Nashville, TN – Market Center Management Company (MCMC) of Dallas announced plans to build a medical mart facility in downtown Nashville that would be larger overall than the proposed Music City Center.
MCMC, a division of Crow Holdings, owns or manages marts on three continents, including the Dallas Market Center, the ShanghaiMart and Trade Mart Brussels.
MCMC said May 18 that site selection for the project was underway. No development agreements for the medical mart have been signed but the company said discussions with Nashville civic and business leaders have been taking place for several months and the project is expected to move along at a brisk pace.
The multi-building development is expected to span 1.5 million square feet. The Nashville Convention Center offers 118,675 square feet of prime exhibit space and is considered by city leaders to be too small and too old to be competitive in the convention and trade show market.
As with other mart facilities, the Nashville Medical Trade Center would include permanent showrooms for medical device companies as well as exhibit and conference space for trade shows. The venue would cater to the healthcare industry in greater Nashville, which includes Vanderbilt University. “An international medical trade center is a natural fit for Nashville because it is already a national hub for medical business and education,” said Bill Winsor, president and CEO of MCMC.
The project could face competition for market share from Cleveland, where Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. is preparing for construction of its own medical mart.
Reach Bill Winsor at (214) 655-6100 or bwinsor@dmcmail.com
