High-rise construction cranes rise above the city center, nearly 10.000 hotel rooms are under construction, tall, thin houses replace 50s ranch homes, all indications are that Nashville's diverse economy is thriving.
Nashville added jobs at a 3,6 percent annual rate from 2009 to 2016, the 20th fastest among the country's 315 metropolitan areas, according to data from the United States Conference of Mayors.
Nashville is thriving
The Metro Nashville government has provided subsidies for companies looking to relocate, expand, or stay in the city, both before and during the latest wave of growth.
He targeted property tax incentives and redevelopment funds for the once-broken parts of downtown. Today a restaurant serves $ 68 Wagyu strip steak in the Gulch, a former industrial hinterland, and some question whether the city should continue to pump public funds to shore up development.
“Ultimately, everyone wants to come here. Nashville is one of the hottest markets in the country,” said Mark Cunningham, a spokesman for the Tennessee Beacon Center, a libertarian think tank based in Nashville. “That’s why it makes little sense to use taxpayer money to give to these companies – they want to come here anyway.”
Metro diverted $ 19,7 million of property taxes in 2015 to help pay for business loans and other redevelopment expenses.
The Omni Nashville Hotel and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum received a loan worth more than $ 61 million for its development in 2011, for example. Businesses are ultimately responsible for repaying loans made under this tax increase financing, or TIF.
Comprehensive growth
In Nashville, TIFs can be used to purchase improvements to land or public infrastructure, such as utility lines and sidewalks. As of September 2016, Nashville had $ 171.8 million of outstanding TIF loan balances at 36 properties.
Metro also uses tax and subsidy cuts to attract businesses. Between 2010 and early 2017, it provided companies with property tax incentives and other incentives worth more than $ 167 million, according to an analysis of data provided by the Mayor's Office of Economic and Community Development. Those companies then promised to add about 13.000 jobs and $ 1.2 billion in capital investments.
Boosters in the area say government incentives are necessary to attract companies and investments from around the world.
“Just because the economy is hot doesn’t mean companies stop looking for the best business climate,” said Janet Miller, former director of economic development for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and now CEO of Colliers International in Nashville. “You don’t want to say Nashville is closed for business.”
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