After much chatter about its intentions, The Lionstone Group finally has announced that architectural firm Earl Swensson Associates will anchor a 250,000-square-foot office building on the former Barbara Mandrell Theater property at the Music Row Roundabout.
Real estate circles have been abuzz with talk that Swensson was inking a deal, which means it would move from space in 2100 West End Ave., the office building next to Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. Swensson is designing the project for Lionstone.
The development also includes a 125-room hotel and an adjacent 100-unit condominium tower. A hotel flag wasn't announced. W, a Starwood Hotels & Resorts brand, was the lead flag for the hotel as of a year ago. Whether or not that continues to be the case is unclear. Original plans had been for a larger hotel with fewer condos, according to sources. The development would include 25,000 square feet of street-level retail.
What wasn't announced is that another tenant in the building could be commercial real estate firm Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. Real estate brokers say a deal is close and that final details are being worked out. Doug Brandon, the firm's managing principal, couldn't confirm that the firm would be moving from Maryland Farms.
Jim Smith, a Colliers broker, represented Lionstone on the lease while independent broker Chip Christianson represented Swensson. Smith's representation signals a likely scenario in which, as part of the lease, Colliers has not only the leasing assignment for the building but also property management. That work may also include the retail strip Lionstone owns across Demonbreun Street from the office site.
Lionstone plans to begin construction in the first quarter of next year, with occupancy scheduled in late 2009.
Since 2004, Lionstone has been making quite an investment in Nashville. It started with buying the office building at 2525 West End, a deal believed to exceed $60 million. It then bought the Demonbreun strip in 2005. Last year, Lionstone bought a 9.4-acre site on Charlotte and paid more than $9 million for the Roundabout site.
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