Franklin Marriott Hotel and
Cool Springs Conference Center

LOCATION Franklin, Tennessee (Suburban Nashville)

TYPE OF OWNERSHIP Public/Private Partnership

OPENING DATE May 1999

DESCRIPTION
As a principal, JMS capitalized this 300-room, full-service conference hotel with equity and debt financing. In addition, JMS arranged the sale of the hotel and dissolution of the ownership entity.

FACILITIES

· Three-meal restaurant

· Bar and lobby lounge

· Convenience retail outlet

· Indoor pool and health club

· 25,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space

Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, is home to many of America's most famous country singers. As the area developed it also became the location for Cool Springs Mall, greater Nashville's most upscale shopping complex, and the site of the very successful master planned office development.

As Franklin emerged as the premier new suburban submarket of the Nashville metropolitan area, city leaders felt the need to provide a first class conference center and hotel complex that would serve the variety of corporate and social needs of the expanding community. The city of Franklin and the county of Williamson joined together to hold a competition to find a hotel company to develop and manage the conference center and lodging complex. Our development team selected the hotel site, secured the Marriott brand and was selected by the city and county.

The project design fully integrates the hotel and conference center, saving significant development and operating costs that would have resulted from duplicate back-of-the-house facilities. We secured the private capital needed for the project including a $25 million mortgage and $5.25 million in equity. The city and the county in partnership provided the public investment of $12 million required. The total $42.25 million project cost was financed with 28% public investment.

The Franklin Marriott Hotel is privately owned and the Cool Springs Conference Center is jointly owned by the city and county. Both facilities are privately managed under long term contracts.