Nashville Post Boom 2022 by FW Publishing

Our 2022 panelists talk leadership and lessons learned

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HOW DEVELOPERS ARE REUSING OLD SPACES

BOOM Sharing2022awall A new focus residentialmixed-incomeonprojects

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Area health care facilities go vertical to address ever-evolving standards

BUILDINGHOSPITAL

Ti any Wilmot discusses two-plus decades of sustainability work

MARC (RIGHT) AND WILL (LEFT) ROWLAND, ROWLAND ARCHITECTURE

12 ERIC ENGLAND

NashvilleNowNext’s Robert Looper keeps locals abreast of city’s urban placemaking

‘BETTERMIDTOWN’SHALF’

Rare earth company wants to make Tennessee the ‘Saudi Arabia of titanium’

Our all-star group on leadership advice, growth and mentoring

Music City Construction Careers teaches trade skills to would-be workers

Overlooked northern segment of bustling urban district prepped for reinvention

52 THE JOURNEY

GOING GREEN

2 BOOM 2022 | NASHVILLE POST .COM 39 MOST WOMENPOWERFUL

City, private developers seek high-density, mixed-income options on prime land TOO SMALL TO WORK

TITAN UP

SHARING A WALL

Is Nashville ready for buildings rising above 600 feet?

MILL MIXED-USETO

Local boutique developers no longer see Nashville as attractive

TRADING UP

Former churches, industrial buildings yield standout projects for developers AIRWARD

Reggie Polk pivots from selling homes to building them YOU KNOWSHOULD

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The deﬁning story of Nashville’s past 10 years is growth. We could predict the same for the next 10 years, too.

It’s more important than ever to shine a spotlight on the changes Nashville is undergoing. To highlight people doing good work. To point out problems and those being left behind. And to keep a record of what about Nashville is changing and who is driving that change.

With this latest issue of our Boom magazine, we take a stab at that. You’ll meet interesting under-the-radar people like Robert Looper of NashvilleNowNext.com (page 6). You’ll learn about why some of Nashville’s boutique developers are spending less time in Nashville (page 34). And you’ll see how local architects and developers are recycling, rather than replacing, the city’s old churches and industrial buildings (page 16).

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Mike Smith

Growth can be good. It can bring new amenities and new jobs and shiny new toys.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Lena Mazel

Plus, don’t miss this year’s edition of Most Powerful Women (page 39), in which we identify and celebrate a group of Nashville’s most impressive business and civic leaders.

Katie Vance Photo by Eric England

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YOU SHOULD KNOW Robert Looper

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

obert Looper III is not your typical “new Nashvillian.”Justafew years after moving to town, he has embedded himself within a dedicated community of locals who consider urban place making a main interest.

Looper moved to the Tennessee capital from Washington, D.C., in January 2019 as an employ ee of Hensel Phelps, the general contractor for the major expansion at Nashville International Air port. The relocation was to have been temporary. But by creating a blog called NashvilleNowNext. com, that trip from D.C. to Music City might have yielded a permanent resident of Looper.

Today, NashvilleNowNext.com (the parent company for which is CityNowNext Real Estate Media) garners more than 100,000 views per month, with Looper having left Hensel Phelps — and buying a home in The Nations in 2020 — to focus on the site. The site has given Looper, who earned a B.S. degree in building construction technology from Norfolk State University, suffi cient visibility to bolster the consulting services he offers to generate income.

NashvilleNowNext.com keeps citizens abreast of city’s urban placemaking updates

ERIC ENGLAND

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Not surprising, Looper has e ectively fused his work with NashvilleNowNext.com and urbanplanet.org, creating a strong synergy he hopes can prove helpful to his long-term career.

“Architecture, real estate and construction have always been a passion — even as a child,” LooperLoopersays.attended public schools until ninth grade, at which point he transitioned into a smaller public charter school. The setting was stimulating, as Looper excelled academically and graduated near the top of his class.

Though Washington, D.C., is considerably

“In my spare time in D.C., I worked as an advocate to create a more walkable, bikable and livable community,” he says.

“I started CityNowNext Real Estate Media LLC with the goal of transforming how we view, interact and experience real estate development,” he says, “now and in the future.”

At Norfolk State, he served as senator for campus beautiﬁcation, sophomore class vice president and student government president.

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“During my ﬁrst year in Nashville, I was amazed by the growth that was happening and started taking pictures of projects,” Looper says, recalling the time he was still at Hensel Phelps as a design manager. “I was also a huge fan of Lower Broadway at the time and requested to extend my four-month temp relocation and rented an apartment in The Gulch.

more populous and urbanized than Nashville, Looper, 41, says he easily became “sold on Nashville” after arriving 3.5 years ago.

“It was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandem ic that I decided to dedicate more time to blog ging about development projects in Nashville,” he continues. “This had always been a passion and I saw a niche that could be ﬁlled with some thing I enjoyed. I used my experience in design, planning and construction to create a di erent readership experience with the articles.”

Indeed, NashvilleNowNext.com o ers articles with a level of text and image detailing not found in other local publications. For those seeking “insider baseball” information regarding local urban planning, design and development, it is a must-read source. And for readers who simply desire a general understanding of the manmade form and function Nashville is seeing unfold, the website provides that too.

Not bad for a man who was raised in government-subsidized housing in Washington, D.C., and is one of 10 siblings.

Since then, Looper has made major contribu tions to the Nashville chapter of urbanplanet.org. The online message board focuses on mass transit, architecture, urban planning, demographics and construction.

“Nashville quickly revealed that it is one of America’s greatest cities,” he says. “I spent the ﬁrst few months here enjoying what it meant to be a true Nashville tourist while still remaining active in D.C. However, during that time, I would often contemplate what it would be like to actually live here and ﬁgured maybe I would just give it a chance. Nashville o cially became home in 2020.”

Group participation in high school and college spurred Looper to seek public service roles as an adult. For example, he was an elected o cial and served 2.5 terms as an advisory neighborhood commissioner with the city of Washington, D.C., taking out an entrenched incumbent in the process.

“Everybody really banded togeth er to save resources,” Wilmot says. “During World War II, everybody saved everything. ey took pieces of soap and crushed them together. ey saved every can and recycled aluminum for war planes.”

ore than two decades have passed since Ti any Wilm ot founded her consulting rm Wilmot Inc. in 1994. ough she rst gained profes sional experience working in the solid waste engineering department at engineering rm Hazen and Saw yer, her grandmother is the one who taught her about recycling.

Wilmot built her rm to help companies nd alternative ways to provide clients with sustainable and low-impact resources when develop ing sites. In 1996, Wilmot Inc. got its big break working on sustainability is sues in construction of the future Nis san Stadium with then-Mayor Phil Bredesen. According to Wilmot, her company was able to help save money by taking leftover building material such as rocks, bricks, blocks and con crete and turning it into gravel.

Ti any Wilmot on two-plus decades of sustainability work

DANIEL MEIGS BOOM

greenGoing

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“It worked great and ended up saving half a million dollars on top of all of our fees,” she says.

Wilmot is also focused on making work places more productive. She says toxins can contribute to employees’ headaches and “sick building syndrome,” a condition that impacts the health and comfort of workers spending a lot of time in buildings.

Army with the aim of reducing energy and water usage. Now the company is partner ing with Metro on solar projects, she says. Additionally, Wilmot Inc. has expanded its services by o ering sustainability con sulting to new areas such as environmental support, economic analysis, solar design and strategic planning.

e rm’s participation in the stadium project pushed Wilmot to start up a demoli tion business and to get a general contractor’s license to salvage the materials o the site in stead of putting them in a land ll. Wilmot eventually stepped away from the demolition business and, in 2008, she decided to create a nonpro t organization, Tennessee Women in Green, after noticing the sustainability eld was dominated by men.

“When you have people in a green build ing, they’re more productive because they get daylight that helps their eyes,” she says.

“If you cut down trees and put a build ing there, there’s less oxygen and the air will be dirtier,” she says. “We have more asthma and higher rates of respiratory illness. e pollution going into the air that you need, we’re breathing that stu in. e paint com pany that puts paint in the river; they’re not paying for that. ey’re getting that for free, but it’s costing society.”

Her rm has worked on various recy cling and waste reduction projects with multiple clients including e Coors Co., Mitsubishi, Music City Solar and the U.S.

“If you can see daylight, it improves your mood, and you’re more productive.”

“ e easiest place to start is with recy cling, because everyone can do it,” she says. “However, the biggest bang for your buck is energy reduction.”

Wilmot has advice for others seeking to create a healthier planet.

“I was getting ready to go into the mili tary before I was presented this opportunity,” Carter says. “I didn’t want to go [to the mili tary] so I gured why not give it a chance to make good money once I nish the program. I won’t have to pay student loans or any of that stu back so I gured I’d give it a try.”

e trades apprenticeship program, run by a coalition of trade associations and labor groups, includes several paths for interested participants, including bricklaying, sheet met al and Aftercarpentry. graduating from Hillsboro High School in 2015, Carter attended college to nd a career he was passionate about, but he quickly decided to pivot.

“As people develop skills, they won’t learn everything in one day,” Carter says. “It can be strenuous work and they might run into peo ple they don’t necessarily get along with, but at the end of the day, they have to remember that they’re doing this for them. [You] know what you’re working toward.”

works for my speci c contractor and it was tough starting. I would like to try and hand out the same opportunity to people and tell them about unions so we can diversify.”

“I realized that I don’t like to sit at a desk all day,” he says. “I like my freedom and be ing able to move around and use my hands. I like physical work and doing this brings in all those aspects.”

Carter sees trades as a good opportunity for Black workers.

“It’s di erent for me,” Carter says. “Some days I’m doing plumbing, working on toilets and sinks, but other days I’m in mechanical rooms working on AC units and chillers and boilers.”

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usic City Construction Careers is a program that prepares students like Jerome Carter for apprenticeships by providing technologically advanced education to teach them handy skills.

Trading up

Music City Construction Careers teaches trade skills to would-be Nashville workers

BY KATELYNN WHITE

Carter encourages young people to consider learning a trade.

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“I would like to be able to get more Black men in a trade because there’s not a lot of us here,” he says. “I am the only Black person that

In 2019, he started working as a plumbing apprentice. He credits his job for providing him with knowledge of various skills he be lieves will take him far.

He recalls the search for a career being dif cult, but the career he found set him up to earn an education without owing any student loans or having debt in other ways.

When you compare Nashville’s skyline today to 10 years ago, it is a clear reflection of our city’s accelerated growth. The projected number of new jobs combined with the relocation of people from larger markets is only going to ensure Nashville’s growth trajectory will continue upward over the next decade. So, take a photo now because we’re going to look incredibly different in 2032.

What role do you see RaganSmith playing in Nashville’s future?

When a city grows as rapidly as Nashville has, it will experience growing pains. Infrastructure keeping up with the accelerated growth rate is going to be one of our biggest challenges. Proper infrastructure design will affect how a city functions, flows, and feels. Understanding the built environment, the importance of urban open space, and how to integrate a multimodal circulation system will be essential to Nashville’s long term sustainable success.

Brad Slayden VP, Commercial Development Urban Specialist

What challenges will we face?

RaganSmith has called Nashville’s business community home for over 89 years. As professional consultants, I would like to think we’ve played a positive role in making Nashville the great city it is today. We are passionate about what we do. As Nashville has become more urban focused, we feel it is vital that designs support a vibrant pedestrian environment. Integrating an efficient streetscape that complements a pedestrian friendly multimodal system is critical in defining the character of our public space. We take this responsibility seriously for the success of our client, our community, and those who will live here 50 years from now.

What will Nashville look like 10 years from now?

We are proud to have been part Nashville’s history and excited to embrace its future.

BOOM ERIC ENGLAND

MARC (RIGHT) AND WILL (LEFT) ROWLAND, ROWLAND ARCHITECTURE

BY HANNAH HERNER

your car going 75 miles an hour down I-40,” says Rowland. “ e most important thing going on in that hospital is patient care, not construction, so the construction has got to occur around the patient care. It’s like a well-choreographed ballet of how the con tractor has to work around the clinical pro cesses in the hospital.”

“Renovation projects in a hospital are kind of like trying to change the spark plugs in

Meanwhile, a modernization of part of Ascension Saint omas Hospital’s Midtown campus (for which parts were built during the Spanish u outbreak more than a century ago) is underway. A four- oor integrated addition is set to include a new intensive care unit, sur gery platforms and prep areas.

“If we designed o ce buildings, we wouldn’t say that o ce building technology has changed dramatically in the last 30, 40 years,” says Marc Rowland, president of Rowland Architecture. “But by golly, hospital design has changed dra matically. It’s always changing, so we have to be Afterlearning.” astrategic review, Nashville Gener al Hospital executives determined that the 1973-built hospital on the Meharry Medical College campus was beyond repair and a new facility was needed. ey will decide on a new location in the coming months.

During construction, utilities have to stay connected and noise has to be kept to a minimum. New duct work has to be able to support the volume in a place where, for example, the air in surgery rooms has to be changed out 20 times per hour, according to James Oaks, regional manager of construc tion at Medexcel, Ascension Saint omas’ partner on its projects.

Area health care facilities build up and out as they try to keep up with ever-evolving standards

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s hospitals try to keep up with the ever-changing technology and the evolving needs of patients, area con tractors and designers stay busy.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is building vertically, too, with recently an nounced plans to add a 15-story inpatient tower on the side of a parking structure on its Whatcampus. makes a hospital construction unlike most any other development is that the build ing can’t be vacated during the work.

“ e hospital has so many things, your medical gasses, your electrical — all that type stu — that has to be connected to the new building,” Oaks says. “ ere was a lot of plan ning that had to go in place there. We were able to utilize feedback and experience from our physician sta , and patients and fami lies. We asked for their opinions on di erent things to try to minimize those issues.”

Rowland has seen dramatic changes in the

“If you look at a diagram of an operating room, if you see it with nothing in it, it looks like a huge room,” Marc Rowland says. “But all of a sudden when you draw all the elements, operating table, all those carts that have to be there, anesthesia machine, any other imaging equipment that has to be in there, any other devices ... all of a sudden that room’s full.”

‘It’s like a clinicalcontractorballetchoreographedwell-ofhowthehastoworkaroundtheprocessesinthehospital.’

“Health care facilities are built to a higher standard because people are there and maybe immobile or they go there to heal, and in the event of an emergency, whether it be re or disaster or something, it’s where people, for one, would go, but it also needs to be easier for them to get out,” Scott says.

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MARC ROWLAND, ROWLAND ARCHITECTURE

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Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown

eld between 1985, when he rst started work ing on hospital design, and now, when he teams with his son and colleague Will Rowland. e elder Rowland’s earlier projects included lots of space for paper health record storage, plus areas to develop and store x-ray lm. With electron ic health records, that space evolved into larger computer rooms and, eventually, creating space for electronic infrastructure to support a cloudbased wireless storage system.

Contractor Worth Scott, president of Bat ten Shaw Construction, says stakes are also higher for hospital projects because of the vul nerability of the people inside.

Operating rooms have gotten bigger, too, to support all of the robotic tools and technology available to surgeons.

While hospitals spruce up their main cam puses, there’s also been a shift to building more freestanding outpatient care centers in the past few decades, Scott says, leaving more high-acuity patients to the main hospital cam

is top-of-mind when it comes to deciding whether to retro t an existing hospital or build new, Scott says. However, that may be less of a concern to Nashville General, which is looking to have land donated by the city.

puses, which cost more to operate, and mov ing others out to neighboring buildings.

“We’re going to acknowledge the fact that, just like every other human, you get impatient and you want to move to the next step, and we’re going to design the processes with hos pitals in such a way that we’re essentially fol lowing a Disney-like concept where we’re just keeping people moving,” says Will Rowland.

“It would be cost-prohibitive to try to ret ro t this hospital building compared to new construction,” says Nashville General Hos pital CEO Joseph Webb. “ at’s a common nding in the world of renovation. Often times, the constraints of a structure will not allow you to optimize the function within that structure, so it is much easier and more and more cost-e cient to just build a new structure than it is to try to retro t every thing into that existing structure.”

While other hospitals are building vertical ly on their existing land, Nashville General is looking to get a new space entirely, ditching the tower model to spread out. Land cost

“In general, there’s not as many large, huge hospitals that are going up,” Scott says. “It’s smaller spread out with more of an outpatient typeAsmodel.” patients look to receive care in their own home, hospital designers and contractors discuss plans for softer lighting, gardens and local art. A hospital is not a place most would elect to be, and contractors and designers nd purpose in making the experience manageable for patients while making providers’ jobs easier.

“Our mission is building to make life better, and we feel like we get to create spaces and be part of a place that people can go to heal or go visit a loved one that may be in the process of healing or have something they’re working through,” Scott says. “It’s rewarding in that sense to be able to feel like we’ve o ered help to a community.”

New hospital design choices are in part aimed at making life easier for nurses, to get them physically closer to their patients and have enough space for the materials they use every day, says Marc Rowland. e goal is to save them time from “hunting and gathering.”

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To boost patient satisfaction, the Rowlands lay out more than one waiting area, making additional comfortable spaces for those wait ing on test results, for example.

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KATIEPOWELLVANCE,

MILL MIXED-USETO

uring the past few years, developers in Nashville turned stocking fac tories into mixed-use commercial spaces, created a charity-focused hotel in a former church and transformed the boil er room of a steam cleaning factory into an eye-catching bar. Adaptive reuse has given these spaces a new purpose while preserving their historic architecture.

e mill-to-mixed-use conversion is a pop ular one: Other notable examples include May Hosiery Mill, a Wedgewood-Houston project from AJ Capital Partners, and Sylvan Supply, a former wood and steel product mill that ird and Urban developed into a commercial space on the Charlotte corridor.

Churches, old industrial buildings and other historic properties help developers create projects that stand out

BY LENA MAZEL

NASHVILLE POST .COM | BOOM 2022 17 BOOM

is interest in preservation drove Lyons to acquire Stocking 51, a former hosiery mill that became a mixed-use commercial project.

Working with Gina Emmanuel of Centric Architecture, Vintage South restored the orig inal beams, brick and windows of the struc ture — features Lyons says give the space its distinctive character.

“I bought it because I loved the old build ing, the historic aspects of it,” he says. e mill was also located at an opportune corner lot in e Nations. When Lyons acquired the build ing in 2015, he says the neighborhood was “in transition and really growing.”

Stocking 51 eventually grew to a multibuilding campus that now includes a former bioenergy plant. e campus has integrated the original silos from the plant into its archi tecture. In May 2022, an LLC a liated with Stockbridge Capital Group acquired Stocking 51 for $58 million.

Nathan Lyons, founder and president of Vintage South, has made architectural pres ervation a priority — he actively seeks out older buildings for redevelopment and nds options for creative reuse whenever possible. “We do feel it’s very important, when we can, to reimagine spaces — because that ultimately creates unique projects,” he says.

“ e old mills and factories often have unique features — whether it’s a bow truss roof system or exposed beams,” he tells the Post. “Ul

timately, when we redesign and recreate [the space], those become cool features that you generally would not see in new construction.”

DANIEL MEIGS

Anchor Investments has a distinctive busi ness model for its hotels, which give away most of their pro ts to local charities. When guests stay at e Russell, Anchor’s vacation rental 605 Lofts or e Gallatin (another East Nashville church converted to a hotel), a por tion of the pro ts goes to Nashville Rescue Mission, Shower Up, Room in the Inn and People Loving Nashville — all organizations helping people experiencing homelessness. Anchor’s charity-forward approach has made

For Micah Lacher, president of Anchor In vestments LLC, the complex process for con version to what is now known as e Russell was worthwhile. “Once I saw the stained glass windows, I fell in love with the building and knew that we could turn it into a beautiful hotel,” he says.

For the Russell’s conversion, Anchor Invest ments hired Powell, a Nashville-based archi tecture, interiors and construction rm. Katie Vance, a partner and interior design director at Powell (and co-founder of Porter Flea), used a

1904. Anchor Investments acquired the property in 2018 for $1.9 million.

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the company stand out with sellers, Lacher says, and also allowed them to give back re sources to the communities they are changing. According to Lacher, Anchor’s reputation af forded it time with the church group that sold Cumberland Presbyterian.

Elsewhere in East Nashville, Anchor Invest ments undertook another notable church con version project with e Russell, a boutique hotel. e Russell’s building was formerly Cumberland Presbyterian Church, built in

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Eastwood Village

Another popular choice for adaptive reuse is churches, including one of Vintage South’s other projects, Hobson Chapel in East Nash ville. Vintage South acquired the property in 2019 for $4.8 million and recently listed it for sale. Originally a United Methodist Church dating back to 1851 (with the Greek-revival style main sanctuary constructed in 1924), Hobson Chapel became part of a commercial mixed-use project called Eastwood Village. Lyons says Vintage South “painstakingly” re stored the structure. “ e congregation had vacated several years prior,” he says. “It had been vacant and in disrepair for many years when we acquired it.”

“ e seller loved our vision for the property and loved that we give away the majority of our pro ts. ey gave us the time we needed to get the property rezoned through the city and neighborhood meetings,” he says. “It took us about a year to do all of the construction and get the hotel open. We worked very hard to save all of the historic elements of the build ing and incorporate them into the project.”

It’s these structural details that help retain the architectural char acter of a neighborhood, even within mixed-use projects that integrate new construction.

Supporting

be priced out of their studios by high rents caused by the new ho tel. It is di cult to track the im pact of large-scale adaptive reuse projects on individual neighbor hoods, but SNAP’s concerns are shared elsewhere: ey are part of an ongoing discussion about how local artists and their spaces t into a changing city.

For Vance, creative reuse proj ects can bring exciting surprises. “Historic buildings can have the most gorgeous patina walls/ oors or old brick,” says Vance. “Ceil ings can have beautiful wood trusses hidden under existing ceil ing tile — you just have to look.”

‘Historic buildings can have the most gorgeous patina walls/ﬂoors or old brick. Ceilings can have beautiful wood trusses hidden under existing ceiling tile — you just have to look.’

Ofﬁcial Partner Women's Athletics

But for the buildings themselves, adaptive reuse can deliver a more secure future; physical improve ments caused by redevelopment can make them more energy-e cient and satisfy modern building codes. Perhaps most signi cantly, adaptive reuse makes buildings pro table, which can prevent them from being demolished to make way for new construction. And for some developers, even at a higher cost, these conversions are worth while: e sites have a character that can’t be manufactured.

For organizations like Anchor Investments, it’s easy to see how new construction can maintain an active link to the communities in which the projects unfold. An average weekend stay at e Rus sell provides 16 nights in a bed, 100 free showers or 30 free meals through the homelessness out reach organizations with which the hotel partners.

playful color scheme based on the church’s historic stained glass win dows. Vance says Powell “cheekily referenced the building’s former life as a church” through unique details like upcycled headboards made from pews.

While adaptive reuse can pre serve physical sites, some have questioned the e ects of redevel opment on neighborhoods them selves. When AJ Capital Partners began redeveloping May Hosiery Mill in 2018, Wedgewood-Hous ton group SNAP WeHo voiced concerns that local artists would

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KATIE VANCE, POWELL the lasting power of women in sports.

Powell has worked on many adaptive reuse projects around the city, including Old Glory, a bar in the former boiler room of a steam cleaners, and e Cord elle, an event space in a historic Victorian home.

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taller), is under construction with two others and plans an additional two.

Nashville o ers 31 buildings of at least 300 feet tall. Few of the 19 other U.S. cities with MSA populations of 1.5 million to 2.9 million — and even a handful (including Phoenix and Tampa) of the 20 with 3 million or more — boast more than 20 towers of 300 feet or taller. High-rise buildings can be, to an extent, good for the environment (as they don’t “waste” land like “horizontal development”). And chamber of commerce o cials can use such structures as a recruiting tool for businesses seeking either a relocation or an ancillary o ce home in a cos mopolitan city that embraces what urban plan ners term “vertical density.”

ashville is a city of tall buildings. In fact, and relative to its size, Ten nessee’s capital is a national power of sorts — home to far more sky-reaching tow ers than its population would suggest. ough with only about 2 million people living within its metropolitan statistical area (No. 35 in the United States for MSA populations), Nashville ranks in the top 20 of U.S. cities for buildings 100 feet tall and taller — with more than 200 such structures, according to urban construc tion/architecture database emporis.com.

“Metro is beginning to view [building/ people density and vertical density] as a smart way to accommodate Nashville’s extraordinary growth,” says Tony Giarratana, whose epon ymous company, Giarratana, has developed ve downtown sites with high-rises (de ned by emporis.com as buildings of 115 tall and

Up in the air

“It makes e cient use of land and existing infrastructure, increases walkability and en courages a ‘live, work, play’ lifestyle,” he adds.

Only one of the city’s high-rises — the iconic 33-story AT&T Tower, or “Batman Building” — stands above that threshold. But its 617-foot height is deceiving in that a big chunk at the top (at least 100 feet) is non-oc

With tall buildings peppering downtown and Midtown, Nashville o ers those viewing it from a mid-distance an impressive expanse of elevated manmade fabric.

Nashville o ers lots of tall buildings — but none above 600 feet

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

In short, if you like high-rises, you will like Nashville.Butifyou enjoy living in a city with truly tall buildings — in general, and as de ned by urban planning enthusiasts as those of a min imum of 600 feet tall — Music City is not currently the place to be.

N 1010 Church BOOM

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Hollingsworth has visited all but a handful of the 56 U.S. cities with MSA populations of 1 million or more residents, closely study ing the relationship between tall buildings, high-pro le company headquarters and eco nomic health in those places. He says the ad dition of tall buildings, and particularly those of 600 feet or more, “clearly re ects that Nash ville is one of a handful of truly dynamic cities in the United States.”

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Indeed, Nashville lacking a building of 600 feet or taller is not harmful. But there are some advantages for any city o ering a truly tall building — one 600 to 1,000 feet based on the standards of most large U.S. cities — as such structures are symbolic of economic muscle. A comparison, some contend, is profession al sports. ere are some U.S. cities without them that are doing just ne — Charleston, Honolulu and Providence, for examples. But having even only one pro sports franchise can provide a city a superior perception to one without (think Memphis with its NBA Griz zlies compared to Birmingham).

Nashville may never have an 850-plus-foot er like OKC, but multiple buildings in the 600- to 750-foot range almost certainly will be in the city’s future.

Whether bragging rights are important or not, Nashville eventually will crack the 600foot threshold. Preliminary work is already un derway at the downtown YMCA site for Giar ratana’s future 750-foot luxury residential tower 1010 Church. Also, the parking component of what is expected to be a skyscraper of at least

cupiable (instead, being a decorative cap and twin spires that distort the building’s occupia bleNashville’sheight).

“I’m guessing at least ve more of those will be 600 feet tall or taller,” says Hollingsworth, who serves as president of the Nashville chap ter of message board urbanplanet.org.

tallest building in terms of high est level of occupiable oor is the roughly 540-foot-tall Four Seasons Hotel and Resi dences. Mixed-use tower 505 stands about 525 feet tall.

Mark Hollingsworth, a veteran citizen ob server of Nashville’s built environment, says that the city’s having landed, and being slat ed for, three 500-plus footers, two 600-plus footers and one 700-plus footer within a sev en-year stretch is “pretty remarkable.”

More encouragingly, the reinvention of the skyline in both downtown and Midtown has not been limited to buildings of 500 feet or taller. Hollingworth says that in 2010, the city was home to 27 buildings of 20 stories (roughly 200 feet) or taller. A decade later, that number had doubled, to 54. By 2025, and based on detailed statistics Hollingsworth maintains, Nashville could have at least 100 buildings of at least 20 stories. And by 2035, that gure could increase to 175.

at “corporate attraction” element tied to tall buildings can be found in Austin, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis,

Conversely, Oklahoma City boasts the approximately 850-foot-tall Devon Tower — impressive for a place of only about 1.44 million residents. However, given its lack of building and people density, OKC is not even remotely able to challenge Nashville for urban supremacy.

600 feet is being constructed at Nashville Yards. In addition, Giarratana plans a roughly 610foot high-end condominium building at 800 Lea St. in SoBro. One of the future buildings eyed for Houston-based Hines’ Reed District in Midtown (on the former Jim Reed auto dealer ship site) is expected to approach 600 feet.

“Success breeds success, so more developers and corporate heads are attracted to the energy of Music City like never before,” he adds.

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So, some might ask, “Why build tall?” Port land o ers no building taller than about 545 feet, yet the vibrant Oregon city is much more urban in its form and function than Nashville and, as such, is able to attract folks wanting to live and work in its core.

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sentially, above 400 feet); and 4) outside the CBD, the cap is 30 oors per the Metro Plan ning Department Downtown Code (though bonus height can be achieved via, for example, exceptional design, green features, etc.).

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“In addition to all the planning bene ts of higher density, [taller than otherwise build ings] increase the property tax potential for each parcel of land,” he notes.

Beyond the excitement that the visual of a sea of towers yields, Giarratana says there is a practical consideration that comes with maxi mizing building height on any given site.

Lee Davis, senior design manager with Nash ville-based architecture rm ESa, agrees with Hollinsgworth that Nashville has landed few buildings of 500 feet or more due to the avail ability of lots of land located outside the city’s central business district (but still in an urban setting) and on which to design and construct horizontally instead of vertically.

‘Once we have one building rise over 600 feet, I would imagine we would have others follow suit.’

“Some individuals like calling this part of the code ‘super high-rise,’ distinguishing it from ‘regular high-rise’ considerations,” he adds. “ ere have also been some other elect ed changes to the code that Metro has adopted recently as well, such as the requirement for fresh air replenishment systems. Additional testing such as wind tunnel designs can also add cost and timeline expense that I believe will be necessary for structures of this height going forward. We have not seen those tests and analyses run regularly for standard highriseWithprojects.”these factors considered, Davis says the easiest way to get to 600 feet is through an apartment or condo tower project that ef fectively eliminates the sti er requirements for o ce and hotel design and construction.

LEE DAVIS SENIOR DESIGN MANAGER, ESA

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However, other factors have limited the city’s chances of landing a 600-plus-footer, including 1) the Metro Codes Department’s having adopted the 2018 International Build ing Code a few years ago; 2) Federal Aviation Administration regulations that make un dertaking a building of 750 feet tall or taller in downtown almost impossible (a building of such height could con ict with the ight path of Nashville International Airport Run way 13/31, which is located about nine miles from downtown); 3) the fact that, in Nashville (and many cities, for that matter), the costs of design, labor, materials and construction increase (and sometimes exponentially) once a building rises above 30 to 35 oors (or, es

Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, cities with MSA pop ulations in the 2 million to 2.9 million range and each with at least one building of 600 feet or taller. Collectively, those cities command a certain respect, Hollingsworth says, due to their sporting a degree of the vertical density that is a hallmark of the 14 truly large U.S. cities (those with 4 million or more residents).

“Achieving a building of 600 feet or tall er, while interesting and with its advantages, does not signal any cataclysmic change within our local design and construction environ ment,” he says. “ e city has plenty of local architects and contractors capable of putting together a building of this height — and has had for years. e true signi cance would be a signaling of a tipping point in development that states, ‘Nashville is worth this elevated investment.’ Once we have one building rise over 600 feet, I would imagine we would have others follow suit.”

“ e next milestone is not 600 feet — it’s 420 feet,” Davis says. “ e way the code is written, anything over 420 feet comes with greater scrutiny — although R-2 occupancy such as apartments and condos are excluded from many of these added requirements — like higher-strength concrete, additional me chanical requirements, more egress stairs, etc.

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Katie Wayne, principal broker with Nash ville-based Clearbrook Realty, says this section of Midtown has historically been a “health care hub” composed of buildings accommodating hospitals, clinics and private medical practices.

Overlooked northern segment of city’s bustling urban district prepped for reinvention

For example, in May Nashville-based de velopment company Chartwell Residential paid about $9.47 million for multiple parcels on State Street on which it is eyeing 14-story apartment building e Gupton.

“ ere wasn’t as much transition [of build ing uses] because of the longevity of these organizations and the easy access a orded by such service providers,” Wayne says. “Most of the Midtown development south of West End Avenue centered around Vanderbilt’s sprawl ing campus. But investors ultimately realized that not only will this area support hospitality, retail and mixed-use, but people want to live in what is a convenient community. e inter state access and the proximity to downtown and e Gulch is unmatched.”

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In fact, that segment of the urban district some locals describe as the city’s “second downtown” is braced for the start (by early 2023) of no fewer than nine projects involving buildings of ve oors or taller, some of them mixed-use. e boom could rival that seen the past few years in the south half of Midtown, a construction frenzy that continues with work on Moore Building and e Broadview at

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS & Church

“ ese will be great value pick-ups and build outs when completed,” local real estate investor and developer Brad Bars says of the northern mass of Midtown. “ ey won’t be the ashiest projects, but they will make a lot of sense.”

For this exercise, the north half of Midtown can be de ned as bordered by Hayes Street on the south, Charlotte Avenue on the north, the downtown interstate loop on the east and 23rd Avenue on the west.

Multiple health-centric nonpro ts — such as the American Red Cross, Alive Hospice and American Cancer Society — operate well-es tablished headquarters in or near the area.

‘betterMidtown’shalf’

N 19th

“Wayne Gretzky said play where the puck is going, not where it’s been,” Bars says.

at convenience, in large part, is driving the interest from development companies focusing on reinventing underutilized properties located north of Hayes Street. Now those entities are preparing to take shovel to earth and see cranes thrust skyward — many by 2022’s conclusion.

ashville’s Midtown is about to boom. Or to be more speci c, the north half of the bustling area is set to see major change.

And though Bars says the looming devel opments might not garner Nashvillians’ atten tion like those of the south half of Midtown have done since the Great Recession ended, he adds that simply having reasonably large, urban buildings constructed in an area known for lots of suburban-oriented, one-story struc tures will be noteworthy.

Vanderbilt (previously known as the Vander bilt Graduate Housing Village).

In February, the Metro Planning Com mission approved a rezoning needed for a two-tower mixed-use development. Speci cal ly, Atlanta-based hotel development company North Point Hospitality seeks a main tower (a residential building with 311 units) that will rise 28 stories (295 feet) facing Church Street, with a smaller building (a hotel with

182 rooms) to o er 12 oors and front Hayes Street. e addresses are 1901 and 1903 Church St. and 1902 Hayes St., with the property located about one block east of As cension Saint omas Hospital Midtown.

In January, a general partnership that shares an address with the Tennessee Oncology of ce secured a Metro permit that references a seven-story mixed-use building eyed for a two-parcel site at both 316 and 322 22nd Ave. N. e future building will o er 144,000 square feet of medical o ce space and 6,000 square feet of retail space.

Bob Phelps, vice president and co-found er of the local chapter of urbanplanet.org, a

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A small retail space will be included in the residential building, which South Caro lina-based Greystar Real Estate Partners will undertake in conjunction with North Point.

In May, Q&A Holdings GP (Ashley Quinn and Nick Adler), which is a liated with local ly based BNA Investments, led documents with the Metro Codes Department showing plans for property located near Jack Cawthon’s Bar-B-Que. With a main address of 301 15th Ave. N., the site is being slated for a seven-sto ry structure to o er 179 apartments and three retail spaces. e general partnership acquired the roughly 0.90-acre property for $5 million in October 2021.

KATIE CLEARBROOKPRINCIPALWAYNEBROKER,REALTY

Also in July, Chicago-based Ascend Real Es tate Group spent a collective $13.75 million for a multi-parcel site on which it is prepar ing a 16-story mixed-use structure to be called 19th & Similarly,Church.alocal development team that in cludes Bars is targeting a late 2022 start on a 15-story residential building for multiple par cels located on 17th Avenue North and Pat terson Street. Nashville-based Patterson Street Partners paid a collective $6.25 million for the property, a key address for which is 310 17th Ave. N., in October 2021. Bars (owner of Cre ative Investments) and Tim Morris serve as co-managing partners of Patterson Street Part ners and are being joined by Steve Armistead and Jared Bradley in the e ort.

Also in May, Cincinnati-based real estate company Al. Neyer and e Dinerstein Com panies of Houston acquired for $8.99 million a 1.14-acre site at 1801 Patterson St. e partner ship plans 14-story apartment building Aspire Midtown with 277 units, with work set to start by InOctober.July,St. Louis-based Subtext paid $12.9 million for seven parcels — with a collective 1.04 acres and addresses of 1904 Hayes St. through 1918 Hayes St. — on which it plans a 14- oor mid-rise mixed-use building.

Recent months also saw the news of new comers and updates from locals.

And in June, Minnesota-based apartment developer Roers Companies submitted to the Metro Planning Department details related to a 192-room hotel building and a 566-unit mixed-use structure, with the development to unfold on two parcels located on Church Street and 15th Avenue North.

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Aspire Midtown

‘Investors ultimately realized that not only will this area support hospitality, retail and mixeduse, but people want to live in what is a community.’convenient

“ ree-to-four years ago, I posted pictures that detail the area, especially the State Street corridor, and discussing this very topic,” Phelps notes. “ e only substantial proposal

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message board focused on urban placemaking issues, says the remaking of the northern seg ment of Midtown has been overdue.

“I predict we’re going to see Church Street become a key street over the next few years,” she says.

for the area at the time was made more than ve years ago when a 12-story hotel was pro posed on 14th overlooking Interstate 40.” at hotel project failed to materialize. But, as Phelps says, its proposal did shed some light on the general area — a positive, in some ways.

The Gupton

But though the under-the-radar Cart wright, Hynes, Patterson and State streets — along with the potential-laden Murphy Avenue — will surely see some attention in the near future, Wayne points to one of ur ban Nashville’s most important streets — now both needing and suitable for a facelift.

ment of Midtown and that often is overlooked in the discussion of its overhaul: Hynes Street.

“If the downtown and Midtown segments of Hynes Street could ever be reconnected under I-40, this would solve so many connec tivity issues the area faces,” he notes.

Phelps points to a street located in this seg

Titan up

Tennessee might just be “the Saudi Arabia of titani um,” according to Taso Arima, CEO and managing di rector at IperionX, which has been acquiring land access in Benton, Carroll and Henry counties for more than two years. Currently, the company controls more than 11,000 acres there, either through mineral rights leases or outright purchases, with the ambitious goal of establish ing the rst major American titanium extraction project in

“decades.isisgenerational jobs,” Arima says of the so-called Titan Project. “It’s not like a coal mine. We’re not bring ing jobs that will be tied to an industry which is in struc tural decline. We’re bringing opportunity for this com munity to have a real impact on our future industries in the U.S., to be the backbone for some of the key materi als we’re going to need for all of our advanced industries.”

“We don’t have any natural resources like Texas and Pennsylvania and Ohio and West Virginia,” says John Ste vens, a state senator whose district includes Benton, Car roll, Gibson, Henry, Obion and Weakley counties. “We just haven’t had any of that. Even our ground’s not very good for farming. It’s not like Iowa. e only thing West Tennessee has really ever had is … really good water.”

One company wants to make Tennessee the ‘Saudi Arabia of titanium’

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he stretch of Tennessee between Nashville and the Mississippi River has never been known for its natural resources.

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

at could soon change, though, as a minerals explo ration company is making big predictions and big prom ises about the area.

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Stevens, the state senator, says he has met Arima and discussed the project with state reg ulators but that it’s too early to make any judg ments. (Lord says he hopes to have the project permitted, funded and producing material by late 2024 or early 2025.)

“Usually in the U.S., the labor costs are high er, and also environmental regulations have basically caused most extraction industries to move overseas to developing countries where the labor’s cheaper and they don’t have to wor ry about environmental regulations. ey can do all their polluting there,” says John Ayers, a professor and geochemist at Vanderbilt Univer sity. “Americans were ne with that, but when there’s a critical element that we have no do mestic production of, we’re at the mercy of the foreign market. It’s not a great situation.”

the company currently has under its control would take about 25 years to process, but there are additional potential deposits both in Tennessee and in nearby states. e company has gone as deep as 300 feet during testing, but Lord says that the deepest area of mining would be about 150 feet.

“It’s wait and see, and hope it turns out to be as good as they say,” Stevens says.

Both Lord and Arima try not to use the word “mining,” though. e titanium miner als and rare earths make up about 2-5 percent of the sand in the ground, and the sand is processed using water and gravity. e sand, minus the valuable minerals, is put back into the ground as the project moves along, and the processed areas are actively reclaimed, the company says. “It’s more akin to farming,” according to Arima. e company is working with the University of Tennessee to make sure bene cial native plants are part of the process, with the goal of leaving behind more produc tive ground for farming, logging or other uses.

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e Titan Project could be the largest American producer of titanium and rare earth minerals, according to a scoping study released by IperionX this summer. e company esti mates there is enough titanium and rare earths there to build more than 60,000 Boeing 787s. e mineral content also represents the poten tial to satisfy all of the federal government’s titanium and rare earth needs for national se curitySeveralpurposes.developments in recent years have made the Titan Project possible, according to IperionX o cials and other observers. e rise of the electric vehicle and other new technol ogies have driven demand for the rare earths required to make magnets — rare earths pres ent at the Titan site, adding revenue where previously the company would have to gure out how to get rid of the minerals at a cost. O shoring of titanium metal production and rare earth mineral extraction has largely been concentrated in Russia and China, driving de sire among American policymakers to foster a supply of the materials that is either domestic or in more reliably friendly countries. Plus, a new, less environmentally harmful method of turning titanium minerals into titanium metal could make reshoring that part of the supply chain more tenable.

According to Jonathon Lord, a geologist on the project, IperionX will eventually employ up to 200 people in the area with an aver age salary of $50,000-$60,000. e area that

But still, such a major project naturally triggers questions in the community. Iperi onX has set up an o ce on Camden’s main drag and has sponsored baseball teams and community events. Lord, Arima and other company representatives frequently answer questions from residents.

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TASO ARIMA CEO AND DIRECTOR,MANAGINGIPERIONX

“ ey should investigate us,” Lord says. “ ey should wonder how we’re going to do things and make sure they’re protecting their community.”Overall,he adds, the interactions have been “very positive.” And Arima says the company has nancial incentives to stick to its word if it wants to secure land rights from other proper ty owners moving forward.

ith a growing demand in Nashville for both a ordable housing and new apartments close to the city center, some developers are converting low-den sity housing projects into higher-density mixed-income developments in an e ort to satisfy both needs.

BOOMW DANIEL MEIGS

Lenore Street, with James A. Cayce Homes at left and Envision Cayce at right

It will take 10 or more years before the proj ect is completed, depending on funding and how quickly the organization can move, Berry says. ough in the meantime, the organiza tion’s new executive director Troy White hopes to be able to start redevelopments in the Napi er and Sudekum public housing communities.

One example is Envision Cayce, planning for which started in 2013 with construction getting underway in 2015. Upon completion, the East Nashville site of the largest public housing development in the city will house up to 2,000 families with mixed incomes, com pared to 716 low-income families under the former model. e mixed-income project in cludes a slot for each of the families that lived there prior to the redevelopment. us far, the Metro Development and Housing Agency has completed 507 units (considered about one-third of the way com pleted) and housed more than half of current Cayce families. It has 96 units under construc tion, with plans to break ground on three ad ditional developments in 2023.

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aSharingwall

going to be bringing in new a ordable [units], new workforce [units] and new market-rate [units], we are going to be increasing the densi ty,” says MHDA spokesperson Jamie Berry.

“As we have made a commitment to that onefor-one replacement for all existing units, if we’re

City, private developers move toward high-density, mixedincome options on prime land

BY HANNAH HERNER

On its quest to eventually redevelop each public housing community in the city, MDHA will have to watch that it doesn’t compete against itself for funding. Given the deed to each of the communities by the fed eral Department of Housing and Urban De velopment, MDHA can borrow against the land value. Its latest completed property, Red

Berry says a key to making high-density mixed-in come housing like that of Envision Cayce work is to make the units identical, regardless of income level.

thanks to a 20-year contract with HUD that will be automatically renewed.

e “Envision” process is di erent from what hap pened at MDHA’s John Henry Hale Apartments, where a mixed-income model was introduced with fewer a ordable units than before, e ectively dis placing the families there — temporarily for con struction or permanently to another a ordable rental opportunity. It was part of HUD’s Hope 6 program along with four other MDHA properties that were redone between 1999 and 2010. ose properties have around 13 percent market rate tenants with the rest of the residents paying subsidized rents. e pro cess of reducing density isn’t viable in urban centers like Nashville, where demand for housing is high, Wiltshire says.

A similar process to that at John Henry Hale is currently underway at RiverChase Apartments, where tenants were forced to leave with the promise of some a ordable units to be available on the land in the fu ture. e Envision Cayce process, on the other hand, is gradual, moving families within the complex rst, while their original apartments are demolished, and then inviting them to move into a new unit. e breakdown of the Envision Cayce complexes is 30 to 40 percent a ordable units, 20 percent “work force” units (for those making 80 to 120 percent of the area median income) and 30 to 40 percent mar ket-rateereapartments. arereassurances, though not necessarily guarantees, that the a ordable units will remain af fordable inde nitely. A ordability is guaranteed for the rst 40 years from completion of each project,

“MDHA has an incredible asset,” he says. “It has dirt, … and most of the properties are located in very attractive places.”

RiskAccountingAuditAssuranceTaxConsulting

Oak Flats, utilized HUD rental subsidies, low-in come housing tax credits, a community investment tax credit loan from Pinnacle Financial Partners and funds from a home investment partnership program, according to Berry.

Matthew Wiltshire, a former MDHA executive who worked on Envision Cayce, notes the value of the land MDHA owns, near neighborhoods with rising housing costs such as Germantown, e Na tions, 12South and Wedgewood-Houston.

“We’re nding we have some private developers who are also trying a very similar model,” Withers says. “We have, let’s say, about 40 percent a ordable, about 40 percent market and about 20 percent work force. It’s just been such a compelling story, and it’s really been very successful. We’re starting to see that private development is trying to emulate that, and I think that’s a really good thing for our city.”

Both Withers and Wiltshire have noticed an in creased interest among private developers in the mixed-income model.

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People were already buying high-dollar houses right on the border of the Cayce neighborhood, but Envision Cayce takes mixed-income housing to the next“You’relevel. going to share a wall with a family that has a di erent income and background than you. at’s really exciting,” Withers says. “My hope is that peo ple who move into the new Cayce housing really see it as part of a positive social transformation rather than as just … ‘this is the apartment that I could nd in East Nashville.’”

District 6 Metro Councilmember Brett Withers’ term ends in 2023, and his successor, if serving two terms, would wrap up in 2031. He hopes that by the time his successor is nished, the project in his district will be mostly completed.

“We wanted to make sure that you were not able to tell who was paying what based on the amenities inside their units,” Berry says. “Everybody deserves to have market-rate amenities, and that’s the way this community is set up.”

“If it is MDHA doing it, the mission of that agency is to provide a ordable housing and so, if there were any other entity that were doing it, I think you could rightfully question the long-term viability of it,” Wilt shire adds. “But with MDHA doing it, I think you can have a higher degree of con dence in long-term a ordability as opposed to other sectors.”

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Some local boutique developers no longer see Nashville as attractive

BOOMT ERIC ENGLAND

Rising costs of land, labor and materials and not having the luxury of waiting for over whelmed Metro departments and o cials to sign o on projects have essentially rendered for these niche companies a climate that is no longer attractive in which to develop.

here was a time not too long ago when the bulk of Nashville develop ment in urban areas was undertaken by local companies — all of them boutique in the general sense.

And though the task was challenging, it was at least doable.

Bailes says it is considerably more di cult to undertake small developments now com pared to, say, ve years ago.

“Big projects are catching all the attention, but smaller ‘cottage’ developments still have to go through most of the same Metro de partments,” he notes. “It is like the banking business: It takes the same amount of under writing to do a $100,000 loan as a $10 million loan. And it’s the same with projects.”

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

“It seems over the last few years, including before the pandemic, the process of develop ment has been incredibly di cult at the local level,” says Shawn Bailes, chief executive o

Too small to succeed

Shawn Bailes

Now many of the small and specialty devel opment companies that are locally based either are no longer focused on Nashville or are han dling projects in areas that would have been considered less-than-ideal even three years ago.

cer at Nashville-based Capital City Construc tion. “From the simple task of pulling permits to calling in inspections, the length of time has expanded exponentially. Our city o cials are understa ed and overworked for the construc tion activity the city has, and I am not quite sure we can sta up to meet the need as a city.”

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‘We need the creativity and design boutiquethatﬁrmsbringtothemarket.’

it’s not just as simple as adding more sta to help with the checking of box ings and approving of permits,” she says. “ e

TYLER DEVELOPMENTHAMILTONCAUBLE,FOUNDER

Albright says the department’s priority re mains helping to grow the city in an appro priate

“However,way.

“WeMetro.used to be able to get permits in weeks and [no more than a few] months on larger projects. Now it’s over a year on larger projects and seven-to-eight months in stormwater plan review

development process is incredibly dynamic and involves multiple departments reviewing a variety of important pieces with the goal being a high-quality product that is not only bene cial to the user but safe.”

When asked if he anticipated the situation a few years ago, Bailes says, “ e pendulum knows nothing but to swing back and forth.

Richel Albright, Metro Codes Department public information o cer, says with the in creased demand, “our development service-re lated departments are adjusting to meet the growth by increasing sta , implementing a more user-friendly development portal and ensuring our technology remains up to date.”

“Five years ago, we could make a 6 percent capitalization rate,” Kenner says. “Now we’re lucky to nd a 4 percent cap rate. I don’t have investors who will settle for a 4 percent return.”

“To rezone a project ve years ago would take six months,” he says. “Now, it is a yearplus. And once rezoned, it is taking over a year just to get through permits — unlike in Chat tanooga, which takes three months max.”

Some local developers are so dispirited that they have decided essentially to leave Nashville altogether.Michael Kenner is a native Nashvillian who has undertaken the redevelopment of various west side sites with residential buildings. For years, Kenner spoke highly of his hometown. Now he admits a level of discouragement and has decided to focus his work in Chattanooga.

Beyond the time developers must wait relat ed to Metro departments, another developer concern involves nding an attractive capi talization rate, which is calculated by divid ing a property’s net operating income by that property’s current market value. Expressed as a percentage, the ratio is an estimation of an investor’s or developer’s potential return on a real estate investment.

ere has been an unprecedented run in real

NASHVILLE POST .COM | BOOM 2022 35

“Investors are impatient and unsympathet ic,” he says. “Developers and contractors are scrambling to get in front of delays and rising costs. It is like Whac-A-Mole at the state fair. Every time you tamp down an issue, some thing new arises.”

In scal year 2022, Metro issued nearly 16,000 building permits — approximately 1,300 permits a month — for a collective val uation of $5.6 billion, record numbers.

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“With these projects happening all over the county, our residents expect and deserve dili gent, careful and thoughtful review so that we don’t grow without regard for the impact of our city’s future,” Albright says.

In addition to escalating labor and material costs, Kenner cites three concerns related to government and that have limited his ability to undertake small-scale residential develop ments locally: 1) e Metro Planning Depart ment sta members now must review multi ple plans before they approve speci c plan rezoning; 2) e re marshal has implement ed aerial ladder access related to structures, which Kenner contends varies non-uniformly from project to project and limits the chances of creating a ordable housing because it dis courages building density; and 3) the Metro Codes Department has thousands of back logged permits.

e concerns related to the codes depart ment have been ongoing since Nashville’s cur rent boom began about 10 years ago. How ever, some contend Codes has been unfairly criticized and is simply understa ed.

One boutique developer, who asked to go unnamed, says it is a “huge challenge” to work with

Capitalalone.”City Construction’s Bailes says frus tration is “at an all-time high.”

“It’s only the beginning for Nashville,” Cauble adds. “We’re Atlanta in the 1980s.”

estate for a while. But when an Uber driver starts talking about investing in property and how easy it is, that is a tell-tale sign.”

Tyler Cauble, founder of locally based boutique company Hamilton Development, is also high on more manageable markets outside Nashville. In June, Cauble and real estate investors Jess Reed and Brandon ornberry acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot former wool mill on a 32-acre property located about 5.5 miles south of downtown Chattanooga in Rossville, Georgia. e purchase followed Cauble’s having acquired Newell Tower in downtown Chattanooga for $1.8 million in February

“A few years ago, investors and developers would have a funny look on their faces when you would bring up investing in Chattanooga or the tertiary markets surrounding Nashville,” Cauble adds. “Now, everyone seems to be hopping on the train to chase Caubleyield.”says he saw coming the day when undertaking development in Music City would be highly challenging. But he remains“I’vehopeful.focused my career on ‘emerging’ areas of Nashville, so it was only a matter of time before we knew we’d have to nd another city to chase those same burgeoning corridors,” he says. “Interestingly, some ‘boutique-ish’ companies seemingly have emerged recently — willing to take some risks with local projects. I’m all for it. We need the creativity and design that boutique rms bring to the market. ey seem to be more willing to solve local problems and create projects with a positive community impact than your larger, outside groups are.

ERIC ENGLAND

“It’s2021.amatter of being able to grow and scale as a smaller, local development rm,” he says. “ ough we may be able to one day, we cannot currently compete with out-of-state rms that are accepting of lower returns and can, therefore, pay higher prices for their projects. Tertiary markets like Chattanooga are expanding rapidly and have a similar demographic as our East Nashville base. And the entry cost [for those markets] is far lower.

Michael Kenner

THANK YOU!

GIFT

PRESENTED BY Sarah Trahern

Zulfat Suara

Nancy Keil

Demetria Kalodimos

Dr. Shubhada Jagasia

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PHOTOS BY DANIEL MEIGS

The event is a collaboration with our colleagues at Nfocus and their Model Behavior program. More information on those honorees, and the nonproﬁt causes they champion, can be found on pages 50 and 51 and at nfocusmagazine.com.

NASHVILLE POST .COM | BOOM 2022 39

Since 2011, we’ve brought together a group of the most accomplished and impressive women in Middle Tennessee’s business and nonproﬁt sectors at our Most Powerful Women event. This year’s group is no di erent, and includes Shubhada Jagasia, Nancy Keil, Zulfat Suara and Sarah Trahern. The four women are gathering to discuss leadership, career development and more on Sept. 9 at Conrad Nashville in a conversation moderated by Demetria Kalodimos.

How do you choose which causes and organizations to devote your time to? I look for causes that align with my personal interests and gauge the true impact that I can help make in any particular area. Since time is such a limited resource, it’s important to know your strengths so you can determine how best to make a di erence.

I have a strong work ethic and organizational skills. My biggest asset though is that I am fortunate enough to be truly passionate about my job. I wholeheartedly believe in our health system’s mission of serving the people of Middle Tennessee and improving health care for future generations.

otherWhat’sSHUBHADAthemostcommonpieceofadviceyouﬁndyourselfgivingleadersoraspiringleaders?

Think about the next generation of female leaders. What do you think will be easier for them than it was for you, and what do you think will be harder for them than it was for you? Great question. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Given that the glass ceiling has been broken many times before, I think women today can beneﬁt from the examples set by their predecessors. My advice to young women is to seek out female mentors in your chosen ﬁeld and female authors who research your industry so that you can absorb decades of knowledge. I

40 BOOM 2022 | NASHVILLE POST .COM

LEADERS

True leadership is always about putting others first. However, in order to give of yourself fully, you have to learn to fill your own cup regularly. Exercising, traveling, reading and spending time with my family and friends are a few ways I make sure to fill my cup.

Who was an important mentor and what’s the most lasting tenet that person left you? Though I’m thankful to have had many wonderful mentors, my parents are my best and most important mentors. My dad was the national cricket coach for India and my mom was a professor of English literature. They passed on their shared work ethic, taught me the importance of humility and resilience, and showed me how to balance work and play while following my dreams.

CEO, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown and West campuses

JAGASIA

When you were a kid, did you envision the type of career and lifestyle you have now? What did you want to be when you grew up? No, I did not. I have never been one to plan every step of life. I’ve simply done my very best when doors have been opened for me and have worked hard to rise to the occasion when opportunities appear. I’ve consistently made career moves that align with my passions in hope of always leaving projects and positions better than they were when I found them. My passion for education, love of science and desire to serve others seemed to blend nicely with me becoming a doctor.

What is one of your strengths in the way you approach leadership?

do feel that today’s women have the added pressure of social media. Social media can be an empowering platform for women to share personal experiences and resources, but it can also create an atmosphere of unhealthy competition and encourage unrealistic standards of outward success. That’s why I think it’s so important for young women to ﬁnd real-life mentors.

LEADERS

When you were a kid, did you envision the type of career and lifestyle you have now? What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a doctor and did sciences in school but later realized I couldn’t in chemis try lab because I can’t smell. Since I couldn’t be one, I did the next best thing and married one.

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What’s the most common piece of advice you ﬁnd yourself giving other leaders or aspiring leaders? I ﬁnd myself telling leaders two things. One is that everyone can do something. Some can write; some can speak. Oftentimes folks believe you only need [certain] skills to make a change. My experience is that with commitment to make change, anyone can use basically any skills they have. The other is that change [doesn’t have] to be

Metro Council At-Large

Think about the next generation of female leaders. What do you think will be easier for them than it was for you, and what do you think will be harder for them than it

was for you? Working remotely is now common and acceptable, [which] will make things easier for female leaders with young children. Maintaining their privacy will become harder and harder.

What is one of your strengths in the way you approach leadership? Ability to collaborate or build a consensus.

How can volunteer work with a nonprofit benefit one’s professional life? It is the best training ground on how to help others. It also is the best place for networking. I believe I am where I am today because of the many con nections and experiences I have gained over the years from my not-for-profit organizations.

big to be impactful. Nothing is too small. Do something. No matter how small. Not doing anything is not an option.

LEADERSSUARAZULFAT

Who was an important mentor and what’s the most lasting tenet that person left you? My father. Always be kind.

Complete the phrase. You can teach cents , but you can’t teach sense .

YoungProfessionals MarketingMixer September22,6PM ThoughtLeadersLuncheon: TurningFansIntoCustomerswith DavidMeermanScott October20,11AM MarketingResearchRoundtable November2,8:30AM MarketinginSports November2,5PM Wheremarketingprofessionals gotonetworkand growtheirskills. Tolearnmoreaboutour eventsandmembershipvisit: amanashville.org Joinusforanupcomingevent: SEPTEMBERTHURSDAY,29 4-7 PM | PEABODY PLAZA Join the Post team for a panel discussion on the redevelopment of the Lower Downtown District featuring John Eakin with Peabody Plaza, Ray Hensler with Peabody Union, Dean Stratouly with the Four Season and Gensler. After the discussion, join us on the terrace for cocktails and networking as we raise a glass to Nashville’s continued growth and development. SPONSORED BY PROVIDEDLIQUOR BY PROVIDEDCATERINGBYPROVIDEDWINE BY For more information on the event and to RSVP, please visit NashvillePost.com

LEADERS

NASHVILLE POST .COM | BOOM 2022 45

What’sKEILthemostcommon

What did you want to be when you grew up? My ﬁrst career aspiration was to be an ice skater. When I got older and learned about my father’s work, I wanted to follow in his footsteps by being an FBI agent.

How do you choose which causes and organizations to devote your time to? I choose which causes to devote my time and treasure to by their mission and impact in the community, and when people I respect ask me to support a cause they truly believe in.

NANCY

How can volunteer work with a nonprofit benefit one’s professional life? Volunteering empowers an individual’s empathy and fills you with joy. I feel it is extremely important to understand the disparities within our communities for us to be the best advocates for one another.

Who was an important mentor and what’s the most lasting tenet that person left you? I will never forget the words my mom would always say if I was struggling to make a decision: “Make sure you can look your self in the mirror when taking action. And, always be kind.”

demic has had a negative impact on women in the workforce as they have absolutely faced additional hurdles compared to their male peers. I have seen it with my own sta , where women want to excel at their jobs but are also expected to support their household with home learning and childcare. For some years to come, women will face tough decisions regarding career and family. They should be able to have both.

President and CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee

When you were a kid, did you envision the type of career and lifestyle you have now? I grew up in a middle-income household. We didn’t have a lot, but there wasn’t anything we needed. I was taught at a very early age to show up on time, do great work and to be kind. My end goal coming out of college was to be independent and I am proud I accomplished that independence.

What is one of your strengths in the way you approach leadership? Building a strong, collaborative work environment, an environment where team members understand that every contribution, regardless of how small it may seem, has incredible value to the mission and success of the organization.

Think about the next generation of female leaders. What do you think will be easier for them than it was for you, and what do you think will be harder for them than it was for you? Competing in a man’s world gave me the strength and stamina I have today. I came from a corporate background, and many times I had to let things “slide” to keep my career moving forward. I think women are more empowered than ever to stand up for themselves but also stand up for one another — it is a beautiful thing that is changing the landscape of women in leadership. The pan-

piece of advice you ﬁnd yourself giving other leaders or aspiring leaders? There is a purpose and place for us all; ﬁnd something you love and have the courage to challenge yourself every day to do great work. Start with the end in mind. If you know what you want to accomplish, what your end state of success looks like, it is easier to map your journey and to share your vision with others. Be a pioneer of intentional change; lead by example humbly.

we create and develop relationships is based more on a personal connection. I have always looked for volunteer opportunities based on what I am passionate about, not what I think someone in the role I’m in should be doing.

Who was an important mentor and what’s the most lasting tenet that person left you?

What’s the most common piece of advice you ﬁnd yourself giving other leaders or aspiring leaders? Relationships matter. I would not be where I am today without a network of mentors as well as countless colleagues who I have been able to lean on throughout my career.

I have had many amazing mentors over the years, but one who comes to mind today is Judy Girard, who I worked for at Scripps Networks. She was a pioneering female leader in television. One thing she taught me was that leaders don’t always have all the answers, as well as the importance of collaborating and bringing out the best in the people on your team. She is a dear friend today.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

When you were a kid, did you envision the type of career and lifestyle you have now? My parents always encouraged me to try different things out — activities, sports, you name it. It’s kind of like shoes — find what fits. At the same time, they always instilled finding something you love because then it won’t feel like work. Your “pay” is not just your salary but the work itself. I don’t think I envisioned this life per se, but I love that every day is di erent and that I learn and remain curious.

LEADERSTRAHERNSARAH

CEO, Country Music Association

How can volunteer work with a nonprofit benefit one’s professional life? The first thing that comes to mind, again, is the personal con nection. I think we all show up to our business roles, first and foremost, as individuals. But how

46 BOOM 2022 | NASHVILLE POST .COM

Gosh, I vacillated so much — teacher one day, pilot another. I went through a phase when I had some surgery that I thought I wanted to be an anesthesiologist or an orthopedic surgeon. Chemistry shook me from that! But my college application said I wanted to go into journalism and I followed that path into television, which led me to where I am now.

Think about the next generation of female leaders. What do you think will be easier for them than it was for you, and what do you think will be harder for them than it was for you? I feel that there is an atmosphere of inclu sivity recently that has allowed females to feel incredibly empowered and rise within their own industries, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that inequities still exist. As a trade association, CMA is hyper-focused on professional development

for all individuals within the country music industry. I am so proud that the majority of our senior CMA leadership team is female, and recently CMA launched our inaugural Women’s Leadership Academy designed to support emerging female leaders within the music industry. The pandemic was especially tough for females in the workforce, especially as women left the workforce in much higher rates than men, whether because of double standards, the second shift or glass ceilings.

2013

2012

2014

Lisa Boggs, Bridgestone Americas Glenda Glover, Tennessee State University Heather Rowan, TriStar Centennial Medical Center Sally Williams, Ryman Auditorium

Jacky Akbari, Nashville Career Advancement Center Sherry Stewart Deutschmann, LetterLogic Stacey Garrett, Bone McAllester Norton Janet Miller, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

JOIN THE CLUB

Megan Barry, Premier Agenia Clark, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee Aileen Katcher, Katcher Vaughn & Bailey Dawn Rudolph, Saint Thomas Health

300 12th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203 wnashvillehotel.com | 615 379 9000 | @wnashville SET THE TONE AT W NASHVILLESTAY Modern luxe accommodations in the Gulch with one of the most dynamic suite o erings in Nashville.

We’ve been honored for the past decade to bring together area women leaders for candid and inspiring conversations about leadership, growth and paving the way for others. Here’s who preceded this year’s class and where they worked at the time.

2011

Sharon Hurt, Je erson Street United Merchants Partnership Ellen Lehman, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Jenneen Kaufman, Tennessee Titans Linda Rebrovick, Consensus Point Claire Tucker, CapStar Bank

Beth Hoeg, Trinisys

be EC Partners. Pinnacle likePartnersFinancialwouldtocongratulate Nancy

Maneet Chauhan, Morph Hospitality

Mignon Francois, The Cupcake Collection

Dee Patel, The Hermitage Hotel

Paula Lovell, Lovell Communications

Shanna Jackson, Nashville State Community College

Cordia Harrington, Crown Bakeries

Pinnacle Financial Partners are proud

2020

Jane Allen, Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Becca Stevens, Thistle Farms

WomenPowerfulhonorees.

Joelle Phillips, AT&T

Tammy Hawes, Virsys12

Jane MacLeod, Cheekwood Mekesha Montgomery, Frost Brown Todd Sharon Roberson, YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee

Christie Wilson, The Wilson Group Real Estate Services

2016

2021

Kate Burke, AllianceBernstein

Renata Soto, Conexión Americas

Carol Yochem, First Horizon Bank

2015

Rachel Werner, Built Technologies

2019

Tina Tuggle, Tennessee Titans to Keil and the 2022 Most

CEO of Second Harvest NANCY KEIL

Nicole Tremblett, HCA Healthcare

Arie Nettles

model behavior

Terry Vo API Middle Tennessee

Bethni Hemphill

Studio Tenn

PHOTOS BY DANIEL MEIGS

50 BOOM 2022 | NASHVILLE POST .COM LEADERS

Laura Currie Nashville Ballet

For 18 years, Nfocus has celebrated the beauty of philanthropy through its annual Model Behavior issue. Each fall, local nonproﬁts nominate female philanthropists, volunteers and board members who have shown selﬂess generosity and service to their causes, and Nfocus selects 10 to honor in its September issue. The Post salutes the 2022 class of Model Behavior. To learn more about these women and the organizations they represent, pick up the September issue of Nfocus or visit nfocusmagazine.com.

CASA Nashville

Cheryl Slay Carr Nashville Opera Company

Sunny Bray Women in Technology of Tennessee

LEADERS

Bari Beasley Heritage Foundation of Williamson County Teaka Jackson Love Thy Neighbors

NASHVILLE POST .COM | BOOM 2022 51

Anne Jones UpRise Nashville

Meera Ballal OZ Arts

“I didn’t even think about construction as a child,” he says. “I always jokingly say construction chose Throughme.” aprogram at MTSU, Polk earned a job as project manager for home builder Fox Ridge Homes. During his tenure there, he worked in sales and later went to work at home builder Norfolk Homes in Brentwood.

“First, you have to educate yourself and get the knowledge for the process to make it work,” he says. “Then once you get the knowledge, and you have the expertise, you have your license together, you’re going to have the conﬁdence to go and do it.”

Polk & Associates has now worked on major projects including at Nashville International Air port. Polk says working at the airport was a chal lenge, but the project shifted the ﬁrm’s business model and changed how they operate.

After two years at Norfolk Homes, he left to work as a real estate broker for Benchmark Realty and began gathering information with his wife, Tanora Polk, before opening a construction company of their own.

“I was the janitor, and I was the accountant,” he says. “I was the project manager. I was in all of these di erent roles until I was able to grow and be able to hire somebody else that can take on some of that work.”

During the pandemic, Polk & Associates faced new challenges, including preventing workers from contracting COVID-19.

“We had to put certain measures in place to keep them safe and protected,” he says. “They had to feel protected.”

52 BOOM 2022 | NASHVILLE POST .COM THE JOURNEY

BY KATELYNN WHITE

Polk opened construction ﬁrm Polk & Associates in 2011 with his wife. The company specializes in building homes.

“We took classes,” he says. “We went to the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, we went to the Nashville Business Incubation Center, and we would just sit in these classes and gather information. We were gathering information and just learning the industry and learning how everything works.”

“Life, in general, is a teacher, and every situation and circumstance teaches you something,” he says. “A great example is as a child when you go out and touch the stove and it’s hot and you burn your hand. You’re not going to touch the stove again. Instead, you’re going to try to avoid that. So, when you’re going through life situations, everything is a life lesson that teaches you something, and you try to apply that to the next deal.”

working helped expand the business and led the Polks into civil construction and maintenance for grocery stores.

eggie Polk knows success isn’t built overnight. Thepresident of construction ﬁrm Polk & Associates didn’t set his sights on construction until he was a college student at Middle Tennessee State University.

The pandemic was challenging, but Polk believes his team is stronger because of it.

Polk & Associates has built nearly 150 homes, according to Polk. Now, he wants younger people to follow in his footsteps.

ERIC ENGLAND BOOM

“It was such a large project with so many di erent moving parts and pieces, and it was a very high-paced project,” Polk says. “People couldn’t call out sick. We had to have people there every day. People were working overtime because we had to get this project done, so that was a challenge.”

From selling homes to building them

Reggie Polk

According to Polk, starting a business didn’t mean he found success immediately. Net-

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Nashville Post Boom 2022

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