With a lower cost-of-living, although increasing, compared to other major cities and an open and sprawling footprint, temperate weather, and easy access to transportation, it’s no wonder the Nashville area has become a focal point for several industries. In fact, with plenty of room to support expansion, the Music City is quickly establishing itself as an economic force in the American South.
For that reason, TenantBase has assembled a list of the best industrial and warehouse office space in the Nashville area as well as the specific factors that make each so attractive to particular organizations and industries.
Airport/Donelson Area
Indicative of the rapid economic development taking root throughout Nashville, the Airport and Donelson areas have seen several key projects join the local economy, including the newest branch of Nashville State University and explosive growth in residential construction. To that point, Realtor.com recently named Donelson as the 15th most desirable zip code in the United States.
From a business perspective, the area is home to hundreds of small and medium-sized local businesses as well as a handful of larger corporate footholds, including the national headquarters of HarperCollins Christian Publishers. Likewise, over 40 hotels and motels in the area cater to tourists and business travelers flying in and out of BNA International Airport.
This rapidly-growing enclave within the greater Nashville region boasts a wide variety of flex and traditional warehouse space, making it ideal for both small to midsize companies in search of agile space to meet shifting needs, as well as organizations requiring more prototypical warehouse facilities.
No matter what the needs, however, close proximity to the airport and multiple interstates make the Airport/Donelson area of Nashville extremely hospitable to companies heavily reliant on shipping and frequent transportation.
Hermitage Avenue
Unlike the Airport/Donelson area, Hermitage Avenue is more centrally located to the downtown area and has recently become a mecca for trendy restaurants like Pinewood Social, Crema, and a classic diner with ambience and personality to spare in Hermitage Café. It stands to reason that this area has quickly grown in popularity to keep in lockstep with Nashville's omnipresent music and arts scene.
For companies looking to establish a presence in this trendy area, Hermitage Avenue features more industrial and warehouse space as it ventures further from the downtown area, where multiple factories and warehouses populate the banks of the Cumberland River. Furthermore, the old trolley barns that used to house the train trolleys for the city of Nashville have been converted into significant sources of office and retail space, as well as laying claim to Nashville's Entrepreneur Center.
The Hermitage Avenue area of Nashville features a wide spectrum of industrial and warehouse options, including flex and big-box space. With easy and direct access to the downtown area, Hermitage Avenue might not be the most cost-efficient of all the possible office space solutions but is hard to beat in terms of location, diversity of space, and proximity to Nashville's robust social scene.
Smyrna and La Vergne
For large manufacturing and industrial options, both Smyrna and La Vergne offer a wide range of choices. As, by far, the most industrialized of the areas within the general Nashville region, both cities house a number of large corporations, factories, and abundant housing options, making Smyrna and La Vergne amongst the more affordable and friendly cities in Tennessee.
Smyrna
Smyrna is famous for being home to the largest Nissan assembly plant in the United States, responsible for more than 10 million cars built since 1983 and continues to grow, now the sole assembly plant for the Nissan Leaf. Aside from the auto giant, Smyrna's other chief employers are Asurion, Vi-Jon, Stonecrest Medical Center, Taylor Farms, and Square D/Schneider Electric. Obviously, a wide variety of companies are attracted to Smyrna and the list continues to grow by the day.
La Vergne
Like its neighbor city, La Vergne also offers several office space choices for large manufacturing and industrial companies. Furthermore, just 2 miles from Smyrna Airport, 8 miles from Nashville International, and in close proximity to railway access and several interstates, La Vergne is another excellent choice for companies searching for large space that can fit a variety of different functions.
Already the home of two of the largest printing plants in the country, as well as the new North American headquarters for Sinomax – one of the largest suppliers of health and wellness products in the world – La Vergne has ample space in several different options for companies needing square footage.
Goodlettsville (Rivergate)
A subdivision within the Nashville suburb of Goodlettsville, Rivergate is home to the ever popular Rivergate Mall, part of an expansive shopping district shared by the cities of Goodlettsville and Madison. Despite its shared location, however, the entire area is known to locals simply as Rivergate.
The shopping mecca boasts over 150 stores and over 5,200 parking spaces in and around the mall property, making it a highly sought after area for retailers of all shapes and sizes. Located just 15 minutes outside of Nashville, Goodlettsville was recently ranked one of the best Nashville suburbs to live in and offers many large, traditional warehouse options just north of Nashville proper for companies needing significant space for operations, storage, or expansion.
Berry Hill
Although small in stature, Berry Hill packs quite a punch within its modest borders. Less than a square mile in area, the city is home to 400 different businesses, including 40 recording studios and music publishers. Every weekday morning, as staff arrives for work at the Metro Public Schools office complex, the number of people within city limits swells to over 6,500.
Next door to 100 Oaks Mall, the first enclosed shopping mall in all of Tennessee, as well as the Tennessee National Guard Armory, Berry Hill is an attractive, highly centralized location with ample flex space and extremely low vacancy rates. For companies looking for high foot traffic areas and office space that is flexible for a variety of needs, Berry Hill is one of the more unique areas in all of Greater Nashville.
The Nations (West Nashville)
As one of the oldest neighborhoods in Nashville, The Nations is located near Sylvan Park and has become synonymous with the culture, social scene, and personality that is commonly associated with the Nashville area. In fact, no other area in Nashville has received as much interest by developers, restaurant tours, and startups over the last few years.
Like many older neighborhoods found throughout the country, The Nations has experienced a renaissance of sorts, where numerous industrial and residential sites have been transformed into new businesses like the Mill Boutique and 51st Kitchen & Bar, bringing with them a younger demographic that regularly frequents the neighborhood for shopping and dining.
Home developers are also building new subdivisions within the area, making The Nations an attractive option for homebuyers searching for a more modern, affordable home near the center of the city. Given this makeover, The Nations still affords companies needing industrial and warehouse options several choices. However, those choices are dwindling as many of the older warehouse spaces are being redeveloped or repurposed at a consistent pace.
Nashville is a unique destination within the South and offers several different industrial and warehouse office space solutions depending on an organization’s specific needs. Comb through the many choices available throughout the greater Nashville area to find an office space that is most suitable for your particular needs.