Murfreesboro is the fastest-growing large city in Middle Tennessee and the center of Rutherford County: a university town, a regional retail hub along Medical Center Parkway, and an industrial market with I-24 and I-840 at its edges. It costs less to occupy and to live in than Franklin or Nashville, which is exactly why it keeps growing. The Giles Group represents tenants only. We never represent landlords.
Location. About 34 miles southeast of downtown Nashville and 30 miles from the airport on I-24, with I-840 looping the north side and I-65 13 miles west. State Routes 96 and 99 and US-231 connect the city's commercial corridors.
Growth. 152,769 at the 2020 census, up 40% in a decade, and the sixth-largest city in Tennessee. Current estimates run above 170,000. Rutherford County passed 380,000 in 2025 and is projected to be the state's third-largest county by 2050. Middle Tennessee State University enrolls about 20,800 students and employs about 2,500 people.
Retail nodes. The Avenue Murfreesboro, an 811,000 SF open-air center on Medical Center Parkway with Best Buy, Belk, Dick's and about 85 national retailers; Stones River Town Centre, the 671,000 SF former mall on Old Fort Parkway; the Gateway district around Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford; and the historic downtown square around the courthouse.
Employers. Amazon's Murfreesboro fulfillment center (about 2,700), Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, the Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, National HealthCare Corporation's headquarters, General Mills, Adient, Asurion, Cardinal Health and MAHLE.
Retail: a large, young, fast-growing customer base with two anchors, the university and the hospital district. Medical Center Parkway is where the regional retail lives; the rest of the city is served by neighborhood centers that are filling in behind the subdivisions. Restaurants, service retail, salons, fitness, medical and dental and family entertainment all find customers here.
Industrial: manufacturing and distribution users who want I-24 and I-840 access and Rutherford County labor without La Vergne and Smyrna's congestion. New parks on the I-840 side are adding the first large modern buildings the city has had in years.
Cost: Rutherford County's property tax rate and median home values sit well below Davidson and Williamson, which shows up in both occupancy cost and what employees can afford. Growth: more customers and more workers every year, with a university supplying both. Access: I-24 to Nashville and Chattanooga, I-840 around the city, and a new east-west link under way.
Distance: 34 miles from downtown Nashville means Nashville traffic doesn't come to you. Concepts that need it belong closer in. I-24: the commute to Nashville is among the worst in the region at peak hours. The state's priced Choice Lanes reached commercial close in 2026, but completion is years away. Older retail stock: Stones River Town Centre lost Dillard's in early 2025 and has no announced redevelopment plan. A tenant there needs to understand the center's direction before signing.
Lower rents than Franklin don't mean landlords negotiate. Growth-market landlords know the next tenant is coming. Leverage still comes from alternatives and comparable deals.
Medical Center Parkway, the university side and the subdivisions off I-840 serve different customers. Match the trade area to the concept before touring.
The city is growing fast and so will you. Negotiate expansion rights or a shorter term with renewals rather than committing ten years to the space you need now.
Fountains at Gateway's second phase, approved in 2024, adds up to 316 residences, a boutique hotel, a garage and restaurants on Medical Center Parkway, targeted for 2027; Trader Joe's opened on the parkway in 2025. Stonemont's Commerce Park 840 at I-840 is planned for about 1.4 million SF, Parkway Place adds a 150-acre park off Joe B. Jackson Parkway, and Barrett Firearms is expanding on Manchester Pike with a $76 million investment. The Cherry Lane extension will link I-840 and I-24 across the east side, SR 99 widens to five lanes by late 2027, and Buc-ee's broke ground at I-24 and Joe B. Jackson Parkway in late 2025.
A 15-year retail lease in Murfreesboro, one of three locations for a national salon suite operator, with 13 months at zero occupancy cost and 33% below asking across the portfolio.
A ~24,000 SF Rutherford County manufacturing lease, 124 months, negotiated against Prologis and Cushman & Wakefield.
For most tenants, yes. Rutherford County's tax rate is lower than Williamson's combined city and county rates, and land and occupancy costs generally follow. The trade is distance from Nashville.
The regional draw is Medical Center Parkway: The Avenue, the Gateway district and the hospital. Old Fort Parkway has the older mall-era retail, and downtown has the square.
Now. Twelve to 18 months gives you time to compare options and use them as leverage, whether you stay or move.
Nothing to you. Tenant representation is paid by the landlord. Looking at warehouse space closer to Nashville? See our La Vergne and Smyrna page.
Tell us what you need. After a short call to confirm fit, you'll get a principal-prepared snapshot of your options: locations, typical rents and our take. No cost, no obligation.