Highland Yards

747 & 757 Douglas Avenue, Nashville, TN 37207

Photos by Andrew Keithly Photography

747 Douglas, known as Vaughn Manufacturing in the 1920’s, is a vibrant development of restaurants, retail, and office space located in the heart of Highland Heights in East Nashville. We were tasked with converting the existing industrial manufacturing campus, consisting of a 35,000 s.f. main building and a 4,000 s.f. adjacent stand alone mid-century modern office building into a vibrant mixed-use facility for flex office space, restaurants, fitness, etc. known now as Highland Yards. Our goal of the development was to utilize as much of the original structures as possible, including the original cmu walls, concrete floors, exposed bow trusses, steel frames, brick walls, and operable steel window frames, which have been meticulously restored to their original state and adapted for future use. The interior layout includes a “mall style” common corridor that connects patrons to multiple parking areas and provides access to the various tenant spaces and access to common area restrooms. Outdoor spaces were equally important in the design as it was important to the developer to create an active street scape with a variety of outdoor seating areas for the proposed hospitality tenants. We wanted to continue the industrial feel with the building materials at the buildings entrances and with the added steel shade structures at the outdoor seating areas of the development. The original concept was to have the manufacturing facility, still in business at another location, punch out steel panels that will serve as a shading devises attached to the top of the trellis located above the facility’s main outdoor space. The Highland Yards adaptive reuse project has spurred a wealth of new development in the surrounding neighborhood since completion and once fully occupied will house many exciting businesses including multiple restaurants, a fitness facility, salon and bath house, cocktail bar, etc. The industrial feel mixed with the vibrancy of new businesses create a dynamic and exciting spot to work, and play.