I thought it was interesting to see The Tennessean cover the increasing difficulty of commercial construction in the wake of a sputtering national economy without mentioning any news about the Signature Tower, the largest proposed commercial construction project in the city.

Like West End Summit developer Alex Palmer, tower developer Tony Giarratana is having to sell more of his planned property than lenders were requiring as recently as a couple of years ago. (It was easy to see this coming a couple of months ago, since activity at the property hass stalled.) It’s strange to read The Tennessean story’s paragraph that seems to beg for an update on the tower’s sales push and not find one following:

While commercial construction continues unabated in the suburbs, these big downtown projects are facing tougher questions than ever about pre-sale requirements, long-term prospects and how likely developers are to pay up if their plans fail, commercial brokers and developers said. “It’s not the small projects, the 10 to 15 million dollar buildings. Those are being financed by local institutions,” said Mark Bloom, a downtown hotel and condo developer. “It’s the large projects where you start talking $100 million and up where you’re at the mercy of the global investment market.”

The Signature Tower’s sales push was announced in mid-March, but The Tennessean hasn’t covered the building (or Giarratana) since February. The tower’s Web site has a listing of media coverage, too, but omits this Fox-17 story from last month reporting that groundbreaking is nearly one-year overdue. In that story, Giarratana says that the very earliest the tower could open is late 2011, contrary to the “Your Neighborhood in 2010″ signage currently at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Church Street.

I’d like to see the tower and West End Summit rise from the ground, but I’m still curious whether they will.

Only time will tell if the City Paper’s Mark McGee is on the money about the Preds: “Now, buoyed by the new ownership group, a drastic change in the marketing plan, a new lease agreement and a fourth straight trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, this is a team with a bright-looking future.”

I sure hope McGee is right, but it will be awhile before we know for sure. I’m encouraged by the fan response during the end of the regular season and the playoffs and the rising attendance numbers down the stretch. I’m relieved that the new ownership group appears to understand that now is not the time to rest on any laurels:

“Honestly, the number we talk about is not 14,000,” said David Freeman, head of the ownership group. “Our expectation is that we’re shooting in the 15,000 to 16,000 range. We have that much confidence in what this franchise has accomplished in a very short period of time and where we can go from here.”

It remains to be seen whether Nashville will maintain the firm grip it now has on its second chance with the NHL. I want this team to be in town for the long haul and for a long, long time, and I hope there are many people locally who agree … and are willing to continue buying tickets to prove it. I’m pleased that last year’s crisis is in the rearview mirror, and I’m hoping the rekindled fan support can survive–and thrive–when it’s no longer an emergency situation.  Go Preds!!