“Mixed use” office space is becoming more common as businesses seek out spaces with shops, restaurants and apartments on the premises. According to the Nashville Business Journal several new office campuses are planned for Nashville that includes stores, restaurants, homes, park space and even an amphitheater.
The latest plan will develop a mixed-use premesis on 145 acres in Cool Springs. The Highwoods Properties and SouthStar LLC’s plan includes 1.3 million square feet office space, housing and a hotel.
“(Mixed-use) is what we are seeing the market want these days,” said developer Pat Emery, head of Spectrum Properties/Emery. “It’s becoming the standard. People want to be able to walk to work or ride their bike to work and go some place convenient to eat or shop.”
Developing these new office spaces is not as straightforward as traditional plans.
“It’s a lot more complicated,” Emery said. “The rules of retail changes things. Most retailers would rather be on the west side of Interstate 65 where the traffic is, rather than in the middle of an office park. That makes finding the right retailer a little more challenging.”
“Another issue is timing. The decision of when to build out a project’s amenities presents a chicken and egg scenario: The amenities help attract tenants, but the population density of a development has a lot to do with when those amenities come online,” Emery said.
Read the full article here.