AT&T Building (Nashville)

The AT&T Building (formerly the South Central Bell Building and BellSouth Building, also colloquially known as the Batman Building) is a 617-foot (188 m), 33-story skyscraper completed in September 1994 and located in Nashville, Tennessee. The structure is designed as an office tower capable of housing 2,000 workers. It is currently the tallest building in the state of Tennessee.

AT&T Building
View of the AT&T Building
Location within Nashville
Former names
  • South Central Bell Building
  • BellSouth Building
Alternative namesBatman Building
General information
TypeOffice building
Architectural stylePostmodern
Address333 Commerce Street
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Coordinates36°9′45″N 86°46′37″W
Construction started1991[1]
Topped-outOctober 24, 1993[2]
CompletedSeptember 1994[1]
OpenedOctober 1994[1]
CostUS$94 million[1]
Owner
Height
Antenna spire617 ft (188.1 m)[5]
Roof452 ft (137.8 m)[6]
Technical details
Floor count33[5]
Floor area690,297 sq ft (64,131 m2) office area[3]
>1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) total area[7]
Design and construction
Architecture firmEarl Swensson Associates[7]
DeveloperThe Mathews Company[8]
Structural engineerStanley D. Lindsey and Assoc.[9]
Services engineerI. C. Thomasson Assoc.[7]
Main contractorBrasfield & Gorrie
Ray Bell Construction[7][10]

Architecture and design
Sloping glass roof of the AT&T Building

The building sits on 2.7 acres (11,000 m2) of property on Commerce St between 3rd and 4th Avenues North, and has a footprint of ​1 2⁄3 city blocks. It features a three-story winter garden atrium as its foyer and has a nine-story underground parking garage with 1,300 vehicle capacity.[3][7][11] Its distinctive design and dark coloration have earned it the nickname "Batman Building", due to its resemblance to the cowl of superhero character Batman.[12]

Richard Miller, the president of architectural firm Earl Swensson Associates, said of the design process: "...at the time we did that [South Central Bell] wanted a signature piece of architecture. What happens inside the building drives the way the outside looks."[13]

In August 2009, French online business journal Le Journal du Net named the iconic "Batman Building", or as the article names it "La Bat Tower", one of the 12 most original office buildings in the world.[14]

In 2011, a drawing of the AT&T Building – alongside images of iconic structures from Tennessee's three other large cities (the Memphis Pyramid, Knoxville's Sunsphere, and the Tennessee Aquarium of Chattanooga) – was incorporated into the standard design of Tennessee's state-issued driver's licenses.[15]

Tenants

AT&T, previously BellSouth Telecommunications and before that South Central Bell,[5][16] has operated its Tennessee headquarters out of the building since it was opened in 1994. Prior to 2006, it was the sole occupant of the building, and now occupies approximately 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) of office space.[17] AT&T held a 23.5 year lease ending in January 2020,[3] which was renewed for an undisclosed period of time in March 2019.[18] Nissan North America operated a temporary headquarters in the remainder of office area, twelve floors, for two years before relocating to a permanent location in Franklin, Tennessee in mid-2008.[19][20] Other notable tenants that have held space include Hankook Tire America and U.S. Bank.[18]

Local television station WTVF Channel 5, while not utilizing office space, operates two live remotely controlled video cameras mounted on the western spire, which were established in 1995 and 1996.[12][21] These cameras are used to provide scenic views of Nashville and assist in covering news events.

Ownership

After completion in 1994, the AT&T Building was purchased by Prefco XIV L.P., a limited partnership of the Pitney Bowes Real Estate Financing Corp, for US$100.8 million.[3][22] Ownership of the building was transferred to Cerberus Capital Management subsidiary EntreCap Financial in July 2006 after Cerberus acquired Prefco. The building was immediately placed back on the market for resell, and in mid-2007 was sold to MTL Leasing LLC for an undisclosed sum.[4][22]

See also

References
  1. Bliss, Jessica (October 22, 2014). "Super skyline: 'Batman building' celebrates 20 years". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  2. "The AT&T Building Over the Years". The Tennessean. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  3. Fox, David A. (November 2004). "This Land is Their Land...: Prefco XIV L.P." BusinessTN.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  4. Stinson, Jim (May 18, 2007). "Downtown landmark purchased". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  5. "Poll: What should Nashvillians call the BellSouth Building?". NewsChannel5.com. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  6. "AT&T Building". Emporis. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  7. "Enterprise Electric, LLC: Portfolio". EnterpriseLLC.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  8. "The Mathews Company Timeline". TheMathewsCompany.com. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  9. "Portfolio: Office". SDLAL.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  10. Dolloff, J. Holly (April 14, 2006). "Brasfield & Gorrie puts its stamp on Nashville projects". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  11. "Portfolio – Corporate – BellSouth Tennessee Headquarters". ESArch.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
  12. "'Batman Building' Gets a New Name". NewsChannel5.com. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  13. Lewis, Bill (December 28, 2003). "Taking part in shaping a vibrant Nashville". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  14. "La tour de Batman à Nashville". Journal du Net. August 24, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  15. "Department of Safety and Homeland Security to Issue New Driver Licenses, ID Cards". Clarksville Online. March 16, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  16. "AT&T, BellSouth to Merge" (Press release). ATT.com. March 5, 2006. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  17. Lawson, Richard (July 23, 2004). "BellSouth Tower to open space". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  18. Sichko, Adam (March 26, 2019). "100 new jobs, same logo for iconic downtown tower". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  19. Morton, Jim (August 9, 2006). "SHIFT_ 2.0: Embracing Change at Nissan North America, Inc". NissanNews.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  20. "Nissan HQ construction continues as BellSouth Tower up for sale..." Monterey Herald. November 26, 2006. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007 – via Weatherblogg.com.
  21. "History of Firsts at NewsChannel 5". NewsChannel5.com. February 12, 2007. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  22. "Nashville Skyscraper Up for Sale". NewsChannel5.com. December 18, 2006. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
Preceded by
Fifth Third Center		 Tallest Building in Nashville
1994—Present
188.1 m		 Succeeded by
None
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