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445 Park Commons at 75% leased; Fair Plaza ribbon-cutting set and multiple capital projects move toward final permitting
Summary
Leasing at 445 Park Commons is about 75% and Fair Plaza will host a ribbon-cutting April 26, while a series of campus infrastructure projects move through final permitting and an engineering firm prepares to transition out this summer.
Board members heard campus-partner updates on April 7 that highlighted leasing progress at 445 Park Commons, upcoming community events and the status of campus capital projects.
Rick Womack reported 445 Park Commons residential leasing at about 75% and ongoing retail leasing activity along Fair Plaza. He named two retail concepts with permits in process — Scotch Barber Shop and Voodoo Brewery — and said lease negotiations or letters of intent were underway on remaining retail spaces. A ribbon-cutting for Fair Plaza was proposed for April 26 and board members were invited to attend.
Womack also said the fairgrounds is negotiating with the Arts & Business Council of Greater Tennessee to lease and program a makerspace in the campus’s ground-floor shell space; staff described the agreement as being in lease negotiation and followed by a fundraising and build-out effort.
Capital projects staff gave status updates: the Windgrove Intersection project is in final permitting with the submission to Metro Water pending; electrical relocations are complete. The Coliseum Way Extension is in final budgeting and permitting and requires additional Metro Water submissions related to bridge elevation, cut-and-fill mitigation. Fair Plaza is complete and staff planned a walk-through to confirm landscaping and irrigation. A resurfacing of a multipurpose lot (across from the art area) is permitted and ready to begin. Sidewalk work off Craighead had been installed prior to the storms; staff reported ornamental fence damage in that area and plans to repair it.
Ron Gobble of JHP addressed the board and said his firm’s contract will expire in June after about seven years of work; staff reported Collier’s engineering began transition activities in January and JHP will remain on site through June to complete transition tasks.
Staff stressed that some campus projects are sensitive to market conditions and capital costs; Womack said Block A (Lot 10 across from the supporters’ entrance to Geodes Park) remains in predevelopment and is contingent on interest rates and supply-chain factors that affect building feasibility.
Councilmember Terry Bow announced the April 26 ribbon-cutting for 445 Park Commons and encouraged community participation.
Board members asked for notices and promotional flyers for the ribbon-cutting and asked staff to coordinate timing to leverage a soccer match on that date for campus activation.
