Country music superstar John Rich and business partner Phil Martin, have purchased the Seanachie Irish Pub building in downtown Nashville. The building, located at 329 Broadway is pending renovations as the group is currently in the process of acquiring building permits, submitting plans and the like. While I have not been able to confirm the purchase price, I was told that the number was in the neighborhood of $2 million. There is no word on when the 16,083 square foot building may be complete or what the bar will be called, but one thing is for sure, John Rich won’t get kicked out of this bar!
According to sources, Phil Martin is a developer who has had quite a bit of development success in Alabama and Florida. He’s also described as a very tall and outgoing fella who always wears a black cowboy hat. I was also told that if you ever get the chance to meet him, you’ll always remember him. That’s quite a description.
John Rich and Jimmy Buffet in Nashville?
The news of a downtown John Rich owned bar comes right on the heels of the rumor that Jimmy Buffett is planning on opening a Margaritaville in the old Planet Hollywood building which is now called the Global Café. The potential Margaritaville just so happens to be located directly across the street from John Rich’s project giving the corner of Broadway and 4th Avenue quite a celebrity flavor. Recently, the Margaritaville rumor has been semi-confirmed as a job posting for a Nashville area manager was briefly posted on the Margaritaville website.
So what does all of this have to do with downtown Nashville condos and houses in Green Hills? More than you would think. Retail users follow rooftops and not just vacant rooftops either. It appears that along with the new Music City Center and potential Medial Trade Center, quite a few infill users may be on the horizon, making downtown Nashville a more livable and desirable place to live. This is turn, pushes up real estate values and attracts more potential buyers and renters. Granted, the true value increases are down the road, but at least you can now clearly see the road and it so happens to include an express lane. Everyone will tell you that I am not that bullish on most Nashville real estate, but there are several distressed and non-distressed deals you should be looking at in order to take advantage of the momentum that John Rich and Jimmy Buffett are creating for the city.
