Rumor: Nashville Med Mart Dead; Cleveland the Winner… of Something (Updated)

• It’ll look better later, we promise.

Update IV: All those whispers we’ve been hearing for the last eight months that the Nashville Med Mart project was done, all met with responses from down south that we were crazy and the Nashville project would forge on, collect tenants, and become an actual thing?

One of us was right.

The Nashville Med Mart today announced it’s halting its plans.

Via Crain’s, the prepared statement:

“Ending a development venture with such clear benefits for the health care industry has become a difficult decision but ultimately we were unable to meet our internal leasing targets,” said Market Center president and CEO Bill Winsor in a prepared statement.

“As we said from the outset, we would only proceed if we secured a critical mass of signed, long-term leases from industry leaders that would allow us to confidently take the project into the marketplace for financing,” Mr. Winsor said.

— Grzegorek

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Update III: For all the death knells signaled for the Nashville Med Mart, the project down south is still alive for now, kind of like John C. Reilly sitting in an open grave brushing off the dirt being shoveled by Will Ferrell.

The group running the Nashville project announced last Friday that six new tenants had signed leases. They had previously said they’d need 60% of the space leased before final financing would be complete. After the six new tenants, the number’s at 45%.

Via MedCity News:

Property developer Market Center Management Co. said it’s engaged a Nashville-area financial consultant “to advance final plans for the financing package and structure,” according to a statement.

[snip]

MMPI, the Chicago-based property developer behind the Cleveland project, reacted coolly to the Nashville announcement in an emailed statement. “While we can’t speak for their timetable or leasing strategy, we do monitor the Nashville project — and note that they have stated that they are still working on the leasing and financing before they can start construction,” said Jim Bennett, senior vice president with MMPI.

The Cleveland Med Mart is on target to open in August 2013. Nashville is aiming for 2014. The over/under on when both will close and be converted to greenhouses or indoor skateparks: September 2017. — Grzegorek

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Update II: More groundswell, unconfirmed for now, that the whole Nashville Med Mart project is nothing more than a Tupac hologram.

This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2012.