Exclusive: H.G. Hill lands financial giant for high-profile Brentwood development

April 7, 2016

Nashville Business Journal
by Adam Sichko

Legacy Nashville company H.G. Hill Realty Co. has snagged a global wealth management firm as the latest tenant in its Hill Center Brentwood mixed-use development.

Merrill Lynch has signed a lease for just about 22,000 square feet within the project, according to multiple real estate sources. That adds another high-profile name to the $211 million development, which ranks among the largest underway in Williamson County (as seen on our interactive development map).

The county itself stands as the fastest-growing in the region and one of the most affluent in the nation — and it’s adding jobs at a faster clip than any other county in the country. At the same time, just a fraction of 1 percent of all the top-grade Class A office space in the county is available to rent today, a historic shortage that cramps the ability of companies to expand or relocate there. So it’s little surprise Hill Center Brentwood has seen such success leasing its forthcoming office buildings.

The first office building in Hill Center Brentwood, at the corner of Franklin Road and Maryland Way, is scheduled to open this fall. It is anchored by the headquarters of LBMC, the accounting and business consulting company formerly known as Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain.

Merrill Lynch will occupy the remaining office space in that building, according to a source familiar with the deal. The firm is moving out of its existing office in Brentwood, located one mile down Maryland Way. Other Merrill Lynch offices downtown and in Cool Springs will remain open and operating, according to a source familiar with the deal.

Merrill Lynch ranks as the fourth-largest stock broker in the region, based on its headcount of licensed securities brokers, according to our Book of Lists research.

Calls to Jimmy Granbery, the chairman and CEO of H.G. Hill Realty, were not returned. A spokeswoman for Granbery referred questions to Merrill Lynch. Calls to local and national representatives for Merrill Lynch were not returned.

Other office tenants that have signed leases for Hill Center Brentwood include TMPartners, which is the architect on the project, as well as First Tennessee Bank. They’ll both move into an office building facing Franklin Road that is scheduled to open next year.

All those office tenants pretty much fill the first dose of office space planned for Hill Center Brentwood. Overall, the project is designed to have 450,000 square feet of office space and another 150,000 square feet of retailers and restaurants.

Exclusive: H.G. Hill lands financial giant for high-profile Brentwood development

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