Tennessee may not be the place where you'd expect to find one of the biggest skyscrapers in the States, but the 1,118-foot Signature Tower in downtown Nashville will be the tallest U.S. building outside of New York and Chicago and the tallest in the Southeast when it's completed in 2010.
Construction on the 77-story, mixed-use tower began in mid-2007. Plans call for 1.3 million square feet of space, including 400 condo units, a 199-room Hotel Palomar, and gourmet restaurant. The tower will also include 650 parking spaces, a full-service spa, and a fitness center.
Tony Giarratana, president of Giarratana Development, the Nashville-based firm that is developing Signature Tower, says the time is right for this type of project. “We are lagging behind many of our peer cities in downtown residential construction and as a result are enjoying a very strong demand for urban housing,” he notes.
Additionally, Signature Tower will be one of only a handful of hotels to be LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. It features green elements such as environmentally friendly mechanical systems and energy-efficient glass and glazing.
“Signature Tower will be an icon for Nashville,” Giarratana says. “It is unlike any other condominium project in the city in terms of the level of quality, design, amenities, and services it affords its occupants.”
Signature Tower
Location: Nashville
Height: 1,047 feet
Stories: 70
Developer: Giarratana Development
Architect: Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates
Notable: Roughly 1 million pounds of aluminum (enough to build seven Boeing 747-400s, so called for their 400-seat capacity) will be used in the construction, as will enough glass curtain wall to cover 23 football fields. The 200-foot spire will use about 600 tons of steel.
