“The new space is designed specifically for HealthSpring, which will improve our ability to serve our current and future Medicare members and allow us to continue to expand our operations within Middle Tennessee,” HealthSpring Executive Vice President Shawn Morris said.  “The new building will also allow us to consolidate our operations in a financially responsible way, which is especially important in the current economic environment.”

A second lease-purchase –– the one that could turn controversial for some council members –– would allow Metro to move events held at the fairgrounds to the 200,000-square-foot former Dillard’s site at the south end of the mall. As part of the lease, CBL Properties would be required to pump $2.5 million into the building to renovate the building to meet expo center needs.

Yet the biggest factor of note for 2010’s “impressive performance” is resident retention by apartment firms, particularly at a time when new lease turnover is very high, said Willett. The churn in the shadow market, he added, is “incredible, and apartments—the safe rental choice—are picking up households from riskier rental alternatives, such as condos or single-family homes put on the market for rent.

Investors are seeking returns of 6 percent to 7 percent from well-leased “core” properties, meaning the highest- quality buildings in the best locations, according to the survey. For higher-risk investments, they’re expecting returns within two or three percentage points of 15 percent. That’s down from the more than 20 percent returns they sought before lenders withdrew from the market after the 2008 credit crash caused more than $1.8 trillion of financial losses and asset writedowns worldwide.

In an address to our Board of Directors, City Manager Mike Walker stated that this could be the most important legislation that the city has considered in 40 years. Michael Hindman of H. Michael Hindman Architects agrees, "If this does go through, I believe that redevelopment in the (Town Center) area has a much higher chance of occurring successfully." The proposed amendments to the C4 Town Center Zoning will be presented for a first reading by the Brentwood City Commission tonight, October 11th. The amendments will then be reviewed by the Brentwood Planning Commission on November 1st. There will be a public hearing at the City Commission meeting on November 8th. It is at this meeting that the public will have the opportunity to make comments. It is important that residents and corporate citizens also attend this meeting to speak in favor of the amendments. It is important to show support for the amendments and support for the Commissioners.