Nashville's Wedgewood Village Attracting Luxury Tenants Like Hermès and Brunello Cucinelli
Luxury brands have set their sights on a new city: Nashville.
And for good reason. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., with a population of around 700,000 in the city proper, more than 2.1 million in the metro area, and average household income of $80,000, according to Statista. Best known as Music City for its country music roots, Nashville has also attracted businesses in a range of other industries including health care and finance.
It's no wonder that AJ Capital Partners, a real estate and hospitality firm based in Nashville, would look to capitalize on the city's growth.
AJ Capital is creating Wedgewood Village, an 18-acre mixed-use and multiphase area in Nashville's Wedgewood Houston neighborhood, anchored by Soho House, Hermès, Pastis, Live Nation's new 4,400-capacity music venue, and the Academy of Country Music.
Hermès was among the first luxury retailers to sign on, opening a two-story unit last October, followed by Brunello Cucinelli this March. And coming soon are Zimmermann, Staud, Malbon and Eberjey, all of which have committed to opening their first stand-alone Tennessee locations in the development.
As Diane Mahady, Hermès America president, said at the time of the opening: "We love the location; the store is absolutely beautiful. It's in an old hosiery mill so it sort of speaks to the industrial past of Nashville. [...]That's exactly what AJ Capital was envisioning when it began
converting the former May Hosiery Mills plant — with its brick building boasting curved corners and black-framed windows — into a retail and residential hub.
"A lot of brands gravitate towards us because of the way we integrate placemaking and design and hospitality in a non-traditional way throughout our projects," said Kyle Allen, AJ Capital's senior vice president of retail. [...] Allen said the goal for Wedgewood Village is to offer a home to
"independent and family-owned brands that embody craftsmanship and the spirit of entrepreneurship. We've really worked tirelessly to identify brands that we feel expand on the rich history of Wedgewood Houston and our project."
The entire project includes 15 stores and restaurants that have already opened or will be opening this year. There is also residential and office space. The sleep and loungewear retailer Eberjey will open a 919-square-foot boutique this spring, followed by a 2,186-square-foot store for Zimmermann, an Australian swim and ready-to-wear brand; a 1,742-square foot unit for the contemporary women's brand Staud, and a 2,534-square-foot Malbon store.
Aaron Heiser, chief executive officer of Malbon, said that when the golf and lifestyle brand started developing its retail rollout strategy, "we did some significant market mapping to really understand where we wanted to pinpoint and why. We found roughly 20 key cities around the country with a combination of our target demographic and also a golf density. And Nashville was on that list."
He looked at 12South as well as other neighborhoods, but went with Wedgewood Village because "it matches what we're trying to do as a brand: create community and really unique experiences, and that's what we believe Wedgewood Village provides. It's its own little ecosystem that creates a destination for people looking to have a different shopping and dining experience, and we wanted to be a part of that because it really matches who we are as a brand."