Big home sale: Historic West Meade Mansion fetches $5.1 million

Buyer hasn't been disclosed but it's not a country singer or an actress

Email | Print By Richard Lawson

09-06-2007 12:27 PM — Nashville entrepreneur Tom Black has sold his house, the historic West Meade Mansion, for $5.1 million.

Steve Fridrich of Fridrich & Clark Realty, who represented Black, wouldn't disclose the buyer. Will Franks of SilverPointe Properties, who represented the buyer, couldn't be reached for comment. The deed hasn't been recorded yet.

But one thing is certain, it's not Tim McGraw and Faith Hill or Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, couples who had been rumored to be potential buyers of the landmark house.

All that could be gleaned is that the buyer is a young couple with children moving here from New York City. Apparently, the couple is from Kentucky and wanted to move back South. The husband is said to have his own firm that is involved in the financial industry, possibly an investment bank or a hedge fund.

U.S. Supreme Court Judge Howell Jackson and his wife, Mary, daughter of Gen. William G. Harding, built the house in 1886 at 6204 Old Harding Pike. Notable guests over the years include Presidents Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.

Black, a one-time executive with FISI-Madison Financial Corp., co-founded Private Business, now Goldleaf Financial Solutions. He served as chief executive officer on two different occasions, leaving the position in 2003. He recently founded the Tom Black Center for Selling, which does seminars on how to sell. Black also has written a book titled "The Boxcar Millionaire," a how-to sales guide that plays on his own rise from growing up in a boxcar in Kansas to becoming a millionaire.

He bought West Meade Mansion in 1997 for $1.5 million, according to Metro property records. He invested heavily in the house after buying it. His renovations include putting in central heat and air conditioning, replacing the electrical and plumbing, replacing the roof, and building a pool, pool house and a tennis court.

He has been trying to sell the 7,900-square-foot house for some time and many rumors circulated about possible buyers. The latest sale is only the third time the house has been sold in its history.