Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Merus, a design-build firm that was formerly known as Al. Neyer, has purchased RiverGate Mall, an enclosed shopping mall located at 1000 Rivergate Parkway in Goodlettsville that opened in 1971. The Cincinnati-based firm is planning to transform the 57-acre site on the northern outskirts of Nashville into a $450 million mixed-use district.
Merus plans to demolish the mall this spring. In its place, the firm will develop 700 multifamily units, 100 townhomes, 80 independent seniors housing units, more than 130,000 square feet of retail and dining space and a center green and plaza for community programming.
“Stepping into a site like this comes with a responsibility — not just to redevelop it, but to do it right,” says Patrick Poole, senior vice president and Nashville market leader for Merus. “Our focus is taking a property designed for a different era and reimagining it as a walkable, active district where people can live, work, gather and spend time.”
Merus purchased the 514,000-square-foot mall, which is situated next to Dollar General’s global headquarters, for $33 million. Bryan Belk and John Tennant of Franklin Street represented the seller, Hendon Properties, in the transaction. Hartman Simons & Wood LLP executed legal work on behalf of the seller. Jordan Powell of Avison Young represented Merus, as well as the sellers of the mall’s former Macy’s and JCPenney department stores, in the transaction, according to the Nashville Business Journal.
“The site attracted interest from both local and national developers despite a challenging capital markets market,” says Tennant. “There haven’t been many sites in the Nashville market of this scale to come to market in the last decade.”
The project team for the redevelopment includes Fulmer Lucas (civil engineer), Smith Gee Studio (land planning and master planning) and Pinnacle Bank (lending partner). Merus is also working closely with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro Nashville) and the City of Goodlettsville, which are providing tax increment financing (TIF) benefits packages.
Merus plans to donate a portion of the mall site to Metro Nashville to support future rapid bus transit improvements through the WeGo mass transit system, as well as invest in infrastructure including new roads, pathways and utilities. The project is expected to create hundreds of construction and permanent jobs.
Merus expects to fully deliver the multi-phase development in 2029.
— John Nelson