Germantown neighborhood to get 220 more apartments

February 6, 2014

Germantown neighborhood to get 220 more apartments

Germantown to get220 more units off Third Avenue North

By Getahn Ward
| gward@tennessean.com

Preliminary design work is underway for an apartment community with roughly 220 units — the latest in a string of multifamily projects headed for the fast-growing Germantown neighborhood.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Proffitt Dixon Partners has about 2.4 acres off Third Avenue North between Taylor and Van Buren streets under contract for its first Nashville project.

“Nashville has been a target market for us for a long time, and we love the character of the Germantown neighborhood,” said Stuart Proffitt, one of the managing principals in Proffitt Dixon. “It fits perfectly with the high-quality communities we develop.”

Roofing and sheet metal company RD Herbert & Sons Co. currently owns and operates from the property where the apartments are planned. Within a month, Proffitt Dixon plans to file a request with Metro officials to change the zoning from industrial to residential use.

With the required approvals, Proffitt hopes to start construction by the first quarter of next year with completion expected 18 months later. He said it was too early to provide an estimated cost for the development or rental rates for the apartment units. R. Hunter Gee of Nashville-based Smith Gee Studio is the architect.

Proffitt Dixon is interested in other opportunities to develop apartments in the Nashville area, Proffitt said. Since 2008, the firm has invested in or developed 1,200 apartment residences overall.

Strong activity

The new apartments would continue strong development activity in Nashville’s multifamily sector. At year-end, 4,581 units were under construction, almost double the 10-year average of 2,626 units, according to Colliers International.

Developers are being drawn by Nashville’s healthy economy, growing population and strong market fundamentals, including a 96 percent occupancy rate — the highest level since the third quarter of 2007 — and average monthly rent of $901 at year-end.

A number of apartment developments are going up or planned around Germantown, including the 290-unit project that San Antonio-based Embrey Partners plans as part of development near thehttp://www.tennessean.com/section/PROJECTS78" ballpark for the Nashville Sounds to be built at Sulphur Dell.

“The whole Capitol District is extraordinarily active,” said Grant Hammond, a condo broker with development projects around Germantown. “My suspicion is that you’ll have as least two more large multifamily announcements over the next six months.”

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