NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — From the outside, it looks like a tower of Jenga pieces, but inside the Alcove, the puzzle forms an urban socialite's dream.
"It’s a real lifestyle decision to choose to live with us," said Tony Giarratana, the developer behind the new luxury apartment and scores of others in downtown Nashville.
The Alcove, which first opened this summer, features a world-class fitness center, event, and co-working spaces — even high-speed, high-tech elevators.
"Very very smooth, very very quiet, very fast," said Giarrantana, who became impressed with Mitsubishi elevators in Shanghai, and wanted to be the first Nashville developer to include them in a building. "The elevators go only to the floors they’re authorized to go to so it’s very secure."
No detail is too small for the Alcove. Even their pool is unlike anything Nashville has ever seen. It hangs several feet out from the top of the building, giving swimmers the opportunity to look below their feet and see the sidewalk below.
"It has an acrylic wall on this side, so when you’re in it, it’s like you're in outer space. Floating over the city, magnificent," he said.
But magnificent views come with significant prices.
"Somebody could get into a studio under $2,000," explained Giarrantana. Single bedrooms run about $3,000. Two bedrooms run about $4,000.
You may be wondering: how does someone in their 20s afford rent at a place like this? That's the thing. Millennials are no longer the target customer.
"We’re up to about 34% over 50. Why is that important? Well, simply put, the over 50 crowd have more resources, more assets, they’re more demanding," he said.
Giarrantana believes the posh apartments will only continue to rise in Nashville. "The more people that come living downtown, the more people want to live downtown. We’ve got about 15,000 people living downtown now but that’s going to go to 30,000 in the next 10 years," said Giarrantana.
It's pretty remarkable when you remember that Nashville only allowed residents to live downtown 30 years ago.
"It was prohibited from 1963 until 1993 when we built Cumberland," he said.
The Alcove now towers over The Cumberland, Giarrantana's first residential high-rise in Nashville. And so will many others to come.
"In November, we start construction on a 60-story tour," he said.
Because all the puzzle pieces are there, and Giarrantana seems to know just where to place them.
"One of these days I want to pause and kind of dwell on all of that, right now we’re so busy creating the next building," he said.
