OneC1TY, a healthcare- and technology-focused community under construction on 18.7 acres near Nashville, Tenn., will include a mini retail district made from 21 shipping containers, the first time in this market containers have been repurposed for such use.
The 8x40-foot containers, which are being supplied by New York-based SG Blocks, will coalesce into 8,000 sf of retail selling space, with another 4,000 sf of metal roofing between the containers. The containers will sit on concrete piers, and there will be space underneath their foundations for the installation of plumbing, electrical, and HVAC equipment. A wood deck connecting the containers “will help make everything flush,” says Ryan Doyle, oneC1TY’s general manager. He estimates the containers’ buildout will cost about $2 million.
The Nashville Post reported that Avo, a natural food restaurant, is the first announced tenant for the repurposed container space, which is being called C1TYblox.
C1TYblox should be completed by year’s end. (A local contractor, The Carter Group, is handling the construction.) Cambridge Holdings, this project’s developer, expects C1TYblox to be operational up to the final phase of oneC1TY’s buildout, which is expected to take a couple of years.
The oneC1TY project, with an estimated cost of $400 million, will have eight permanent buildings with 1 million sf of commercial, residential, research, and retail space for heathcare, life sciences and technology sectors. The first building—a four-story, 125,000-sf office space—is under construction, and two other buildings have been permitted. All of the permanent buildings will have retail on the first floor.
Doyle says the main advantages of using containers for the retail district are their flexibility and sustainability. For example, their modular interior design can be adjusted as different retail tenants move in and out. “That increases the investment life of the property,” he explains.
C1TYblox is a bit of a departure for Dallas-based Cambridge Holdings, which specializes in healthcare facilities. But Doyle says that oneC1TY represents an expansion of Cambridge’s portfolio into developing communities that promote healthy lifestyles. (It hopes to attract fitness-related retailers as tenants.) Cambridge is looking for opportunities to place similar, smaller, concepts in large cities like Dallas.
The interior design for this project includes commercial kitchens, bathrooms with showers, and a community conference center “that will be tricked out with the latest technology,” says Doyle. The campus will also include ample green space and recreational areas such as volleyball courts.
Related Stories
| Sep 15, 2022
Monthly construction input prices dip in August
Construction input prices decreased 1.4% in August compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released today.
| Sep 15, 2022
First LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue opens
Kol Emeth Center, the world’s first LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue, opened recently in Palo Alto, Calif.
| Sep 14, 2022
Fires on Amazon warehouse roofs seemingly caused by faulty PV installations
Amazon has made installing solar panels on rooftops a key part of its ESG strategy, but a series of events last year show how challenging greening up major facilities can be.
| Sep 14, 2022
Indian tribe’s new educational campus supports culturally appropriate education
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe recently opened the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus (Kenai River People’s Learning Place), a new education center in Kenai, Alaska.
| Sep 13, 2022
California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings
California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.
| Sep 13, 2022
Orange County opens civic center complex—one of California’s largest P3 projects
Orange County’s recently opened County Administration North (CAN) building caps an urban center development that constitutes one of California’s largest ever P3 projects.
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2022
Lab space scarcity propels construction demand in life sciences sector
In its 2021 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, JLL predicted that access to talent would be a primary concern for an industry sector that had been growing by leaps and bounds. A year later, talent still guides real estate decisions. But market conditions of a different sort were cooling the biotech field: namely, investors that have soured on startups which underperformed after going public. What this means for new construction and renovation going forward is unpredictable, as the drivers behind life sciences’ surge are still palpable.
Architects | Sep 12, 2022
FWA Group joins national architecture, interior design, and planning firm Hord Coplan Macht
Hord Coplan Macht acquires FWA Group.
| Sep 12, 2022
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize.
| Sep 12, 2022
San Antonio’s new courthouse aims to provide safety and security while also welcoming the public
The San Antonio Federal Courthouse, which opened earlier this year, replaces a courthouse that had been constructed as a pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair.