Metro Charts New Direction With Commercial Real Estate Acquisition | Pith in the Wind

The mayor’s office passed a critical hurdle on the way to closing a major real estate deal in Antioch.

The mayor announced the deal in late March. A slow trickle of details in the past few weeks preceded a flurry of action Monday and Tuesday. The promise of a reliable tenant as was well as the potential uses for the space were enough to secure the votes for two option agreements and $46 million in general obligation bonds. At times, legislative discussion resembled the boardroom of a commercial real estate firm. Members discussed overhead costs, asset-backed debt and the risks of passing on the property.

Councilmembers passed legislation with the understanding that Vanderbilt University Medical Center would anchor the site. VUMC and Metro haven’t finalized a lease, but a letter of intent, executed March 23, surfaced earlier this week and indicates Vanderbilt’s interest in the property. Legal pinch-hitter Saul Solomon, who’s served in a variety of interim administrative roles in the past 18 months, signed the LOI on behalf of Metro.

“I don’t think I’d be a yes vote at all, besides the fact that it’s Vanderbilt,” Councilmember John Rutherford tells the Scene. Rutherford represents District 31, which neighbors the site.

Vanderbilt is interested in the lion’s share of the site — more than 600,000 square feet. The medical giant will require extensive buildout on VUMC’s dime, similar to 100 Oaks, a frequent point of comparison during discussion. (Global real estate investment firm LaSalle owns 100 Oaks, according to property records.) Metro will also acquire an office building adjacent to the mall with 168,000 square feet of office space.

The Global Mall, formerly known as Hickory Hollow Mall, is a central commercial hub in Southeast Nashville. Amid fellow councilmembers’ concerns about the deal’s rushed timeline and missing information, District 32 Councilmember Joy Styles spoke in favor of the acquisition at committee meetings Monday and on the council floor Tuesday evening.

“I understand their concerns,” Styles tells the Scene. “I’m more intimately involved. I’m part of the conversation.” Styles began discussing possible ideas for the Global Mall with her constituents in December 2020, with more discussions over the next few months as well as a pending formal planning process led by Metro. “The majority of the work couldn’t be done before the city owned the property.”

Styles envisions Ryman Lofts-style housing for artists, nonprofit space, a community kitchen, mental health resources for youth, and affordable housing as possible uses for the non-Vandy portion of the site. She also mentioned dedicated Metro office space, with specifics to be determined.

Other councilmembers, specifically at-large representatives Bob Mendes and Sharon Hurt, raised concerns with the deal’s whirlwind timeline and lack of hard details. When District 19 Councilmember Freddie O’Connell mentioned a deferral in Monday’s Planning and Zoning Meeting, VUMC lobbyists from consulting firm Jigsaw texted councilmembers implying that a deferral would kill the deal. There was no deferral.

Councilmembers Sandra Sepulveda, Ginny Welsch and Russ Bradford, whose districts are in South Nashville, rounded out a small caucus of skeptics who raised concerns on the floor and in committee.

It’s not yet clear how the property will be integrated into Metro’s bureaucratic ecosystem. Questions remain as far as who would directly manage the property or oversee tenants, as well as the city’s total fiscal note for carrying the property. The Farmers Market is an imperfect but potentially helpful comparison as far as operations, and Metro Finance’s Public Property Division might prove relevant as far as the site’s administration.

Mike Jameson, director of legislative affairs in the mayor’s office, represented Mayor John Cooper in all council discussions. Jameson fielded councilmembers’ questions and assuaged doubts about the deal’s many TBDs. More moves will play out in the next few weeks, with Metro potentially bringing a lease to council for approval and closing on the property.

TJ Ducklo, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, provided the following comment: “The Mayor and a vast majority of the council believes this project will bring enormous benefits to Southeast Nashville. Vanderbilt’s proven success reimagining 100 Oaks Mall and the previous 20 years of dead mall drain caused by a vacant Hickory Hollow Mall, despite multiple attempts by private developers to revitalize the mall, made this the right project at the right time to address what the Southeast community itself identified as a top priority.”