By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC
Randy C. Davis, left, executive director/treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, signs the closing documents on the new property that will house the convention’s Church Support Center. Looking on is Wes Turner, real estate attorney and former Executive Board member from First Baptist Church, Nashville.
BRENTWOOD — The Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention signed the closing documents on property in Franklin Oct. 26, preparing the way for construction to begin on a permanent location for the convention’s Church Support Center.
“We are thankful to have this step behind us and can now turn our attention to the construction,” said Randy C. Davis, executive director of the Executive Board. “This is a momentous day in the life of Tennessee Baptists and the future of our ministry to those in our state and around the world.”
The 2.3-acre mixed-use property is located in the Berry Farms business development located adjacent to I-65 and near the Goose Creek Bypass (State Route 248), just north of State Route 840. Construction on the 32,000-square-foot building is scheduled to begin March 1, 2016 with a completion date slated by March 1, 2017. The Executive Board Ministries will move into the location as soon as construction is completed.
“This will be a much more modest building in terms of size than the one we vacated,” Davis said. “We have streamlined everything about our ministry and support of Tennessee Baptist churches. We are going from the 88,000-square-foot building in Brentwood that we occupied for 48 years, to 32,000 square feet at Berry Farms.”
Smith Gee Studio is the architectural firm designing the new space, Hardaway Construction is the contractor and Southeast Ventures is managing the project. All three are Nashville-area companies.
The former property, located at the corner of Maryland Way and Franklin Road in Brentwood, was sold in 2013 for approximately $8.75 million dollars. Davis said the expectation is that the construction of the new property will be completed debt free.
The Executive Board Ministries are currently located in leased office space in Brentwood.
“We look back 48 years ago at those Baptists that had the God-given vision to invest in that property in the middle of a little town that became one of the best cities in America,” Davis said. “It was their vision that has enabled us to make this move. The legacy of those leaders has never been far from our minds. We too recognize we have a responsibility to continue that legacy while at the same time being responsible to our current and future Tennessee Baptists to be good stewards of our resources.”
