NASHVILLE, TENN. — Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE: HIW) plans to build a new $285 million headquarters campus in Nashville’s central business district (CBD) for Asurion, a privately held tech solutions firm. The Nashville-based company specializes in providing insurance and warranty plans covering mobile devices and other consumer electronics.
Asurion will consolidate four of its existing local offices into the new campus, as well as create 400 new information technology jobs, according to local media reports.
Highwoods, a Raleigh-based REIT that now has a development pipeline exceeding $700 million, recently executed the 551,000-square-foot build-to-suit office lease with Asurion. The tech firm will occupy 98.3 percent of the campus under a long-term lease.
Nashville has been a haven for employment gains since the downturn. In the past decade, the Middle Tennessee metro has experienced 25 percent job growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Nashville MSA’s unemployment rate was 2.3 percent in May 2018.
The Asurion campus will be built on a 4.2-acre site located at Church Street and 11th Avenue North along the Gulch Greenway, a seven-mile urban trail. The development will include two buildings rising eight and nine stories built atop a six-level parking podium. The planned parking ratio is 3.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet.
The project will include two sky bridges connecting the two mid-rise buildings on their fifth and seventh floors.
The project will also include 9,000 square feet of ground-level retail space fronting 11th Avenue and two sky bridges connecting the two mid-rise buildings on their fifth and seventh floors.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2019 with completion slated for the fourth-quarter of 2021. Details concerning construction financing were not disclosed.
Founded in 1994, Asurion employs approximately 16,000 staffers in offices across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. The company provides solutions for top wireless carriers and device manufacturers and currently supports 304 million consumers in 18 countries.
Highwoods Properties is the largest office developer/landlord in the greater Nashville area on a square foot basis. Signature local assets include The Pinnacle at Symphony Place, Bridgestone Tower, LifePoint Health’s hospital support center and the corporate headquarters for Mars Petcare, which is currently under construction.
Highwoods also developed Bridgestone America’s $230 million office headquarters. The tire manufacturer opened its 30-story tower late last year.
Highwoods’ stock price closed at $49.85 per share on Monday, July 23, down from $50.18 a year ago.
— John Nelson