Convention Center Report

A Report to The Honorable Bill Purcell, Mayor of Nashville THE LOCATION AND DESIGN OF A PROPOSED NEW CONVENTION CENTER, HOTEL AND PARKING in Downtown Nashville Prepared by the Nashville Civic Design Center September 5, 2006 Acknowledgements: The work represented in this document was done at the request of The Honorable Bill Purcell, Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County, and was produced by the Nashville Civic Design Center staff. The report was written and edited by T. K. Davis, Design Director and Associate Professor, University of Tennessee College of Architecture + Design; with significant contributions by Kate Monaghan, Executive Director; Gary Gaston, Associate Design Director; Stephanie McCullough, Design Assistant; and interns Benjamin Campbell (Vanderbilt University), Laura Felker (University of Tennessee), Parvathi Nampoothri (McGill University), Benjamin Sachs (Yale University), and Anne Sanders (University of the South at Sewanee).

Questions and comments may be directed to: T.K. Davis, Design Director Nashville Civic Design Center 138 Second Avenue North Suite 106 Nashville, Tennessee 37201 615.248.4280 voice 615.248.4282 fax info@civicdesigncenter.org www.civicdesigncenter.org The Nashville Civic Design Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with funding from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University and private donors.

Founded in 2000, the Nashville Civic Design Center’s mission is to elevate the quality of Nashville’s built environment and to promote public participation in the creation of a more beautiful and functional city for all.

1

INDEX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5

LOCATION MAPS OF THE SIX SITES

8

BACKGROUND

14

LOCATION AND DESIGN ASSESSMENT PROCESS

15

OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS

16

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS REGARDING LOCATION AND DESIGN The Music City Center Report No Site is Perfect Site Selection Involves Speculation Downtown is Rapidly Changing Thinking About the Short and Long Term Linkage of the Convention Center, Hotel and Parking Linkage of Location and Design Assumptions Public Transit Implications Existing and Proposed Shuttle Sites The Design and Construction Process Takes Time What to Do with the Existing Convention Center Site?

18

A “STATE-OF-THE-ART” CONVENTION CENTER Environmental Sustainability Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design Life-cycle Cost Considerations Marketing Imperatives for Green Building “Doing the Right Thing” Economic Sustainability The Environmental / Economic Nexus Design for a Long Life Span An “Extroverted” Building Flexibility for Rapid and Unpredictable Change Future Expansion Social Sustainability Balancing the Icon with Context Building Downtown as an Emergent Neighborhood Reinforcing the Brand of Nashville with the Arts The Convention Center as Commercial and Cultural Destination Quality Jobs and Affordable Housing

25 25

26

26

2

THREE RECOMMENDED SITES ASSESSED RELATIVE TO THE PLAN OF NASHVILLE’S TEN PRINCIPLES WITH RELATED GOALS SoBro/South of the GEC Site Church Street/Tenth Avenue Site Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site

29

PROXIMITY SURVEYS REGARDING THE THREE RECOMMENDED SITES

35

OPPORTUNITY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THREE RECOMMENDED SITES

37

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ASSESSMENT FOR THE THREE RECOMMENDED SITES

40

LOCATION AND DESIGN ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS

44

BIBLIOGRAPHY

46

APPENDIX

47

1. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Assessments for Three Sites Not Recommended Lafayette Street/Eighth Avenue Gateway Boulevard/Fifth Avenue East Bank of the Cumberland River

48

2. Recommended Site Area Calculations

50

3. Proximity of Recommended Sites to Existing and New Downtown Hotels

51

4. Proximity of Recommended Sites to Existing and New Downtown Visitor Destinations

55

5. Proximity of Recommended Sites to Existing Downtown Dinner Restaurant Base

59

6. Convention Meeting Planners Interview Survey

61

7. Summary of May 30 Public Meeting Group Report Results

64

8. Summary of May 30 Public Meeting Written Survey Results

68 3

9. Summary of May 31 Public Meeting Group Report Results

72

10. Summary of May 31 Public Meeting Written Survey Results

76

11. Summary of June 15 Urban Design Forum Written Survey Results

79

12. Precedent: The David H. Lawrence Convention Center

81

13. Precedent: The Philadelphia Convention Center

86

14. Precedent: The Washington, D.C. Convention Center

93

15. Article on Convention Center Codevelopment, Functionality and Urban Design

101

16. Article on Convention Centers Linked to Affordable Housing

107

4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background On February 17, 2006, the Music City Center Task Force presented to Mayor Bill Purcell and the citizens of Nashville their report entitled The Music City Center for Nashville’s Future (MCC Report) recommending that a new convention center and hotel with parking be constructed downtown on a site in SoBro south of the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC). At that time, Mayor Purcell asked the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research to assess the financial assumptions of the MCC Report. He simultaneously requested the Nashville Civic Design Center conduct an assessment of the location and design implications of the proposal, incorporating public meetings for community-wide input. The Mayor’s request to the Civic Design Center paralleled a similar recommendation for input and public meetings in the MCC Report.

The Civic Design Center then began researching the topic of convention center location and design, particularly through the resources of the Urban Land Institute. In addition Civic Design Center staff: • Met a number of times with the authors of the MCC Report’s section on site selection; • Identified key design precedents and articles on “state-of-the-art” convention center complexes; • Interviewed 18 convention planners as a focus group to learn their priorities for a new facility; • Presented a progress report midway through the assessment process and responded to questions from the Convention Center Board and the Music City Center Coalition.

Two public meetings and an Urban Design Forum were convened. These well-attended events served as an opportunity to inform the community on the implications of the project, as well as to elicit comments and ideas, both in public and anonymously in writing.

Location Options Following the public meetings, six location options were subjected to a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis, similar to that found in the MCC Report. At this point, three of the six options were determined to be “not recommended.”

Those location options were: • Lafayette Street and Eighth Avenue • Gateway Boulevard and Fifth Avenue • The East Bank of the Cumberland River

5

The remaining three locations, which the SWOT analysis indicated were viable sites for a state-of-the-art convention center, are: • SoBro/South of the GEC (The MCC Report’s recommended site) • Church Street/Tenth Avenue (The Gulch, as suggested in The Plan of Nashville) • Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue (The MCC Report’s alternate site) The three location options were then assessed relative to The Plan of Nashville’s Ten Principles with Related Goals as well as their proximity relationships and opportunity costs.

Findings If a new convention center is built, then it should be a state-of-the-art integrated facility, as called for in the MCC Report. Such a facility would be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable over the long duration of the building’s lifespan. It is this report’s recommendation that a state-of-the-art convention center, at any site where a convention center might be located, should: • Achieve at least Gold Certification for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED); • Be designed and constructed for a long life span; • Be an “extroverted building” that encourages convention visitors to get out into the city as part of their convention experience; • Contribute to downtown as a rapidly expanding, high-density mixed-use neighborhood, where large numbers of people work and live as a 24/7 proposition; • Have, to the extent possible, “liner” buildings of high density mixed-use developed by the private sector at the perimeter of its blocks; • Have parking structures, as well as truck loading and unloading areas, concealed from the face of the building; • Maintain the city’s street grid as much as possible for vehicular and pedestrian connectivity and character; • Serve as both a commercial and cultural destination, celebrating the visual and performing arts in Nashville and the Middle Tennessee Region.

Based on the research and analysis documented in the following report, the Civic Design Center concludes there are three recommended sites for the proposed new convention center downtown.

The SoBro/South of the GEC site is categorized as a “very strong” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable stateof-the-art facility as outlined above, and, if two design assumptions are met: 1) That the exhibit floor and banquet hall of the convention facility are lifted approximately 20 feet above street level at Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue (with loading areas accessed from the higher end of the site), thereby allowing Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue to remain in place as functioning public vehicular and pedestrian streets; and

6

2) That the Fifth Avenue, Gateway Boulevard and Eighth Avenue sides of the site are lined with on-grade commercial space and with six residential floors above (seven floors total).

If these two design assumptions are not committed to and met, then the location would not be classified as “very strong.”

The Church Street/Tenth Avenue (The Gulch) site is classified as a “strong” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable state-of-the-art facility as outlined above, and if the air rights above the CSX railroad tracks are utilized extensively. If this design assumption (utilization of air rights) is not committed to and met, then the location would not be classified as “strong.”

The Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue site is considered a “viable” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable a stateof-the-art facility as outlined above. In addition, a recommendation is made to line Demonbreun Street and Tenth Avenue South with ground level commercial space and upper level residential space to match the height of Cummins Station.

7

SITE LOCATION NOT RECOMMENDED

Lafayette and Eighth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER

SITE LOCATION NOT RECOMMENDED

Gateway and Fifth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER

SITE LOCATION NOT RECOMMENDED

East Bank of the Cumberland

KEY CONVENTION CENTER

SITE LOCATION RECOMMENDED

SoBro / South of G.E.C.

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL COMMERCIAL / RESIDENTIAL LINER

SITE LOCATION RECOMMENDED

Church and Tenth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL

SITE LOCATION RECOMMENDED

Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL COMMERCIAL / RESIDENTIAL LINER

BACKGROUND On February 17, 2006, a task force appointed by Mayor Bill Purcell rolled out its proposal for a new 1.2-million square-foot Music City Convention Center, to function in tandem with a new 1,000 room headquarters hotel and new parking accommodations for 1,000 automobiles. The site recommended was the equivalent in size to six blocks in the South of Broadway, or SoBro, neighborhood of downtown Nashville. This site was located south of the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) and north of the future Gateway Boulevard, bounded to the east by Fifth Avenue and to the west by Eighth Avenue. In this proposal, the hotel would be located in the block to the south of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

An alternative site was also evaluated in the MCC Report. This site was located to the west of Eighth Avenue, south of Demonbreun Street and north of the CSX railroad tracks, while to the east of Cummins Station on 10th Avenue South. Phase Two of this site selection would indeed be built on air rights over the tracks. In this proposal, the hotel would be built on the block to the east of Eighth Avenue, south of Demonbreun Street and north of the future Gateway Boulevard.

At the February 17th presentation event, Mayor Purcell charged the Civic Design Center with a follow-up assessment of the site options and design implications for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking. The Mayor acknowledged that expansion of the existing facility was being taken out of consideration, as recommended in the task force’s report.

The Mayor concurrently charged the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economics with analyzing the economic assumptions and funding models underlying the proposed new facilities. The Civic Design Center, therefore, has not addressed the economic issues of whether a convention center and hotel should move forward as a public policy initiative, but confined itself to considering those economic issues that are directly associated with specific location and design options.

It is worth noting that the charge by the Mayor parallels a recommendation made by the MCC task force in their report to Mayor Purcell: “This is a critical project that could –and should– involve leadership and guidance from the Civic Design Center. As well, we envision public forums to allow the entire Nashville community to understand and embrace the concept of a modern, state-of-the-art convention center that provides enormous economic benefit and true community use.”

-Music City Center Report page 26.

14

LOCATION AND DESIGN ASSESSMENT PROCESS From the outset of its work, the Civic Design Center began researching the topic of convention center location and design. Meetings were held with Dr. Robert Fisher, head of the Task Force’s Location Working Group, as well as with Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS) convention center design leadership and HOK Venue (HOK Venue was involved in writing the MCC Report). The Civic Design Center also met with Rick Bernhardt, the Executive Director of the Metro Planning Department. The criteria for site selection, acquisition and design for convention centers established by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) was researched, as were key precedents for “state of the art” convention center complexes. Design staff interviewed 18 national convention planners as a focus group to learn their priorities for a new facility. Midway through the assessment process, design staff presented a progress report and responded to questions from the Convention Center Board and the Music City Center Coalition.

Two public meetings on May 30 and May 31 and an Urban Design Forum on June 15, 2006 were held; all were well attended and served as an opportunity to inform the community on the implications of the project, as well as to elicit comments and ideas, including anonymous written comment. Numerous thoughtful observations were documented.

Following the public meetings, six sites were subjected to a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis (SWOT), similar to that found in the MCC Report.

At this point, three of the six sites were determined to be “not recommended,” because their weaknesses and threats outweighed their strengths and opportunities.

The three sites remaining under consideration included: the MCC Report’s recommended site in SoBro/South of the GEC; the site suggested in The Plan of Nashville over The Gulch at Church and Tenth Avenue; and the alternate site examined in the MCC Report at Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue.

These three sites were then assessed relative to the Ten Principles with Related Goals identified in The Plan of Nashville. Site areas were confirmed to be adequate to accommodate the program. Proximity relationships were analyzed to quantify the three sites’ locations relative to the downtown hotel base, visitor destinations, and dinner restaurants. Opportunity costs were explored in terms of the potential of other development anticipated to occur over time as an alternative to the convention center.

15

OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS “Chapter Nine: Essential Next Steps (Next 18 - 20 Months)”…

--“Build public support / awareness through civic club presentations and public forums --Conduct public forums to obtain input on design, location, use, functionality and need”…

--Music City Center Report page 35 Soliciting public input was an extremely important part of the Civic Design Center’s assignment. Not only do people often contribute new insights to the process, but their desire to be heard is satisfied, and public meetings can help build consensus.

To that end, the Civic Design Center held two well-attended public meetings on “The Location, Design, Use and Need for the Proposed New Convention Center, Hotel and Parking,” as well as an Urban Design Forum for approximately fifty of our membership of 250 citizens engaged in civic design issues.

These events were intended to convey information and gather public input, as well as to promote dialogue and discussion. In addition, it was the Civic Design Center’s desire to build public awareness of the challenges and opportunities of site selection and design for a new convention center.

The public meetings were held on Tuesday, May 30th at the Downtown Public Library from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., and on Wednesday, May 31st at the Adventure Science Center from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The Urban Design Forum was held on Thursday, June 15th from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Design Center.

Public Meeting Format The Civic Design Center Design Director welcomed the community, and explained the type, purpose, and agenda of the meeting, as well as the desired outcomes, participant roles and ground rules.

Marty Dickens, Co-Chair of the Music City Center Coalition made a presentation of approximately 25 minutes on the Music City Center Report similar to the rollout event presentation on February 17th.

The Civic Design Center’s Design Director then gave a 10-minute presentation on the challenges and opportunities inherent in locating, programming and designing an urban convention center.

Attendees, who were sitting at tables accommodating up to eight individuals, were then asked to participate in small group discussions with a facilitator and a recorder assigned to each table. Approximately half of the facilitators were provided by the Civic Design Center, and the other half were provided by the Music City Center Coalition. Each table was asked to discuss five questions for approximately 20-30 minutes, writing down their concise thoughts as a group on large format sheets of paper.

16

The five questions posed at the May 30th and May 31st meetings were stated as follows: A new convention center (1.2 million square feet on a 15 acre site +), headquarters hotel (1,000 rooms), and parking garage(s) (1,000 spaces) have been proposed for Nashville.

Please respond to the following five questions: 1) What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage(s) a success?

2) From a civic design or location standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, seen, or could imagine, and why?

3) What are the four most important considerations (ranked) involved in site selection for the proposed new convention center, hotel, and parking garage(s) in Nashville?

4) What are the four most important considerations (ranked) involved in design for the proposed new convention center, hotel, and parking garage(s) in Nashville?

5) What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use, functionality and need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage(s) in Nashville?

At the conclusion of the small group discussions, each table’s spokesperson (not the facilitator) reported a summary of their discussion of the questions to the room. Each group’s comments, were recorded for the entire group to read and repeat comments from prior reports were eliminated to avoid redundancy. This process took approximately 20-30 minutes.

At the conclusion of the meeting, participants were asked to write their individual responses (anonymously) to the questions that had been discussed, a process that took 5-10 minutes.

All written responses to the public meetings were recorded by the Civic Design Center and posted on the Civic Design Center’s website: www.civicdesigncenter.org/conventioncenter.html.

The June 15th Urban Design Forum did not incorporate the small group discussions and reporting, but instead encouraged public comments and questions from the floor following the same presentations by Music City Coalition and Civic Design Center Design Director. Following the discussion, anonymous written responses were again solicited from the audience.

All comments, both verbal and written, recorded at the public meetings and the Urban Design Forum, are summarized in the Appendix to this report.

17

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS REGARDING LOCATION AND DESIGN The Music City Center Report The Music City Center’s Report is an impressive document, building on the earlier KPMG Report incorporated in the MCC Report’s Appendix. The MCC Report incorporates the substantial effort of over fifty community leaders, meeting well over fifty times during a 16-month period.

The MCC Report lays out sound fundamentals for site selection criteria. The Civic Design Center staff concurs completely with those criteria: “To guide the discussion for the best location, it was agreed that the ideal site for the new convention center would have to: 1. Be the least intrusive to the downtown fabric and infrastructure.

2. Offer the greatest ease of access for locals and visitors.

3. Be situated in close proximity to existing entertainment, hotel and restaurant infrastructure.

4. Foster additional growth in the area.

5. Allow for future expansion.”

--Music City Center Report page 29 The Civic Design Center also concurs with the Music City Center Report that if public consensus and political will develop for building a new convention center and headquarters hotel, then the proposed structures should be located in Nashville’s downtown.

The Design Center believes that there are three obvious sites that should be assessed.

These are: • Sobro/South of the GEC site advocated in the Music City Center Report • Church and Tenth Avenue site suggested in the Plan of Nashville • Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue site of the Music City Center Report No Site is Perfect We should bear in mind that there will be no perfect site− any site will have relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks.

Site Selection Involves Speculation Site selection is as much an art as a science, and involves some degree of speculation.

For example, while the building of new mixed-use residential towers in SoBro can be forecast for the coming decade, and therefore, forgoing the building of such towers on the proposed SoBro convention center site may be considered an “opportunity cost,” it is by no means certain. Development trends are influenced by both local and national forces that are difficult to predict, including residential market demand, interest rates, rapidly rising constructions costs, land speculation, the impact of much higher petroleum prices, etc.

18

Downtown is Changing Rapidly Regardless of where in downtown the proposed new convention center may be located, the future downtown residential population at Rolling Mill Hill, the Ballpark site, Encore Towers, Viridian Tower, and Signature Tower, as well as the new residential population rapidly growing in The Gulch, is going to change the energy level of downtown significantly.

Thinking About the Short Term and the Long Term It is very important to recognize that when a site is selected for the proposed convention center and hotel, collateral development around the site will also begin occurring, so the character of a given site will not be the same on opening day as it is today. Also, because the convention center is a structure with a multi-decade life span, one needs to anticipate the structure not only in its context on opening day, but also a decade or more later. The best site location on opening day may not be the best site location 15 years later. Alternatively, the best site 15 years from now may present short-term risks of relative isolation.

Linkage of Convention Center, Hotel and Parking Programs It is very important to not identify only the optimal site for the convention center component; the hotel and parking components of the program must be identified simultaneously since all three components are interrelated, adjacent, and contingent on each other. For example, in the SoBro/South of the GEC site, and the Church and Tenth Avenue site, parking is assumed to be on grade and stacked below the main floor of the convention center’s primary volumes, and lined by commercial space or lobbies.

It is also important to remain aware that, as the MCC Report states “It is widely acknowledged that a new convention center would require additional hotel rooms to ensure its success. Some public assistance will probably be required to obtain the right product for this proposed facility.” (page 100.) In its public presentations, the Model City Coalition has characterized this component as a 1,000-room (minimum) headquarters hotel. The economic contributions to the downtown of a new headquarters hotel of this size, and its jobs, should not be underestimated.

Linkage of Locations and Design Assumptions The Civic Design Center believes, as does the Urban Land Institute, that location and design assumptions need to be considered simultaneously because the differing circumstances found on various sites require different design assumptions that will lead to a successful project. A skillful urban and architectural design can often counterbalance a given site’s inherent weaknesses.

Public Transit Implications Wherever the convention center might be located downtown, it would be desirable to develop a simple loop of frequent small buses downtown that facilitate movement from one part of downtown to another. In addition to serving the existing worker base in downtown, such a bus service would serve both the convention center and the new residential base of downtown anticipated in the next five years. Chattanooga’s hybrid 19

electric buses that run a loop between their riverfront and their historic train station via the city’s east-west grid presents a model for how important such service can be in enhancing circulation in a city (refer to Transit Loop maps on subsequent pages).

The Design and Construction Process Takes Time It is important to be realistic as to how long the design and construction phases take on a project of this scale and complexity. A new convention center and hotel will need state legislation in place to provide funding streams for the project and support from Metro Council prior to site acquisition. Site selection, design team selection and land acquisition negotiations take time as well. Soil borings must be taken prior to design.

Schematic design, design development, and construction drawings each entail considerable time and review periods during each phase, and will take at least a year.

Bidding, construction, outfitting, and commissioning could take 2.5 to 3 years. In essence, despite optimistic and ambitious timetables for accomplishing a project of this magnitude, the national experience is that they can take as much as five years from the initial green light to opening day. During this (potential) five year period, the dynamic of a city’s development continues to evolve, so anticipating change around the site is very important to planning and designing a new convention center and hotel facility.

What to Do with the Existing Convention Center Site?

If a new convention center and hotel complex goes forward, careful consideration should be given to the enormous potential of the existing convention center site. If the block between Broadway and Commerce Street, bounded by Fifth Avenue and the former Sixth Avenue, is demolished, then an outstanding redevelopment opportunity exists. The Plan of Nashville suggests ideas for this potential site, including • restoring Sixth Avenue on this site to improve connectivity within the downtown city grid; • forming a public space directly opposite the Fifth Avenue façade of the Ryman Auditorium so that the Ryman’s façade can be seen from the restored Sixth Avenue; • developing Broadway along this site to encourage the architectural scale and vitality of the Lower Broadway bocks immediately to the east; and • developing the Commerce Street side of the block to improve the pedestrian experience of the street with commercial uses on-grade and residential or office uses above− currently one of the most pedestrian unfriendly locations in the downtown.

20

EXISTING TROLLEY ROUTE

KEY EXISTING LUNCH TIME TROLLEY ROUTE

PROPOSED TROLLEY

SoBro / South of G.E.C.

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL PROPOSED TROLLEY ROUTE

PROPOSED TROLLEY

Church and Tenth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL PROPOSED TROLLEY ROUTE

PROPOSED TROLLEY

Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL PROPOSED TROLLEY ROUTE

A “STATE-OF-THE-ART” CONVENTION CENTER “The modern day convention hall is not the concrete box of yesteryear. A new center would feature a multi-functional, multi-use, integrated design that captures the vibrancy and character of the surrounding neighborhood. It should include green space, retail, restaurants and possibly, at the suggestion of some, affordable housing. The Civic Design Center should consult on how best to make the center an important component of the city rather than a big box separated from it.”

-Music City Center Report page 10.

If Nashville builds a new convention center, then it should be a state-of-the-art integrated facility, as called for in the Music City Center Report. Such an integrated, state-of-the-art facility would be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable over the long duration of the building’s lifespan. The observations made below should be considered for any site where a convention center might be located.

Environmental Sustainability The Civic Design Center urges that for the proposed convention center to be truly state-of-the-art, then it should achieve at least Gold Certification for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED), as administered by the United States Green Building Council (U.S.G.B.C.).

The relatively new David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh is the world’s largest Gold LEED Certified building. Convention centers have enormous air-handling requirements, so a modest premium on initial costs can yield very substantial life-long savings in operation costs, as well as produce a convention center that can be marketed as reflecting the city’s environmental awareness– as is the Gold LEED Certified new convention center in Pittsburgh. Indeed, we have been told that many industries today will not book a meeting at a convention center that does not embody sustainable design.

The nation’s most recognized environmental seal of approval is from the U. S. Green Building Council. The council, a non-profit group, promotes energy efficiency and other environmental benefits in construction and design and has established criteria to measure the level of a building’s sustainability relative to environmental and energy criteria. The system is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; since its inception more than 450 buildings have received certification.

A conservative estimate of the front-end cost premium to achieve Gold LEED certification is 3% - 5% (although it could be less) with a return-on-investment of that premium conservatively estimated at 5 to 7 years (although this also could be less).

Calculated on a $431,634,000 building, at a 4% front end premium and a six-year return on investment, an annual savings of $2,877,560 per year measured in today’s dollars could be anticipated over the life span of the building.

If the proposed convention center committed to being one of the largest green buildings in the country, it would engender wide support in a broad environmental constituency.

25

It would also engender marketing appeal and respond to marketing imperatives. And it would also be “the right thing to do.”

Economic Sustainability In order to achieve economic sustainability, a new convention center should be designed and constructed for a long life span. As an important civic structure reflecting the values of the community, it should have the potential to achieve historic building status, which as codified by the Department of the Interior means a building with a life span of at least fifty years. To imagine a structure with a 100-year life span would be a worthy goal.

Nashville certainly does not want to be in the position of having to build a new convention center in another twenty years, particularly with such an enormous structure, simply because it has become obsolete or subject to significant deterioration.

In addition to allowing for future expansion, the convention center should be designed to flexibly accommodate rapid and unpredictable change in the convention industry and its technology.

One final aspect of economic sustainability has to do with the idea of designing an “extroverted building.” This means designing a building that encourages convention visitors to get out into the city as part of their convention experience, adding energy to the city and nearby business. Programmatic elements such as “suburban mall”-type food courts may capture revenue internally, but are antithetical to this intent in a convention center. The Civic Design Center strongly urges that ground level sidewalks be lined with linear food venues that are accessible from both outside and inside the building.

Social Sustainability Nashville is in the process of rapidly developing downtown as a mixed-use neighborhood, where large numbers of people both work and live as a 24/7 proposition.

Therefore, if a new convention center is to be socially sustainable, it must contribute to this emerging neighborhood, and not be detrimental to its formation. The Music City Center Report quite properly calls for “(A new center that will) feature a multifunctional, multi-use, integrated design reflecting the character and vibrancy of the surrounding neighborhood…” (page 26).

Integrating a convention center into a (soon to be) surrounding neighborhood has several ramifications. To the extent possible, liner buildings of high density mixed-use should be developed by the private sector at the perimeter of convention center blocks.

These liner buildings should have a strong feeling of openness to interesting commercial uses activating adjacent sidewalks as a pedestrian experience, with residential accommodations above to match the prevailing context. In SoBro, that currently calls for a seven-story maximum block, before twenty-foot setbacks are required. The purpose of the liner building is to 1) conceal the potential lack of scale of the big box programmatic elements; 2) to increase the number of residents living in the neighborhood (some in affordable units); and 3) to contribute to the property tax base in the downtown.

26

In addition, parking structures should be concealed from the face of the building, as should truck loading and unloading areas. Truck servicing can be accommodated inside of the block in service courts, seeking to minimize the width of curb cuts subject to truck turning requirements.

Where possible, long-span spaces can be lifted above street level, perhaps with parking structured below, wrapped by commercial space. Doing this allows the possibility of minimizing street removal, similar to how the new Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia or the new Washington D.C. Convention Center (both designed by Thompson, Ventulett & Stainback) solve street connectivity issues. In these projects, the massive “big box” elements of the project are lifted above grade allowing the streets to run through the block underneath.

Finally, a new convention center should serve as both a commercial and cultural destination. The Civic Design Center believes a new convention center should be conceived as a cultural, as well as commercial, public building. In this way, it could be a destination not only for conventioneers, but also for tourists and the local community.

Fortunately, if general obligation bonds are used to fund the facility, a One Percent for Public Art commitment is required. Elsewhere in the country, 2% for art is sometimes used to infuse a public project with art. In Nashville a long-range private funding effort to supplement the One Percent for Public Art commitment would provide necessary additional support.

The .5% art budget suggested in the Music City Center Report is inadequate.

Fortunately, the generous contingencies in the Report’s building budget can readily absorb this necessary adjustment.

If the convention center were a showcase for the visual and performing arts, it would engender pride in the cultural life so characteristic of Nashville, and thereby garner support within the very wide arts community (including the music industry) in the region.

The public art program at the Washington Convention Center embodies national best practices in this regard. Its art collection is the largest public art collection in the Washington, D.C. Region, containing more than 120 works of art– sculpture, painting, photography, mixed media and graphics. Once a week a docent leads a tour through the collection for interested citizens and visitors. A brochure is also available with all works keyed to each floor plan for location and identification of the art, enabling a selfguided walking tour. The collection was assembled with the curatorial assistance of local museums, including the National Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Corcoran, as well as the Federal and D.C. Arts Commissions.

In addition to involving the visual arts, research should be conducted to identify where the needs of the performing arts in Nashville overlap with the program needs of the convention center. Such a synergy would only intensify local relevance and use of the new facility, and again engender broader support. It would also reinforce the brand of Nashville as a cultural city for all those who visit.

27

One aspect of social sustainability in a public initiative of this scale is that it produces long-term, full-time, quality jobs which seek to pay at least a living wage for employees.

The reciprocal component of this equity issue would be the incorporation of at least 20% affordable housing in any private residential mixed-use development associated with the convention center development. Such an affordable component would qualify the development for possible tax increment financing. Some of the housing would ideally help recruit and maintain a stable workforce close to the convention center facility, as well as broaden the diversity of the downtown neighborhood.

The development of a new convention center encourages the opportunity for better transit downtown. If a new convention center is built, it could be a logical catalyst, along with the rapidly expanding residential population of downtown (when Signature, Viridian, Encore, the Ballpark site, and Rolling Mill Hill housing all have come on-line), for a more comprehensive and efficient transportation system to serve workers, residents and visitors. The Civic Design Center believes Downtown Nashville is only several years away from needing a simple system of mass transit similar to that demonstrated by Chattanooga’s small electric hybrid shuttle buses.

In Chattanooga, these buses drive a compact loop route around the downtown at 5-10 minute intervals. The compactness of Nashville’s downtown could lend itself to such a routing, perhaps with electric buses running at ten minute intervals (or less) going east on Broadway, north on Second Avenue, west on Church Street, and south on Tenth Avenue. Such a route would place an enormous percentage of the most dense part of downtown within a one to two block walk of transit, connecting place to place within the core. In the future, the route could be extended, or overlapped with another loop route, which would serve future development along Gateway Boulevard.

Finally, the challenge of integrating a convention center in the city is to balance the iconic building with its built context. This imperative is well summarized in the following quote: “On the one hand, an important civic structure ought to be prominent on the urban horizon: to celebrate civic pride; to serve as an icon for the city; or, if for no other reason, to display a ($455) million investment (more often than not, the cost of its public assembly facility is the largest expenditure a community has ever made! At the same time, if it is located on a center-city block, the building needs to blend in with its surroundings. It is easy to understand why an architect’s skills are stretched to the limits in the effort to meet the many, usually conflicting, design objectives for these bulky building types.”

Source: David C. Petersen. Developing Sports, Convention, and Performing Arts Centers.

(Third Edition) ULI – the Urban Land Institute (Washington, D.C.) 2001.

28

THREE RECOMMENDED SITES ASSESSED RELATIVE TO THE PLAN OF NASHVILLE’S TEN PRINCIPLES AND RELATED GOALS Assessment of the three recommended sites is shown in italics.

1.

2.

Respect Nashville’s natural and built environment.

See observations below.

•

The preservation and enhancement of the landscape’s natural features; The SoBro/South of the GEC site could be a catalyst for enhancing the landscaping of Hall of Fame Park, as well as the construction of the future Gateway Boulevard as a tree-lined urban greenway traversing SoBro.

•

Environmentally sensitive building practices; A Gold LEED Certified convention center building should be assumed for all sites, in order to minimize operating costs over the life cycle of the facility.

•

A responsible approach to historic preservation.

The Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue site would require demolition of the older buildings in Cannery Row in a Phase II expansion.

Treat the Cumberland River as central to Nashville’s identity– an asset to be treasured and enjoyed.

In other U.S. cities, having a vibrant riverfront as a visitor destination is almost prerequisite to having a long-term competitive convention center. The downtown riverfront vision plan currently being developed by Hargreaves Associates for Nashville’s Cumberland River is, therefore, complementary to the development of a downtown convention center. A long-term vision concept plan for the riverfront reinforces all of the five goals listed beneath this principle.

•

Protection of riverbanks, waterways, and wetlands;

•

Environmentally sensitive uses of the river and riparian areas, balancing habitat, recreation, transportation, and water supply issues;

•

Amenities and public access along the riverfront;

•

A variety and multiplicity of connections across the river;

•

Strong connections between neighborhoods and the river.

3. Reestablish the streets as the principal public space of community and connectivity.

The most difficult civic design challenges facing convention centers are that they usually entail removing the street grid to form a “super block” large enough to 29

program elements, they do not provide surrounding streetscapes with a compatible sense of scale. By lifting the large volumes on the SoBro/South of the GEC site and the Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue sites, most existing streets can continue to traverse these sites, minimizing disruption of the street grid and the resulting loss of connectivity. By utilizing “liner” buildings to wrap these same two sites, ground level commercial space with clear glass can activate the sidewalk pedestrian experience, while the upper levels of the facades can have a residential scale expression and a cornice line similar to the complex’s surroundings, thereby having the opportunity to make desirable streets.

•

Physical connections among the neighborhoods and downtown by means of a rational network of streets and avenues; It is essential that Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue be continuous beneath elevated exhibition and ballroom volumes on the SoBro/South of the GEC site. On this site, Clark Place would need to be removed east/west for two blocks. The Church and Tenth Avenue site has no streets on the existing site, while the Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue site, by virtue of its topography, would probably necessitate the removal of two blocks of Clark Place east/west, one block of Ninth Avenue north/south, and one block of Palmer Place east/west.

•

Design standards for streets that ensure a high level of quality– physical and aesthetic– for the pedestrian.

High quality streetscapes must be an assumption at the periphery of all three recommended potential site options.

4. Develop a convenient and efficient transportation infrastructure.

A convention center (with headquarters hotel) at any of the three recommended site options could serve as a catalyst, along with the various new residential projects coming on-line, to institute a frequent and efficient small electric hybrid bus loop service around the central core of downtown, similar to that operating in Chattanooga. This would reinforce the three goals listed beneath this principle.

•

The road and street system reconfigured to distinguish between the mobility needs of high speed through traffic and the access needs of local traffic; See observations above.

•

A system that balances the needs of pedestrians, bicycles, mass transit and automobiles– including car storage; See observations above, and note that all parking structures associated with a new convention center and hotel should seek to be pulled back and concealed from street fronts at all levels.

30

•

An interconnected network of mass transit opportunities that fully integrate a 24-hour life style.

See observations above.

5. Provide for a comprehensive, interconnected greenway and park system.

The SoBro/South of the GEC site could be a catalyst for enhancing the landscaping of Hall of Fame Park, as well as the construction of the future Gateway Boulevard as a tree-lined urban greenway traversing SoBro, thereby furthering the two goals stated below this principle.

•

Greenways and parks linking public spaces, streets, neighborhoods and the Cumberland River; See observations above.

•

Parks for all neighborhoods equipped for a variety of recreational, generational and cultural activities.

See observations above.

6. Develop an economically viable downtown district as the heart of the region.

A new convention center and hotel has the potential to reinforce the economic viability of downtown as the heart of the region equally on all three recommended sites.

•

More– and more diversified– residential opportunities in downtown; The SoBro/South of the GEC site is the site which would most lend itself to a marketable seven-story liner building incorporating commercial on grade and high density housing, including affordable housing.

•

Public investment leveraged with private development; Tax Increment Financing (TIF) should be considered as an incentive to encourage the private development of market-rate housing, as well as affordable housing, in a convention center complex. Tax Increment Financing, with discretion, could also be considered as an investment tool for the development of the new hotel and parking.

•

A variety of uses that support workers, residents, and visitors; i.e., schools, retail, after-hours and weekend activities; It is essential on all three recommended sites that the sidewalk experience on all sides of the convention center be transparent and activated with public and/or commercial space.

•

A downtown that is “Nashville” and not an average or generic place.

Incorporating the visual and performing arts in a significant way into a new convention center is an opportunity to enhance a downtown that is uniquely

31

“Nashville.” In addition, there is a public consensus that it would be highly undesirable to have a new convention center that is a generic “big box.”

7. Raise the quality of the public realm with civic structures and spaces.

Because a convention center is a very large civic structure representing the community as a whole, it should embody excellence in design, quality in construction and materials, and the expectation of a very long lifespan in the city, wherever it is located. The public spaces formed within and without the complex should be welldefined, active and memorable, reflecting the aspirations of the four goals stated below this principle.

•

Civic buildings and spaces that reinforce a sense of civic pride;

•

Locations that are significant sites in complementary relationships;

•

Connections to the city network by means of vistas, streets, and greenways;

•

Civic buildings and spaces that set high standards for the design of the city at large.

8. Integrate public art into the design of the city, its buildings, public works and parks.

A substantial public art component should be incorporated in a new convention center on any of the three sites. This could make a new convention center a cultural as well as commercial building and a destination for visitors and the community alike.

9. Strengthen the unique identity of neighborhoods.

The SoBro/South of the GEC site has the potential to reinforce an emerging SoBro neighborhood, if it is committed to incorporating seven stories of liner building on its east, west and southern perimeter, including commercial space on grade for vibrant and active sidewalks. On the other hand, if the north/south avenues were removed from this site, and a “big box” convention center were placed here without a liner of mixed uses, a large precinct in the city already characterized by its lack of scale and pedestrian amenities (Gaylord Entertainment Center and the existing Convention Center) would be worsened considerably, and would tend to forestall development of adjacent blocks as a mixed use, 24/7 residential SoBro neighborhood. In other words, the liner building on this site is essential for civic design success.

The Church Street and Tenth Avenue site (The Gulch) on its west and north sides is anticipated to continue to overlook a blighted industrial landscape during the coming decade, and therefore is difficult to envision with residential development at 32

its west and north perimeter. The Demonbreun Street and Eighth Avenue site, however, has significant liner building potential for mixed uses along Demonbreun Street and Tenth Avenue South parallel to Cummins Station.

•

Strong neighborhood centers and boundaries; The SoBro/South of the GEC site and the Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue site both would contribute to forming one or more quadrants of a civic space roundabout at the end of the future Gateway Boulevard. This would be a common civic space that could be shared by the emergent neighborhoods of SoBro and Lafayette. Similar roundabout spaces shared by neighborhoods are found in Washington, D.C.

•

A mixture of land uses and residential diversity within each neighborhood; See observations above.

•

Cohesive organization for each neighborhood, with a hierarchy of streets as well as a range of parks; See observations above.

•

Appropriate private development directed by public policies that reinforce each neighborhood's natural features, cultural history and built heritage and support commercial needs; See observations above.

•

Continued community involvement through strong neighborhood organizations.

The design process for a new convention center and hotel on any site should be characterized by periodic opportunities for public participation incorporating neighborhood organizations and interests.

10. Infuse visual order into the city by strengthening sightlines to and from civic landmarks and natural features.

It is essential that Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue be continuous beneath elevated exhibition and ballroom volumes on the SoBro/South of the GEC site. This site also carries an obligation to begin forming one quadrant of a civic roundabout space to be located at the end of the future Gateway Boulevard.

The Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue site has the capability to form a visual terminus and redirection of a civic roundabout space at the end of the future Gateway Boulevard.

•

View corridors to and from significant landmarks, especially the State Capitol.

The Church Street/Tenth Avenue site (The Gulch) provides an opportunity for a new headquarters hotel to mark the terminus of Union Street, which is currently visually unresolved as a view corridor.

33

•

View corridors and vistas of all types, from small and intimate to sweeping and grand.

With all of the convention center sites being multi-block in size, view corridors coming onto the various sites from perpendicular streets should be registered as axes on the convention center’s facades.

34

PROXIMITY SURVEYS REGARDING THE THREE RECOMMENDED SITES The Civic Design Center has analyzed the proximity relationships of the three recommended convention center sites to existing and committed future downtown hotels, existing and committed future downtown visitor destinations, and existing downtown dinner restaurants. The source for these existing venues is The Nashville Downtown Partnership Guidebook. (Spring/Summer 2006). Known committed future visitor destinations (such as the new Sounds’ Stadium), two new hotels under construction, as well as two additional financially committed future hotels were added to the lists.

We concluded that only downtown restaurants classified in the Guidebook as dinner restaurants should be considered, as the evening meal is probably the pivotal day-to-day discretionary decision typically made by conventioneers for off-site spending.

We also concluded that visitor destinations should be placed in two categories, primary and secondary, based on an empirical sense of the relative number of visitors each would attract. In addition, we added key downtown historic structures that attract visitors.

We have assumed that a 2,000-foot radius is a reasonable assumption on the limits of walking range, even though some in the industry suggest a half-mile (2,640 feet) is also reasonable. It should be remembered that a 2,000-foot radius overlaid on the orthogonal street grid of a city, at its most distant diagonal location, yields approximately a 2,800-foot linear walk. We have measured the radius from the presumed primary entrance of all recommended convention center sites, realizing that walking to a restaurant or visitor destination venue might in likelihood begin at the hotel door. On all of the recommended sites, however, the hotel is adjacent, or nearly adjacent, to the assumed primary entrance of the convention center.

In any event, it should be noted that ‘reasonable walking distance’ is determined by nonquantitative factors. A walk down five blocks of active and interesting storefronts is very different psychologically from a walk down five blocks of inactive surface parking lots, or blank walls with no windows providing views of interior activities (transparency).

In interviews with convention center planners from around the nation, it was strongly emphasized that the convention center location should be within a safe and reasonable walking distance of entertainment, restaurants, cultural venues and other hotels.

35

Summary of proximity relationships to the three recommended sites: Hotels SoBro/South of the GEC Proximate to 6 hotels with 1,836 rooms Church Street/Tenth Avenue Proximate to 8 hotels with 2,135 rooms Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Proximate to 6 hotels with 1,719 rooms Visitor Destinations SoBro/South of the GEC Proximate to 10 primary and 4 secondary Church Street/Tenth Avenue Proximate to 7 primary and 9 secondary Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Proximate to 9 primary and 4 secondary Dinner Restaurants SoBro/South of the GEC Proximate to 40 of 63 venues, or 64% Church Street/Tenth Avenue Proximate to 14 of 63 venues, or 22% Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Proximate to 21 of 63 venues, or 33% In conclusion, while the Church and Tenth Avenue site has an advantage in its proximity to hotels, the SoBro/South of the GEC site has an advantage in its proximity to visitor destinations, and a distinct advantage in its proximity to existing dinner restaurants.

A complete listing of these proximity relationships may be found in the Appendix.

36

OPPORTUNITY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THREE RECOMMENDED SITES Opportunity Costs: “One of the most commonly used principles in economics is opportunity cost. The opportunity cost of something is simply the highest valued alternative that must be foregone when a choice is made.” (Source: About Economics Newsletter. The New York Times Company (New York, NY) 2006. http://www.economics.about.com/od/oportunitycosts SoBro/South of the GEC Site: The primary opportunity cost associated with this site is the potential loss of mixed-use high-density development in lieu of a new convention center. While some developers familiar with downtown Nashville, as well as the Civic Design Center staff, believe that within 8-10 years– if the convention center is not built on this SoBro site– all of the blocks could be either developed or under development as high-density mixed-use or commercial office space, similar in bulk to present code allowances. The code currently permits a seven-story urban block “podium” with one or more towers per block rising as high as 220 feet. (A 20-foot setback from the podium parapet is required at seven stories). It should be emphasized that, as stated earlier as a general observation, while this building of new mixed-use high-density may be forecast for the coming decade, it is by no means assured.

A generally accepted rule of thumb is that a seven to one ratio predicts the number of jobs needed to create demand for residential units downtown. With approximately 45,000 jobs currently downtown, to keep up the residential momentum needed over time to reach a desirable 10,000 downtown residential units, 70,000 jobs would theoretically be needed. This rule of thumb further suggests that with its present 45,000 jobs, the potential for residential units downtown is currently 6,430 units. For the momentum to continue in the long term may require significantly more office towers and commercial tenants.

A mixed-use liner building on the SoBro site can help mitigate whatever opportunity costs do exist in developing this site for a convention center. In addition to the civic design potential of placing a liner building on three sides of a convention center located on this site, it would also increase the population of SoBro, and could include affordable housing, as well as maintaining a significant portion of the property tax base potential associated with the site. The liner building, in essence, would lower the opportunity costs of a convention center on this site.

Consider the following scenario. Reserve the outer 40 feet on the Fifth Avenue, Gateway Boulevard, and Eighth Avenue sides of the site for a seven story, 80-foot high liner building. Assume this liner has commercial on grade, with residential above. The height assumptions can step up, block by block, to incorporate the changes in perimeter elevation at grade. The Demonbreun Street side of the new convention center would serve as a public multi-story circulation concourse with public art (similar to the ‘front porch’ mentioned in the MCC Report) looking back at the city’s skyline. Assume all 37

parking to be concentrated in decks at the center of each of the three north/south blocks between Fifth and Eighth Avenues.

The liner building on this site would have the following approximate payoff: New commercial space: New residential space: New residential units total: Affordable units included: New residents:

56,000 net square feet 385,200 net square feet 285 units (1-3 BR with balconies) 57 units (@ 20% of total units) 428 new residents

Church Street /Tenth Avenue Site (The Gulch): The Civic Design Center believes that this site presents only very limited potential for alternative development in the coming decade, with the potential exception being an expansion of the existing YMCA facility. Therefore, there are essentially no opportunity costs associated with this site.

However, the presence of the noise and air pollution of the railroad and the site’s blighted, industrial surroundings to the west and north, mitigate against its codevelopment as a convention center with mixed uses, with the possible exception of limited commercial space parallel to and opening onto the Church Street Viaduct.

Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site: Due to the fact that this site essentially shares Eighth Avenue with three homeless service providers, the Civic Design Center does not see its development as a mixed-use high-density development in the foreseeable future. In addition, the site includes the Cannery Row complex, now home to nightclubs and the music industry, as well as the Methodist Publishing House and parking for Cummins Station and the publisher. Little or no development is foreseen in the coming decade (short of a convention center), and hence there is only limited opportunity costs associated with this site.

On the other hand, if the site is developed as a convention center, replacement parking for Cummins Station and the parking required by the convention center and headquarters hotel could be accommodated on site, lifting the primary exhibition and ballroom floors as necessary, and also thereby allowing some of the existing east/west streets to remain in place.

At the same time, a 40-foot wide liner building containing commercial on grade, with four stories of housing above to match the cornice line of Cummins Station, would, in the judgment of the Civic Design Center, be marketable along Demonbreun Street and Tenth Avenue South.

38

The liner building on this site would have the following payoff: New commercial space: New residential space: New residential units total: Affordable units included: New residents:

19,775 net square feet 90,000 net square feet 65 units (1-3 BR with balconies) 13 units (@ 20% of total units) 98 new residents

Note: While the property tax base is compromised to one degree or another on all three sites, it should be noted that the KPMG Report anticipates $16 million dollars in additional local sales taxes generated by an expansion of the existing convention center on any of the three sites.

39

STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ASSESSMENT FOR THREE RECOMENDED SITES SoBro/South of the GEC Site Strengths: • Subject properties are underdeveloped.

• Within reasonable walking distance to existing and emerging downtown entertainment districts (The District and The Gulch).

• Six existing and committed new downtown hotels and 1,836 rooms within a 2,000-foot radius.

• Within reasonable walking distance of 10 primary and 4 secondary existing and new visitor destinations downtown.

• Within reasonable walking distance of 40 out of 63 downtown dinner restaurants (64% of qualifying restaurants).

• Well-served by the existing downtown street network; Demonbreun Street, Gateway Boulevard and Fourth Avenue South connect directly to the interstate.

• Site is within the Capital Mall and Arts Center Redevelopment Districts.

• Site is favorable, due to topography, to lifting the exhibition floor above street level with one or two level service access.

• This is a market-favorable site to incorporate high-density mixed-use codevelopment i.e. a seven-story 40-foot wide liner building on three sides of the site.

• Potential to strengthen identity of Demonbreun Street as a vital east/west cultural street in the city, linking Music Row to the River and the various features found along it.

• Connection to the new downtown District Energy System (DES).

Weaknesses: • High opportunity cost for potentially preempting an anticipated high density, mixed-use 24/7 downtown neighborhood in SoBro providing enhanced property tax base, residential population and mixed uses.

• Highest anticipated land costs of all site options.

• Would require relocation and replacement of existing NES substation, Greyhound Bus Station, and the LandPort.

• Requires relocation of Musician’s Hall of Fame (ideally within the SoBro/South of GEC site).

Opportunities: • Potential catalyst for continued redevelopment of SoBro district if mixed use liner building is part of convention center design and development opportunities.

• Potential catalyst for continued construction and development of Gateway Boulevard corridor, and the proposed roundabout public space at the end of Gateway Boulevard.

40

• •

Creation of an architectural icon anchoring the Fourth Avenue/Fifth Avenue South/Gateway Boulevard intersection with a new high quality headquarters hotel.

Synergy of use with the Gaylord Entertainment Center, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the new Schemerhorn Symphony Hall, and Hall of Fame Park.

Threats: • If the liner building is not included, the convention center could detract from desirable character on Gateway Boulevard, Fifth Avenue and Eighth Avenue, and the continued development of SoBro as a mixed-use highdensity 24/7 downtown neighborhood.

• If the exhibition spaces are on grade, Sixth and Seventh Avenues would have to be removed, and critical north/south street connectivity downtown would be adversely affected.

• Potentially limited expansion options down the line due to collateral offsite redevelopment.

41

Church Street /Tenth Avenue Site (The Gulch) Strengths: • Subject properties are underdeveloped.

• Land costs would be relatively low.

• Building over air rights means development that minimizes its negative impact on the existing downtown property tax base.

• Low opportunity cost.

• Would anchor Church Street, the most pedestrian friendly east/west street in the city (including a new Federal Courthouse, Public Library, Capitol Mall, renovated Doctor’s Building, Signature Tower, Viridian Tower, Printers’ Alley, Second Avenue, and the Riverfront).

• New headquarters hotel would provide a visual terminus to the west end of Union Street.

• Eight existing and committed new hotels and 2,135 rooms are within a 2,000-foot radius of the site.

• The topography of the site allows for one level of parking below the convention center to meet all parking requirements.

• No interruption of street grid.

• Proximity to interstate system via Church Street and Charlotte Avenue interchanges.

• Close proximity to District Energy System (DES).

Weaknesses: • Proximity to Lower Broadway/Second Avenue Entertainment District perceived as somewhat remote.

• A relatively low number of current downtown dinner restaurants are within a reasonable walking distance.

• Added construction costs of building using air rights.

• Relatively low potential for codevelopment on site.

• Requires the relocation of an NES substation.

• Partially outside of a Redevelopment Zone Opportunities: • Long-term redevelopment of the Eighth Avenue downtown spine and adjacent blocks would be encouraged.

• At street level, convention center concourse and/or commercial uses could open onto the Church Street viaduct.

• Could promote pedestrian movement and redevelopment west on Church Street and Charlotte Avenue.

• Expansion is easily accommodated to the west of Lealand Street.

• Tennessee State University and the YMCA could share additional parking with the convention center.

• YMCA could partner with the hotel as a health facility.

Threats: • Phase One would require negotiation of air rights from CSX. 42

Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site Strengths: • Proximity to both existing and emergent entertainment districts (The District and The Gulch).

• Proximity to interstate system via Demonbreun Street and Broadway interchanges.

• Proximity to the Frist Center for the Arts.

• Site is within the Arts Center Redevelopment District.

• Minimal interruption of street grid.

Weaknesses: • Relatively long and narrow-proportioned site, especially in Phase Two, which could limit flexibility.

• Liner building of mixed-use would be difficult to market on Eighth Avenue.

• Would require relocation and demolition of the Methodist Publishing House operations.

• Would require demolition of the Cannery Row complex to accommodate Phase Two expansion.

• Would need to provide structured parking to replace existing parking lot serving Cummins Station.

• Phase Two expansion could create a scale problem at its interface with The Gulch neighborhood build-out.

• Hotel location would probably require relocating the Greyhound Bus Station.

Opportunities: • Provides good linkage between Music Row, The Gulch SoBro and The District.

• Creation of an urban roundabout space with an architectural icon at the western terminus of Gateway Boulevard.

Threats: • Phase Two expansion would require negotiation of air rights from CSX Railroad.

43

LOCATION AND DESIGN ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS SoBro/South of the GEC Site: This site has a number of strengths. It is within reasonable walking distance to existing and emerging downtown entertainment districts (The District and The Gulch), as well as 10 primary visitor destinations, and 64% of existing downtown dinner restaurants. If the building is designed skillfully, it has the potential to strengthen the identity of Demonbreun Street as a vital cultural street in the city, linking Music Row to the Cumberland River and the various features found along it. The site’s topography is favorable to lifting the exhibition floor above street level, and thereby, allowing Sixth and Seventh Avenues to remain public streets. The site is also conducive to a marketfavorable high-density mixed-use codevelopment.

On the downside, there is a high opportunity cost for potentially preempting an anticipated high density, mixed-use 24/7 downtown neighborhood in SoBro developing over the coming decade.

Partially for this reason, it has the highest anticipated land costs of all site options, and would require relocation and replacement of the existing NES substation, Greyhound Bus Station, and the LandPort.

This site offers a real opportunity for synergy of use with the Gaylord Entertainment Center, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and the new Schemerhorn Symphony Hall, and Hall of Fame Park. It is a site that is a potential catalyst for continued development of the SoBro district, the construction and development of Gateway Boulevard, and the proposed roundabout public space at the end of Gateway Boulevard.

The site brings with it the serious concern that if the mixed use liner building is not included, the convention center could detract from the desired character on Gateway Boulevard, Fifth Avenue and Eighth Avenue and the continued development of SoBro as a mixed-use high-density 24/7 downtown neighborhood. Furthermore, if the exhibition spaces are on grade, Sixth and Seventh Avenues would have to be removed and critical north/south street connectivity downtown would be adversely affected.

Church Street /Tenth Avenue Site (The Gulch): This site has a very low opportunity cost, and air rights would minimize the negative impact on the property tax base inherent in a public convention center. In the past five years, numerous convention centers around the nation have been both planned and built utilizing air rights over railroads and/or highways, the largest being the Javitts Center expansion now planned in New York City.

A convention center on this site requires no interruption of the city’s street grid. While land cost would be relatively low, there would be added construction costs of building using air rights. At this time, it is the most favorable site close to hotels, but the least favorable site close to dinner restaurants, which is an important consideration. One of its strengths is that the new headquarters hotel would provide a visual terminus to the west end of Union Street.

44

Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site: This site has the virtue of potentially minimizing the interruption of the street grid. It also creates the opportunity to form an urban roundabout space with an architectural icon at the western terminus of Gateway Boulevard, while spurring completion of the boulevard. Unfortunately, the site would require relocation and demolition of the Methodist Publishing House operations, and would require Phase Two demolition of the Cannery Row complex.

Summary Findings; Based on the research and analysis documented in the following report, the Civic Design Center concludes there are three recommended sites for the proposed new convention center downtown.

The SoBro/South of the GEC site is categorized as a “very strong” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable stateof-the-art facility as outlined above, and, if two design assumptions are met: 1) That the exhibit floor and banquet hall of the convention facility are lifted approximately 20 feet above street level at Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue (with loading areas accessed from the higher end of the site), thereby allowing Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue to remain in place as functioning public vehicular and pedestrian streets; and 2) That the Fifth Avenue, Gateway Boulevard and Eighth Avenue sides of the site are lined with on-grade commercial space and with six residential floors above (seven floors total).

If these two design assumptions are not committed to and met, then the location would not be classified as “very strong.”

The Church Street/Tenth Avenue (The Gulch) site is classified as a “strong” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable state-of-the-art facility as outlined above, and if the air rights above the CSX railroad tracks are utilized extensively. If this design assumption (utilization of air rights) is not committed to and met, then the location would not be classified as “strong.”

The Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue site is considered a “viable” location option, contingent on its being an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable a stateof-the-art facility as outlined above. In addition, a recommendation is made to line Demonbreun Street and Tenth Avenue South with ground level commercial space and upper level residential space to match the height of Cummins Station.

45

BIBLIOGRAPHY Barnert, Ben B. et al. Nashville Convention Center Planning and Design Charrette. HOK Venue and Hawkins Partners (Nashville) 2001.

Convention Center Advisory Group. Knoxville Convention Center Public Input. Public Building Authority (Knoxville) 1997.

David K. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA www.gbapgh.org/DLLCC_Project_Team.asp http://www.gbapgh.org/casestudies_ConventionCenter.asp Dickens, Marty et al. The Music City Center for Nashville’s Future. Music City Center Committee (Nashville) 2006.

Dietsch, Deborah K. The Architecture of the Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.: Civic Architecture in Search of Urban Aspirations. Edizioni Press (New York City) 2001.

Discover Downtown Nashville. (brochure) The Nashville Downtown Partnership Spring / Summer 2006.

Eseman, Chris. “Unconventional sites add complexity to convention center design.” in Washington State Convention Center & Trade Center special section. June 7, 2001. www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html Galloway, Thomas D. and Sara Hart. Inside / Outside: The Architecture of TVS. Edizioni Press (New York City) 2001.

Kreyling, Christine et al. The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City. Vanderbilt University Press. (Nashville) 2005.

Lassar, Terry J. “Unconventional Art Spaces” in Urban Land. ULI – the Urban Land Institute. (Washington, D.C.) October 2005.

Petersen, David C. Developing Sports, Convention, and Performing Arts Centers (Third Edition) ULI – the Urban Land Institute (Washington D.C.) 2001.

Washington Convention Center Art Collection (brochure) ca. 2000.

Willanger, Linda. “Center expansion resulted in more affordable housing” in Washington State Convention & Trade Center special section. June 7, 2001. www.djc.com/news/const/11122629.html

46

APPENDIX

47

APPENDIX ITEM 1: STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ASSESSMENTS FOR THREE SITES NOT RECOMMENDED In addition to the two sites analyzed by The Music City Center Report and the site suggested in The Plan of Nashville: Avenues to a Great City, three other sites, each with advocates, emerged during the public participation process. These three sites were Lafayette and Eighth Avenue, Gateway and Fifth Avenue, and the East Bank of the Cumberland River (each named to reflect the anticipated location of their primary entrance). A Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) Assessment was made by the Civic Design Center staff of the three sites. The Design Center’s conclusion was that while all three sites had strengths and opportunities, their positive attributes were outweighed by weaknesses and threats. Therefore, they are not recommended as a potential location for a new convention center with headquarters hotel and parking.

Lafayette Street/Eighth Avenue Strengths: • Would reenergize a neighborhood perceived as blighted.

• Relatively low land costs.

Weaknesses: • Proximity to existing hotel base, as well as entertainment and restaurants, very limited.

• Potential for near-term collateral development on the site, or adjacent sites, very limited.

• Not in a designated Redevelopment District.

Opportunities: • Visibility at future Gateway Boulevard roundabout and Eighth Avenue vista looking south.

Threats: • Would displace the Union Rescue Mission, Campus for Human Development and Downtown Clinic homelessness services, the relocation of which would be problematic and controversial.

Gateway Boulevard/Fifth Avenue Strengths: • Relatively low land costs.

Weaknesses: • Distance (and relatively inactive walking route) from downtown core.

• Partially outside of a Redevelopment District.

48

•

Location not conducive to high density mixed-use “liner” building components on Lafayette.

Opportunities: • If well designed, would spur completion of Gateway Boulevard, as well as activate it.

• Catalyst for continued redevelopment of SoBro. • Could reinforce Fifth Avenue as an important cultural street in the city.

Threats: • Proximity to existing hotel base very limited.

East Bank of the Cumberland River Strengths: • Views to the river and downtown skyline.

• From a civic design standpoint, would be an unintrusive site relative to the existing downtown city fabric.

• Would require removal of the PSC Metals steel scrap yard, often considered an eyesore.

Weaknesses: • Considerable new street and utility infrastructure required.

• “Big box” visibility from Rolling Mill Hill, Rutledge Hill and the greenways.

• Not in a designated Redevelopment District.

Opportunities: • Could help further activate the Shelby Street Bridge as a downtown experience.

• Could further utilize stadium parking lots in the future.

Threats: • Lack of reasonable proximity to entertainment, restaurants, and existing hotel base.

• Unknown delays and costs associated with potential brown field site remediation.

• Would isolate the headquarters hotel across the river from downtown.

• Could preempt future neighborhood expansion and connections to the river in East Nashville.

49

Appendix Item 2: RECOMMENDED SITE AREA CALCULATIONS Program required* Site required (15 acres)*

1,200,000 s.f. + 653,400 s.f. +

SoBro/South of GEC Site** Total footprint available Hotel site footprint available

864,000 s.f.

122,500 s.f. (350’ x 350’)

Church Street/Tenth Avenue Site (The Gulch) Total footprint available Hotel site footprint available

800,000 s.f.

129,600 s.f. (360’ x 360’)

Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site** Total footprint available Hotel site footprint available

909,200 s.f.

198,000 s.f. (300’ x 330’ x 2 blocks)

Conclusion: All three sites are more than adequate in size to accommodate the program.

*Source: The Music City Center Report page 29. **Note: In The Music City Center Report, Phase 1 and 2 indicated on the site plan has been combined for the SoBro/South of the GEC site. The report states, “Initial development phases 1 and 2 have now been combined to ensure an adequate footprint for the recommended site for a new convention center.” In the interest of consistency, our assessment combines phases 1 and 2 for the Demonbreun Street and Eighth Avenue site as well.

50

Appendix Item 3: PROXIMITY OF RECOMMENDED SITES TO EXISTING AND NEW DOWNTOWN HOTELS Downtown hotels (existing or committed to build) within a 2,000-foot radius of the convention center’s primary entrance.

SoBro/South of GEC Site (six hotels) Renaissance Hotel Hilton Hotel Holiday Inn Express Hotel Palomar (within future Signature Tower) Marriott Courtyard Hampton Inn (under construction) Church Street/Tenth Avenue Site (eight hotels) Renaissance Hotel Sheraton Hotel Holiday Inn Express Hotel Palomar (within future Signature Tower) Starwood Hotel (within Doctors’ Building) Hermitage Hotel Wyndham Hotel at Union Station Best Western Hotel Demonbreun Street/Eighth Avenue Site (six hotels) Renaissance Hotel Hilton Hotel Holiday Inn Express Hampton Inn (under construction) Starwood Hotel (within Doctors’ Building) Wyndham Hotel at Union Station

673 rooms 330 287 200 192 154 1,836 rooms 673 rooms 476 287 200 138 123 137 101 2,135 rooms 673 rooms 330 287 154 138 137 1,719 rooms

51

HOTEL PROXIMITY

SoBro / South of G.E.C.

KEY HOTELS CONVENTION CENTER 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

HOTEL PROXIMITY

Church and Tenth Avenue

KEY HOTELS CONVENTION CENTER 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

HOTEL PROXIMITY

Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue

KEY HOTELS CONVENTION CENTER 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

Appendix Item 4: PROXIMITY OF RECOMMENDED SITES TO EXISTING AND NEW DOWNTOWN VISITOR DESTINATIONS Destinations located within a 2,000-foot radius of the center’s primary entrance.

(Source: The Nashville Downtown Partnership Guidebook. Spring/Summer 2006, with additional key historic building destinations and anticipated new destinations added by Civic Design Center staff) Primary Visitor Destinations Bicentennial Mall and Farmer’s Market Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum The District* Frist Center for the Visual Arts Gaylord Entertainment Center Nashville Public Library Ryman Auditorium Shelby Street Bridge/Waterfront Park Schemerhorn Symphony Hall Sounds’ Ballpark Tennessee Performing Arts Center Tennessee State Museum The Gulch Neighborhood SUMMARY:

SoBro/GEC Church/10th X X X X X X X X X X 10

Secondary Visitor Destinations SoBro/GEC The Arts Company Musicians’ Hall of Fame & Museum Nashville Children’s Theatre Gallery 501 State Capitol/War Memorial Site Tennessee Art League Gallery Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Museum Union Station Dagenart Gallery TAG Art Gallery Twist Art Gallery SUMMARY:

X X X X

X X X 7

Church/10th X

X** X X X

4

Demo/8th X X X X X X X X

X 9

Demo/8th X

X X X X X X X X 9

X X X

4

*Lower Broadway / 2nd Avenue / Printers Alley / The Arcade et al. **Requires relocation within SoBro/South of GEC site

55

VISITOR DESTINATION PROXIMITY

SoBro / South of G.E.C.

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL VISITOR DESTINATIONS 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

VISITOR DESTINATION PROXIMITY

Church and Tenth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL VISITOR DESTINATIONS 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

VISITOR DESTINATION PROXIMITY

Demonbreun and Eighth Avenue

KEY CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL VISITOR DESTINATIONS 2,000’ WALKING RADIUS

Appendix Item 5: PROXIMITY OF RECOMMENDED SITES TO EXISTING DOWNTOWN DINNER RESTAURANT BASE Dinner restaurants located and planned within a 2,000-foot radius of the center’s primary entrance.

(Source: The Nashville Downtown Partnership Guidebook. Spring/Summer 2006)

3rd & Lindsley Bailey’s Sports Grille B. B King’s Blues Club & Restaurant Beer Sellar Big River Grille Bistro Bar & Grill Buffalo Billiards Capitol Grille/Hermitage Captain D’s Commerce Street Grille Coyote Ugly Saloon Demo’s Steak & Spaghetti Dixieland Delights Candy & Nut Co. Downtown Deli El Rey Fiesta Mexicana Flying Saucer Emporium Frist Center Café Golden China Buffet Hard Rock Café Hooters Ichiban Restaurant Jack’s Barb-B-Que Joe’s Crab Shack Judge Bean’s Bar-B-Que Kazu KFC Koto Sushi Bar Level 88 Jazz Bistro Mana Korean Restaurant Market Street House McDonalds Melting Pot Merchant’s Restaurant Miss Marple’s Restaurant Morton’s of Chicago

SoBro/GEC X X X

Church/10th

Demo/8th X

X X

X

X X X X X X

X

X X

X X X X X X X

X X

X X X

X X

X X

X

X X

X X X

X X

X X X X X

X X

X 59

Mulligan’s Irish Pub Night Owl Café Okinawa Old Spaghetti Factory Omikoshi Asian Cuisine Palm Restaurant Parco Café Parkview Café & Lounge Past Perfect Piranha’s Bar & Grill Radius 10 restaurant 315 Rippy’s Smokin’ Grill Ru Sans Sushi & Seafood Sam’s Sushi Sambuca San Antonio Taco Sand Bar & Grill Sbarro Italian Eatery Sole Mio Speaker’s Bistro The Sportsgrille ?

Stock Yard Tazza Watermark Wildhorse Saloon SUMMARY:

X X X X X

X

X X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X X X X X X X

X X X

X 40 64% of 63

14 22% of 63

21 33% of 63

60

Appendix Item 6: CONVENTION MEETING PLANNERS INTERVIEW SURVEY Washington D.C. 25 May 2006 Interview of 18 convention meeting planners From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific convention center sites mentioned: Anaheim Denver San Diego Philadelphia Boston Columbus, OH Houston Providence Minneapolis

(4 mentions) (4 mentions) (3 mentions) (3 mentions)

What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage a success?

What are the most important considerations involved in the selection of a site for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What are the most important design considerations for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville? (Note: Numbers in parenthesis indicates number of occurrences in comments

• Convention center should be within a safe walking distance (five blocks was

maximum identified) of entertainment, restaurants, cultural venues and other hotels. (18)

• Convention center should be attached or immediately adjacent to the convention center hotel (at least 1,000 rooms). (17)

• Convention center should be a light-filled attractive building that is easily identifiable. (15)

Examples given: Building should have lots of windows with great views, but also have blinds that can be lowered to darken meeting rooms.

61

• Convention center should be technologically advanced. (13) Examples given: wireless internet access, built-in screens and audio visuals, white boards, truss rigging and double air wall separation between dividable space to prevent “sound bleed.”

• Convention center should have a good balance of exhibit space, ballrooms and flexible breakout/meeting space. (12)

• Convention center should have plentiful parking that is located close by. (7) • Convention center exhibition space should be column free. (7) • Convention center should have easy access to airport. (5) • Convention center should have easy access to numerous hotels, not just the convention center hotel. (5)

• Convention enter should have an easily accessible layout that ensures that

multiple exhibits and/or shows can coexist (lobbies and loading docks). (5)

• Convention center should have easy access to reliable public transportation and taxi services. (4)

• Convention center should have clear and well-designed signage with interior layouts that do not obstruct views. Spaces should be stacked to alleviate walking long distances. Navigation should be easy for attendees and exhibitors. (4)

• Convention center should be designed as a “green building” and everything should be recycled. (3)

• Convention center should contain a public art program that represents the character of the city and its people. (2)

What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use and/or need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage in Nashville?

• Include planners and show managers and decorators in the design process!

• Our group does not currently fit Nashville space-wise, but it is one of the best cities for our attendees.

62

• If you are going to build a larger facility with supporting venues to attract

larger conventions you will need to build your support base… from rental equipment to taxis.

• The greatest thing that would impress our group is a simple design feature--

easy to consider at this state, but difficult to retrofit in an existing center.

For our events air walls cannot be important enough. Double air walls are the best scenario for us. For example, a ballroom that splits into four is of limited use to us. We lose half of the space due to sound bleed, we would only be able to use A and D. A ballroom designed with a double air wall, we could use A/B as well as C/D, losing very little air space.

• Have meeting planners be a part of the design… once you show them the design they will have comments.

• We are cramped in the old center. A newer, brighter, larger center will attract groups that might otherwise think that Nashville is outdated.

Nashville is a very good location for conventions and smaller meetings. Being centrally located in the country, they have an opportunity to attract large meetings.

63

Appendix Item 7: SUMMARY OF MAY 30 PUBLIC MEETING GROUP REPORT RESULTS Nashville Downtown Public Library 30 May 2006 91 participants From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific convention center sites mentioned: San Diego Pittsburgh Washington, DC Atlanta Chicago Indianapolis Louisville Orlando Phoenix Austin Chattanooga Kansas City, KS Long Beach New Orleans Memphis Philadelphia San Francisco San Jose Seattle St. Louis Tampa

(7 mentions) (4 mentions) (4 mentions) (3 mentions) (2 mentions) (2 mentions) (2 mentions) (2 mentions) (2 mentions)

Mentioned as bad examples: Chicago Montreal What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage a success?

What are the most important considerations involved in the selection of a site for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What are the most important design considerations for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

64

What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use and/or need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage in Nashville? (Note: Numbers in parenthesis indicates number of occurrences in comments) Site Considerations: • Convention center should be in close, walkable proximity to entertainment, shopping, dining and other attractions. It should be, in general, a focal point from which visitors can experience the city. (16) •

Site could serve as a future hub for public transit, possibly including light rail. This would provide the necessary ease of airport access and would help the new convention center to serve as a gateway to downtown. (12)

•

Site selection must take into account the urban street grid. (12)

•

Use convention center as a catalyst for new economic development and a means to revitalize underdeveloped areas, taking the broad view and allowing for future growth and expansion and adaptive reuse. (12)

•

Site should be easily accessible for both vehicles and pedestrians, and should take traffic concerns into account. (10)

•

Site should encourage an integrated mix of uses, such as housing and retail, which involve locals as well as conventioneers and make it an “everyday” facility. (8)

•

Hotel and adequate, underground parking should be connected at the door of the convention center. (8)

•

Convention center should be in close proximity to other hotel rooms. (3)

•

Site selection should take into consideration the safety of visitors.

(3)

•

Consult The Plan of Nashville for site selection. (2)

•

Site should work within existing infrastructure and developed areas.

•

Financial analysis of different sites should be conducted in terms of property taxes and loss/gain of revenue for city in terms of other potential development.

65

•

Two groups explicitly approved of the proposed SoBro site.

•

Some objections to the site proposed by The Music City Center Report were voiced: •

The SoBro site represents (the design) challenge of maintaining the street grid.

•

The Gulch site would solve street grid issues.

•

The proposed footprint eliminates a great deal of parking for other events.

•

The proposed SoBro site is prime real estate for local residents.

Design Considerations for Nashville: • The design should maintain a pedestrian scale and avoid creating a blank walled “big box” by activating the streetscape with liner buildings and retail. This mix of uses should take into account the current neighborhood and attract local residents as well as visitors. (20) •

The design should be both innovative and contextual. It should embrace the specific energy, culture and history of our city while remaining “downtown” in its scale, mass and material. (12)

•

While the design should be “of the city” and embrace Nashville’s “Music City” brand, it must not be another Neo-Classical symphony hall, guitar shaped icon, or Space Age arena. (12)

•

The convention center should be a green, sustainable, LEED certified building. (7)

•

The design should produce an attractive, light-filled building with an iconic presence. (7)

•

Verticality should figure prominently into the design process. By placing key elements of the convention center above and/or below ground, a smaller footprint, greater walkability, and greater mix of uses can be achieved. (5)

•

The convention center should include green and public spaces, possibly an outdoor amphitheater or public art, to engage local residents as well as visitors. (5) 66

•

The design should provide for ease of internal circulation, including lots of convenient but hidden loading docks. (5)

•

The design should allow for expansion, adaptability and reuse. (4)

•

The design should incorporate technology and wireless internet access. (3)

•

The design should maintain the street grid, possibly with streets running through the building. (3)

Additional comments: • Facility large enough to attract 70% of largest convention customers, allowing Nashville to out-compete other cities, and larger conventions mean a larger economic impact. (6) •

Affordability and public buy-in– must be cost effective from a tax basis. If interest rates and costs go up, the formula might not work and taxpayers would have to pay the deficit. (3)

•

Retail should feature a good mix of local and national, sit down, and dine and dash restaurants. (2)

•

The need is there since Nashville is falling behind in the convention business. (2)

•

Have a design competition.

•

Keep considering other sites without turning it into a five-year debate.

67

Appendix Item 8: SUMMARY OF MAY 30 PUBLIC MEETING WRITTEN SURVEY RESULTS Nashville Downtown Public Library 30 May 2006 44 written surveys submitted From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific convention center sites mentioned: San Diego (8 mentions) Atlanta (4 mentions) Indianapolis (3 mentions) Orlando (Gaylord Palm) (3 mentions) Philadelphia (3 mentions) Pittsburgh (3 mentions) Calgary (2 mentions) Phoenix (2 mentions) Seattle (2 mentions) Washington, DC (2 mentions) Atlantic City Austin Chicago (McCormick Place) Kansas City, MO Las Vegas Las Vegas (Venetian) Long Beach Nashville (Opryland) New York City (Javitts Center) Portland San Francisco Tampa Site considerations for Nashville: (Note: Numbers in parenthesis indicates number of occurrences in comments) •

The convention center should be in close proximity to existing retail, restaurants, entertainment, hotels and other attractions. (44)

•

The convention center should be integrated into the city so as to promote the economy and the culture of Nashville. (41)

68

• The convention center should be surrounded by development that will draw conventioneers to the city.

• The center should enliven and activate the surrounding streets.

• The center should incorporate mixed uses such as housing.

• The center should consider its impact on the neighborhood in which it is located. The center has the potential for a positive impact on a blighted area.

• The center should be well-oriented to the street so as to fit into the neighborhood.

• The center should interact with the city, and should not be separate from it.

• The sidewalks surrounding the building should be alive and bustling with activity.

• The center should incorporate existing retail.

• The center should bring growth into the surrounding areas.

• The convention center should maintain the current street grid. (28) • The convention center should have an interior that incorporates the following elements:

• Functionality; flexible space; inviting and light-filled; well laid-out; spacious; state-of-the-art technology; adaptability; plants and courtyards. (26)

•

The convention center should have an exterior design that incorporates the following: (20) •

Fit/blend with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood.

•

Seems natural in its surroundings.

•

Avoids the use of large blank walls facing the street and a box-like appearance.

•

Innovative and unique, but not too crazy.

69

•

There is no convergent opinion on what the building should look like. Some respondents want an iconic, modern design. Others want a traditional, classic look. Yet another faction likes the idea of hiding the building behind a faux, antique façade (as in Calgary).

• The convention center should be a LEED certified, green building. (18) • The convention center should have a coherent traffic and parking system.

(14)

• Enough parking for the center, and make up for any parking that is removed due to construction.

• Avoid congesting the traffic on the surrounding roads.

• Located in a travel-friendly locale that is easy to access using all forms of transportation: rail, interstate, and city street.

• Parking should be underground or hidden.

• The convention center should be supported by good public transit

(possibly light rail) that enables conventioneers to be able to travel around the city and to the airport. (14)

• The convention center should be located in a spot conducive to possible future expansion; these additions should be considered in the design process. (12)

• The convention center should be a community gathering place not only catering just to conventioneers. (8)

• The convention center should encourage new growth, and not hinder expected growth. (6)

• The convention center should seek to create a brand for itself. (8) • The center should seek to market itself and to use the city as a draw.

• Opinions ranged on whether the new center should or should not use “Music City” as a possible theme.

70

Additional considerations: • There should be no damage to historical structures.

• The city should take care to make sure that the area surrounding the center is safe.

• The convention center should have a “Wow!” factor.

• The planners of the center should look to the success of other

convention centers, and receive input from conventioneers and locals.

• There should be an analysis of the costs and benefits of alternative uses for the proposed site on Demonbreun.

• The decision should be made in a timely fashion.

• The city should continue to look at alternative sites other than Demonbreun.

• The city should try to use local talent in the design process, perhaps having a design competition.

• The center should be integrated vertically to minimize the footprint of the building.

• The planners should remember to build a center that will allow the city to compete for 70% of the convention business.

• The Plan of Nashville should be considered in designing the convention center.

• The building should be one that can be sold, from a marketing standpoint, to outsiders.

71

Appendix Item 9: SUMMARY OF MAY 31 PUBLIC MEETING GROUP REPORT RESULTS Adventure Science Center 31 May 2006 50 participants From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific examples of convention center sites mentioned: Columbus, OH (Hyatt) Orlando Las Vegas (Hilton) Philadelphia Atlantic City Calgary Cannes Charlotte Chicago Chicago (McCormick) Indianapolis Las Vegas (MGM Grand) Paris San Francisco Washington, DC

(3 mentions) (3 mentions) (2 mentions) (2 mentions)

What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage a success?

What are the most important considerations involved in the selection of a site for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What are the most important design considerations for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville? (Note: Numbers in parenthesis indicates number of occurrences in comments) •

Convention center should have a coherent traffic and parking system.

(28)

•

The design of the convention center should be revolutionary in order to create a sense of destination, and it should incorporate the following: (25) 72

•

•

Liner buildings, occupied by retail, boutiques, cafes, restaurants, which should surround the convention center.

•

In conjunction with the Country Music Hall of Fame, incorporate a small park in the immediate vicinity of the convention center.

•

An element that serves as the beacon to the city, ideally visible from the interstate loop.

•

A uniquely designed exterior to make the city more interesting, not less.

•

Varied function and pre-function space capable of accommodating a diverse array of events, with spatial flexibility.

•

Quality on every level– good design/multipurpose.

•

Building design will attract both visitors and locals alike.

Convention center should aid in the development and complement the area in which it is located.

•

•

•

Example: Site should be close to/bordering downtown or SoBro, but not in the middle of it. (19)

The convention center should architecturally complement the existing structure of the surrounding neighborhoods and the fabric of Nashville; create a design plan for the neighborhood where center goes: (18) •

Committee should consider the potential impact the new convention center will have on the surrounding neighborhoods (especially at the proposed SoBro/South of the GEC site).

•

The surrounding neighborhood should be designed to be pedestrian friendly; site should encourage visitors to get out of the convention center and into local businesses.

Convention center should fit into and sustain the cultural fabric of the neighborhoods: (18) •

Street grid must be maintained.

•

Site must enhance the line of sight to natural and artificial landmarks.

73

•

The convention center should be a green, LEED certified building with modern, sustainable design: (15) •

Example given: Pittsburgh’s Convention Center’s green design – natural lighting, water reclamation, recycling, etc.

•

Convention center should be easily accessible to existing nearby services (food, lodging and transit). (14)

•

Convention center should not create a “back door.” (6) •

Enough affordable parking for community and surrounding areas.

•

Efficient public transit system.

•

Traffic flow should not be affected by the new convention center loading docks/bus lanes.

•

Build an underground parking garage that can be used or other events as well as convention center events.

•

Traffic concerns must be addressed once site is determined.

•

Offer public mass transit to accommodate conventioneers: •

•

Example: Electric trolley system similar to Chattanooga.

Expansion is not important, location close to existing entertainment hotels and restaurants.

•

Alternative sites mentioned: the Gulch (5); Steiner-Liff site (5); Lafayette area. (3)

•

Make downtown Nashville clean and safe. (2)

•

Space should be active 24/7.

•

Incorporate public art that reflects Nashville’s rich culture.

What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use and/or need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage in Nashville?

•

Convention center needs to plan for the vitality of the space beyond twenty years.

•

How will this compete with the Opryland Hotel? Will the downtown convention center still be the second consideration in Nashville?

74

•

Turn the old convention center into a mall; this helps with bringing more residential into downtown and would also bring in tourists and conventioneers.

•

Concerning the number of seats planed for the venue– why with GEC, Symphony Hall, etc.?

•

Financial model should build in contingencies for excess revenue/taxes to go to public education in Davidson County.

•

Create a design competition.

•

Relocate Greyhound and NURM (Rescue Mission) to Gallatin.

•

Aggressive sales team to sell the facility.

75

Appendix Item 10: SUMMARY OF MAY 31 PUBLIC MEETING WRITTEN SURVEY RESULTS Adventure Science Center 31 May 2006 24 written surveys submitted From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific convention center sites mentioned: Philadelphia (2 mentions) Pittsburgh Chicago Washington, DC Columbus, OH Las Vegas (MGM Grand) Calgary What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage a success?

What are the most important considerations involved in the selection of a site for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What are the most important design considerations for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use and/or need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage in Nashville? (Note: Numbers in parenthesis indicates number of occurrences in comments) Site selection considerations: • Convention center should be placed in a location that will allow for nearby future development. (6)

• Convention center should meet parking needs for both conventioneers and surrounding area. (5)

• Convention center should be in the immediate proximity to the rest of the downtown, walkable to other cultural venues, restaurants, entertainment and current hotels. (8)

76

• Convention center site should provide suitable space for expansion.

(4)

• Maintain the street grid. (3) • Consider a site bordering downtown that will not destroy the

present culture of SoBro (Example given: The Gulch between Church and Charlotte). (3)

• Site should be close to/on Cumberland River, and creates a river

park; acts as an urban tool; expandable in many directions; complements the landscape (Example giver: Steiner-Liff property on East Bank of the Cumberland River).

Design considerations:

• Convention center design should incorporate public art and green spaces; it should also include the local art community. (3)

• Convention center should be a green building, with sustainable design.

(3)

• The design of the convention center should draw from what is unique about Nashville; convention center should be attractive to locals as well as visitors; create a civic destination; include all genres of music.

(7)

• Designers should weave the convention center into the downtown

neighborhood; 24/7 facility; new development should be able to flow around the convention center by neighborhood planning; integrate retail and entertainment into facility; multi-story, smaller footprint; flexible space. (13)

• Convention center should be technologically advanced (ex. wireless internet). (3)

• Design should use “liner buildings” to create an active street level; no “dead” spaces. (2)

• Well-placed bus drop off and hidden loading docks; no “back door.”

(5)

• Accessible mass transit; easy traffic flow; don’t disrupt street grid, flow of traffic and pedestrians. (3)

77

Additional comments:

• “Convention center committee needs to be planning beyond twenty years.”

• “Is this the least expensive and also practical site?”

• “Why does the design aim to include a significant number of seats in a theater-like venue inside of the convention center? The GEC, Symphony Hall are large venues, so why not use the existing venues?”

• “Alternatives: Lafayette– lacking immediate proximity.”

• “The Gulch– future development/not close enough to city center.”

• “Potential design competition for the convention center.”

• “Convention center should have minimal corporate influence.”

78

Appendix Item 11: SUMMARY OF JUNE 15 URBAN DESIGN FORUM WRITTEN SURVEY RESULTS Nashville Civic Design Center 15 June 2006 40 in attendance / 4 written surveys submitted From a location or design standpoint, what is the best convention center with hotel that you have ever experienced, or could imagine, and why?

Specific convention center sites mentioned: Opryland San Diego What do you think will make Nashville’s proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage a success?

What are the most important considerations involved in the selection of a site for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What are the most important design considerations for the proposed new convention center, hotel and parking garage in Nashville?

What other comments do you have regarding the design, location, use and/or need for the proposed new convention center, hotel and garage in Nashville?

Verbatim comments: Submission 1: “Place it just outside of SoBro so that SoBro can infill with the type of mixed-use development we have all dreamed about for years with the opening of Gateway.”

“Make it big!”

“Move it out of SoBro to allow SoBro to develop to be an amenity to building of a good city.”

Submission 2: “That the street grid not be interrupted. Clark, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh must stay open.”

“Expandability. SoBro is small.”

“That 400,000 – 500,000 s.f. of retail be developed with it if in SoBro.” 79

“State-of-the-art facilities/amenities.”

“Vibrancy of pedestrian experience.”

“Adequate signage, highlighting attractions.”

“Connectivity to entertainment nodes.”

Submission 3: “The footprint (should) be as small as possible with plenty of future expansion space.”

“No impact to street grid.”

“Building should be below grade or above the street.”

“Proximity to supporting venues– restaurants, retail, etc.”

Submission 4: “This location is absolutely wrong. It crushes what is an emerging mixeduse neighborhood with a bog box. It also, with this location, prevents downtown from ever becoming a successful retail downtown. Recent studies by ERA for Rolling Mill Hill indicate that we should strive to achieve a job to housing ratio of 7:1. We need 70,000 downtown jobs to get 10,000 housing units. We are at 45,000 jobs downtown. We need more office to create demand for housing to reach 10,000 units. This is the only location where this can occur.”

“Move it South to Gateway or to North Gulch.”

“Move it South of Franklin and Shirley to Fourth and Peabody so SoBro can develop.”

“Broad-based appeal, no overkill on Music City USA theme. Designers should seize the opportunity to reintroduce Nashville to thousands of visitors.”

80

Appendix Item 12: PRECEDENT: THE DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown Pittsburgh, PA Rafael Vinoly Architects, P.C. Gold Certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating “The design for the world’s first certified green convention center resulted from an international competition conducted by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Convention Center Design Commission. Encompassing nearly 1.5 million square feet and costing $385 million, green is seamlessly integrated into the building design and belongs to the building as intrinsically as its world-class aesthetics and engineering. As an owner occupied civic building, a payback period of less than 10 years was used as a guideline for the Center. Current projections indicate that the building is within this guideline. The Green Building Alliance, the Sports & Exhibition Authority, and others will evaluate the actual building performance over the coming years.”

Source:

www.gbapgh.org/DLLCC_Project_Team.asp www.gbapgh.org/casestudiesconventioncenter.asp

81

David L. Lawrence Convention Center - Project Team

1 of 2

http://www.gbapgh.org/DLLCC_Project_Team.asp

Project Team Owner Sports & Exhibition Authority Architect Rafael ViĂąoly Architects, P.C. Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates Structural Engineer Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners Owner's Representative AMEC Construction Management, Inc. Construction Manager Joint venture of Turner Construction Company, P.J. Dick, Inc. and Advanced Technology Systems, Inc. Green Building Manager Green Building Alliance Green Building Funders The Heinz Endowments Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Citizen Power Special thanks to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Convention Center Design Commission for

9/6/06 11:30 AM

David L. Lawrence Convention Center - Project Team

2 of 2

http://www.gbapgh.org/DLLCC_Project_Team.asp

incorporating green into their vision.

64 South 14th Street, Pittsburgh PA 15203 Phone: 412-431-0709 Fax: 412-431-1432 Email: info@gbapgh.org | Home

9/6/06 11:30 AM

Green Building Alliance Case Studies - David L. Lawrence Convention C...

1 of 3

http://www.gbapgh.org/casestudies_ConventionCenter.asp

David L. Lawrence Convention Center This Remarkable Place Size 1,486,000 sq ft Location Downtown Pittsburgh, PA Owner Sports and Exhibition Authority Leed™ Rating LEED 2.0-2.1 Gold Certified Costs $196 per square foot Completion Date September 2003 Building Overview The design for the world's first certified green convention center resulted from an international competition conducted by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Convention Center Design Commission. Encompassing nearly 1.5 million square feet and costing $385 million, green is seamlessly integrated into the building design and belongs to the building as intrinsically as its world-class aesthetics and engineering. As an owner occupied civic building, a payback period of less than 10 years was used as a guideline for the Center. Current projections indicate that the building is within this guideline. The GBA, SEA and others will evaluate the actual building performance over the coming years.

Learn more about GBA's educational outreach for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Sustainable Sites Downtown location with quick access to hotels and other conveniences for visitors. Because it reuses a downtown site, the building is accessible by transportation alternatives to automobiles and is served by existing infrastructure. Incorporating public spaces and art into the design contributes to the continual rejuvenation of Greater Pittsburgh's urban core.

Adjacent to public transportation: The building is located within 200 ft. of a bus station and within 400 ft. of a train station. Additionally, two public bus lines are located within 50 ft. of the Center.

Showers and racks for bicyclists: Bicycle slots are provided for over one-third of regular building occupants.

Highly reflective material to reduce heat islands Exterior lighting was minimized The Convention Center is located on a former brownfield site.

Redevelopment of the site involved removing 6 underground storage fuel storage tanks and a buried asbestos pipe, as well as cleaning soil affected by a gasoline leak on an adjacent site.

Over 16% of building occupants will be provided with carpool or vanpool preferred parking.

At least 50% of parking spaces are underground or covered by structured parking to minimize land used for parking and to reduce

9/6/06 11:38 AM

Green Building Alliance Case Studies - David L. Lawrence Convention C...

2 of 3

http://www.gbapgh.org/casestudies_ConventionCenter.asp

urban heat island effect.

Water Efficiency Gray water system recycles water for use in toilets and urinals. The water is conditioned by an aerobic digestion and submicron filtration system. The effluent is totally colorless and odorless. With final ultraviolet light treatment, the effluent has been treated for everything but viruses. The system recycles 50 percent of the Center's water and saves an estimated 6.4 million gallons annually. The water reclamation system will reduce potable water use by over 75 percent.

Indigenous landscaping uses no potable water for irrigation The Convention Center taps Pittsburgh's "fourth river," the aquifer that runs beneath Downtown, providing makeup water for the Center's refrigeration system cooling towers, reducing the demand for water from the city water system.

Pulsed-power treatment of the cooling tower water to eliminate bacteria without chemicals further reduces the demand for city water.

An estimated 1.8 million gallons of water is saved annually by this design.

Water saving features saves enough water to supply 132 Pittsburgh households for a year.

Energy & Atmosphere Extensive computer modeling resulted in energy savings 35.6% when compared to an ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1999 base model.

Exterior lighting is designed to reduce night time light pollution. This means less environmental disruption for urban wildlife and migrating birds.

Green power is being considered.

Light sensors and controls will reduce energy consumption.

Daylighting features include clerestory windows where the walls and roof meet and long, 6-foot-wide ribbon skylights which cover 10 percent of the roof area. Exhibition halls can be lit entirely through skylights and windows. Daylighting design provides natural light for 75% of the Convention Center's exhibition space and save 9.5 million kWh of energy a year.

Use of natural ventilation in a building this size, combined with extensive daylighting is projected to use about 35% less energy compared to a conventionally designed building. This is equal to the electricity consumed by 1,900 Pittsburgh households. The cost savings are projected to be 3.8 million kWh of energy, or over half a million dollars annually.

Indoor Environmental Quality The architect's specs for this building called for low- or no-VOC content, ensuring Center visitors a comfortable, healthy experience while here. Low-emitting materials include adhesives, sealants, interior paints, and coatings.

Daylighting and views maximized in public areas Ongoing CO2 monitoring system Permanent entryway systems are in place to capture dirt, particulates, etc. at all high volume entryways.

At least 50 percent of regular occupants in non-perimeter areas have individual controls for airflow, temperature, and lighting.

To create natural cross ventilation, the Convention Center takes advantage of the chimney effect created by the sweeping roof and of convection currents from Allegheny River flowing next to the building.

Specially designed janitors' closets include exhaust fans to maintain safe air quality for workers and guests

9/6/06 11:38 AM

Green Building Alliance Case Studies - David L. Lawrence Convention C...

3 of 3

http://www.gbapgh.org/casestudies_ConventionCenter.asp

Materials & Resources Recycling program recycles corrugated cardboard, paper, glass, plastic and Locally manufactured materials The materials used to construct the building have recycled content and were mostly manufactured within a 500-mile radius of Pittsburgh.

In demolishing the old convention center, 98% of the waste was recycled by crushing it into fill for this and other sites, converting would-be-debris into a useful material. (mrc2) In total, over 60,000 tons of construction, demolition, and land-clearing waste (92.46%) were diverted to uses other than landfill.

The demolition company was able to increase their revenues by selling clean fill for $4.75-$5.25/ton, and some of the fill was used on-site.

The suspended roof provides a column free space for the exhibit halls that would require about 40% more steel if it were conventionally constructed with trusses.

The post-consumer recycled content in the steel, aluminum and drywall amounts to a minimum of 12.8% of the total building materials.

Team Special thanks to the green funders of Rafael Vinoly Architects this project: Burt Hill Koser Rittleman Associates The Heinz Endowments Turner Construction Pennsylvania Department of PJ Dick Environmental Protection ATS Citizen Power AMEC Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners Sports & Exhibition Authority (SEA) Green Building Alliance Please direct all phone calls for the Convention Center to: 412-565-6000

64 South 14th Street, Pittsburgh PA 15203 Phone: 412-431-0709 Fax: 412-431-1432 Email: info@gbapgh.org | Home

9/6/06 11:38 AM

Appendix Item 13: PRECEDENT: PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER Pennsylvania Convention Center Downtown Philadelphia Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates/TVS “The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority wanted to minimize the problematic aspects of placing the convention center in the middle of the city while maximizing its potential to revitalize a downtown area nearly shadowed by William Penn’s statue high atop City Hall. In response to those wishes, TVS architects created a facility encompassing 1.3 million square feet that they carefully integrated into the historic urban fabric of Philadelphia… The exhibition building spans a main north-south arterial street, which bisects its site, forms primary frontage for the train shed, and creates a block long drop-off corridor for buses and taxis beneath the building... The primary entrances into the facility flank the key intersection of this north-south artery and the major street that fronts the concourse.”

Source:

Galloway, Thomas D. and Sara Hart. Inside / Outside: The Architecture of TVS. Edizioni Press (New York City) 2001. (text) TVS PowerPoint presentation (images)

87

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Philadelphia

Appendix Item 14: PRECEDENT: THE WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER Washington Convention Center Downtown Washington, D.C. Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates/TVS “In Washington, TVS sought to integrate the massive convention center into the urban fabric by preserving as much of the city grids possible. Rather than subsume L and M Streets into the building, the architects extended these east-west routes right through the convention center. This division helped reduce the building mass by separating the long structure into three volumes, which are connected by enclosed pedestrian walkways over the streets at upper stories. In addition to respecting L’Enfant’s Plan, maintaining cross streets allows for unimpeded traffic flow, pedestrian connections through the neighborhood, and additional access points for bus and taxi drop-offs.”

“The convention center’s cavernous spaces are further humanized by a diverse array of sculptures, paintings, photography, graphics, and multimedia works. By programming art into the architectural design, TVS ensured that a variety of contemporary expressions would be accommodated. Larger pieces are mounted in heavily trafficked concourse and entrance areas, while more intimate works are displayed in niches within concourses and vitrines adjacent to meeting rooms.”

“Assembling this $4 million public art collection, the largest in any convention center, was accomplished by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Chicago art consultant Joel Straus, and a team of local art experts and museum curators. The group selected both local and nationally recognized talents to create pieces for more than 80 locations in the building. About 20 artworks were specifically commissioned to match the scale of prominent circulation spaces.”

Source:

Dietsch, Deborah K. The Architecture of the Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.: Civic Architecture in Search of Urban Aspirations. Edizioni Press (New York City) 2001.

TVS PowerPoint presentation

94

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

www.tvsa.com Planning. Architecture. Interior Design.

Washington

Appendix Item 15: CONVENTION CENTER CODEVELOPMENT, FUNCTIONALITY AND URBAN DESIGN Eseman, Chris. “Unconventional sites add complexity to convention center design.” in Washington State Convention Center & Trade Center special section. June 7, 2001. www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html Excerpts: “It might be expected that a discussion of ‘convention center industry trends’ and the expansion of the Washington Convention & State Trade Center (WSCTC) would focus on technology and connectivity, fiber-optic networks and high-speed data ports. Of course the expansion will open with all of those features and more. However, the real ‘industry innovations’ that are showcased in this project are related to the following aspects of its design:

• Codevelopment • Functionality • Urban Design” “The term codevelopment is used to describe the condition where multiple project components are separately funded, synergistically related and, in this case, physically attached. In fact, true codevelopment refers to a condition where neither project can proceed alone, and their development must proceed concurrently.”

“The ideal functional relationships between the program components of a convention center are really quite simply. It is the arrangement of those spaces in response to specific site conditions and contextual relationships that defines the challenge of designing a successful convention center.”

While many of these ideas might have been thought to be superfluous or unnecessary just a few years ago, trends in the convention center industry suggest that the ‘new’ convention center will be funded through creative leveraging of development rights, will challenge the definition of functionality, and will need to be thoroughly integrated into its urban fabric.”

102

1 of 4

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html

June 7, 2001

Un-conventional sites add complexity to convention center design Index DJC.COM

For the newest breed of urban convention centers, architects must juggle multiple uses with tricky spaces and engaging design.

By CHRIS ESEMAN LMN Architects It might be expected that a discussion of “convention center industry trends” and the expansion of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center (WSCTC) would focus on technology and connectivity, fiber-optic networks and high-speed data ports.

Of course the expansion will open with all of those features and more.

However, the real “industry innovations” that are showcased in this project are related to the following aspects of its design:

Photo courtesy of LMN Architects

Once located on the edge of downtown, many of today’s convention centers are now centrally located as the downtown core has moved closer and closer, making successful expansions very challenging to achieve. Recently completed sites in Baltimore (above) and Honolulu (below) shared Seattle’s challenge of integrating with dense urban setting.

Codevelopment Functionality Urban design Codevelopment The existing convention center occupies a challenging site that spans an interstate Photo courtesy of Jeff Golberg/Esto Photography freeway and, through its public spaces, links the downtown retail and hotel core to the adjacent residential neighborhoods and Freeway Park.

The two-block expansion site, which is immediately north of the existing facility, anchors the recent eastward expansion of Seattle’s downtown and retail core, linking it with the Pike/Pine neighborhood to the east.

Because it spans Interstate 5, the exhibit hall sits 45 feet above the Pike Street entrance. As the expansion of the contiguous exhibit hall moves north across Pike Street, this height increases, creating significant space beneath the convention center.

Central to the funding strategy for expanding the WSCTC was the sale to

9/6/06 11:59 AM

2 of 4

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html

private codevelopers of the portions of the property not needed by the convention center for its operations. These areas included the surplus development rights above and the significant space beneath the convention center expansion.

The term “codevelopment” is used to describe the condition where multiple project components are separately funded, synergistically related and, in this case, physically attached. In fact, true codevelopment refers to a condition where neither project can proceed alone, and their development must proceed concurrently. Codevelopment associated with design and construction of a convention center has been successfully accomplished before, but never before at the scale seen with this expansion project.

The WSCTC expansion establishes a new benchmark for the integration of codevelopment into a convention center project by including a hotel, an office building, parking, street-front retail, and a new museum, all located above and below the expansion of the WSCTC. Located in the air-rights above the convention center expansion on Pine Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues is the new 450-room Elliott hotel. The hotel’s restaurant, ballrooms, and related meeting facilities, along with a 960-stall parking garage will occupy the space below the northwest exhibit hall. The hotel’s separate entry and drop-off will be located on Pine Street. Retail is accommodated on the Seventh Avenue and Pike Street frontages around the hotel block.

On the corner of Seventh and Pike, above the Convention Center’s new entry, meeting rooms and prefunction space is Trammell Crow’s new 16-story office building. Beneath the Convention Center’s spaces is a 256-stall parking garage.

On the corner of Eighth and Pike, in the surplus space beneath northeast exhibit hall, the Convention Center is constructing the shell of space that will subsequently be completed by the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) as its new exhibit, educational and administrative facilities. The MOHAI space will be the temporary home of the Seattle Central Library until the construction of the new Central Library is completed on a site elsewhere downtown.

Functionality — There are no easy sites anymore The ideal functional relationships between the program components of a convention center are really quite simple. It is the arrangement of those spaces in response to specific site conditions and contextual relationships that defines the challenge of designing a successful convention center.

Add the unique functional demands of specific codevelopment projects and complicated site characteristics, and one can see that the functional challenge has been taken to a new level in the design of the WSCTC expansion. In fact, this project demonstrates another recurring trend in the industry — the increasing “level of difficulty” associated with convention center expansions within intensely urban settings.

Once located on the edge of downtown, many of today’s convention centers are now centrally located as the downtown core has moved closer and closer, making successful expansions very challenging to achieve. The WSCTC is a good example of that trend, as the eastward expansion of the downtown core has brought the city to the Convention Center’s front door and the Convention Center, in turn, has become an integrated part of the city.

9/6/06 11:59 AM

3 of 4

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html

Challenging the very definition of functionality within the industry, the convention center model of an exhibit hall flanked by lobbies on one side and service docks on the other can rarely be accommodated on today’s expansion sites.

As demonstrated in the WSCTC, it is absolutely essential that the third dimension be considered in the functional equation. It is still possible to meet every one of the key functional objectives and adjacency requirements expected in the industry, but success demands a creative approach grounded by a fundamental understanding of the critical functional relationships.

Urban design One of the salient features of the WSCTC has always been its downtown urban site, located close to downtown hotels and visitor attractions. In the last several years, this condition has been intensified by the eastward expansion of the downtown retail core to virtually the front door of the Convention Center.

The urban integration of convention centers has come a long way from the “box with docks” approach seen in the 1970s. In fact, many of today’s convention centers are vibrant, active, facilities fully integrated into the urban fabric of their surroundings.

Photo courtesy of Bill Wright Photography

Once again, the expansion of the A block-long canopy of glass creates WSCTC is an industry leader in this a covered urban space that trend. The design of the WSCTC welcomes the public into the has been carefully fit into the fabric expanded Washington State Convention and Trade Center. of its adjoining neighborhoods, providing a very distinct architectural identity for each of its components. All public circulation areas have been pushed to the edge of the building, creating a very extroverted character, where lobbies, lingering areas and even urban balconies offer a dynamic image from the street.

Maximizing urban design opportunities to enhance the pedestrian environment around the WSCTC has always been a primary design objective for the project. Public activity at the street level has been encouraged through the use of perimeter retail, sidewalk canopies, pedestrian wayfinding signage and public seating.

Art enhancements to the streetscape include vertical sculptures along Pike Street, extending east to the Pike/Pine neighborhood, exit door treatments, lighting and banner elements on Eighth Avenue and an intricate sidewalk paving pattern extending along Pike Street from Seventh to Ninth avenues.

This pattern even extends into the lobby, where the WSCTC tradition of welcoming the public with spaces encouraging lingering has been enhanced in a public atrium, welcoming delegates and public alike with seating, interior landscaping and artwork.

9/6/06 11:59 AM

4 of 4

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122626.html

The WSCTC raises the bar on project complexity. Its program, site and configuration all demanded a high level of creativity. Its downtown site has been leveraged into a very lively, active pedestrian environment.

Finally, the programmatic requirement for maximizing the contiguous exhibit hall area has resulted in its most striking feature, a block-long canopy of glass creating a covered urban space adjacent to the public “front door” of the facility, a gateway to the Pike/Pine neighborhood.

While many of these ideas might have been thought to be superfluous or unnecessary just a few years ago, trends in the convention center industry suggest that the “new” convention center will be funded through creative leveraging of development rights, will challenge the definition of functionality, and will need to be thoroughly integrated into its urban fabric.

The expansion of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center clearly demonstrates such a new model for the urban convention center.

Chris Eseman is a partner at LMN Architects and in charge of the design, programming, and planning of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center Expansion project.

Other Stories: Expanding for the future Hey, big spender! You’re wanted in Seattle Thinking outside the box A bridge to controversy Convention center showcases public art From concept to reality Dance of the developers Center expansion resulted in more affordable housing A 'shimmering' canopy belies some steely calculation Search Stories Find: With:

all of the words

In:

All news

Depth:

Last 7 days

Sort by:

Score

Advanced options

Search

Top | Back

| Washington State Convention and Trade Center | DJC.COM

Copyright ©1995-2001 Seattle Daily Journal and DJC.COM. Comments? Questions? Contact us.

9/6/06 11:59 AM

Appendix Item 16: CONVENTION CENTERS LINKED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING Willanger, Linda. “Center expansion resulted in more affordable housing” in Washington State Convention & Trade Center special section. June 7, 2001. www.djc.com/news/const/11122629.html Excerpts: “Recognizing that the vitality of a diverse and livable city is valued by both residents and visitors, the convention center board has taken numerous actions over the years to respond to the needs to Seattle’s low-income housing residents and to provide the resources necessary to spark the development of new housing as a result of the projects implemented by the convention center.”

“In 1999, legislative authority to finance more low income housing units reinforced the civic mission of the convention center. While the first $9.9 million earmarked for housing was administered directly by the convention center, the state Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) received an additional $5 million. CTED identifies and administers the funds for low-income housing programs.

The economic impact of the convention center has extended well beyond the creation of jobs and income for the citizens of Washington. Its directors have consciously aimed a portion of the profits received from convention guests to provide civic benefits for the community. Over the years, this money has also contribute to parks, walkways, plazas, historic preservation, support for the arts and public safety improvements. This is particularly noteworthy because none of these community enhancements were paid for by local taxpayers, but rather by the taxes paid by out-of-town visitors.”

107

1 of 3

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122629.html

June 7, 2001

Center expansion resulted in more affordable housing

Index DJC.COM

Faced with replacing the housing of those displaced by its new construction, the Washington State Convention and Trade Center went beyond the call of duty.

By LINDA WILLANGER Washington State Convention & Trade Center Going well beyond its obligation to replace housing demolished to make way for the convention center in 1988, the board of directors of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center has worked as a community advocate to provide the means to create additional affordable housing units in the downtown Seattle-area.

Photo courtesy of GGLO

Recognizing that the To offset the loss of the 127-unit Waldorf Tower vitality of a diverse and Apartments, 129 units of new replacement housing were built on two First Hill sites, livable city is valued by including the 97-unit Tate Mason House (above) both residents and and the 32-unit Seneca Apartments (below). visitors, the convention center board has taken numerous actions over the years to respond to the needs of Seattle’s low-income housing residents and to provide the resources necessary to spark the development of new housing as a result of the projects implemented by the convention center.

Twelve new or rehabilitated apartment buildings with 831 long-term, low-income housing units have been created with $9.9 million in grants from the convention center funds.

The contributions have taken the form of a direct grant of cash or property without any requirement of financial return to the convention center. These funds, coupled with other government subsidies, have enabled private investors and lenders the ability to finance the reminder of construction costs.

Good examples of the effect of this program are the 44 apartments located in the historic Eagles Building renovation project. The convention center contributed the land and building together with $400,000 in cash obtained by

9/6/06 12:01 PM

2 of 3

http://www.djc.com/news/const/11122629.html

the sale of surplus development rights from its Graham/Terry housing project.

Additional housing challenges were confronted with the recent expansion of the convention center north across Pike Street. The new construction required relocation of the residents of the aging 127-unit Waldorf Tower Apartments and its subsequent demolition. In order to make the move as smooth as possible for the Waldorf Tower residents, the convention center committed to build new replacement housing, paying $2,142 to each household for relocation costs, and contracted with Plymouth Housing Group to provide transition assistance to residents.

Seattle Housing Resources Group and Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program were selected to build 129 units of new replacement housing on two First Hill sites. The results are the remarkable 97-unit Tate Mason House and the 32-unit Seneca Apartments. Although some residents of the Waldorf Tower initially resisted the change, the move has subsequently been very well received by the tenants.

In 1999, legislative authority to finance more low income housing units reinforced the civic mission of the convention center. While the first $9.9 million earmarked for housing was administered directly by the convention center, the state Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) received an additional $5 million. CTED identifies and administers the funds for low income housing programs.

The economic impact of the convention center has extended well beyond the creation of jobs and income for the citizens of Washington. Its directors have consciously aimed a portion of the profits received from convention guests to provide civic benefits for the community. Over the years, this money has also contributed to parks, walkways, plazas, historic preservation, support for the arts and public safety improvements. This is particularly noteworthy because none of these community enhancements were paid for by local taxpayers, but rather by the taxes paid by out-of-town visitors.

Linda Willanger serves as director, executive service for the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. She was a member of the staff for the grand opening of the Convention Center in 1988, and currently directs human resources, WSCTC University, community relations and other staff services.

Other Stories: Expanding for the future Hey, big spender! You’re wanted in Seattle Thinking outside the box A bridge to controversy Convention center showcases public art Un-conventional sites add complexity to convention center design From concept to reality Dance of the developers A 'shimmering' canopy belies some steely calculation Search Stories Find: With:

all of the words

In:

All news

9/6/06 12:01 PM

111