After 62 years in the heart of downtown Nashville, Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, Inc., has relocated to 615 3rd Avenue South in the SoBro area.
Concurrent with its move, the professional services firm has rebranded and will now be known as Barge Design Solutions, Inc, effective January 2018. The new name elevates the firm’s focus of designing solutions for communities across its geographic footprint and around the world.
“Over the past few years, we have set a vision to be the premier provider of engineering, architectural and planning services,” says Bob Higgins, president and CEO of the firm. “Barge is providing design solutions to complex infrastructure challenges within and around our target marketplace, with recent expansions into Georgia and Texas. It makes sense for us to rebrand with a name that reflects our position in the marketplace and speaks to what we do every day.”
As part of the comprehensive rebranding, the name change will be accompanied by a new website, launching in January 2018, new logo and updated signage at all locations. The employee-owned firm has 350 employees located in 14 offices across five states.
The new corporate headquarters is a newly-completed, state-of-the-art, eight-story building. Barge Design Solutions occupies the top two floors.
The firm includes engineers, architects, landscape architects, planners and surveyors in offices in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. The company is ranked Number 199 on Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms list.
Stites & Harbison No. 5 on ABA Health Law list
The American Bar Association Health Law Section has ranked Stites & Harbison, PLLC No. 5 in its annual regional top 10 recognition for the South.
The listing is based on the numbers of members in the ABA Health Law Section in 2017.
The Health Law Section is the voice of the national health law bar within the ABA and includes more than 10,000 members. Its mission is to lead the national discussion on pertinent health law issues.
Charlotte Light Rail extension proposed
Mayor Megan Barry has announced the proposed Charlotte Avenue Light Rail Corridor could be extended beyond its current endpoint at I-440 towards White Bridge Pike.
The high-capacity transit line’s suggested extension brings the corridor in line with the recommendations made in phase one of the region’s nMotion strategic plan.
“Direct, high-capacity transit is an opportunity for businesses and residents alike, and it won’t stop short on Charlotte Avenue,” Barry says.
“Our revised finance plan gives us the opportunity to better connect West Nashville with the city’s transit network and provide even more residents with access to jobs and amenities available along the corridor and in the booming job centers downtown.”
Charlotte is one of the most densely developed corridors of the five light rail routes, with the largest concentration of jobs per acre and mixed-use developments west of I-440 that can be effectively served by reliable transit.
“While the transit plan as was first introduced was a great start, this addition makes it an even better program for the entire community,” says Kathleen Murphy, District 24 council member.
Extension of the line would better connect The Nations and Sylvan Park neighborhoods with the transit network, and bring rail to the doorstep of communities in Bellevue and West Nashville. With this addition, the Charlotte corridor will now have 5.2 miles of rail at a total cost of $697 million.
Baker Donelson wins M&A Advisor Awards
Baker Donelson has been named a winner in the 16th annual M&A Advisor Awards. The annual awards, presented by The M&A Advisor, recognize the industry’s leading M&A dealmakers.
Baker Donelson was named a winner in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Deal of the Year (Over $100 Million) category for its involvement in the acquisition by Medical Properties Trust, Inc. of the real estate interests of nine acute care hospitals operated by Steward Health Care System LLC and an equity interest in Steward.
Baker Donelson served as legal advisor to Medical Properties Trust in the October 2016 transaction, which was valued at $1.25 billion. Steward is the largest for-profit hospital system in Massachusetts. Baker Donelson, which was chosen from more than 650 participating companies to receive this award, was recognized at the Awards Gala on November 13 in New York.
Franklin Synergy adds Murfreesboro branch
Franklin Synergy Bank has announced the opening of a new Murfreesboro office.
The branch is at 1605 Medical Center Parkway, across from St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital. This office is Franklin Synergy’s sixth in Rutherford County, the second-fastest growing county in Tennessee for the past two calendar years and ranked 10th nationally for job growth for the year ending March 31, 2017.
Franklin Synergy has the second largest deposit market share in Rutherford County, as well as the leading deposit market share in Williamson County, in which it operates an additional seven branch offices.
The bank is holding a grand opening celebration 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, January 11, 2018.