Nashville, Tennessee, is a step closer to developing a mixed-use project surrounding a new sports stadium.
The city's mayor last week submitted a proposed agreement for the Fallon Co. to develop 30 acres of city-owned property along the Cumberland River and next to the site of the Tennessee Titans’ new football stadium that is scheduled to start construction this week.
The Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Government Council is scheduled to consider the proposed $1.6 billion mixed-use development at a March 7 meeting. The price tag includes costs for construction and infrastructure upgrades and is in addition to the $2.1 billion price for the new Titans stadium.
The initial agreement calls for Fallon to develop 30 acres as part of the first phase of the project. The city owns a total of 338 acres on the East Bank and plans to eventually develop all of it. Most of the East Bank acreage is currently vacant parking lots and light industrial businesses.
Nashville’s effort joins the NFL's Chicago Bears, the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and other pro sports franchises and cities looking to pair new stadiums with commercial developments that include apartments, hotels, restaurants, offices and entertainment venues. They are being modeled after the Atlanta Braves' development of The Battery, a mixed-use project that surrounds Truist Park, the team’s home stadium.
Like Atlanta’s Battery, where the Coca-Cola Roxy concert hall is located, Nashville has proposed relocating the Tennessee Performing Arts Center from a building near the state Capitol to a new facility at the stadium-anchored commercial development. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell also filed a proposal for the relocation that the city-county council must approve. The arts center relocation proposal is separate from the Fallon development agreement.
The Tennessee State Building Commission has pledged $200 million for the new performing arts venue. Financial arrangements for the total East Bank project have not been finalized, but the mayor’s office has indicated it will seek about $230 million in public financing as part of the $1.6 billion cost of the mixed-use development.
The proposal would transform the East Bank neighborhood, directly across the Cumberland River from downtown Nashville. The East Bank is already the site of a corporate campus that software maker Oracle is developing.
In a master plan for the East Bank, architecture firm Perkins Eastman is proposing a mix of apartments, hotels and public green space. The buildings would be set in a walkable street grid designed to resemble a neighborhood. A new walking path would be constructed along the riverfront. Perkins Eastman is also proposing a new transportation center that would serve the city’s bus rapid transit system.
As part of the development agreement, Fallon would enter into a 99-year ground lease with Nashville for a proposed affordable housing component at the East Bank project. Fallon, based in Boston, is set to develop 1,550 residential units with a varying mix of affordability requirements.
Fallon will also be required to extend and redesign the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge that crosses the Cumberland River.
The Titans’ new $2.1 billion domed stadium, to be called Nissan Stadium, is expected to open in 2027. City leaders have said the stadium will help Nashville secure a Super Bowl and Final Four college basketball tournaments. The Titans' current stadium, also called Nissan Stadium, opened in 1999 and will be demolished to make room for the East Bank mixed-use project.