Peabody Union
Large Project (over 25,000 sf)
Peabody Union is a 10-year project on the river bluff of the South Bank neighborhood of Downtown Nashville. From acquiring a highly prominent property from the city, to designing a large-scale, mixed-use project with an emphasis on the public realm, this project is the result of intentional and meaningful consideration of the greater community - providing a financially viable private development that equally benefits all citizens and visitors to Nashville.
Project Statement
Located on one of Nashville's most prominent riverfront sites, Peabody Union establishes a vibrant mixed-use destination and a critical link in the city's greenway network. Rooted in the history, ecology, and geography of the Cumberland River, the project responds to the site's industrial past while advancing sustainability, resilience, and public access.
Peabody Union transforms a former surface parking lot into an active, environmentally productive district. Four interconnected buildings deliver 50,000 square feet of retail, 250,000 square feet of Class-A office space, a 455,000-square-foot luxury residential tower, and 132,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space. Nearly one acre of additional improvements along the eastern river bluff enhance the adjacent greenway and expand waterfront access, and below-grade parking reinforces a pedestrian-oriented environment.
Sited just north of the historic trolley barns, the three primary buildings run north-south, echoing the landmark structures and extending a network of open-air pedestrian alleys. Carves at the plaza level create shaded, crossing paseos linking the development to surrounding streets, ground-floor retail, and the riverfront greenway. The plan connects to the Peabody Plaza pocket park, a civic space that prioritizes people, landscape, and ecological performance while guiding movement toward the river's edge. On the eastern bluff, the new River Overlook pairs native planting and bioretention systems with accessible pathways, turning an underused riverfront edge into a civic amenity that manages stormwater while framing views of the skyline.
Environmental performance and occupant wellbeing reinforce one another throughout. Pursuit of LEED, Fitwel, and WiredScore certifications reflects a holistic approach to energy efficiency, water stewardship, and human-centered design. The team prioritized regionally sourced materials and diverted over 3,000 tons of construction waste from the landfill through a new city initiative. Custom high-performance glazing preserves dramatic views while reducing solar heat gain, high-efficiency fixtures cut water use, and machine-learning-controlled cooling towers continuously modulate consumption. Green roofs, bioretention ponds, and on-site stormwater detention further support resilience.
Material expression draws from the site's industrial vernacular: two low-scale retail buildings clad in brick and steel, a six-story office building in dark copper-anodized aluminum with 50,000-square-foot floor plates suited to technology and creative tenants, and, rising between the trolley barn-inspired buildings, a 27-story residential tower elevated to preserve views and allow public activity to pass beneath.
Completed in 2025, Peabody Union represents a major investment in Nashville's public realm, strengthening greenway connectivity, expanding river access, and delivering lasting civic value through high-performance design.
Framework for Design Excellence Narrative
Design for Integration - At the pedestrian level, Peabody Union aligns with the historic trolley barns, grounding a twenty-first-century mixed-use development in South Bank's original working identity and giving the neighborhood the civic enclosure and street-level activation it has long lacked.
Design for Equitable Communities - Parking is placed below grade, minimizing visual and environmental impacts, reinforcing a pedestrian-oriented environment with open circulation and activation from all sides.
Design for Discovery - Peabody Union removes the vehicle from the ground plane entirely, establishing a pedestrian-oriented destination that redefines the neighborhood's public life. The master plan is organized around discoverable moments of activation at street level, enabling patrons to shape their own experience through the site. A pedestrian-only plaza weaves together diverse circulation paths and cut-through connections, positioning restaurants and retail as continuous landmarks along every route. Movement through the site is fluid and open, rewarding each visit with something new.
Design for Ecosystems, Energy, Water - Along the project's eastern edge, nearly one acre of improvements enhance the adjacent greenway and expand public access to the Cumberland River bluff. Green roofs, bioretention areas, and on-site stormwater detention work in concert to support ecological performance and long-term resilience, while grounding the visitor's experience in the living landscape. The River Overlook anchors this edge as a civic amenity, weaving native planting, bioretention systems, and accessible pathways into a continuous riverfront sequence that transforms a previously underutilized boundary into an active threshold between city and water.
LEED/Green Certifications
LEED Gold
Price/sq. ft. if provided
Withheld at Owner’s Request
Photo Captions
2\. Peabody Union from the South façade
3\. Peabody Union’s engagement and continuation of the historic, adjacent trolley-barns towards the South
4\. The exterior courtyard
5\. The mirrored sheltered connector between buildings
6\. The monumental stair and sheltered connector between buildings
7\. Porous, interconnected access unifying the site through exterior courtyards
8\. Looking up at The Olive residential tower from the exterior courtyard
9\. Peabody Union’s new connection to the greenway and engagement with the river
10\. Interplay between the office, retail, and residential programs of the development
11\. Peabody Union’s new connection to the greenway and engagement with the river
12\. The lobby to The Olive
13\. Stair details inside The Olive
14\. The amenity spaces inside The Olive
15\. Peabody Union amongst the skyline at dusk.
