Developer Planning Retail Center for Rutherford's 231 Corridor

by Judy Sarles
Nashville Business Journal
Sept. 15, 2006

A Nashville developer is rounding the regulatory bases to build Rutherford County's latest retail center.

Baker Storey McDonald Properties has submitted a $35 million plan to build the 200,000-square-foot Marketplace at Savannah Ridge on a 25-acre tract at U.S. Highway 231 South and County Farm Road south of Murfreesboro.

Even if plans are approved, construction likely won't start until early 2008, with tenants expected to move in a year later. Talks are ongoing with a range of possible tenants, including restaurants and large department stores.

Murfreesboro's planning commission has approved the project. The city council will have a second reading on requests to annex and rezone part of the property Sept. 14. A third and final reading is set for Sept. 28.

Baker Storey McDonald bought the site in anticipation of the southwest leg of Joe Jackson Parkway being extended west of Interstate 24.

"The Highway 231 corridor ... is underserved by retail," says Carl Storey, a principal at Baker Storey McDonald. "With the completion of Joe Jackson Parkway, this should be an outstanding retail site."

Highway 231 connects Murfreesboro with Shelbyville. The shopping center's primary trade area had a population of 44,877 in 2005, with household incomes averaging of $66,339.

Most of the area around the center is consists of single-family homes, says Margaret Ann Ely, a planner with the Murfreesboro Planning Department. A Mexican restaurant has been approved north of the property and there is existing retail development along Church Street further north.

Rutherford County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. That has spurred a cart full of large retail developments, including The Oaks and The Avenue. At the same time, the owners of Stones River Mall - until recently, the only big dog on the county's retail block - are investing $45 million in a far-reaching renovation and addition. Other developers are rushing to build neighborhood centers anchored by grocery stores.

For its part, Baker Storey McDonald has kept busy elsewhere in Middle Tennessee. It has this year wrapped up the renovation of a Kmart store in Columbia, which features T.J. Maxx, Office Depot and Ross Dress for Less stores, and completed a new Publix store at Nippers Corner east of Brentwood.

Download printable version of this article.