A week after Nashville-based Giarratana won approval from the Metro Planning Commission for a landmark overbuilding zoning plan for a key section of Elliston Place in Midtown, it received approval from the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday for a key element of the development company’s draft plan.
The BZA vote was related to Giarratana’s plans for a multi-use tower to replace the Elliston Place building that houses the Corner Bar. Specifically, the BZA on Thursday approved a request for a special exception to the height setback and height control plane requirements related to the proposed tower.
As planned, the building will be 17 stories high and will offer a combination of 356 residential units and retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The address is 2200-2204 Elliston PlaceIn addition, Giarratana is considering a five-story (with two levels below ground) parking garage with 578 spaces on an adjacent property at 209 22nd Ave. N to complement the tower.
Through Cooke/Wilson Properties, local real estate investor Ched Cooke owns the properties and would have a leasehold agreement with Giarratana if the project goes ahead. Cooke’s LLC recently paid $8.3 million for the 29th Avenue North property, which includes a small modernist commercial building and some parking. Cooke/Wilson Properties owns the Corner Bar building, which also has other tenants, and paid $1,589,000 for it in 1996, Metro Records notes.
As part of the development, Giarratana would create a small plaza in a small, unused green space owned by Metro (see Here).
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners will design the mixed-use building and parking garage.
The project would bolster Giarratana’s Rock Block Flats development — which is on hold — and his Elliston Place Soda Shop business, which company president Tony Giarratana owns through the Giarratana Restaurant Group with Craig Clifft (and also owned with Randy Rayburn until his recent death). The Rock Block Flats effort (read Here) includes a redevelopment of the long-closed dive bar “The Gold Rush” and a seven-story apartment building.
Giarratana President Tony Giarratana had previously stated that an approved development would protect the “beloved old buildings” while making the overall development effort more profitable than otherwise and ensuring a consistent design aesthetic for future work on the two-block stretch.
The Metro Planning Commission approved the historic preservation order application on Thursday, August 8. Metro Planning Department staff had recommended that the commission approve the application.
It is noteworthy that the city council does not have to agree to a rezoning of the site.
The properties are located in City Councilman Jacob Kupin’s District 19. Kupin recently told post He “appreciates the opportunity to preserve and revitalize the Rock Block as an essential part of our city fabric.”
Morgan Stengel, Giarratana’s vice president of development, wrote by email to post that Thursday’s BZA approval was a “significant step” in the revitalization of Elliston Place. Stengel’s parents have a long-standing personal connection to the street, she added.
Stengel thanked Cooke, Kupin, the Nashville Department of Transportation, Metro planning staff (especially Lisa Milligan) and the Metro Historical Commission for “embracing density as the solution to revitalizing the corridor, preserving historic storefronts and creating public spaces and new homes.”
“Today was an important step in moving this project and our vision forward,” said Stengel. “We feel a tremendous responsibility to the Nashville community.”
