Why Demand For Nashville Commercial Space Will Remain Brisk In '17

The secret sauce in Nashville's boom—demand for real estate product—isn't expected to slow down with the new year. "In terms of the type of product we're building, I don't see demand going away any time soon," Premier Design + Build Group VP Joe Ahrens told us.

Ahrens said strong urban growth in Nashville should unlock pent-up demand for retail and consumer goods that will fuel the next wave of industrial development in metro Nashville. Premier is at work on the 650k SF Commerce Farms V, a spec industrial building in Lebanon for Chicago developer HSA Commercial.

To accommodate the high volume of logistics activity expected at the building, the parking lot will have 184 trailer stalls. It will feature 32-foot clear height with 144 truck dock positions. "It's a fun time to be building here, and we look forward to being a part of Nashville's future," Ahrens said. 

Holladay Properties VP-development Allen Arender, who spoke at our Nashville State of the Market this year, is also optimistic Nashville will see continued growth in 2017, "although maybe not at the pace we have seen over the past three to four years."  

Even so, Arender said, Nashville will be absorbing new supply in every sector. "New starts will slow as we adjust to a likely change in interest rates, grapple with construction costs, and monitor the pace of absorption. However, overall Nashville growth should remain healthy."

This fall, Holladay Properties acquired the 182k SF Donelson Plaza shopping center at 2710 and 2720 Old Lebanon Road for $7.8M. The property, Arender said, is well-positioned to take advantage of future enhancements in Nashville’s transit infrastructure, since it's directly across the street from a Music City Star boarding station, the last stop on the Lebanon-to-Nashville commuter train before it reaches Downtown.