Carothers Building in Cool Springs, Tenn., Sells for Cool $96M

By Lynn Arbitrage, Contributing Editor

The Lionstone Group, a real estate investment firm based in Houston, recently bought the Carothers Building in Cool Springs, Tenn., for $96.1 million, according to the nashvillepost.com.

Although earlier projections estimated the sale would close around $100 million, Cushman & Wakefield’s Southeast Capital Markets Group, which represented the seller, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, believes it is the largest office building sale in the Nashville area so far this year. J.P. Morgan bought the office park back in 2006 for $69.75 million.

The 509,000-square-foot, Class A, four-building office park is in excellent condition and won’t require any upgrades, said a spokesman for Cushman & Wakefield. The Carothers Building sits on 50-acres and offers ample room for expansion, with enough space to accommodate up to 600,000 square feet of additional office space.

However, no immediate plans are in the works to expand on the office park.  “Part of J.P. Morgan’s investment strategy is the opportunity to build on that land, but it’s not imminent,” said Stewart Calhoun, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Southeast Capital Markets Group.

The Carothers Building was built in 1994 to house Ford Motor Credit, which now shares the 100 percent leased office park with other credit-based divisions of Cybera, Community Health Systems and Nissan.

The office park is freeway-close to I-65 from two different interchanges:  Cool Springs Boulevard and Moores Lane.

Founded in 1917, Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm.  The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world’s major markets. The firm has more than $5.5 billion in assets.