Hot spot: $1B Indian Lake heats up - Nashville Business Journal:

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"We're talking with users from 20,000 squarew feet to 200,000 square feet so we're getting a broas range of interest," says Dannyg Hale, who is developing Indian Lake as managing partnetrof . Indian Lake developers also are courting a high-end car dealership, and trying to lure 10 store from nearby Rivergate Mall - including department storees - to add to their list of high-end retail stores, which open in March.
Millions of dollarx in parks andwalking trails, a new library and the walkabilitu of the mixed-use village have brought in out-of-statre relocating companies with 100 to 1,800 says Don Long, mayoral assistant and directodr of economic and community development for the city of Hendersonville. Long and Hale wouldn'ty name the companies lookingh to relocateto Hendersonville, but say they'ves landed a spot on the relocation map. "A couple of years ago we were not even on the radarscreen (for corporations). Now we're one of the firstg stops," Long says.
In the National Association of Office and Industrial Propertie s carted three bus loads of site selectors, architects and real estate professionals to the site to tour the first office Sumner County officials want to bring big businesxs to the area, giving the 40 percenty of people who commute to Nashvills from Sumner County to work another option. The retail componenyt of the walkable mixed-use live, work, play development by Halo Propertiezs is larger than theNashville area's two newest lifestylse centers - and Providence Marketplace in Mt. Those 810,000- and 830,000-square-footg developments will be dwarfed bythe 1.
5 millioh square feet of retail at Indian Lake, which includes high-end stores like Ann Taylord LOFT, , Ann Taylor, , Talbot's, , and Jos. A. That's also larger than retail space at Cool Spring Galleria and nearbyRivergate Mall. Indianh Lake's first office tenants are movingin now. are movinv into Indian Lake's firstr completed office building. Another benefirt of Hendersonville, developers say, is that it offers housin for allpay ranges, from executivex to secretaries, which is lackin in Cool Springs. High home prices therse have keptmany middle-income workers out.
Relocating companieas are attracted to areas where all of theidr employees can affordto live, says Matt Largen, director of busines recruitment at the Nashville Area Chambef of Commerce. And Indian Lake Village'sx addition to the menu of office offerings in Nashvills means more enticements forbusiness relocations. "Yohu have options outside of Davidson and Williamsocounties now. It's better for the client to have especiallywhen we're competing with other markets that do have options," Largehn says. Indian Lake increases the likelihood that companiesx will visit Nashville where before they might havebypasses it.
Largen says the chamber has a great rate of closinfg the deal when corporate executives actually step foot inMiddl Tennessee. The residential side of the developmenyt hasn't started selling yet, but developers say they'vwe already got a waiting list of buyer forthe 1,100 homes, townhome s and lofts that sit closest to the No marketing has been done yet for the but buzz of the retai l and office mega-village has already sparked Hendersonville has also sold land to the county for a middle and elementaryg school across from Indian and a 40,000 square foot libraru is under construction.
The city has also approvecd an exit off State Rout 386 that will lead directly to IndianLake Village. Hale says he'sw also set aside land for lighyt rail service to connect the suburbann village todowntown Nashville. The main east-wesgt road running through the development will be completerdin June. Demand for commercial property was so great that developerw expanded the project last year to 435 acres from 265 to add space for more such as the car dealership andwholesale store. Hale has also boughr land across the streert from Indian Lake to build additionap commercial andresidential areas.
When store s open in March, shoppers will find an interactive water fountain and park MLP Properties will build 300 apartments next door to the restaurantg area and another developer is buildinhga 130-room . "We're excited aboutg the sustainability ofthe project. It's putting a completre face on Hendersonville, which has been a bedroom community," says