Hickory Hollow, Nashville's next big comeback

With Nashville's growing population and booming economy, locals are seeing a lot of new commercial real estate projects spring up around town. Nashvillians have also witnessed the rebirth of commercial areas in recent years, such as the Gulch, SoBro and most recently Charlotte Avenue.

As our city continues to flourish, we are constantly anticipating what the next big transformation could be, and the Hickory Hollow area is at the top of this list.

In the 1970s and '80s, Hickory Hollow was thriving as Middle Tennessee's prime shopping destination, anchored by the 1.1 million-square-foot Hickory Hollow Mall.

George Volkert, working for Cousins Properties at the time and a co-founder of Southeast Venture, played a substantial role in the development of the mall, which attracted national retailers including Castner-Knott, Sears, J.C. Penney, The Gap and more.

As time went on, other major shopping areas developed around Music City, such as Cool Springs Galleria and The Mall at Green Hills, reducing retail sales dramatically at Hickory Hollow Mall. By the 2000s, the once-vibrant area of Hickory Hollow began to decline, and it became a less desirable location for real estate investment. In October 2012, the mall was acquired by a private entity and re-branded as the Global Mall at The Crossings.

Flash-forward to 2015 and, because of efforts by the mayor's office, you'll see that the Hickory Hollow area is picking up momentum.

It has welcomed a satellite campus for Nashville State Community College, the new Southeast Community Center, the Southeast Branch of the Nashville Public Library and the Nashville Predators' Ford Ice Center. The Ford Ice Center is armed with esteemed United States Olympians Scott Hamilton and Bill Fauver, which brings the opportunity for exceptional experiences for locals in the community and its surrounding areas. Two of my grandchildren are taking skating lessons at the center and are having a fantastic experience.

The area is now home to two charter schools, as well, Intrepid College Prep and Knowledge Academies, further proving that the Hickory Hollow area is making a comeback as a true community for families and residents.

"Over the past few years, we've observed an incredible increase of community involvement among families here in Antioch, whether they have children that attend our school or not," said Art Fuller, founder of Knowledge Academies. "New organizations and partnerships, such as the Crossings Nashville Action Partnership help coordinate events such as regional spelling bees, science fairs and more, that give students and families the opportunity to really be a part of a strong support system. These types of opportunities for community engagement, as well as the encouraging real estate developments, give the Antioch area a lot of promise."

Mayor Karl Dean announced an added feature to the area with plans to preserve 591 acres of land as part of the city's Open Space Plan. This new preservation, which is being called Southeast Park, will be great for locals as it is close to both schools and neighborhoods nearby.

To further prove that this area is truly coming back, this announcement came shortly after Community Health Systems announced its plans to expand in Antioch. According to The Tennessean, the new office will consist of a "six-story, 240,000-square-foot shared services center" and create about 1,600 jobs in the area of over the next five years. The center is anticipated to open in early 2017.

These developments, which exemplify significant growth and opportunity for the area, keep community members confident and excited about how the neighborhood is emerging.

Ben Freeland, a local Antioch-area car dealer, entrepreneur and founder and board member of CNAP, invested in real estate in the area when he purchased a Chevrolet dealership in 2008. "Some people warned me against my decision to invest in real estate in this area, but I knew it had the strength to turn into something great," said Freeland. "People in this community have a passion for making this area the best it can be, and while I've always been optimistic, we are even further ahead than I projected we'd be. I am very excited about what is to come."

It's exciting to think about how our city is continuing to grow and the different ways this growth will impact our neighborhoods and communities. Think about what 12 South was like 20 years ago — the community, which is now one of Nashville's most vibrant, charming and urban neighborhoods, was vastly different and underdeveloped compared to what it is today.

Areas like Antioch's Hickory Hollow have this same opportunity with help from the mayor, companies, real estate developers and community members who believe in making our neighborhoods the best they can be. As Mayor Karl Dean was recently quoted as saying in The Tennessean, "Antioch is back big time."

Wood S. Caldwell is managing principal of Southeast Venture, a diversified commercial real estate company. He writes about Middle Tennessee real estate deals once a month for The Tennessean. Reach him at wcaldwell@southeastventure.com.