Work on a $500 million, 22-acre mixed use development outside of Nashville, Tennessee, has just gotten underway.
Franklin, Tennessee-based hotel developer Chartwell Hospitality and Brentwood, Tennessee-based developer Southstar broke ground this month on the first phase of the Aureum Project development 16 miles south of the Music City in Franklin, Tennessee.
The first phase encompasses a 12-story multifamily building with 355 units available for sale and rent, to be developed by Chartwell Hospitality’s multifamily arm, Chartwell Residential. The first phase is expected to be complete in two years, according to Chartwell, and a system of parks, biking and walking trails will be located across the property’s 5 acres of open space, according to a press release.
At full buildout, the Aureum Project will cover 1.7 million square feet of developed space, including 480 residential units, 700 hotel rooms across two hotels, 750,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail space, according to the Southstar website.
A 20-minute drive from downtown Nashville, the property is located in the Cool Springs area, which is anchored by the Cool Springs Galleria shopping mall.
The Nashville market has exploded with activity in recent years. The metro ranked among the highest for year-over-year rent growth over the course of 2022, peaking in the top three in August, according to Yardi Matrix. It also has the largest construction pipeline in the country as a percentage of total inventory, with over 26,000 new units in progress, according to a RealPage report.
Among other growth factors, Amazon is in the process of building a new corporate office campus in the city, and has touted the addition of over 2,500 corporate jobs to the area.
All of this growth is not without its stumbling blocks, however, especially in recent months. Annual multifamily permits in Nashville fell by over 10,000 units in January, the second-largest drop of the major metros. At the same time, Nashville’s rent growth has fallen to 6.5% YOY. Construction on Amazon’s second Nashville Yards office tower is on an extended pause, and the retail giant recently laid off approximately 18,000 workers nationwide.
Still, Chartwell feels confident in the long-term outlook of the market. “We are the first to market with an all-in-one entertainment, hospitality and residential community that hasn’t been seen before in this area,” said Rob Schaedle, president of the Chartwell Cos., in the press release. “Studies done by the city predict Cool Springs will be the gateway to a popular and highly accessible submarket of Franklin, and we expect Aureum to be a popular choice for residents.”
