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Giarratana eyes residential building targeting veterans

Nashville Post - 5/3/2018

Nashville-based Giarratana LLC announced Wednesday it is targeting a fall groundbreaking for Victory Hall, a 40-unit residential building to be developed in conjunction with nonprofit veterans group organization Operation Stand Down Tennessee and the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.

Designed by Nashville-based ESa and to sit at 1117 12th Ave. S., the building will be located south of The Gulch and north of 12South. It will offer housing and services for veterans (via Operation Stand Down) and some university housing, according to a release.

Tony Giarratana, founder of Giarratana LLC, said the project is a part of the company's efforts to aid Metro's concerns regarding affordable housing solutions.

"We're excited to address a pressing need for veteran housing in the Nashville community, and we hope to fill that void with this prominent site," said Giarratana, whose company recently completed mixed-use tower 505 in downtown. "With proximity to the benefits downtown living offers, veterans seeking affordable living options will now have access to the services and opportunities needed to succeed."

Victory Hall will be located on the northwest segment of a 2.1-acre parcel that Operation Stand Down Nashville has owned since April 2014 and at which the services organization operates. The nonprofit paid $2.5 million for the property, the bulk of which comprises surface parking.

Victory Hall will be positioned at the sidewalk and adjacent to the brick building home to a retail showroom for custom electric bass maker Framus & Warwick. The five-story building will offer underground parking and feature 10 units - a combination of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments - for veterans on floors two, three and four. The top floor will be targeted toward students at nearby Lipscomb and Belmont universities.

Rental rates for the units will be set by the State of Tennessee.

Giarratana LLC has enlisted general contractor R.G. Anderson for construction services and is seeking subcontractors that have a "personal connection to the veteran community," the release notes.

"Our team is pleased to dedicate our resources to address the housing needs of Nashville's workforce, homeless, and veteran communities," Giarratana said. "If successful, our ultimate goal is to replicate this initiative in other areas of the city to support our veterans and help resolve the growing challenges in cost-effective living."

Operation Stand Down Tennessee focuses on helping veterans and transitioning military personnel and was founded in 1993.

"In Nashville, there is a dire need for veteran's housing - especially one of this caliber and at such a high-profile setting," John Krenson, Operation Stand Down Tennessee CEO, said in the release. "Those who live at this location will be surrounded by opportunity. Being on two major bus lines within easy access to the Veterans Affairs hospital and regional office and near Operation Stand Down Tennessee's services, as well as living within walking distance to hundreds of job opportunities, will be life-changing."

Giarratana LLC's effort with Victory Hall comes as the company and Metro officials are discussing a land deal that would see a tower of an undisclosed height rise at the city's Church Street Park site between Sixth Avenue and Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard.

In exchange for that property, Giarratana LLC would develop what is being called a "progressive housing" apartment building and homeless services facility (anchored by the Metro Homeless Commission) of eight stories on a distinctively shaped property that Giarratana-affiliated entity JRP Partners LLC owns at 301 James Robertson Parkway. (Read more about that project here). The LLC acquired the 0.26-acre lot, located across Third Avenue from the Metro Courthouse, in 2014 for $1.35 million.