Broadstone Germantown 275-unit apartment building planned

A Phoenix-based multifamily developer plans to buy 2.6 acres in Germantown to build a five-story, 275-unit apartment building with a restaurant space on the ground floor.

Broadstone Germantown would be the first project here for Alliance Residential Co., which owns roughly 25,000 units and manages more than 60,000 units nationwide.

The project site is the entire city block bounded by Second and Third avenues and Madison and Jefferson streets. That location is two blocks from the ballpark being built for the Nashville Sounds, which is one of the reasons that has made Germantown even more attractive to developers.

Alliance hopes to break grounds this fall with construction finishing in 2016, said Andrew G. Steffens, who is managing the development process for the company.

"The target market will be the renter who wants to be part of a historic, walkable neighborhood, which is also walkable to downtown, the incredible new ballpark and a host of restaurants," Steffens said, adding that Broadstone Germantown tenants will have views of the State Capitol, Bicentennial Mall and the downtown skyline.

Houston-based Meeks + Partners, which originally put the site under contract, is the architect. Alliance's construction company will build the luxury apartments, Steffens said, adding the company has secured funding from institutional investors for the project.

Current occupants of the project site — an equipment yard for masonry company Wasco, Third Avenue Kitchen and Third Avenue Industrial Hardware — are expected to relocate.

In addition to the restaurant space, the ground floor of Broadstone Germantown will house a leasing office for the apartments, a state-of-the-art club room and private gym.

Alliance recently opened a Nashville office to pursue development opportunities in a multifamily market that the developer expects to remain strong for years, Steffens said. More than two years ago, the company looked at a potential site on Nashville's Charlotte Avenue for a 235-unit apartment project but decided not to move forward.

Steve Massey, a specialist in multifamily sales with the Nashville office of real estate firm CBRE, said job growth, which feeds absorption of apartments, remains strong locally. "It's an area that's on the (rise) — getting better and more vibrant everyday," he said of Germantown.

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