Music City Convention Center - If You Build it....

If you build it, they will come… At least that’s the hope for this Nashville’s $635 million dollar (*latest estimate) convention center. Located downtown, the goal for the "Music City Convention Center" is to land the bigger tradeshows that the current convention center cannot handle. Of course, more shows translate to more tourist dollars being spent downtown on entertainment, food, parking, and hotel accommodations.

There are many naysayers that are against the city spending so much public money on a project in these tough economic times. They argue that the days of the big tradeshows are on the decline and that a new convention center will never be a money-maker for the city. This is a complex question and one I am not prepared to attempt to answer. What I do know is that - assuming that all goes as planned - the new 1.2 million square feet of convention space will be open for business by 2012. That means property will begin being bought up this summer and break ground in the fall of 09.

The area for the new convention center will be 15 acres along Demonbreun, just to the east of Broadway. Whether it’s economically feasible or not, it should greatly enhance the downtown area, fitting in nicely with the new Country Music Hall of Fame, Schermerhorn Symphony Center and new high rise condos in the Gulch. I recently looked at a commercial property on Fifth Avenue South that has potential to be converted from office and industrial warehouse space to cool office lofts.

There are quite a few adjacent or nearby buildings and lots that are for sale, although they may not be listed on MLS or Realtracs. While many have adjusted their prices to reflect the coming economic boon, there is still opportunity to find value. Mixed used industrial will eventually give way to more urban retail, office, and residential spaces. An investor or group of investors with a vision for the area, as well as a particular building site, could still get in on the ground floor of Nashville expansion.

If you are interested in discussing further, feel free to get in touch with me at jefffulmer@comcast.net or 615-545-8611.