A film and music studio campus — to carry a price tag of about $250 million and to accommodate operations for the world’s largest music company — is being eyed for Berry Hill.
The multi-building mixed-use project will house Universal Music Group operations and include recording studios, scoring stages and an audio research and development building, among other offerings.
The roughly 4.14-acre future campus will comprise multiple properties on both Columbine Place and East Iris Drive (see here) near Columbine Park. UMG (which owns the property housing its East Iris Studios; formerly House of Blues) and an entity affiliated with Dallas-based Xebec collectively own the 17 properties eyed for the development. The latter has acquired its properties during the past two years (read here).
Via Berry Hill Development LLC, Xebec, UMG and Sylmar, Calif.-based Sylmar Studios seemingly will collectively participate in the effort. Led by CEO Tony Guanci, Sylmar Studios is having Xebec develop a Los Angeles-area site with a similar facility, to offer a price tag of $500 million (read here).
The concept plan document notes the project could include 93,500 square feet of studios, 115,000 square feet of education/office space, 3,200 square feet of retail space, 20,500 square feet for two restaurant spaces and four residential dwelling units, dubbed producer cottages.
UMG officials and Guanci met with City of Berry Hill officials and community stakeholders Monday night to discuss the concept plan. If the development materializes, it will also include an expansion of Columbine Park and an educational component to potentially be utilized by area universities, including Middle Tennessee State University.
Joe Baker, Berry Hill city manager, tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post he favors the project.
“This will be a transformational development for both Berry Hill and Nashville,” Baker says. “It is a big deal.”
About 75 stakeholders attended the meeting, with many speaking in favor, in general, of the project, Baker says. Nobody opposed the concept plan, though some asked whether the development team could provide time for additional input, he added.
UMG officials and Guanci could not be reached for comment.
"The proposed mixed-use development is for an entertainment industry production and education campus centered around a vibrant public space bordered by a mix of restaurant and retail uses," the developers wrote in the document submitted to the City of Berry Hill.
"The improved and expanded public park includes a new community building, stage, and outdoor performance venue. The development is anchored by state of the art recording and video studio facilities, an audio technology research and development lab, and a scoring stage which is the first of its kind in the central U.S. The education component borders the west side of the public park intended to house a variety of higher-ed music school programs that will benefit from the synergy with on-campus industry professionals and activities."
Universal Music Group N.V. is a Dutch-American multinational music corporation with operational headquarters located in Santa Monica, Calif. Locally, UMG Nashville operates its main offices downtown and in Midtown.
As of this month, Universal Music Group has a market cap of $48.7 billion, making it the world's 353th most valuable company by market cap, according to Companies Market Cap.
For the project, Nashville’s ESa will serve as architect, with the local office of Raleigh, N.C.-based Kimley Horn and Associates (land-planning, traffic engineering and civil engineering) and Dale and Associates (land-planning and engineering) to also participate.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
