Metro begins design work on new fire department headquarters, announces temporary move to Global Mall

Metro Nashville is beginning design work on a new Fire Department Headquarters and Fire Station 2. As part of the process, the headquarters which is currently located at multiple separate facilities will make a temporary move to the Bridgestone Building at Global Mall.

At Global Mall, the plans for relocation cap a successful year of progress on implementing the public's vision for the site as imparted through an extensive community engagement process. That progress includes new zoning, readying the interior of the mall for demolition, and a strong start to the planning process for a new neighborhood transit center.

"The Nashville Fire Department is excited to announce our temporary relocation to the Global Mall at Hickory Hollow Parkway. Thanks to the support of multiple mayoral administrations, we have been able to expand our services to meet the growing needs of our community," Fire Department Director Chief William Swann said. "This growth includes increased demands on our Fire Marshal's Office for inspections and our administrative staff.

"The Global Mall property provides us with the space needed to accommodate our expansion as we prepare for the construction of the new Fire Station 2 and the Nashville Fire Department Headquarters. I am grateful to Mayor O'Connell, the Metro Planning Department, Councilmember Joy Styles, and Director Gerald Smith at Metro General Services who have helped us find a suitable location for a temporary headquarters.

"We look forward to continuing our mission and serving the community from our temporary home while building for the future."

Mayor Freddie O'Connell added, "We've worked very hard with the Antioch community to ensure the overall Global Mall site delivers what neighbors envision, want, and need. As an interim step, we can now put a core public safety function on site temporarily that activates one of the buildings. This is a safety and efficiency step that helps the surrounding area as we keep making longer term progress."

Over the last year, Metro Nashville has made progress on elevating the property to a stronger community asset than the current, closed mall allows. The Metro Planning Commission adopted the Global Mall Master Plan in July of this year.

Work on the mall and adaptation of the master plan comes after an extensive community engagement process where neighbors offered their thoughts on how the site could better serve the community. That started this year with zoning changes to allow for more uses at the site.

Demolition of the interior of the mall is slated to begin in the first part of 2025. All current end cap tenants like the Southeast Community Center, library, Nashville State, and Bridgestone will remain. Passage of Choose How You Move ensures continued work on a community transit center on the site that would serve South Nashville.