NASHVILLE, TENN. ― Bridgestone Americas Inc. has broken ground on its new 30-story, $200 million headquarters to be located in the SoBro area of downtown Nashville. When completed in mid-to-late 2017, the new office building will house more than 1,700 employees, which will include the 1,100 currently in Nashville along with 600 new jobs from three out-of-state business units being relocated to the city.
“Today is an historic day for our company, for Nashville and for Tennessee,” says Gary Garfield, CEO and president of Bridgestone Americas. “We proudly call Nashville home and are very eager to welcome our teammates from out-of-state as soon as possible. The leadership and support of the state and city are to be applauded for reaching this groundbreaking milestone — it marks the next step in our journey to shape tomorrow together.”
The ceremony was also attended by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Tennessee Economic and Community Development commissioner Bill Hagerty, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Highwoods Properties president and CEO Ed Fritsch and Bridgestone executives and team representatives from the employee units to be relocated to Nashville.
“Today is an exciting day for the continued partnership we share with Bridgestone,” says Haslam. “This is a company that could choose to do business anywhere in the world, and they chose Tennessee. We want to congratulate Bridgestone on its latest achievement, and I look forward to continuing to work together to make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs.”
The planned 514,000-square-foot headquarters will be located at 4th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street. Highwoods Properties will develop the building. Perkins + Will has been retained by Highwoods and Bridgestone to design the new facility, including the interior. The property is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor and has begun site preparations. The facility will primarily consist of single-tenant office space.
“We are excited to begin development of this signature high-rise headquarters, which will become a defining element of downtown Nashville’s skyline,” says Fritsch. “The Highwoods investment of $200 million in this project underscores our continuing commitment to Nashville and our strong belief in its long-term growth and prosperity. We are also appreciative to have the opportunity to work with the great people at Bridgestone Americas who have been extremely collaborative with Highwoods and the entire design and construction team.”
Bridgestone is moving from a building on Marriott Drive near Nashville International Airport. With its lease expiring in late 2017, the company launched a search for a new headquarters location to support future growth. Nashville and the new property were selected after a nationwide search.
“Bridgestone combining its operations to downtown Nashville is one of the largest relocations to a city center from the suburbs in the United States and is a testament to the dynamic environment of the city of Nashville,” says Todd Lippman, vice chairman of CBRE.
The new headquarters will be home to Bridgestone Americas’ corporate staff and supporting functions, as well as Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC, Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC, Firestone Building Products Co., LLC and Firestone Industrial Products Company LLC.
— Haisten Willis