The Summer Summit of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials will be held July 21-25 in Nashville, with hundreds of local elected officials from around the country in attendance.

Metro Nashville Council Member Sharon Hurt is serving as the 2021-2022 President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.

“Nashville is honored to host local elected officials from around the country, and we look forward to sharing our diverse offerings and rich history,” Mayor John Cooper says. “We are proud of our four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Nashville’s role as a hub for Black business and healthcare, and Music City’s roots in Black music and culture.”

This year is the first time that Nashville has played host to the group, which falls under the umbrella of the National League of Cities.

The National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials represents the interests of African American municipal officials and provides a forum to share ideas, best practices and develop leadership experiences. The group will meet at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville Yards.

CVS invests in Nashville affordable housing

CVS Health has announced it will invest $12.7 million with R4 Capital to build 204 new affordable housing units for individuals and families in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood in Nashville.

The investment is part of CVS Health’s commitment to address racial inequity and social determinants of health in underserved communities.

The 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Report issued by Mayor John Cooper’s office found that an estimated 65,000 households, nearly half of Nashville’s renter population, is rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of household income on rent.

The housing development, which is named 101 Factory, will support individuals and families earning up to 30%-70% of area median income and provide the resources they need to live healthier and reach their full potential.

“I applaud CVS Health for making such a significant investment in our city’s affordable housing portfolio,” Cooper says. “Metro has directed unprecedented levels of funding — more than $100M – to affordable housing over the past two years, but this work demands private sector partners, too. I hope this investment from CVS Health will spur more companies to join in because we must all work together to address Nashville’s affordable housing challenges.”

CVS Health is working with Elmington Capital Group, LLC to build Factory 101. The new development consisting of three, four-story residential buildings will be located at 101 Factory Street and will provide studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom housing units at a reduced rent to families with demonstrated need.

Planned amenities include a community room, a computer lab, fitness facility, on-site property management, a picnic area, a dog park and surface parking.

Curbio opening in Nashville

Curbio, Inc., a pay-at-closing home improvement solution for Realtors and their clients, are expanding their services into Nashville.

This expansion comes on the heels of the company’s $65M Series B round, announced late last month.

Curbio is a ground-breaking PropTech company that has set out to transform how Realtors get listings market-ready by using technology to drastically improve customer experience. The solution is designed specifically to get homes on the market 60% faster and sold for top dollar, without the hassle of traditional home improvement services.

Curbio currently serves 24 markets across the United States, making Nashville its 25th service area.

Curbio will be entering the Nashville market in partnership with two local brokerages, Parks Realty and The Ashton Real Estate Group.

Binkley Garcia joins Goodwyn Mills Cawood

Goodwyn Mills Cawood has acquired the architecture and interior design firm Binkley Garcia Architecture in Nashville.

Founded in 2000 by Joseph Binkley and Roy Garcia, Binkley Garcia provides architectural services, interior design, master planning and graphic design. Its primary focus has been educational, commercial and church architecture for clients throughout middle Tennessee and across the state.

GMC, with offices in Nashville and Franklin, features a suite of services that includes architecture, interior design, civil engineering, environmental services, landscape architecture, planning, transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, electrical engineering and disaster recovery.

Among the firm’s most recent notable projects in the area are the newly-completed AC Hotel by Marriott Nashville Brentwood; Middle Tennessee State University Student Athlete Performance Center, currently under design; Vanderbilt University Men and Women’s Game-Day Basketball Locker Room renovation; and Paris Landing Inn Replacement, which is slated for completion in April.

Binkley will serve as GMC’s regional vice president in Nashville, and Garcia will take on the role of vice president of architecture in Nashville.

ConsumerDirect rebrands as Real Genius

ConsumerDirect Mortgage, a division of Nashville-based FirstBank, will officially change its name to Real Genius.

The change will better align the company brand with its industry-leading technology that makes the mortgage process easier and more economical for consumers.

A division of FirstBank, Real Genius is dedicated to helping eliminate obstacles for homebuyers. The new branding rollout is anchored by the launch of a modern mortgage application platform that provides rate and cost transparency while maintaining a personalized approach and providing customers with access to veteran mortgage professionals.

Thornton founded Real Genius in 2012 as ConsumerDirect Mortgage, and the company was acquired by FirstBank in 2013.

Real Genius serves customers nationwide with mortgage offices throughout the Southeast.

TSU joins FedEx Ambassador program

FedEx has announced the launch of the FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador program, including students from Tennessee State University.

The program demonstrates a continued commitment to help prepare students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities to be future leaders with opportunities to learn about the FedEx enterprise from executives, build leadership and career-ready skills and participate in unique experiences, while also helping expand the company’s pipeline for diverse talent.

The program will officially kick off in March, with the first cohort of students who will participate in virtual and hybrid meetings. The intent is to introduce a new cohort each year, to align with the five-year commitment to HBCUs that FedEx announced last year.

FedEx also hosted a ‘Listen and Learn’ conversation with NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace with sports representatives from Tennessee State and Jackson State Universities.

Radiation Business backs Wheelhouse launch

Wheelhouse LLC, a new health care startup dedicated to improving the cancer patient experience while also reducing industry costs, has launched in the U.S. and is closing its pre-seed round.

Backed by oncology industry leaders such as Nashville-based Radiation Business Solutions, as well as Apollo Healthcare founder and CEO Ben Frank, Wheelhouse is an industry solution that aims to improve patient outcomes, increase patient satisfaction, and simultaneously reduce costs in the cancer care ecosystem.

By partnering with employers and benefits plans, Wheelhouse will bring value-based care navigation and cancer prevention programs directly to managed populations. Wheelhouse’s team aims to be agnostic to providers, health systems, or payors and navigate patients to the best - objectively measured – care. Wheelhouse’s physician leadership will work hand in hand with physician groups in communities with Wheelhouse-managed populations to formulate care standards and pathways based on national cancer care guidelines.

At the same time, Wheelhouse will provide person-to-person support throughout the cancer journey and later through long-term survivorship.

Patients will have access to oncology nurse navigation, care coordination, benefits advisory and palliative care consultations, as well as a newer concept in the oncology care continuum, Cancer Coaching.

Monogram to open in Dickson

Monogram Assembled Foods officials have announced the company has established new operations in Dickson.

Nearly 400 new jobs will be created, and the deal indicates a $53.5 million investment in the area.

Monogram purchased a building formerly owned by Conagra, which announced in early 2020 its plans to close the facility. As part of Monogram’s acquisition, the facility never closed, and the company offered employment to Conagra’s existing employees so that no jobs were lost during the transition.

Monogram’s Dickson operations will operate similarly to its other 10 U.S. manufacturing facilities, which offer a full range of meat snacks, appetizers, assembled sandwiches, fully cooked and raw bacon, corn dogs, USDA baked goods and other convenience products.

Founded in 2004, Monogram Foods is a privately held, Memphis-based manufacturer and marketer of packaged and value-added foods. The company has more than 3,000 employees and operates 11 manufacturing facilities in seven states.

In the last five years, TNECD has supported 160 economic development projects in Northern Middle Tennessee resulting in nearly 44,000 job commitments and approximately $7.5 billion in capital investment.

Tractor Supply plans aggressive expansion

Nashville’s Tractor Supply Company has surpassed 2,000 stores and plans to continue its ongoing expansion.

The company is set to open 75-80 new stores in 2022, including relocating a store this month in Minot, North Dakota, home of the original Tractor Supply location.

Tractor Supply Company began in 1938 as a mail-order business focused on providing quality tractor parts to farmers at fair prices.

In 2011, after 72 years in business, Tractor Supply celebrated the opening of its 1,000th store. It added another thousand just 10 years later and recently celebrated the grand opening of the 2,000th location in White House.

Tractor Supply stores provide a one-stop shop for the community, serving farmers, livestock and pet owners, ranchers and others.