Oracle, 60 acres at River North, 1,200,000 sq. ft. of space, $1.2B Investment, 8,500 jobs

[PaulChinetti]

Also millennials aren't the "young fresh out of college talent anymore",  maybe the stragglers are. 

Gen Z is the fresh talent that companies are trying to attract now. 

[markhollin]

22 minutes ago, titanhog said:

In the end...I still hope it ends up at River North.  Would be the perfect moment to get that development up and running.

Or to Neuhoff/Nashville Block in Germantown, or maybe Circle South, or possibly even North Gulch Gateway (former Tennessean site). 

[BnaBreaker]

I wonder... if you gave Wilson County officials the option to choose between a couple million dollars in saved incentive dollars that they could use to fill some pot holes, and attracting the headquarters of a global tech giant worth billions upon billions of dollars creating international recognition and attention and creating thousands of high paying tech jobs... which would they choose?  Cooper chose the pot holes, apparently.

Edited July 23, 2020 by BnaBreaker

[PaulChinetti]

5 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Or to Neuhoff/Nashville Block in Germantown,

Which area is this? I'm looking at the map, and I'm not seeing a Neuhoff road or anything?

[dmillsphoto]

4 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

Which area is this? I'm looking at the map, and I'm not seeing a Neuhoff road or anything?

Search for the Neuhoff topic. Just south of the water treatment facility.

[jmtunafish]

I've heard that Mt Juliet officials have asked TDOT to consider building an exit at Central Pike.  I'm not sure how that would work, with Mt Juliet Road just a few hundred yards away, but there's a whole lot of land there where Central Pike meets I-40 in western Mt Juliet, and it's within spitting distance of Davidson County and only a couple of exits away from BNA.

[downtownresident]

6 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

I've heard that Mt Juliet officials have asked TDOT to consider building an exit at Central Pike.  I'm not sure how that would work, with Mt Juliet Road just a few hundred yards away, but there's a whole lot of land there where Central Pike meets I-40 in western Mt Juliet, and it's within spitting distance of Davidson County and only a couple of exits away from BNA.

This interchange could be fast tracked, much like the interchange at McEwen was built quickly to accommodate Nissan. 

[smeagolsfree]

I am sure a lot of TDOT projects are being pushed back right now due to a decrease in gas tax collections. I do not see TDOT jumping through the hoops to get much of anything but items already on the list and at the top of the priority list done.

[tragenvol]

2 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

Also millennials aren't the "young fresh out of college talent anymore",  maybe the stragglers are. 

Gen Z is the fresh talent that companies are trying to attract now. 

The legend qualified "millennial" as 20 to 34 years....that would include fresh out of college talent.  Of course, as you point out...Gen Z would be appear to be the appropriate moniker for some in their defined age range.

[Armacing]

Western Wilson County was the first place that popped into my mind.  Clarksville is kind of a dark horse candidate, but there is a certain logic to it because of the ultra low cost profile.  It could provide a good motivation for extending the Music City Star rail service to Clarksville.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Armacing
already commented on something

[nashvylle]

Wouldn't it be nice is western Wilson got 3,000 jobs from Oracle in addition to these 1,000 jobs from Amazon? I'd also prefer River North to get 3,000 Oracle jobs.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/07/24/amazon-to-bring-1-000-new-jobs-to-wilson-county.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

 

[Bark At The Sun]

On 7/23/2020 at 12:28 PM, jmtunafish said:

I've heard that Mt Juliet officials have asked TDOT to consider building an exit at Central Pike.  I'm not sure how that would work, with Mt Juliet Road just a few hundred yards away, but there's a whole lot of land there where Central Pike meets I-40 in western Mt Juliet, and it's within spitting distance of Davidson County and only a couple of exits away from BNA.

HDR Engineering Inc. was awarded the interchange design back in Feb.   There have been a few interchange studies done in the past 20 years or so before that.

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/roadway-design/documents/consultant-information/selection-results/Selection Results for Ad Announcment 07-10-19.pdf

[Baronakim]

3 hours ago, nashvylle said:

Wouldn't it be nice is western Wilson got 3,000 jobs from Oracle in addition to these 1,000 jobs from Amazon? I'd also prefer River North to get 3,000 Oracle jobs.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/07/24/amazon-to-bring-1-000-new-jobs-to-wilson-county.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

 

If I were a large company like Oracle, I would look south of Nashville.  There is oddles of big flat tracts on the EASTERN side of I65 down by Saturn Parkway which may soon be extended to US 431.   US431 is a candidate for widening to Franklin also in the future.  The land bargain is in Maury County which has low taxes and the area borders Williamson County where the workers can buy really fine houses and get the great school system not far from an office campus in Maury.  There are two more interstate exits on I65 in the works too.  Another thing is millenials are opting for rural estates which are very hard to come by in Nashville or Williamson County but still available in Maury for a reasonable price.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Baronakim

[MLBrumby]

I'd guess the appeal to Mt. Juliet is its proximity to BNA, especially for a company that wants outside of Davidson County. Haven't been to MJ in several years, but I recall there's lots of land around there. Judging from the abundance of cedar trees around there however I'd guess it's very rocky land. Have to think that's a relatively minor consideration to an entity that wants to build 800K suburban style office buildings. Also, the traffic situation up I-65 in Williamson has gotten so bad, I'd expect large companies may want to avoid that altogether.

Given the above and proximity to both lakes in the metro area, I expect western Wilson will explode with growth in the next decade,

Still hope there's a chance that River North would be the location they choose.

[jmtunafish]

23 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

I'd guess the appeal to Mt. Juliet is its proximity to BNA, especially for a company that wants outside of Davidson County. Haven't been to MJ in several years, but I recall there's lots of land around there. Judging from the abundance of cedar trees around there however I'd guess it's very rocky land. Have to think that's a relatively minor consideration to an entity that wants to build 800K suburban style office buildings. Also, the traffic situation up I-65 in Williamson has gotten so bad, I'd expect large companies may want to avoid that altogether.

Given the above and proximity to both lakes in the metro area, I expect western Wilson will explode with growth in the next decade,

Still hope there's a chance that River North would be the location they choose.

This.  Mount Juliet is just now starting to hit its stride and has thousands of acres available for development.  The new Central Pike interchange at I-40 will undoubtedly bring office parks and hotels similar to how Brentwood got its start 40 or so years ago.  Mt Juliet is already a popular city for upper middle class families with its excellent schools, marinas on Old Hickory and Percy Priest lakes, close proximity to BNA, and commuter rail to downtown Nashville.  While I'd rather see Oracle at River North, too, if Oracle decides to shun Davidson County, I can absolutely see why western Mt Juliet would be a very attractive option.

[smeagolsfree]

19 hours ago, Baronakim said:

If I were a large company like Oracle, I would look south of Nashville.  There is oddles of big flat tracts on the EASTERN side of I65 down by Saturn Parkway which may soon be extended to US 431.   US431 is a candidate for widening to Franklin also in the future.  The land bargain is in Maury County which has low taxes and the area borders Williamson County where the workers can buy really fine houses and get the great school system not far from an office campus in Maury.  There are two more interstate exits on I65 in the works too.  Another thing is millenials are opting for rural estates which are very hard to come by in Nashville or Williamson County but still available in Maury for a reasonable price.

Great to see you on here Randy. Was a little concerned I had not seen you in here for a while. Welcome back!

I agree with you. Williamson is more of a fit for a company like Oracle than Wilson, simply because of quality of life, schools, etc. I think maybe Oracle is searching for all options available to them in the area, including Davidson. The fact they were looking for land recently means they are still interested in the area as a whole. It would still be a win for the region.

We do need to stop thinking selfishly here and think more in terms of a regional power. When some of these companies go to Austin or Dallas, they may not be going to Austin or Dallas proper but an outlying area. It is still a win for them.

[titanhog]

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

Great to see you on here Randy. Was a little concerned I had not seen you in here for a while. Welcome back!

I agree with you. Williamson is more of a fit for a company like Oracle than Wilson, simply because of quality of life, schools, etc. I think maybe Oracle is searching for all options available to them in the area, including Davidson. The fact they were looking for land recently means they are still interested in the area as a whole. It would still be a win for the region.

We do need to stop thinking selfishly here and think more in terms of a regional power. When some of these companies go to Austin or Dallas, they may not be going to Austin or Dallas proper but an outlying area. It is still a win for them.

I agree.  To me....Nashville is the metro area.  We're large enough now that county lines don't mean much, other than taxation / local voting.

[DDIG]

2 hours ago, titanhog said:

I agree.  To me....Nashville is the metro area.  We're large enough now that county lines don't mean much, other than taxation / local voting.

Oracle will want to be near the city core. That's where the tech talent wants to be, Williamson isn't their style. 

[donNdonelson2]

On 7/23/2020 at 12:28 PM, jmtunafish said:

I've heard that Mt Juliet officials have asked TDOT to consider building an exit at Central Pike.  I'm not sure how that would work, with Mt Juliet Road just a few hundred yards away, but there's a whole lot of land there where Central Pike meets I-40 in western Mt Juliet, and it's within spitting distance of Davidson County and only a couple of exits away from BNA.

 

Photo from a Tennessean story about a new apartment development in Mount Juliet’sProvidence Central shows the configuration of the proposed Central Pike exit from I-40.

[nashvylle]

Praying a deal is made, at least in some capacity (does not have to be 3,000 jobs) especially at River North. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/10/22/oracle-nashville-tech-hub-recruitment-update-jobs.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_34&cx_artPos=6#cxrecs_s

 

Edited October 22, 2020 by nashvylle

[titanhog]

16 minutes ago, nashvylle said:

Praying a deal is made, at least in some capacity (does not have to be 3,000 jobs) especially at River North. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2020/10/22/oracle-nashville-tech-hub-recruitment-update-jobs.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_34&cx_artPos=6#cxrecs_s

 

Anyone with NBJ sub able to read this and let us know what they say?

[markhollin]

11 minutes ago, titanhog said:

Anyone with NBJ sub able to read this and let us know what they say?

Here ya go:

A massive office from tech giant Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) remains an active economic development prospect in the eyes of top city and state officials. But to no surprise, the Covid-19 pandemic has injected more uncertainty into the recruiting process.

It's been a year-and-a-half since Oracle's interest in Nashville was first reported. At the time, the company was evaluating an expansion that could have involved 500,000 square feet of office space or more, and thousands of jobs. Gov. Bill Lee has met at least twice with top Oracle executives; Mayor John Cooper joined him on one of those meetings, in January.

Today, Oracle is navigating a complex situation, not least because it's trying to solidify a deal to buy a stake in Chinese video-sharing app TikTok. Some byproducts of the pandemic may raise the chance Nashville does land Oracle, especially if it accelerates the trend of companies leaving California or at least diluting its office presence there and moving some jobs to other cities. Then again, the pandemic has led many companies to rethink or delay key decisions: They're waiting to see what happens with the spread of the virus and progress toward a vaccine, and trying to figure out whether they'll need more or less office space in the future as work-from-home looks to become a permanent fixture. Government travel restrictions in California and other states, imposed to try to tamp down the spread of the coronavirus, have made evaluating expansion sites a more complicated task for a number of companies. (For government and chamber officials, it's also not uncommon for communication to ebb and flow over the course of a site search).

"I can assure you that the project remains enormously competitive," said Bobby Rolfe, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. "I can promise you, I'm not aware that they have selected Nashville."

"They've not provided any timeline about the next steps," Rolfe said in an interview. "My sense is they've been laser-focused on trying to close that [TikTok] acquisition. I also get a sense that Oracle, like a lot of other white-collar employers, is reassessing what their future footprint looks like."

In a separate interview, Cooper said he also didn't have an update.

"I of course would love that," Cooper said of Oracle's potential arrival. "Strategically, it's an excellent fit for where we need to be in the 21st century. … All jobs are great to have. High-paying jobs for local residents that have a future to them — that's the best of all."

An Oracle spokesman declined comment.

If Oracle does decide to expand to Nashville, the company's arrival would deliver another corporate brand-name endorsement of the city and help broaden the region's IT sector beyond health care, where it's anchored today. Oracle sells a variety of software and services to many types of businesses and is also expanding its portfolio of data centers worldwide. Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is creating hundreds of tech jobs within its 5,000-job office hub under construction downtown. Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) is building an $800 million data center in Gallatin.

"I think IT is a big challenge for Nashville: It’s the one area that conceivably Austin does better than Nashville, so we have a little bit of catch-up to do," Cooper said.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the potential deal have long identified the River North site as Oracle's preferred landing spot. Sources also have said Oracle prefers to own and develop its office buildings, instead of leasing from another developer.

The sprawling 105-acre River North site is located on the east bank of the Cumberland River, across from Germantown and just north of the Topgolf entertainment venue. The positioning of River North — on the waterfront, opposite downtown — mirrors the 40-acre campus Oracle opened in Austin in 2018.

A representative for River North's owner, Chicago-based Monroe Investment Partners, declined comment. The firm sold 13 acres of the site last year to a pair of developers from Chicago and Washington, D.C., who are gearing up to build a $220 million mixed-use project.

A few thousand Oracle employees work in Austin today. Austin Business Journal, a sister outlet of the NBJ, has reported that TikTok is scouting that city for a potential big office hub.

[MLBrumby]

If Cooper stays out of the negotiations, Nashville may have a shot at this. And I do have it on excellent authority that the MSFT deal was wrecked by his office's unwillingness to even sit down with them. That comes from a close associate who works in the state ECD. The staff there was utterly pissed at what went down. They had meetings set up to start at the Mayor's office, but Cooper said at the last minute he couldn't meet them. The end result was a car ride past some 'candidate' sites, but the MSFT team mentioned several times they were insulted by Cooper. State ECD even pitched a site in Knoxville, but they asked to return to the airport. Most of this has been published now, but it was a disaster.

[MidTenn1]

My River North Landings scenario with the renderings of the Austin buildings clipped in for fun.

Edited October 23, 2020 by PHofKS

[smeagolsfree]

Look for them to take around 40 acres. That is the size of the Austin campus. They will also own their land and develop it how they want. Most likely they would also build on site apartments to house employees much like the one in Austin.

So, with that being said, 40 acres is roughly half of the remaining River North property.