Hotel Development in Tennessee is on the rise again.  Read on for more on Tennessee hotel developers and the planned hotel construction projects n Tennessee that exemplify their work.

(This list is based on the number of rooms that these hotel developers have planned for hotel construction in Tennessee for 2021, per a query of BuildCentral’s HotelMarketData from 1/1/21 to 8/31/21.)

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee – and, more specifically, its capital city, Nashville – had become a hub for hotel construction, what with Music City’s substantive population growth and status as a major tourist attraction.

2020 Census data reveals not only that Tennessee’s population has grown 7.6 percent in the last decade, with that population growth concentrated in the seven counties that comprise Greater Nashville. Similarly, Nashville’s population has grown by 12.84 percent since 2010, with a 0.57 percent yearly average. 

As for tourism, Nashville boomed pre-pandemic. In 2020, though, the coronavirus wreaked havoc, even if the hotel industry is showing signs of recovery with increased visitors and in nightly, per-room revenue.

As Tennessee’s population and economic growth return to pre-pandemic form, hotel developers will likely follow suit. As seen in the below list, developers are focusing their efforts in and around Nashville, albeit with some significant projects set to take shape outside of Middle Tennessee. 

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.:

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. leads our list with 450 rooms in planning for 2021. All of those will come as part of the developer’s Great Wolf Lodge project. The lodge project, planned for Jackson, TN – about two hours south of Nashville – has not yet moved out of the planning stage, according to a representative from the city of Jackson. 

 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Great Wolf Resort
Estimated Value:	$25-$100 million	Franchise:	Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
Rooms:	450	Scale:	Mid-Range

Location:	Jackson, TN 38305. Behind the West Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex (View Map)
Details:	Plans call for the construction of a new Great Wolf Lodge on roughly 40 acres of land.

Stage:	Planning (Active)
Construction End:	N/A
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

HRI Properties: 

Next in the spotlight is HRI Properties. The firm’s biggest hotel plan in Tennessee for 2021 is the 127 Rosa L Parks Hotel Development project in Nashville, Tenn. The developer has stated that the project does not have a groundbreaking date because of COVID-19’s profound impact on the hospitality industry. That said, the developer remains committed to completing project. BuildCentral has followed the project since 2019, when its development plans were filed with the Nashville Metro Planning Commission. In 2020, the developer decided no longer to continue with the project’s multi-family portion and instead to enlarge the hotel component. 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Unknown – Not Yet Determined
Estimated Value:	$25-$100 million	Franchise:	Unknown
Rooms:	426	Scale:	Not Yet Determined

Location:	Nashville, TN 37203. 127 Rosa L Parks Blvd (View Map)
Ancillary Facilities:	Food Service, Retail
Details:	Plans call for the construction of a 23-story mixed-use building consisting of two hotels with a combined 426 guestrooms and 6,500 square feet of retail space. The lobby for the hotels will be located on the 6th floor, above a 204-space parking garage.

Stage:	Planning (Active)
Construction End:	N/A
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

Southeast Venture: 

Southeast Venture has 400 hotel rooms in planning in Tennessee for 2021. The developer’s June Lake Hotels project in Spring Hill, Tenn., slots in as part of the planned June Lake development. While the project has a planned first-phase groundbreaking in 2022, a hotel-specific construction schedule is not available. 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Unknown – Not Yet Determined
Estimated Value:	$25-$100 million	Franchise:	Unknown
Rooms:	400	Scale:	Not Yet Determined

Location:	Spring Hill, TN 37179. 2660 Buckner Ln (View Map)
Details:	Plans call for the construction of over 400 hotel rooms as a part of the June Lake mixed-used development.

Stage:	Planning (Active)
Construction End:	N/A
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

Southeast Venture also has plans to develop a Holiday Inn Express in Nashville. A demolition of an existing building will first need to take place, but construction on the Holiday Inn project is tentatively set for Q1 of 2022. The project is expected to wrap up in late 2023. 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Holiday Inn Express
Estimated Value:	$5-$25 million	Franchise:	IHG – Intercontinental Hotel Group
Rooms:	165	Scale:	Mid-Range

Location:	Nashville, TN 37203. 114 Louise Ave (View Map)
Details:	Plans call for the construction of a new six-story, 165-room Holiday Inn Express. The property will include 3,000 square feet of commercial space. An existing apartment complex will be demolished.

Stage:	Starts in 4-12 months
Construction Start:	Q1/2022
Construction End:	Q4/2023
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

VRL Hotels: 

VRL Hotels owner Victor Patel secured franchise agreements for two Cambria hotel projects in Tennessee in 2021. The Cambria Hotel Gatlinburg is expected to open in 2022 in Gatlinburg, Tenn., while the Cambria Hotel Pigeon Forge project is not scheduled to be completed until 2024. Across the two projects, VRL has 280 hotel rooms in planning for the year. 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Cambria Suites
Estimated Value:	$5-$25 million	Franchise:	Choice Hotels International
Rooms:	140	Scale:	Upscale

Location:	Gatlinburg, TN 37738. near the Gatlinburg Convention Center (View Map)
Ancillary Facilities:	Food Service, Gym
Details:	Plans call for the construction of the 140-room Cambria Hotel Gatlinburg. The property will include a rooftop bar and restaurant as well as meeting space and a fitness center.

Stage:	Planning (Active)
Construction End:	N/A
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Cambria Suites
Estimated Value:	$5-$25 million	Franchise:	Choice Hotels International
Rooms:	140	Scale:	Upscale

Location:	Pigeon Forge, TN 37862 (View Map)
Ancillary Facilities:	Food Service, Gym
Details:	Plans call for the construction of the 140-room Cambria Hotel Pigeon Forge. The property will include a restaurant, meeting space, and fitness center.

Stage:	Planning (Active)
Construction End:	N/A
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

Mainland Companies and Armistead Arnold Pollard Real Estate Services, LLC: 

It just so happens that we saved the last spot for luxury. Mainland Companies and Armistead Arnold Pollard are co-developing the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences SoBro District project in Nashville, Tenn. The hotel project gives the two developers a shared total of 240 hotel rooms in planning for 2021. With groundbreaking tentatively expected in 2022, the project’s design work and plans are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021. 

Construction Type:	New	Chain:	Ritz-Carlton
Estimated Value:	$585 million	Franchise:	Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Rooms:	240	Scale:	Luxury

Location:	Nashville, TN 37203. 417 7th Ave S (View Map)
Details:	Plans call for the construction of a mixed-use development consisting of two towers that will be 46-stories and a 32-stories with 185 apartments, 150 condos, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a 560-space parking garage, as well as a 240-room Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Stage:	Starts in 4-12 months
Construction Start:	Q1/2022
Construction End:	Q1/2025
Bid Due Date:	N/A

 

In Tennessee, COVID-19 shook things up for the hotel industry, but hotel developers have stayed busy in an area where construction has boomed for years.  

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