Nashville skyscraper to be fifth largest in nation

There has always been a fascination with tall buildings and developer Tony Giarrantana is in the process of bringing one of the tallest to downtown Nashville.

Giarrantana is one of the driving forces behind Signature Tower ‘ a skyscraper that will become the fifth tallest building in the country when it’s scheduled to be completed in 2010. The $350 million, 70-story building will rank as the South’s tallest, and will house condominiums, a 200-room hotel and street-level retail shops.

‘They capture the imagination and elevate the spirits,’ said Giarrantana when asked about the appeal of skyscrapers. ‘When you look at them, it gives the impression that anything is possible. It’s uplifting.’

Giarrantana spoke to members of McMinnville’s Noon Rotary Club yesterday to discuss his many building projects in general, but Signature Tower in particular. He says there’s already been $22 million spent in pre-development costs for Signature Tower, which will be 1.6 times as tall as any other building on the Nashville skyline. He expects that figure to increase by another $2 or $3 million by the time ground is broken later this year.

‘It will be an iconic building,’ said Giarrantana. ‘It’s been 50 years since a building of this magnitude has been built in Tennessee,’ he said referring to the L&C building in Nashville which was finished in 1957.

About 90 percent of the residential space in Signature Tower will range from $400,000 to $900,000. Giarrantana said two of the top floors have sold for $5 million ‘ and that price only includes the slab and windows, nothing else.

Giarrantana said there’s been $1.3 billion invested in downtown Nashville over the past seven years. If all the projects on the drawing board are completed as scheduled, he said an additional $1.8 billion will be injected into downtown by 2010.

‘You can drop $3 billion in a desert over 10 years and good things are going to happen,’ said Giarrantana.

The 24-floor Cumberland Apartment Tower, and the 30-floor Viridian, are two of Giarrantana’s noteworthy Nashville developments. Giarrantana said the $70 million Viridian will receive a project of excellence award next week.

He added that he has focused his efforts on downtown because he believes a strong downtown core is critical to a city’s vitality.