Cascadia marketing-launch coverage (August 2008)
- Nashville Post, BK Partners archives (2006-2009)
Original SoBro Ritz-Carlton (M2)
- The Tennessean, M2 lawsuit coverage (August 2024)
- The Real Deal, Marriott separation announcement (March 2025)
- Nashville Business Journal, foreclosure auction coverage (April 2024)
- AOL News, WBIR News, secondary coverage
- Oakworth Capital Bank federal judgment filings (June 2024)
Centrum’s Cumulus Site Rutledge Hill
- Nashville Business Journal, Centrum land purchase (August 2021)
- Tennessean, Cumulus tower disassembly coverage
- Tennessee Supreme Court, City Lights appeal denial (April 2024)
- Nashville Business Journal, property listing for sale (2025)
Many of the sources cited above are paywalled or behind login. All citations were checked against publicly available archives or developer press releases. If you find a citation that needs correction, contact Grant Hammond.
Related Resources
If you are researching specific Nashville condo districts or successor buildings referenced above, these pages go deeper:
Neighborhood hubs covering the districts where pending projects sit:
- The Gulch Condos, district hub covering the new Gulch Ritz-Carlton parcel
- Downtown Nashville Condos, district hub covering SoBro (Park Place, 800 Lea, 319 Peabody, original Ritz site)
- Midtown Condos, district hub covering the West End Summit / Lake Palmer / Broadwest site
- Belle Meade Condos, district hub
- Nashville Condos for Sale, main pillar
Successor buildings referenced in this archive (now built and selling):
- Residences at Broadwest, the building on the former Lake Palmer site
- 505, the building on the former Signature Tower site
- Paramount Tower, Giarratana’s current attempt at the tallest building in Tennessee
- Four Seasons Private Residences, track record for the Park Place / Equinox developer team
Tracking a Nashville Phantom Tower?
If you are watching one of the pending projects above, Park Place, the new Gulch Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, 800 Lea, or 319 Peabody, and want a reservation slot the moment pre-sales open, the relationship has to start now. Grant Hammond has closed 350+ Nashville high-rise condo transactions and tracks each of these projects against their developer milestones quarterly.
