Historically, Nashville, Tennessee, has been blessed with a diversified economy, and this economic diversification has played a role in the development trends of the city, according to Michael Murphy, managing partner with Cumberland Advisors in Franklin, Tennessee.

The proliferation of the healthcare industry and the sheer number of new companies generated in this industry has facilitated much of the office expansion in the past several years. Although the current Class A vacancy rate in the Cool Springs submarket is 18 percent, a significant amount of activity has taken place in Cool Springs over the past 4 years.

“The desirable residential neighborhoods, excellent infrastructure, restaurants and retail support in this submarket are all contributing influences of this trend, but I believe the success this area has enjoyed is the culmination of available space and the growing number of Nashville entrepreneurs who are choosing suburban office locations,” says Murphy. “These entrepreneurs have chosen to locate their offices near their homes, which has fueled much of the absorption in the Brentwood and Cool Springs submarkets.”

“Additionally, we are seeing a strong demand for space in the West End corridor,” Murphy continues. “This is due to the number of employment anchors located there and the abundance of services conveniently available. The downtown/Gulch and Music Row areas are also poised to land additional development opportunities, albeit substantially anchored by single tenants.”

Roundabout Plaza, situated at the Demonbreun Street roundabout and Music Row, is a significant new development. It is one of only a couple of office projects under construction at this time. It is an Eakin Property development and will be a 205,000-square-foot, nine-story structure. Boult Cummings Conners & Berry PLC will anchor the building, absorbing 85,000 square feet.

Roundabout Plaza is significant because it is situated between two distinct submarkets — the central business district and West End. The blending of Nashville’s financial district tenants and music row tenants is to some degree symbolic of a blending of these cultures, which have heretofore been largely autonomous. Some music industry tenants have also ventured into the CBD. “The city sees the Roundabout as a significant improvement linking several neighborhoods together,” Murphy explains.


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