Equitable Property Eyes Big Nashville Mixed-Use
Plans for this suburban site include medical office, street-level retail and other components.
Equitable Property Co. of Nashville has purchased a 44-acre site in Smyrna, Tenn., where it will imminently begin to develop Sewart’s Landing, a new mixed-use project. JLL brokered the sale.
In a partnership with Chapman Capital, Equitable purchased the land from the Town of Smyrna.
The development’s master plan calls for two medical office buildings totaling up to 400,000 square feet, up to 250,000 square feet of street-level retail, a 240-key hotel and 75 for-sale townhomes. Leasing efforts will be led by JLL Senior Associate Kipper Worthington and Land Deleot, Equitable’s founder.
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Phase I of Sewart’s Landing will break ground this March and is set to deliver in the first quarter of 2025. JLL has already secured retail tenants for the project’s first phase, including Starbucks, Wawa, Jonathan’s Grille, a national grocer and others.
In a prepared statement, Worthington said that only one outparcel is not yet spoken for, and that JLL is in negotiations with 10 further tenants for the remaining 50,000 square feet of single- and multi-tenant retail in Phase I.
The development will be sited at the corner of Sam Ridley Parkway and Highway 41 and will feature a pedestrian-focused street grid, community green space and a walking trail surrounding the property.
The development team includes Fulmer Lucas and Lowen + Associates, both of Nashville, as the civil engineers and architects, respectively. Land planning and entitlement were led by Kiser + Vogrin Design, of Franklin, Tenn.
Sewart’s Landing is also supported by a $26 million-plus TIF from Rutherford County.
Smyrna is within 25 miles of Nashville and enjoys an average household income of about $94,000. In addition, 2,600 residential units reportedly are under construction adjacent to the site on Genie Lane and will feature direct access to Sewart’s Landing via a crosswalk.
Music City heat
The Nashville retail real estate market is booming, buoyed by exceptional economic and population growth, according to a November report from Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. “Over the last 12 months, retail rental rates have surged, registering one of the fastest growth rates in the nation, with an impressive annual increase of 6.5 percent.”
Net absorption has exceeded 200,000 square feet in seven of the most recent eight quarters, leading to an overall vacancy of just 3.3 percent, nearly a 15-year low, Matthews reports.
Consistent with that environment, last October saw Big V Property Group secure a $125 million refinancing for The Avenue Murfreesboro, in the Nashville MSA. The lifestyle center totals almost 850,000 square feet and is anchored by H&M, Belk, Barnes & Noble, Haverty’s Furniture, Old Navy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy and Burlington. It’s 93.1 percent leased.
Later that same month, Tanger Outlets opened a 290,000-square-foot open-air shopping center in southeast Nashville. Tanger Outlets Nashville features seven buildings and 60 stores, including Ugg, Coach, Pottery Barn, J. Crew, Gap, Levi’s and Bath & Body Works.
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