Carlyle Carroll, Vice President of Economic Development for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, gave a very informative presentation about Nashville and why so many new companies have decided to call Nashville "home". In 2005 and 2006, Nashville was named the #1 city for business expansion and relocations. In fact, Mr. Carroll informed us that Nashville has been in the top 10 for the last 8 years! During the last 4 years, 30 headquarter operations have moved to Nashville. Nine of these companies have businessed that exceed 100 million in revenue on a yearly basis. In summary, all of us that live in Nashville have long known that it is one of the best kept secrets as far as the quality of life that we enjoy on a daily basis. This "secret" is slowly but surely becoming known by many others across the country!
The members of BOMA Nashville were treated to a very interesting and enlightening presentation about Wolf Creek and Center Hill Dams. A topic that has drawn alot of attention lately, Kyle explained that the local media has somewhat overblown various dam issues and that corrective measures are being taken to correct any potential problems. Part of this solution is a new cutoff wall that is deeper and wider that the current cutoff wall. The total project cost to perform repairs to Wolf Creek Dam is 309 million dollars while the project cost at Center Hill Dam is slightly less with a projected cost of 263 million dollars. Surprising to most members was the fact that Wolf Creek Dam has over 5 million visitors per year while Center Hill Dam has 3.9 million visitors per year!
March 2008
The TOBY Awards Banquet was held this month at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The winners, by category, were as follows:
Suburban Office Park Low Rise: Bluegrass Commons
Property Manager: Jaclynn Wyatt with Colliers, Turley, Martin and Tucker
Under 100,000 Square Feet: Quorum 1
Property Managers: Mick Wrigley and Ewing Smith, II with Southeast Venture
250,000 - 499,999 Square Feet: Highland Ridge Tower
Property Managers: Marvin Mouser and Tim Myers with Gaedeke Group
500,000 - 1M Square Feet: One Century Place
Property Managers: Linda Medlin and Cindy Gibbs with CBRE
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!!!
April 2008
BOMA Nashville was honored to have Pat Emery as its guest speaker for the month of April. Mr. Emery, the Senior Vice President of Crescent Resources, gave everyone in attendance a better understanding of the thought process that goes behind the decision to build or not to build. Based on data that he has collected, there will be a shortage over the next two years of approximately 300,000 square feet of office space in the Nashville area. With that being said, Mr. Emery jokingly noted that his company (along with every other developer in Nashville) will be trying to solve that problem. There is currently a 9.5% vacancy rate meaning that we currently are experiencing a balanced market.
May 2008
BOMA Nashville members were priviledged during the May meeting to be able to see the face behind the Tennessee Lottery. Rebecca Hargrove educated and entertained those who were in attendance while speaking about various aspects of what has made the Tennessee Lottery so successful. Unlike some other lotteries across the United States, the income generated from the Tennessee Lottery can only go towards our education system. One of the most interesting facts is that the HOPE Scholarship will enable the state of Tennessee to keep our brightest students in state by paying up to $4,000 per year towards tuition. In fact, the state of Georgia, since implementing the HOPE Scholarship over 10 years ago, has retained 3 out of every 4 of the upper tier students versus only 1 out of every 4 before the inception of the HOPE Scholarship. Since it is a proven fact that most graduates end up living in the state in which they graduated, this keeps our brightest and most attractive job prospects within the state of Tennessee.
Randy Parham, a Principal with Southeast Venture, gave all BOMA members a brief yet informative history lesson regarding Nashville's north office district, MetroCenter. The late Bob Mathews played an integral part in the development of MetroCenter in the 1970's. State offices have rented heavily in Metrocenter, currently occupying over 750,000 square feet. As recent as 2003 MetroCenter suffered from high vacancy rates (as much as 30%) but today the large district is now home to 200 companies employing more than 10,000 people and, as of June 2008, has a vacancy rate of 4.8%.