Gresham Smith was selected to provide architecture, interior design and engineering services to repurpose and redevelop the city’s first convention center into a high-quality, mixed-use development. The signature project, which will total more than one million-square-feet, maximizes the center’s downtown location and is Nashville’s first development to integrate office, retail/entertainment, residential and hospitality space on a large scale.
Initial plans include demolishing the existing structure and replacing it with a facility that enhances the urban core, meets the city’s increasing need and demand for multi-use space, and provides much-needed office space within the central business district. The project will include: a 385,000-square-foot Class-A office tower; 235,000-square-feet of entertainment, retail and cultural space, including the highly anticipated National Museum of African American Music; a 350-unit multi-family residential tower; and a 2,400-vehicle parking garage in three separate structures. Located directly on Broadway across from Bridgestone Arena, the facility provides pedestrian and mass-transit access and unobstructed city views.
Led by a joint venture between OliverMcMillan from San Diego and Spectrum | Emery from Nashville, other team members include general contractor Skanska, landscape architect Hawkins Partners, Inc., Alvine Engineering, Stan Lindsey and Associates, small/minority/woman-owned business coordinator Sims Strategic Diversity Consultants, retail consultants Vision Street, LLC and public relations firm Hall Strategies. In addition to being part of the design team, Gresham Smith serves as the architect-of-record for the entire project, with the ultimate responsibility of making certain that all components function properly, work together and are delivered on time. Design is in collaboration primarily with Pappageorge Haymes and Gensler.