Since he started working in real estate nearly three decades ago, Mark Deutschmann has broken new neighborhood ground, built Village Real Estate into an organization with more than 300 agents, launched Core Development and played a key role in initiatives that are changing the look, feel and use of our city. Deutschmann sat down recently with Post Editor Geert De Lombaerde to talk about his career, Nashville’s development and what’s next on both fronts. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.

I thought we could start with Wedgewood-Houston and then work our way back. Take us back to the beginning of when you had the idea to get to work there. When did the light bulb come on to make you think there was something there to explore?