November 04, 2021

Barings and Hines Acquire Reed District Site in Nashville

Partnership to Execute on Mixed-Use Development with Acquisition of Strategic Gateway Site
 

Barings, one of the world’s leading investment managers, and Hines, the international real estate firm, announced they have formed a joint venture partnership to acquire the Reed District site in Nashville for the future development of a 2.7-million-square foot multi-phased mixed-use project.

Reed District represents a distinctive investment opportunity to transform a 12-acre gateway site in Midtown Nashville into a locally focused, mixed-use destination with music, art, food and entertainment-oriented uses. The project will draw from the historic character of the approximately 100-year old Coca-Cola building, converting it into a modern retail and creative office hub and developing high-rise office, apartment, hospitality, lifestyle and essential services, all within an infill setting located directly in the path of Nashville’s continuing urban renaissance. 

Phase I of the Reed District will total in excess of 800,000 square feet with construction planned to commence in 2Q 2023 and will include the ground-up development of a 300-unit apartment building, 300,000-square-foot office building, 250-key hotel, the adaptive re-use of a vintage Coca-Cola bottling plant to include 100,000 square feet of creative office and destination lifestyle retail and an activated green space which will serve as the centerpiece for the entire project.

Nashville has ranked in the top 10 metros for population and employment growth for the past eight years and continues to be a target for corporate relocations, knowledge economy professional and creative talent. Reed District’s location at the convergence of Nashville’s business, healthcare, music, education, and tourism demand drivers positions it well to capture the demand of Nashville’s future innovative and lifestyle-driven space users.

“The joint venture development of Reed District is a continuation of the long-standing relationship between Barings and Hines targeting expanding urban centers. The Reed District will be a transformative development connecting the West End and Downtown Nashville,” said Chris Black, Barings Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Acquisitions, Western U.S.

Vikram Mehra, Senior Managing Director and City Head of Nashville for Hines, added, “We are privileged to be working with Barings to remake this important gateway site, honor the longstanding history of the Coke Building and legacy of the Reed family, while crafting a thoughtful development to serve the needs of Nashville’s next generation users.”

Barings and Hines anticipate this strategic development will feature state-of-the-art assets with desired ESG-specific features and LEED and WELL certifications, marking the project as a desirable next-generation campus in high demand by innovative companies.
 

About Barings

Barings is a $387+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com.

*Assets under management as of September 30, 2021
 

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 255 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management totaling approximately $83.6 billion¹. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to more than 367 properties totaling 138.3 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,486 properties, totaling over 492 million square feet. The firm currently has more than 171 developments underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.

¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2021.