Event producer pays $2 million for new MetroCenter headquarters

• Destination Nashville owner Rhonda Marko bought 210 Venture Circle from the owner of Animax Designs.
• Animax's Chuck Fawcett used proceeds from that sale and from selling land elsewhere in MetroCenter to buy that design firm new headquarters off Brick Church Pike.

An event production company that's riding Nashville's tourism boom will consolidate its offices at a MetroCenter office building that its owner just purchased for $2.02 million.

Next spring, Destination Nashville plans to consolidate both the company's corporate offices now in Goodlettsville and its downtown location on Demonbreun Street in space at the Encore condo tower into the 10,500-square-foot-building at 210 Venture Circle. 

"With the continued development and growth of downtown Nashville, Destination Nashville recognized the need for a larger facility nearer to the city core yet close to the airport corridor," said company President and Chief Executive Rhonda L. Marko.

Charles W. Fawcett III, the owner and CEO of Animax Designs, was the seller of the building his design firm has called home for more than a decade. He used proceeds from that sale and the $2 million sale of a 3.08-acre parcel at 261 French Landing Drive in MetroCenter toward buying for $6.3 million a 77,770-square-foot building at 2834 Brick Church Pike that will become Animax's new headquarters.

Destination Nashville's headquarters at 210 Venture Circle will have 8,000 square feet of office space and 2,500 square feet of warehouse space with a loading dock. The company plans to keep an office at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

With 30 full-time employees and a part-time staff of more than 100 people, Destination Nashville generated $15.6 million in annual revenues last year. The company produces more than 500 events a year, ranging from 50 to 5,000 guests each.  

Destination Nashville is the preferred destination management company vendor for the Opryland hotel, the Omni Nashville Hotel, Hilton Nashville Downtown, Union Station Hotel and The Westin Nashville hotel and is the exclusive Nashville partner for the Global DMC Partners worldwide consortium. 

Brokers Jimmy Pickel and Todd Alexander of Southeast Venture represented Fawcett in selling 210 Venture Circle, with buyer Marko represented by Mike Gaughan of RE/MAX Choice Properties.

Pickel and Alexander also represented Fawcett in selling the land at 261 French Landing, with their colleague Michael Finucane of Southeast Venture representing buying entity 261 French Landing Partnership. 

Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.