The Airport submarket is Nashville's close-in industrial market: minutes from downtown, on top of I-40 and I-24, and next to a growing cargo airport. It has two personalities. Around the airport, newer buildings are being delivered for the first time in years. In Donelson and along Elm Hill Pike, the older stock is cheaper and often the better value for the right operation. The Giles Group represents tenants only. We never represent landlords.
Location. Nashville International Airport (BNA) sits about 8 miles east of downtown, just south of I-40, with I-24 and Briley Parkway close by. Donelson is the neighborhood just north, about 6 miles from downtown, with a WeGo Star commuter rail stop.
The airport. BNA handled a record 26.7 million passengers in the fiscal year ending June 2026 and is in the middle of a roughly $3 billion expansion, including a new multi-tenant cargo building. Amazon Air has flown daily cargo from BNA since 2021.
Industrial areas. Airpark Business Center (1.3 million SF, 14 buildings, renovated in 2016) near I-40; the Elm Hill Pike corridor; Airpark Commerce Center; and Holladay's planned 135-acre Airport Logistics Park at Donelson Pike.
Who's here. Amazon runs a same-day facility on the former Dell campus. HarperCollins Christian Publishing is headquartered in Donelson. FedEx operates at BNA.
A blue-collar, logistics-driven submarket. Demand comes from parcel and freight carriers, e-commerce and same-day delivery, air cargo and the businesses that need to be close to both the airport and downtown: contractors, distributors, event and hospitality suppliers, light manufacturing.
The closest industrial market to downtown Nashville, with I-40 and I-24 at the door. For anything that flies, the only submarket that makes sense. And Donelson and Elm Hill Pike have older stock that can be meaningfully cheaper than new construction, and for many operations it works fine.
Age and condition: much of the Donelson-side stock is decades old. Clear heights, dock configurations, power and roofs vary widely. Some buildings have been renovated; many haven't. New space costs more: the newer airport-side buildings carry the rents you'd expect for new construction. Decide early whether your operation needs new, or just needs functional. Traffic: I-40 and the airport interchanges are congested at peak hours, and the airport's construction program adds to it through at least 2028.
Companies sign for the space they need now, grow, and have no expansion right and no room next door. Negotiate growth into the lease: a right of first offer on adjacent space, an expansion option or a shorter term with renewals.
A renovated 1980s building on Elm Hill Pike can run the same operation as a new one at the airport. Price the difference against what your operation actually needs.
In older stock, roof, HVAC, electrical and slab condition are negotiating points, not surprises to discover after move-in. Get them inspected before the LOI, and negotiate landlord responsibility for what you find.
Airpark Commerce Center's second phase (318,250 SF in two buildings) broke ground in June 2026 and is due in early 2027. Holladay has proposed up to nine buildings at its 135-acre Airport Logistics Park near I-40 and Donelson Pike. BNA's New Horizon program brings a rebuilt Concourse A (2028), a new central core (2027), a new rental-car and parking structure, and a 70,000 SF multi-tenant air cargo facility planned for 2027. In August 2026 the airport's finance committee recommended a Boring Company tunnel to downtown, with board approval pending.
An apparel manufacturer relocated from out of state into a ~27,000 SF airport-area industrial facility: landlord-funded TI, commencement tied to production ramp-up, 60-month term, negotiated against Cushman & Wakefield.
Three Nashville industrial leases over nine years, from ~6,300 to ~24,500 SF, then a negotiated early exit when the business pivoted to AI.
Close enough that most tenants should look at both. Donelson is the older, closer-in stock north of the airport; the airport side has the newer buildings. The right answer depends on whether your operation needs new construction or just needs to work.
Yes, for the first time in a while. Airpark Commerce Center is delivering new buildings in 2027, and a larger logistics park is proposed near Donelson Pike.
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. Need more space or lower cost? 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.