3 key hotels headed to the gulch

gulch’s w hotel coming fall 2020.

developers broke ground this month on the upcoming w hotel in the gulch.  shooting for a fall 2020 opening, the 16-story hotel will stretch along 12th avenue between pine street and laurel street, near the turnip truck.  marriott international has said the w hotel will boast 345 rooms, 2 “extreme wow” luxury suites and an over 1,600 square foot penthouse. it will also include two restaurants both helmed by chef andrew carmellini: the dutch nashville and italian chophouse. in classic “w” style, the lobby will feature a full bar and dj booth and highlight local artwork.

nashville saw over 14.5 million tourist in 2017, up 4.6% from 2016. the city is seeing no shortage of new hotels going up to meet the demand. over 100 different hotels are in various stages of construction across the city. 9 hotels have opened this year with another 10 scheduled still to open in 2018.

eleventh house

and the gulch has been the new frontier lately. earlier this year, m street restaurant hospitality owner chris hyndman announced plans to build eleventh house. chris hyndman and m street are known locally for their restaurant successes like virago, saint anejo, kayne prime, tavern and whiskey kitchen. the 112-room, 11-story building will include a rooftop pool and bar/lounge with city views, 30,000+ fitness center, luxury spa, a boutique performance venue and much more. eleventh house is tentatively shooting for a summer 2020 finish.

developers are currently eyeing a block in the north gulch for a 20-story boutique hotel as well. the site, which sits at the corner of 11th avenue and grundy street (near chahaun ale + masala house), is approved for a 16-story building. they go before metro december 13th for their height modifications request. no start date or hotel brand has been announced yet.

these three high profile hotels only add to the growing number of others in the works in the gulch. hilton is banking on the area with a hampton inn + suites in capital view (north gulch) currently under construction, a dual-branded hampton inn and a tru by hilton on 9th, and a canopy by hilton on division street. two additional hotels are in earlier stages: a 16-story, 380-room mcgavock street hotel which is sandwiched between adeles and interstate 65, and a 250-room hotel will be part of a trio of proposed towers at the corner of demonbreun and 12th avenue avenue south.

looking west at the corner of mcgavock + 12 avenue south. this trio of towers will feature a 20-story office building, 250 hotel rooms and 250–300 residential units.

 

five takeaways on new amazon hub coming to nashville

amazon announced the company is investing $230 million and 5,000 jobs in a new operations hub in nashville today. here are five things to know:

1 • it will be the east coast hub for tech and management functions, including software development, customer fulfillment, customer service, transportation & supply chains, among others.

2 • the amazon site will be located in the upcoming nashville yards, a 15-acre development on the former lifeway lot downtown. the nashville yards stretches from church street to broadway near interstate 40 with plans for shops, restaurants, office space, hotels, residential, and a 1.3 acre park.

3 • nashville was not chosen as the second headquarters location (long island city in new york and crystal city, virginia will split those responsibilities) but this decision does still mark huge job gains for the city. even though being chosen could have meant upwards of 50,000 jobs, amazon’s decision is the largest job announcement for the city ever (and the state via governor haslam).

4 • amazon will receive performance-based incentives of up to $102 million, provided the company creates 5,000 jobs with average wages greater than $150,000. they expect to recruit both locally and outside the area.

5 • amazon currently already employs 2,500 across nashville within their four distribution centers.

 

 

the doc is in: 3 documentaries that are this summer’s must-see movies

art house documentaries never stir up a lot of mainstream buzz but this summer’s crop is water cooler talk all over the country. leading the pack of contenders is morgan neville’s won’t you be my neighbor? (june 8), which examines pbs’ mister rogers and the life lessons of compassion he hoped to leave behind. there’s a great scene at the beginning of the film where one of the longtime producers says “if you take all of the elements that make good television and do the exact opposite, you have ‘mister rogers’ neighborhood’: low production values, simple set, an unlikely star.”

but alas, his star continues to shine. already, the movie has grossed over $18 million at the box office and was in the top 10 movies in the country last week. quite a feat. a documentary hasn’t exceeded $20 million since 2013’s one direction: this is us. 

another one making noise this summer is rbg (may 4), which explores the incredible life, love and career of 85-year-old supreme court justice, ruth bader ginsburg. she may only stand at 5 foot 1 inch but this movie packed a punch as it touches on her early years of fighting for women’s rights, her tender love story with her husband, marty ginsburg and of late, her intergenerational popularity.

finally, on a wider, more commercial scale, whitney (july 5), about pop icon whitney houston, released earlier this month. the documentary, the second one to focus on the singer in recent years, paints a melancholy image of her struggle with inner demons rather than celebrating her successes. movie goers will not have the same reaction to this one as the first two mentioned documentaries in this article but it’s an intriguing story nonetheless.

rbg is playing this week at the belcourt. won’t you be my neighbor? is playing at the belcourt and opry mills 20. whitney is playing at hollywood 27, regal green hills 16 and opry mills 20.

oprah winfrey-backed restaurant coming to nashville this fall

you get a restaurant and you get restaurant and you get a restaurant! a phoenix-based restaurant chain, now financially backed by oprah winfrey, is opening a location in nashville this fall.

“i love bringing people together over a good meal,” winfrey said in a statement. “when i first dined at true food kitchen, i was so impressed with the team’s passion for healthy eating and, of course, the delicious food, that i knew i wanted to be part of the company’s future.”  true food kitchen is a health-conscious brand with 23 locations in 10 states. with oprah’s financial muscle, they hope to aggressively double their numbers in the next three years. 

one look at their website and you realize their entire philosophy is based on the foundation of food that makes you feel better, not worse. their menu focuses solely on anti-inflammatory meals and cocktails.

the self-made billionaire is no stranger to nashville. oprah spent her formative high school years in east nashville where her dad still owns a barbershop (he’s cut hair there for 52 years). she had a full scholarship to TSU and while still in school, became the youngest co-anchor at 19 (as well as the first black co-anchor) for nashville’s CBS affiliate.

true food kitchen opens in green hills in september. | 3994 hillsboro pike

this summer’s movies around the city

the 24th year of movies in the park kicks off this thursday may 31. sponsored by the nashville scene with the support of the metropolitan board of parks & recreation and recognized as one of nashville’s best annual events, movies in the park is free thursdays in june at elmington park:

may 31 coco

june 7 wonder woman

june 14 legally blond

june 21 the greatest showman

games and give aways start at 5:00.  the movie typically starts at sundown (roughly around 8:00).  a long train of food trucks will be there as well so bring a blanket and plan to settle in for the evening under the stars.

zoovies at the park, brought to you by the nashville zoo and southern icee, has moana friday may 25. with inflatables, games, crafts, music, and after-hours access to the carousel and the soaring eagle zip line, it promises all the family fun you can handle. activities begin at 6pm and movies start at sunset.  members get in free or it’s $6 for non-members after 6pm. their next movie will be august 31 featuring zootopia.

 

if you need a little more sophistication, movies at the schermerhorn might be for you. may 24-27 will feature harry potter and the goblet of fire with the award-winning nashville symphony. tickets available online.