Getahn Ward

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

LIV Development has a contract to buy the West Nashville site overlooking the Cumberland River from Greg Perrone and Joey Smith.

The 56 acres are in a hilly, wooded area one mile west of the Nashville West Shopping Center.

In East Nashville, developer LIV is building The Cleo, a 291-unit apartment community that's scheduled to open early next year.

A Birmingham, Ala.-based developer is targeting a second-quarter groundbreaking for a luxury 224-unit, multifamily community on 56 acres in West Nashville overlooking the Cumberland River.

The more than $30 million community planned on River Road would be the second project in Nashville for LIV Development. In East Nashville, the developer is building The Cleo, a 291-unit apartment community that's scheduled to open early next year.

LIV has a contract to buy the West Nashville site from Greg Perrone and Joey Smith. The 56 acres are in a hilly, wooded area one mile west of the Nashville West Shopping Center.

“The setting and design will be different from anything Nashville has seen,” LIV's President Robb Crumpton said in a prepared statement. "We will be developing the site in a responsible manner by keeping as much of the woods as possible to maintain a natural feel and give residents a unique tree house resort setting along the river."

Construction of the yet-to-be-named West Nashville apartment community is expected to take 18 months.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units are expected to average just more than 1,000 square feet. They will lease for $1,200-1,700 a month, averaging $1.35-$1.40 per square foot.

“Young professionals want to live close to downtown, but they don’t want to pay the high rents in the urban core,” Crumpton said.

He cited convenient access to shopping, entertainment and downtown, with a more affordable rent structure for residents, as among the attractions of the apartment project.

“This area of Nashville is underserved with great barriers to entry, Crumpton said. "The only new multifamily development in the area is fully leased with a long waiting list.”

A clubhouse and pool fronting the Cumberland River will be among high-end amenities at the planned community. Part of the buildings will overlook the Cumberland River and the others will overlook downtown Nashville, according to LIV.

Nequette Architecture and Design is incorporating lots of timber, clean stucco and ornate windows in the design of the buildings, which will vary from two to three stories in height, the developer said in a prepared statement. Nashville-based Hodgson & Douglas is the landscape architect and land planner for the low-density project.

Elsewhere nationwide, LIV has developed multifamily communities across the Southeast, including in Atlanta, Memphis and Chattanooga; Birmingham, Ala.; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; and Charleston, S.C.

Reach Getahn Ward at 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.