Mix of shops, restaurants, office space will be under one roof
Friday, 10/12/07
By RACHEL STULTS
Staff Writer
TheTennessean.com
Article Online
FRANKLIN — Developer Southern Land Co. has announced plans for the first office building in its 93-acre mixed-use McEwen neighborhood in Cool Springs.
The seven-story, $30 million McEwen Building will be on McEwen Drive, at the southwest corner of McEwen Drive and Mallory Lane, just west of the new McEwen interchange off Interstate 65. The building will contain 158,000 square feet of Class A office space, with 15,000 square feet on the ground floor for retail and restaurants.
Amenities will include a park with Wi-Fi capabilities and an outdoor terrace on the top floor of the building, which will sit atop one of the highest elevations in Cool Springs, according to developers.
Southern Land Co. will move its offices to the building when construction is completed, which officials estimate to be in the first quarter of 2009. Ground will be broken on the site this fall.
When completed, McEwen will be a $350 million pedestrian-friendly community of residential units, shops, restaurants and office space in the middle of Cool Springs.
No other tenants have been announced, but developers are in the process of scheduling meetings with potential tenants.
On Thursday, the McEwen site was visited by members of the Nashville chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, a group of 165 commercial real estate professionals. The annual tour of commercial properties across the Midstate is aimed to match potential tenants with office space.
"For people in Nashville who don't come down to Cool Springs as often as you think they would, they get to see a property first-hand and hear about it directly from the developer," said Hollie Cummings, executive director of the association's Nashville chapter. "It's much easier to show people how quick it is to get on and off the interstate and say, 'This is officially what you'll be seeing and what your client will be seeing.' "
Tenants have options
Southern Land Co. officials said the hope is that group members see a place where they or their clients could one day live, work and play.
"Office tenants are becoming more discriminating in their office environment and are really looking at quality-of-life factors for employees," said Creighton Wright, vice president of commercial development for Southern Land Co.
"When leasing space to office tenants today, they are much more sensitive to neighboring amenities, retail and restaurants. Now in Cool Springs, with the exception of a couple of newer developments, you have to get in your car to go anywhere, whereas at McEwen, it's walkable."
The McEwen Building is being designed according to national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, which means it will meet the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of an environmentally responsible building.