Pat Emery breaks ground on 71-acre Cool Springs project

Nashville Business Journal by Nevin Batiwalla, Staff Reporter

Cool Springs developer Pat Emery unveiled plans for his latest project Thursday, breaking ground on the parks and other infrastructure he’s banking on to lure Fortune 500 companies.

Emery, president of Spectrum Properties/Emery, is calling Franklin Park at McEwen Drive and Interstate 65 his “most ambitious venture yet.” The proposed 71-acre office park calls for up to five Class A office buildings totaling 1.5 million square feet, as well as retail and an apartment building.

But before building the office space, Spectrum Properties/ Emery Thursday kicked off construction of an 11-acre, $10 million park. The park will feature a 600-seat outdoor amphitheater, three-plus miles of walking paths and boardwalks, ponds and open spaces for corporate events.

“Franklin Park’s unmatched green infrastructure, tied exclusively to top-of-the-line Class A office space and multifamily living, will create an ideal community for corporations seeking a holistic environment with quality of life for their employees,” Emery said in a news release.

The goal is to start construction of the first building by the end of this year, even if that means building speculatively, Emery said.

Each building will have its own parking garage — something not common in suburban office parks, said David Wells, who is responsible for leasing and marketing Spectrum/Emery’s projects.

Matt Largen, director of economic development for Williamson County, called the development one of the community’s “greatest recruiting tools yet.”

Construction of Franklin Park’s 350-unit apartment complex is slated to get underway by the end of the year, Emery said. The building could top $50 million.

Spectrum gained control of the property last year, when its financial backer J.P. Morganpaid $42 million for the land and a 151,000-square-foot Class A building from Crescent Resources.