Nashville’s Johnny Cash Museum expansion planned

• Museum owner buys its downtown home for $2.7M

The owner of The Johnny Cash Museum downtown has bought the building south of Broadway it calls home for $2.7 million, with plans for an expansion that will include adding a third floor.

Bill Miller expects work to expand the 21,000-square-foot building at 119 Third Ave. S. to start by December with a doubling of space the gift shop occupies on the first floor. The new third floor will have a 7,000-square-foot space for special events and a performance venue that could accommodate 800 people. After it opens, the existing 1,700-square-foot events space now booked for corporate events, weddings and small shows will become museum space.

The expansion ultimately will add nearly 15,000 square feet.

Miller said buying the property demonstrates his commitment to the Nashville community, his partnership with the Cash Estate and his desire to serve the deceased country icon’s fans worldwide. “We look forward to many more years in Nashville and have a lot of surprises coming in this very building,” he said.

He said the larger events space is needed to accommodate more of the three to four events a week the museum has had to turn down.

Nearly two years ago, Miller opened the gift shop in the building, with the museum following roughly a year ago. Recently, Conde Nast’s Traveler again ranked it No. 1 among the top “Must Visit Museums for Music Lovers” worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine included it among its “Top 10 Tennessee Spots for Music Lovers.”

Miller purchased the building, which sits on a quarter-acre, from Ritzen Properties II LLC, whose secretary is Charles Jason Ritzen.

Reach Getahn Ward at 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @Getahn.