NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville is getting a new neighborhood.
Following a unanimous vote from Metro Council, Boston-based The Fallon Company will lease and develop 30 acres of city-owned land along the East Bank of the Cumberland River. The development will surround the new Titans stadium set to open in 2027 and Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Do you have questions about the future of the East Bank? Email me at carrie.sharp@newschannel5.com .
I sat down for exclusive interviews with The Fallon Company CEO, its President, and Metro's Chief Development Officer about what's in store. I asked CEO Mike Fallon: what's in this project for every Nashvillian — whether they decide to make their home along the East Bank or not?
"One thing is you have a new area for growth," Fallon told me. "So that puts growth on another side of the city — across the river which activates a very blighted area. Two — It will provide a ton of tax revenue which is great and three — this will be the catalyst to build out the area so that transportation can get better all around the city. If you can take revenue from one bucket and potentially apply it to other city needs, there’s a great opportunity for the city to grown and continue to reinvest."
The Fallon Company President Brian Awe told me the goal is to create a modern, urban neighborhood that is accessible.
"It's going to be very different than what it is now, where there is surface parking lots and not much going on other than stadium event days," said Awe. "For us it’s about building a mixed-use community that’s going to be vibrant and active 18 hours a day, 24 hours a day — a neighborhood where people not only transit from East Nashville into downtown and back and forth, but also a place where people come to spend time during the day."
An open-air plaza next to the new Nissan Stadium and an extension of the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge are also part of the plan.
"One of the big features is what we call the Music City Mile that’s an extension of the pedestrian bridge that will take folks from downtown to and through the site landing near the stadium — but not exclusively at the stadium — so people can ride their bikes from downtown into East Nashville," said Awe.
Metro's Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes told me about the importance of making this development a true neighborhood.
"While we value our tourism district, what we really want on the East Bank is a neighborhood for Nashvillians," said Bob Mendes, Chief Development Officer for Metro Nashville. "Yes, there is going to be a big ole football stadium there — but once you get a block or two away, we want it to be a modern, dense urban environment where Nashvillians are living, working and playing."
The public-private partnership includes nearly $150 million of infrastructure improvements, with the city on the hook for about $7 million of that.
"We’re really proud of the fact that we’re having our private partners cover most of the infrastructure cost — they are going to be paying us rent for 99 years while the city keeps the ownership of the land," Mendes explained. "This is an unusual government deal in that there is going to be more money coming to us, than we are spending out."
In a city where the median home sale price is $453,000 and the area median income is $102,500 — arguably the most important component of this deal is the promise of affordable housing units.
"Fallon is going to build a minimum of 1,550 housing units for us and of those, a full 45% of them will be affordable," Mendes told me. "There will be a range of affordable from very very deeply affordable subsidized units, on up to what we call workforce housing. We think we’ll be delivering on a mixed income neighborhood."
We examined the number of affordable housing units and their estimated prices here.You'll also find maps detailing where different elements of the development are planned.
Construction on the housing developments is slated to begin by summer of 2026.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
