Hutt Cooke

How Matthews™ Delivered a Streamlined Retail Closing in One of Tennessee's Fastest-Growing Markets

Matthews™ facilitated the sale of Shops of Wilma Rudolph, a retail strip center located in Clarksville, Tennessee, for a price north of $5 million and above $500 per square foot. The property attracted strong interest from both in-state and out-of-state investors and ultimately closed quickly with the first buyer to go under contract. The buyer, a private investor from North Alabama completing a 1031 exchange, was drawn to the asset’s strong fundamentals, national tenant roster, value-add potential, and high-traffic location along Wilma Rudolph Boulevard.   Challenge The seller, a Tennessee-based developer, was looking to reallocate capital into other projects while maximizing pricing and maintaining an efficient timeline. A key challenge was communicating the long-term upside of the Clarksville market to out-of-state investors who were less familiar with the area’s rapid growth and retail demand. With Clarksville leading Tennessee in population growth over the last two years and experiencing more than 16% population growth since 2020, the Matthews™ agents needed to effectively position both the market and the property’s future potential.   Strategy Leveraging their deep local market expertise and understanding of Clarksville’s continued expansion, the agents positioned the asset as both a stable retail investment and a future growth opportunity. By highlighting the strength of the retail corridor, continued growth throughout Middle Tennessee, and lease comparables supporting future rent growth, Matthews™ generated strong investor interest early in the process. The marketing campaign attracted a broad buyer pool from both in-state and out-of-state markets within the first few weeks.   Greater emphasis was placed on the property’s national tenant roster, recent building improvements, strong traffic counts, and the opportunity for one below-market tenant lease to reset closer to market rents during the upcoming option period. This combination of stabilized income and future upside resonated strongly with the eventual buyer, who was actively seeking a replacement asset with durable real estate fundamentals to satisfy a 1031 exchange requirement.   Result The marketing process produced numerous qualified offers shortly after launch, allowing Matthews™ to secure the highest and best offer while maintaining a swift transaction timeline. The property ultimately closed with the first buyer to go under contract, demonstrating both the quality of the asset and the effectiveness of the execution strategy. The seller achieved favorable pricing, timing, and certainty of close, while the buyer secured a strategically located retail investment with long-term upside in one of Tennessee’s most dynamic growth markets.