With foundation work and a concrete garage now completed, 23Hundred at Berry Hill is ready to go vertical. The five-story, 226-unit apartment building — being developed by Bluerock Real Estate LLC, the corporate office for which is in New York City, and Atlanta-based Stonehenge DCM — will be constructed with a wood frame. Read more here.

Williamson County resident John Hamilton has opened a franchise for Fresh Coat, a painting operation that handles residential and commercial work. Hamilton's team will cover much of the southern half of the Nashville area from Green Hills to Spring Hill. Founded in 2004 in Cincinnati, Fresh Coat Painters has about 100 franchises in almost 30 states.

“[T]he industry needs a new level of professionalism,” Brozek said. “Painting has suffered from a bad reputation because of fly-by-night operators. What we’ve found is that good painters want to work for a company that’s going to provide them with steady employment year-round. Clients benefit because quality painters do the work while owners handle the marketing and other business aspects of the company.”

I & G Elliston Inc. has released a rendering for its proposed 2110 Elliston, construction on which is expected to begin within the next few weeks.

Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management and local developer Tony Giarratana are teaming on the six-story residential project, to be located at 2110 Elliston Place and 201 21st Ave. N. The site was previously home to a building housing a dry cleaning business.

Read more about the project here and here.

The Atlanta office of Birmingham-based Davis Architects is handling the design of 2110 Elliston. The building, which will offer 105 for-rent units, is expected to be clad in a gray stucco, with a masonry base. It will offer a contemporary aesthetic.

Davis Architects designed West End Village (located at 31st Avenue and Long Boulevard). The firm also designed Note 16 (Music Row), Pine Street Flats (nearing completion in The Gulch) and 1505 Demonbreun (which will soon rise).

The median price for a home in the Nashville market rose 3.5 percent from Q1 2012 to Q1 2012 — a respectable clip but far behind the marks of our Southern peer/competitior cities.

According to numbers from the National Association of Realtors (see here), Austin saw an increase of 8.7 percent. Charlotte's figure was 11.4 percent. Jacksonville's mark was 13.2 percent, while Orlando enjoyed a rise of an impressive 16.5 percent.

In fairness to Nashville, these cities' housing markets, compared to ours, may have been in a far less healthy state in the first quarter of 2012, somewhat distorting the true measuring accuracy of their median home price increases a year later. Still, as Nashville continues to compete for jobs, growth and bragging rights, the percentages cannot be ignored.

The demolition is complete at 21st and Acklen avenues in Hillsboro Village, with H.G. Hill Realty Co. set to hold on Thursday, May 16, its formal groundbreaking on the Hill Center Acklen.

Construction of the residential-retail development is set to begin in eight weeks, and the company anticipates a build-out of 15 to 18 months. A delivery is expected in late 2014. In the image below, the building home to Bosco's can be seen on the far right. See more images here.

Hill Center Acklen is the first major development to be built under the Hillsboro Village urban design overlay adopted in 1999. 

“We look forward to offering a quality development that complements Hillsboro Village’s eclectic feel,” said Jimmy Granbery, CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Co. “The mixed-use design provides retail options while also expanding the residential base and available parking.”

The development team partnering with H.G. Hill Realty on the project includes Manuel Zeitlin Architects, Hawkins Partners, Phipps Construction Company, Barge Cauthen & Associates, and RPM Transportation Consultants.

SWH Residential Partners will soon begin construction of the residential component of its The Flats at Werthan Mills project now fully underway in Germantown.

The Atlanta-based company already has secured a master permit and is working on the site’s parking garage.

The Flats at Werthan Mills (read more here) will feature 282 apartments and carry a price tag of approximately $40 million. The development will serve as an anchor, of sorts, in the part of Germantown that transitions to Salemtown.

“Site work is moving well,” said John Tirrill, SWH managing partner.  “We’ll have building permits for the apartments in the next week or so.”

Tirrill said the development team is looking for a tenant for the site’s warehouse that anchors the northwest corner of the T-intersection of Taylor Street and Fifth Avenue North. The building (seen below in an image courtesy of Google Maps) fronts Fifth across from Morgan Park Place.

“We’re working on our budget,” Tirrill said of the vintage masonry building. “We’ve got interest from some prospective tenants that could make a great fit for the neighborhood.”

Tirrill declined to offer details regarding those prospective tenants.