Paramount Tower Hits 20 Stories: Nashville Drone Co Captures the Rise

Nashville's skyline is in the middle of one of the most significant transformations in the city's history, and one building is about to change everything. Paramount, the 60 story residential tower rising at 1010 Church Street, has officially reached its 20 story milestone. When complete, it will stand 750 feet tall, making it the tallest building in Nashville and the entire state of Tennessee.

To document this moment, Giarratana Development, the developer behind more downtown Nashville residential high rises than any other name in the city, turned to Nashville Drone Co. Over the years, Nashville Drone Co has built a reputation among developers, contractors, and property owners across Middle Tennessee for capturing large scale construction projects with precision, creativity, and an unmistakable sense of energy. The result is a body of footage that does more than record progress. It tells the story of a city reaching new heights, one floor at a time.

A Skyscraper 30 Years in the Making

Tony Giarratana has spent more than three decades shaping the Nashville skyline. His portfolio includes landmark buildings like 505, Prime, and Alcove, each one pushing the boundaries of what downtown Nashville living could look like. Paramount represents the culmination of that vision. Designed by the Chicago based architecture firm Goettsch Partners, the tower broke ground in September 2025 after a complex financing process that Giarratana himself described as grueling. The project will eventually include 360 apartments and 140 condominiums spread across 60 floors, along with 517 parking spaces. Once finished, Paramount will rise 137 feet above the current tallest building in the city, permanently altering the skyline that Nashville residents have known for generations. Now, with the first 20 floors complete, the city is getting its first real glimpse of what that future will look like. And Nashville Drone Co has been there to capture it.

Why Aerial Footage Matters for a Project Like This

Construction milestones are easy to describe in numbers. Sixty stories. Seven hundred fifty feet. Three hundred sixty apartments. But numbers alone do not capture what it actually feels like to watch a building of this scale rise out of the ground in the heart of downtown. That is where drone footage becomes essential.

Nashville Drone Co owner Keith Stancil approached the Paramount project the way he approaches every job: not as a routine flyover, but as an opportunity to tell a visual story. Stancil has built his reputation on more than two decades of professional entertainment marketing experience, and that background shows in the way he frames a shot. Rather than simply hovering above the site and recording, he choreographs each flight to build a sense of scale, motion, and anticipation.

The footage opens with sweeping high altitude shots that place Paramount within the context of the entire Nashville skyline, showing exactly how the tower already dominates its surroundings at only a third of its final height. From there, the camera drops down into close, detailed passes along the exposed steel and concrete floors, giving viewers a rare, up close look at the construction process itself. Cranes swing overhead. Workers move across open floor plates hundreds of feet in the air. The building feels alive, not static. This mix of wide establishing shots and intimate close ups is intentional. It is a technique borrowed from cinematic storytelling, where filmmakers use varying points of view to control pacing and emotion. Applied to construction photography, it transforms what could be a simple progress update into something people actually want to watch and share.

Capturing the Energy of a Downtown Build

Filming a high rise under construction in the middle of a dense urban environment is nothing like flying over an open field or a rural property. Downtown Nashville presents a unique set of challenges that require real experience to navigate safely and effectively. Church Street sits in one of the busiest corridors in the city, surrounded by other high rises, heavy pedestrian traffic, active construction equipment, and constantly shifting wind patterns created by the surrounding buildings. Flying a drone in this kind of environment requires more than just piloting skill. It requires a deep understanding of airspace regulations, situational awareness, and a safety first mindset that never lets up, even for a single flight. Nashville Drone Co has built its reputation on exactly that kind of discipline. Every flight around the Paramount site follows strict safety protocols, including careful pre flight site assessments, coordination with the construction team on the ground, and constant monitoring of nearby air traffic and structures. Operating under FAA Part 107 certification, the team plans each flight path in advance to avoid active crane zones, worker locations, and neighboring buildings, all while still finding the angles that make the footage compelling. This combination of technical skill and cautious planning is part of what makes Nashville Drone Co one of the safer options for developers working on complex, high visibility projects in tight urban spaces. A single mistake around an active construction site is not something any developer can afford, and that reality shapes every decision the team makes before the drone ever leaves the ground.

Bringing Viewers Closer to the Build

One of the things that sets this project apart is how close the footage brings viewers to the actual construction. Rather than relying solely on distant skyline shots, Nashville Drone Co pushes in toward the exposed floors, capturing the raw texture of rebar, formwork, and concrete pours that most people never get to see up close. These details matter. They remind viewers that behind every gleaming finished skyscraper is months of labor, engineering, and precision happening hundreds of feet above the street. At the same time, the team balances those close range shots with wider perspectives that show Paramount's relationship to the rest of downtown. Viewers can see how the tower already interacts with neighboring buildings like Alcove and Prime, both of which Giarratana also developed along the same Church Street corridor. Watching the three towers together from above tells a bigger story about how one developer has methodically reshaped an entire section of the city over the course of three decades. This creative approach, mixing macro detail with sweeping context, gives the footage a documentary quality. It is not just marketing content. It is a visual record of a defining moment in Nashville's growth.

The Technical Side of Filming a Rising Skyscraper

Every ten or fifteen floors a building climbs, the filming approach has to change with it. Early in construction, when a site is still just a foundation and a few floors of steel, drone operators can fly relatively close and low, capturing the site from nearly every angle without much concern for surrounding structures. Once a tower starts climbing past 15 or 20 stories, the entire calculation shifts. At its current height, Paramount already competes for airspace with several of the buildings around it, including its own siblings, Alcove and Prime, along with the Pinnacle tower across the street and the pair of Amazon buildings butting up against the west side.

Flying safely at this stage means constantly recalculating altitude, distance, and flight paths to avoid interference while still getting shots that feel dynamic rather than distant. Wind behaves differently at 250 feet than it does at ground level, funneling and gusting unpredictably between buildings in a way that can catch an inexperienced pilot off guard. Keith Stancil and the Nashville Drone Co team account for these variables before a single rotor ever spins. Flight plans are mapped out in advance, taking into account the position of the sun for lighting, the location of active cranes and workers, and the flow of surrounding air traffic. It is a level of preparation that most people watching the final footage never think about, but it is exactly what separates a smooth, cinematic sequence from a shaky, rushed one.

As Paramount continues to rise, these challenges will only grow. Filming the top of a 750 foot tower requires an entirely different level of precision than filming the top of a 20 story one, and Nashville Drone Co is already planning for how those future flights will look.

What Comes Next

With 20 floors complete, Paramount still has 40 more to go before it claims the title of Tennessee's tallest building. Substantial completion is expected by May 2028, meaning the tower will continue climbing for the next couple of years. Each new milestone, whether it is topping out, glass installation, or the eventual grand opening, presents another opportunity to document the project from above. Nashville Drone Co plans to continue capturing Paramount's progress as construction advances, building a visual timeline that will eventually show the tower's full transformation from an empty lot on Church Street to the tallest structure in the state. For a project this ambitious, a single flyover is not enough. It takes an ongoing commitment to documentation, paired with the technical skill to keep improving the footage as the building grows taller and the shots become more complex.

A Partnership Built on Trust

Giarratana Development did not choose Nashville Drone Co by accident. High rise construction projects of this scale require a partner who understands both the creative side of storytelling and the operational realities of flying safely in a dense downtown environment. Keith Stancil and his team have spent years building that kind of trust with developers, contractors, and property owners across Middle Tennessee, and the Paramount project is a clear example of what that experience looks like in practice.

As Paramount continues its climb toward 750 feet, Nashville Drone Co will be there documenting every stage, from the ground breaking early days to the moment it officially becomes the tallest building in Tennessee.

For a city that keeps reaching higher, it takes a team that knows how to capture that ambition from above.

Nashville Drone Co provides professional aerial photography and video services for construction projects, real estate, and commercial clients throughout Middle Tennessee. Contact Nashville Drone Co to get you project scheduled. info@nashvilledrone.co

The Billion Dollar Drone Photo

The Billion Dollar Drone Photo captured by Nashville Drone Co

On a crisp, clear February night in Nashville, a moment unfolded high above the city that would quietly become one of the most recognizable aerial images tied to a major downtown development. It was not planned as a signature photograph. It was not staged or pre-visualized for marketing use. It was captured during a working flight. That image would come to be known as The Billion Dollar Drone Photo.

The photo was taken by Keith Stancil of Nashville Drone Co while performing aerial photography work for Giarratana, capturing views for the development of the 60-story Paramount Nashville rising in the heart of downtown Nashville. What began as a standard aerial photo flight turned into a defining moment of perspective from what would become the future penthouse level of one of the tallest residential towers in the city.

The Moment The Billion Dollar Drone Photo Was Captured

Keith was on site that night to capture elevated perspectives of the Paramount Nashville construction zone and the surrounding downtown skyline. The assignment was straightforward. Capture views from a few levels of the future Paramount. But the conditions that night were anything but ordinary. The winter air was unusually clear, a rare combination of low haze, stable wind, and crisp visibility that allowed the entire downtown skyline to appear sharp and well defined. The Cumberland River reflected scattered light from the city, and the grid of downtown streets created a layered depth that is difficult to capture on most nights.

From the drone’s position, the camera reached the elevation of what would eventually become the penthouse level of the Paramount Nashville. At that height, Nashville opened up in every direction. The city felt structured yet expansive, with new construction projects visible alongside established landmarks.

While reviewing the footage and still frames, Keith noticed one image that immediately stood apart from the rest. It was not just an average view. It was not simply a skyline overview. It was a composed visual that represented both the present state of the city and the future experience of living at the top of a 60-story tower. That frame became the Billion Dollar Drone Photo.

The exchange that named the photo

Like many defining creative moments, the naming of the image happened in a simple, unscripted exchange. Keith showed the photo to Tony Giarratana during review of the project’s visual assets. The intent was to share one of several strong skyline captures from the shoot. Keith described the image casually at first.“It’s a million dollar view.”

Tony immediately questioned the scale of the statement. “Million dollar view?”

Without hesitation, Keith adjusted his description in real time, recognizing the weight of what the image represented.

“Actually. It’s a Billion dollar view.” That moment stuck. The phrase became the name of the photograph, and the image immediately shifted from a documentation asset into something with identity, narrative, and marketing value. The team working on the Paramount began referring to the photo as The Billion Dollar Photo.

Why this image mattered beyond documentation

Drone photography in construction environments is typically functional. It is used to track progress, show structural development, and provide stakeholders with consistent visual reporting. Most of these images serve internal communication purposes and rarely extend into public facing branding. The Billion Dollar Drone Photo broke that pattern.

The reason it became valuable as a marketing asset is because it did something most construction imagery does not. It connected three perspectives in a single frame:

• The current stage of construction at the Paramount Nashville

• The future luxury experience from a penthouse level vantage point

• The broader Nashville skyline as a growing urban core

Instead of simply showing a building rising, the image communicates what the building will feel like once complete. That emotional translation from structure to experience is what makes it useful in marketing.

The February Night that Shaped the Image

Lighting and atmospheric conditions played a critical role in the final outcome. Nashville experiences a wide range of visibility conditions throughout the year, and many nights introduce haze, wind instability, or light diffusion that reduces clarity in aerial photography. That February night was different. The cold air created natural clarity. City lights were sharp without overexposure. The skyline layers separated cleanly, giving depth to both foreground construction and distant buildings.

From the drone’s elevated position, the Paramount site served as a visual anchor in the composition. The surrounding skyline extended outward with a sense of balance and proportion that is difficult to replicate in post-production. The result was an image that required minimal enhancement. The strength of the photograph came from timing, location, and awareness of framing rather than heavy editing or artificial enhancement.

How the Billion Dollar Drone Photo is Used in Marketing Today

After its creation, the image quickly moved beyond internal documentation and became part of the official marketing ecosystem for the Paramount Nashville development. It is now used in several high-visibility formats, including:

• Advertising placements in the Nashville Business Journal

• Large street facing banners positioned at the construction site perimeter

• The centerfold image in the Paramount marketing brochure

• Digital marketing materials tied to luxury residential leasing and sales

Each use case highlights a different aspect of the image. In print advertising, it reinforces scale and prestige. On site banners connect the public directly to the vision of the tower. In the brochure, it anchors the luxury narrative that defines the development’s positioning in the Nashville market.

For a single drone captured image to be used across multiple marketing channels at this level is uncommon. It reflects both the quality of the visual and the strategic value it provides to the project.

What sets Nashville Drone Co apart

The Billion Dollar Drone Photo is not an isolated success. It represents a broader approach to aerial photography that distinguishes Nashville Drone Co from typical drone service providers. Many drone operators focus on delivering coverage. They capture required angles, provide mapping or documentation footage, and complete assignments efficiently. That work is valuable, but it is primarily functional. Nashville Drone Co operates with a different objective. The goal is to create aerial assets that function as marketing tools, not just visual records. That approach is reflected in three consistent practices:

1. Recognizing high-value composition opportunities in real time

Rather than simply completing a shot list, attention is given to framing, symmetry, light direction, and emotional impact during the flight itself.

2. Understanding how developers use visual assets

Working with clients like Giarratana requires awareness of how images will appear in brochures, advertising campaigns, investor materials, and public-facing branding.

3. Delivering content that performs beyond the project timeline

The strongest images continue to generate value long after construction milestones are completed. The Billion Dollar Drone Photo is an example of this philosophy in practice. It is not just a construction image. It is a long-term branding asset that continues to be used across multiple marketing platforms.

The Role of Keith Stancil in Capturing the Moment

While drone technology provides access to unique perspectives, the outcome still depends heavily on the pilot’s awareness and decision making. Keith Stancil’s experience with Nashville aerial environments played a direct role in recognizing the importance of the frame in real time. Many operators would have captured the required documentation angles and moved on. Instead, there was recognition that the vantage point from the future penthouse level of the Paramount offered something beyond documentation. That awareness turned a routine flight into a moment of discovery. The result was not just a technically strong image, but a visually and emotionally resonant one that aligned with the narrative of luxury urban development in Nashville.

A Photograph that Reflects Nashville’s growth

Nashville Drone Co’s Billion Dollar Drone Photo also represents something larger than a single project. It reflects the transformation of Nashville’s skyline. The city has moved into a phase of vertical expansion, where high-rise residential towers are reshaping downtown identity. Projects like the Paramount signal a shift toward dense, luxury-focused urban living. This image captures that transition in a single frame. It shows the city as it exists today while simultaneously hinting at what it will become once projects of this scale are complete. That dual perspective is one reason the image continues to appear in marketing materials. It communicates progress, ambition, and future potential without needing explanation.

Final perspective

Some photographs are carefully planned. Others are discovered in the moment they are taken. Nashville Drone Co’s  Billion Dollar Drone Photo belongs to the second category. What began as a standard drone assignment for construction documentation became a widely used marketing asset for one of downtown Nashville’s most prominent developments. Its name came from a spontaneous exchange between Keith Stancil and Tony Giarratana, and that name now carries the identity of the image itself. Today, it stands as an example of how timing, awareness, and execution can turn a working flight into a lasting visual asset. More importantly, it reflects what Nashville Drone Co aims to deliver on every project, not just aerial documentation, but imagery that helps define how major developments are seen, understood, and marketed across Nashville’s evolving skyline.

Contact Nashville Drone Co to purchase a print of the Billion Dollar Drone Photo for the walls of your home or office. The photo can be printed on metal, canvas or photo paper and drop shipped to your address. info@nashvilledrone.co