Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University at 38 Music Square East
Nashville
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: RC Mathews Contractor
Owner: Belmont University
Main design company: Earl Swensson Associates
General contractor: RC Mathews Contractor
Structural Engineer: Ross Bryan Associates
Electrical Engineer: Business solutions
Belmont University’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business now occupies the former Buddy Lee Amusement Building at 38 Music Square East, a Music Row landmark.
The $8.9 million interior renovation and construction of the 17,654-square-foot building added offices, conference space, classrooms, songwriting rooms, STC 50 listening rooms and practice suites, along with major structural, electrical and mechanical upgrades. The works ran from August 2024 to August 2025 between two fully occupied office buildings and were completed on schedule and on budget.
The AET classroom is a fully insulated, double-walled set, whose interior shell is structurally independent of the existing building. Krieger STC 50 doors and frames went into listening rooms, songwriting rooms and practice suites so that adjacent spaces could record and listen without interfering with each other. The office storefronts use a Techneon demountable partition system, allowing Belmont to make future changes with minimal disruption.
Photo by Jeremiah Hull
The building combines an upper CMU and beam beam structure with a lower hollow core building, and demolition continued to expose unknown conditions in both. The team used 3D modeling to work out the reinforcement, system routing and conflicts before the teams got to them. This mattered most when the existing elevator was demolished and a new shaft was built, as the new structure had to be precisely aligned with the existing elevations.
The VDC software also identified the hanger and anchor locations within the rebar beams and CMU walls. Crews patched structural gaps, repaired the damaged hollow core, and reinforced existing bar beams.
Two temporary systems kept the building stable during that work. The 41-foot CMU wall was reinforced with custom-fabricated steel, fully grouted at the connection points and welded to the existing bar beams. The bracing was held in place until the new structure was secured. A designed shoring plane then carried the hollow core through changing load paths. It was sequenced so that loads were properly transferred to each stage and movement or overexertion was controlled.
Photo by Jeremiah Hull
Outside, custom-made bricks combined with masonry that is no longer manufactured. New glass was selected to replicate the store’s original glazing, also out of production, while meeting current performance requirements. Inside, the team replaced the monumental staircase, built a Wall of Fame and worked quotes from the composers into spaces throughout the facility.
The staging area was small. Controlled demolition zones reduced exposure of neighboring buildings, continuous cleaning reduced slip hazards, and dust and dust containment kept particles out of tenant spaces. Bi-weekly owner-architect-contractor meetings and calendar reviews, in addition to weekly trade coordination, allow the team to respond quickly to field conditions.
All personnel completed 10 or 30 hour OSHA training. With more than 64,500 hours of work, the project had no recordable incidents or lost time. After welding sparks hit a third-party vehicle, the team strengthened its hot work procedures.
