Lottery Announces Headquarters Site

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Lottery today announced it will lease a portion of the vacant Plaza Tower at Nashville’s MetroCenter, formerly the Nortel Networks building, as the site for its permanent headquarters.

The structure located at 200 Athens Way, Nashville, represented the lowest price among a group of finalist properties that were considered in a competitive process. The process began with an October 10 request for proposals for headquarters office space, and concluded this afternoon with the selection of the MetroCenter site.

Under preliminary terms of a 10-year lease, the Lottery will occupy approximately 55,000 square feet, or about one-quarter of the total space inside the MetroCenter building, which has been empty since Nortel Networks moved out in April. The average annual rate over the life of the lease is estimated to be $16.76 per square foot.

The Plaza Tower is owned by USAA Real Estate Company, based in San Antonio, Texas, and represented by Southeast Venture, Nashville.

In addition to the favorable lease rate, the property offers several benefits, including ample parking for employees and visitors, storage provided at no cost, secured access and existing telecommunications infrastructure. The building is located within one mile of Interstates 24, 40, 65 and 440, making it convenient and accessible to Lottery customers and employees.

“The Plaza Tower represents the lowest cost of the finalists and the best overall fit for the Lottery’s needs,” said Rebecca Paul, president and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery. “MetroCenter will be a good home for the Lottery for years to come.”

The building also will provide enough additional space to house the online gaming vendor, which will be selected by Nov. 24. The RFP for lottery gaming services, issued Oct. 3, requires the vendor to co-locate with the Lottery if the space is available.

Lottery staff will begin moving into the Plaza Tower as soon as next week. Since July, the Lottery has been operating in 3,500 square feet of temporary space in the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower on Eighth Avenue North, Nashville.

According to the statute creating the Tennessee Lottery, the lottery must be headquartered in Davidson County. Within a few weeks, the Lottery plans to select sites for district offices in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville and Northeast Tennessee.