NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - $250M medical mart to be built in Nashville

$250M medical mart to be built in Nashville

Associated Press - November 30, 2009 5:55 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has announced an agreement to develop a Nashville Medical Trade Center on the site of the city's current convention center.

The governor said at news conference Monday that Dallas-based Market Center Management Co. plans to build a $250 million, 12-story structure on top of the mostly underground convention center.

Market Center Management is a subsidiary of real estate investment firm Crow Holdings. It also owns or manages market centers and trade shows in Shanghai, Brussels and Dallas.

The space would become available if Nashville's Metro Council in the coming weeks votes to approve the construction of a new $585 million convention center. Supporters say that 1.5 million square foot facility would open in 2013.

Rival medical mart projects are being pursued in Cleveland and New York. Each would create a central place where makers of health care-related products and technology could feature offerings to buyers from the medical industry.

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