Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump says Nashville is “absolutely ready” for a five-star, super-luxury hotel.
Trump made the declaration to me Friday, after taking the stage among a parade of presidential contenders addressing the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, which Nashville hosted this week.
Nashville’s hotel scene has changed practically overnight, becoming the fastest-growing hotel market in the nation — and it’s not even close. A 27-story Westin is under construction and a 33-story JW Marriott is in the pipeline, both in SoBro. Luxury boutique brands from New York City to San Francisco have hotels planned in the Gulch and in Midtown. Virgin Group Ltd., the company run by British billionaire Richard Branson, will operate a planned 19-story hotel on Music Row. The Union Station Hotel sold last year at a local record price: The buyer, from Baltimore, paid the equivalent of $418,000 for each of the hotel’s 125 rooms (a total price tag of $52.3 million).
“I think Nashville is ready for (continue reading)