Eric Pyle
president
Construction BELL
Three big topics on the lips of AEC industry professionals in Nashville include the opportunities for an urban redevelopment effort, the persistent challenge of affordable housing and the stormy bank forecasts that threaten to dampen the first two. The redevelopment opportunity, Pyle says, is the Metro East Bank project that brings jobs to businesses of all sizes. Housing affordability issues persist in the wake of local construction activity and a banking environment where lenders are tightening their belts.
“Construction in Nashville is starting to slow down, but the backlog is still very strong,” says Pyle. “It’s harder to get financing for new projects because banks are more demanding about their lending practices.”
He sees higher interest rates as the biggest challenge for Nashville builders because they’re making it harder to start new projects, and while 2023 saw a bit of a dip in construction volume, it was a record year for building permits in the city of about 700,000 inhabitants.
“I expect a marked slowdown in construction through 2024 as financial institutions limit their current exposure and the nation awaits the results of the 2024 election,” adds Pyle.
Cautious banks are not the only headwinds.
“For all contractors, the competition for skilled talent remains a major challenge,” he says. “The construction industry also faces a generational skills gap, with its workforce aging and fewer younger workers entering the market to fill more experienced positions.”
BELL is trying to overcome the hurdle by focusing on upskilling current employees through training and resources, Pyle says, which is doubly important as the company continues to grow. Sectors such as multifamily, hospitality and highway/heavy infrastructure remain strong in the Nashville market, he says, adding that the Nashville Yards mixed-use development remains the city’s biggest project.
“The amount of vertical growth in the 19-acre neighborhood over the past few years has been incredible,” says Pyle, noting his company’s partnership with Clark Construction on behalf of Southwest Value Partners.
ENR has reported on work at Nashville Yards, including the $350 million redevelopment of the Middle Tennessee YMCA facility, which will be Nashville’s tallest building upon completion. Built by general contractor AECOM Hunt, the 60-story, 750-foot residential tower is scheduled for completion in January 2026. The project was ranked No. 17 in ENR Southeast’s 2022 Top Starts ranking. ENR also reported on the new stadium in the works for the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans, who reached a $2.1 billion deal with Nashville to build an indoor stadium by October 2022 and chose a team Turner-AECOM Hunt for the project in August. Slated for a 2027 completion date, the facility will be built on parking lots adjacent to the team’s home since 1999, Nissan Stadium, and totals 1.75 million square feet and has about 62,000 fans.
The East Bank redevelopment, however, could soon take the title of Nashville’s hottest project.
“East Bank redevelopment will really come into focus in 2024 with the breaking ground of the new Titans Stadium and Tennessee Performing Arts Center, as well as the launch of commercial, multifamily and mixed-use development projects that have been on the horizon for several years.” says Pyle.
For BELL, some of the major projects underway in the Nashville market include Ashwood, a design-focused, mixed-use office and retail concept on 12th Avenue South, the shopping, dining and entertainment corridor preeminent of the city. Another is Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown, the brand’s newest hotel in the heart of Music City.
According to BELL, the 16-story, 480,000-square-foot luxury hotel designed by Earl Swensson Associates will be completed in spring 2024, with 306 rooms, an outdoor pool and bar, an event lawn and a sky lobby at fifth floor with views of downtown Nashville and Nashville Yards.
In the midst of all this activity, people need affordable places to live in the city, and BELL is working on a project with city leadership to house unsheltered people through the Homeless Services Center and the Metropolitan Nashville Homeless Services. The center, designed to significantly reduce Nashville’s homeless population, will offer on-site support services such as counseling, hygiene and health services.
