Walt Burton, Author at Nashville Commercial Real Estate Attorney

The shopping truck trend: Commercial Real Estate on Wheels

By Walt Burton, October 27 2013

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Undoubtedly, you have noticed the ubiquitous food trucks that have seemingly taken over parts of Nashville. There is even a food truck park, Wanderland Urban Food Park, where the food trucks can gather around the city. This trend is certainly not unique to Nashville. Food trucks and food truck parks have been popping up at a surprising rate around the country. Food trucks provide a variety of food options for business or entertainment districts that otherwise would only be served by the restaurants located in brick-and-mortar buildings in that area. What you may not have noticed around Nashville just yet are the fashion trucks that have started making their debuts around town. Fashion trucks, like food trucks, are simply trucks that bring their merchandise to their customers at their customers’ chosen location or at a designated location that is convenient for customers. The backs of these trucks have been renovated so […]

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Adaptive reuse: Repurposing Nashville commercial real estate

By Walt Burton, September 6 2013

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Although the concept of adaptive reuse has been around for centuries, its popularity has increased over the past few years. Adaptive reuse refers to the reuse of an older site or building for a different purpose than the one for which it was built or designed. Historically, buildings that were durable and structurally sound often changed purposes many times before being torn down in favor of new construction. In the past, new construction was primarily driven by economic reasons or reasons of efficiency. More recently, an increased interest in adaptive reuse has emerged as the movement to preserve historical buildings, neighborhoods and structures has become more prevalent. As new development and reuse occurs, the owners of the city’s older, and sometimes historic, buildings are faced with tough decisions regarding new investment. Older buildings often do not provide the return on capital and predictability that newer, more efficient buildings may provide. […]

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Nashville’s use of tax incentives is working

By Walt Burton, August 18 2013

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Mayor Karl Dean has a history of using city tax incentives to lure or keep companies in Nashville, particularly by helping with real estate costs or taxes. Beneficiaries of these incentives have included a variety of companies, including Standard Candy Company, HCA, AmSurg and Oberto Sausage Company. The latest beneficiaries of the mayor’s tax incentives are developers planning full-service hotels in the SoBro district in anticipation of the lodging demand that will be created by the new Music City Center. The two planned hotels are a Hyatt Regency and a Marriott Hotel. The Hyatt’s tax incentives would come through tax-increment financing, which allows the cost of infrastructure, assembly, demolition and development of the Hyatt site to be financed through future increases in property taxes that are generated by the Hyatt itself. The Marriott’s tax incentive is a property tax discount. Both incentives are valued at approximately $3 million each and are contingent on the developers […]

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Tennessee Conservation Easements: Preserving Open Space (while saving on taxes)

By Walt Burton, July 8 2013

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Much has been written in recent weeks regarding Nashville’s rapid economic growth and the increasing density within the city. During this growth, the city has made extensive efforts to improve and preserve its parks and open spaces. Without a doubt, Nashville’s rolling hills, open spaces, and other natural beauty has contributed to Nashville’s success. A recent article in The Hollywood Reporter cited Nashville’s proximity to “rural setting[s]” and “farmlands” as one of many reasons that Nashville has become so popular with celebrities. However, with growth and success in Nashville, one downside can be the loss of open spaces and natural beauty. To protect Middle Tennessee’s natural beauty, one increasingly popular tool is the conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legal means by which landowners can voluntarily restrict the use of a designated piece of land. Because conservation easements are freely negotiated between the landowner and the receiving agency or […]

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The Amp bus system could change the face of real estate on West End

By Walt Burton, June 12 2013

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Nashville has been abuzz in recent weeks regarding Mayor Karl Dean‘s call to spend $7.5 million to continue development of a bus rapid transit system that would run approximately seven miles from Five Points in East Nashville to the White Bridge Road area in West Nashville. The project, known as The Amp (yet another reference to Nashville’s musical tradition), is intended to help relieve traffic congestion and provide improved mass transit along the West End corridor. If federal funding is available, The Amp could be operational by 2016. Mayor Dean believes this type of long-term planning is needed as the Nashville area adds a projected one million new residents over the next two decades. Rapid transit and light rail have been proven to create positive economic development in other cities. In Atlanta, development of what is called the Beltline has created new commercial real estate development in areas that were previously abandoned by the […]

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