This week, a handful of downtown Nashville property owners can expect to start receiving written purchase offers on land for the proposed Music City Center convention hall now that a city agency has closed on a $75 million loan to fund the deals.
Letters are expected to go out today to five property owners with land in the footprint of the convention center, said Joe Cain, director of development for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. "We're prepared to go ahead and send out contracts and prepare for closing on the real estate," he said.
Eventually, the city plans to make offers to owners of other private properties where the convention center has been targeted to rise.
Two months ago, Metro Council approved borrowing the money to buy 15.87 acres south of Broadway for the Music City Center, a proposed $595 million convention hall designed to boost the city's convention business.
MDHA is making its play for the land in what most see as a buyer's market, but sellers could have some ability to negotiate since they know their property is already to be included in the convention center site, said Fred Kane, vice president for land development with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, a commercial real estate broker.
Purchase prices could range from $40-per-square-foot to $110-per-square-foot, he said. "It just depends on the case that the sellers can present to show the maximum value," Kane said.
Mark Bloom, who as part of a partnership sold about 5.6 acres within the footprint of the convention center to Tower Investments for $60-per-square-foot 2 years ago, said that the piece of property which accounts for about a third of the needed land should now be worth about $100 a square foot.
"It's the most strategic piece that they must acquire to build the convention center," Bloom said of the parcel, which at the price that he suggested would be worth about $25 million.
Tower Investments officials weren't available to comment Monday.
The United Methodist Publishing House, which owns roughly 1.89 acres, has a real estate agent who would evaluate any city offers, said Larry Wallace, its senior vice president and chief financial officer.
"The city has the right to appraise it and take it for a fair value," he said. "We've dealt with them before and have been pleased with it."
Who gets offers first?
Cain declined to disclose which properties would be among the first batch to receive offers, but they aren't likely to include Christie's Cabaret of Nashville, a strip club on Eighth Avenue South, or the Greyhound bus terminal, both of which would have to move to accommodate construction.
Some of the parcels that would have to be acquired for the convention center are parking lots. Others in footprint include Better Business Solutions and a Nashville Electric Service substation.
Overall, the convention center is expected to cost $595 million including for construction, acquisition of land and utility relocations. An additional $40 million has been allocated for parking facilities.
Metro Council still has to approve final construction of the convention center, including an issuance of bonds.
Events
Go to our Construction & Parking page for information about blasting, lane and street closures, and downtown parking options.
A new comprehensive downtown construction coordination map is available! This map will aid in the communication of the construction projects happening downtown.
