The Home Stretch

We are almost finished! Our general contractor is trying to wrap up the 6th floor and turn in over to our buyers and we should finish that process in the next two weeks. Can I be candid here and vent a little? The process of getting codes approvals in Nashville has become onerous. Our wonderful design team works EXTREMELY hard to design and spec a building that meets or exceeds the International Building Code...those plans are scoured over by the Codes Department before permits are issued. Inspections occur every step of the way. And then, when you request your final inspection, the Inspector of the Day decides he/she wants something added. Our GC is over a barrel, there is no choice but to comply or we don't receive the Use and Occupancy Permits. The costs of making changes like this are typically not in the budget, so the Developer/Owner has to inject more money into the project at a time when prices have already been set...there is a fairness issue here that goes unnoticed. The end effect of all this is that over time, developers will start to build in larger and larger contingency budgets and be able to deliver less and less to the end user reducing the quality of the project in anticipation of a rogue inspector. OK...I feel better now!

Back at 1101, the landscaping has been installed in the front and back and our lobby area should be getting the tile in sometime in the first two weeks of December. There will be some "nits and nats" to finish up over the next few weeks, but by and large we are done. Here's a sneak peak of the view from the 6th floor at night:

OK, I cheated a little bit - that's actually from the "party deck" in Unit 611. But folks, if you are on the north side of the building. From the third floor up, you will have unobstructed views of our ever-improving skyline. Further, M2H Group, our developer, has pledged to NOT build a tower on the neighboring land. We have heard some sad stories from buyers at nearby communities that thought they would have skyline views in perpetuity only to learn that hotel developers can pay a lot of money for land and need to max out their sites by going vertical. What once was a pristine skyline view will soon be a wall. Sad...but if you choose to live at 1101, that will not happen! Our first level of townhomes facing north will be partially obstructed by the construction of Treble Flats next door, but in exchange, a beautifully landscaped bio-retention area will be built that will give it a European courtyard feel.

Urban living is going to create conditions like this, but developers need to be responsible to their residents and do what they can to provide for long term value...but as my 9th Grade Latin teacher admonished: "caveat emptor!" This is a doctrine that should be a "no brainer" for buyers, but in the heady rush of new construction and excitement/marketing hype, some folks may have checked their judgements at the door. Not so with the good folks at 1101 where quality, value and long-term appreciation are the hallmarks of good development and construction.