Metro picks firm to lead East Bank development

The company selected to lead construction of a new East Bank neighborhood has proposed transforming the industrial area by adding more than 1,000 affordable housing units, building four hotels and holding space for a new Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

What's happening: Metro tapped Boston-based The Fallon Company on Tuesday to serve as the city's master developer of the East Bank of the Cumberland River.

Why it matters: The East Bank has been underutilized for decades. When Mayor John Cooper rolled out a new vision for the area a year ago, he touted new transportation infrastructure, affordable housing, parks, green space and bike lanes.

• It will be up to The Fallon Company to make the city's ambitious Imagine East Bank plan a reality.

Zoom in: According to the developer's application, 1,095 of the proposed 1,590 units would be affordable for low- and middle-income residents.

• Also included in the application: four hotels totaling 1,425 rooms and 230,000 square feet of retail space.
• Redevelopment would take place in three phases, with a completion goal of 2034.

By the numbers: The project has an estimated development cost of $1.55 billion, including $400 million in affordable housing units.

• The requested public subsidy is $230 million, including $75 million for parking facilities and $155 million for other infrastructure costs.

Of note: The plan includes space for a new TPAC facility.

• Cooper has discussed the possibility of incorporating a cultural campus on the East Bank, including a new home for the Nashville School of the Arts as well as for TPAC.
• Gov. Bill Lee included $200 million in state funding toward a new TPAC building in the most recent state budget.

State of play: Final contract details with The Fallon Company, including the financing plan, still need to be negotiated in the coming months — under a new administration. Either Freddie O'Connell or Alice Rolli will take office in the coming weeks.

• Metro Council will then need to sign off on the contract. Losing firms have 10 days to protest the procurement panel's decision.

Details: "A procurement panel evaluated eight proposals and, after three rounds of review, selected the winning bidder based on their ability to deliver a project that builds a neighborhood that best serves Nashville," a Planning Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement Monday.

Be smart: The Fallon Company's major projects include Fan Pier in Boston and Centre South in Charlotte.

• Its partners for the East Bank work include Field Operations, KPF, and Nashville-area firms Holladay Ventures, Pillars Development, EOA Architects and Barge Design Solutions.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.