Status Proposal Cost $275MM+ USD Floor area 8 ha | Type Mixed use Roof 406 ft (124 m) Main contractor Turner Construction | |
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Location 1600 West End Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee
United States Owner West End Summit Development, LLC (sole member Alex S. Palmer) | ||
West end summit shot 8
The West End Summit is a long-mooted mixed-use construction project near downtown Nashville that has failed to materialize after over ten years of setbacks. Conceived by Nashville-based Alex S. Palmer & Company, the project was originally planned to open in 2007 as the West End Summit, a $300 million project for office space and apartments.
Contents
- West end summit shot 8
- West end summit shot 2
- Criticism
- Anchor tenants signed and later withdraw
- References
Excavation initially started in 2005, but the project stalled as the developer attempted to cope with the credit crunch and sought an anchor tenant for the office portion of the project. It was relaunched in September, 2012 with news that Nashville-headquartered Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) had signed leases to occupy two office towers on the site. In addition to the office towers, an InterContinental Hotel was planned as part of the development.
The site remains a massive, block-long excavation that is commonly called Lake Palmer, as this 85-foot-deep (26 m) hole is mostly filled with water. The site is visible on Google Maps as a lake labelled Lake Palmer on West End Avenue, between 16th and 17th Avenue.
West end summit shot 2
Criticism
The failed West End Summit project, along with developer Alex S. Palmer & Company, has faced public and media scrutiny because of its numerous construction delays, financing woes and construction liens. Harmon Inc. filed a lawsuit stating it was owed US$120,000 by Alex S. Palmer & Company and Bovis Lend Lease for engineering services related to the project.
Anchor tenants signed and later withdraw
On September 27, 2012 Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Gov. Bill Haslam, and HCA Chairman and CEO Richard Bracken, jointly announced the location of two corporate headquarters divisions of HCA at the West End Summit property. The proposed development would consist of two towers of approximately 20 stories each, with one tower anchored by the corporate headquarters of Parallon Business Solutions and the other anchored by Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI). The rainwater was completely drained (mostly into the street) in 2013 for the anticipated construction of the HCA building.
More than a year after HCA signed leases, construction had failed to start due to Alex S. Palmer & Company being unable to obtain equity financing for the $275 million project. In December 2013, HCA withdrew from the West End Summit project, opting to build its own campus on a nearby site in Nashville's North Gulch district. The excavation filled back up with water.
Intercontinental Hotels also withdrew a proposal in July 2015.