Novel Richland Creek apartment project by Trader Joe’s in West Nashville advances after land closing

A retail-adjacent housing proposal moves from planning toward delivery

A long-planned apartment development next to the Trader Joe’s at Lion’s Head Village in West Nashville is moving forward, with the project team completing a land closing and signaling a transition from entitlements toward pre-construction work.

The development, branded as NOVEL Richland Creek, is planned for the former Stein Mart site within the Lion’s Head Village shopping center near the intersection of White Bridge Pike and Harding Road. Plans describe a 277-unit multifamily building with ground-floor commercial space, designed to knit new housing into an established retail node that already draws daily traffic from surrounding neighborhoods.

What is planned for the site

• 277 apartment homes in a mid-rise building described as stepping from higher massing along White Bridge Pike down toward the rear of the site
• Ground-floor retail space, with public-facing commercial square footage described at roughly 4,800 square feet in current project materials
• A structured parking component integrated into the overall site plan, paired with a broader set of shopping-center infrastructure upgrades discussed by the development team

Infrastructure and connectivity are central to the pitch

Beyond the apartment building itself, project descriptions include planned site and area improvements aimed at circulation and walkability. Those include a new parking deck near the Trader Joe’s area of the center, a new traffic signal, expanded sidewalks, upgraded landscaping, and new signage—elements framed as part of a longer-term effort to reposition Lion’s Head Village from a traditional shopping center toward a more mixed-use environment.

The proposal also emphasizes adjacency to the Richland Creek Greenway, with references to a trailhead connection and construction-related adjustments to the greenway during buildout.

Who is developing it, and what the financing signals

Crescent Communities is listed as the developer, with Stockbridge Capital Group identified as the investment partner and J.P. Morgan as lender. A completed land closing typically indicates a project has cleared a major prerequisite for moving beyond conceptual and entitlement phases, though timing and final sequencing can still be influenced by permitting, market conditions, and construction logistics.

In land-use terms, the shift from approvals toward ownership and financing milestones often marks the point when schedules become more concrete, even if start dates remain subject to final permits and contractor mobilization.

Timeline and what comes next

Project information made public by the development team points to construction commencing in a later window, with completion targeted for 2028. With the land closing complete, the next practical steps typically include final design coordination, permitting, contractor procurement, and site logistics planning—particularly important on a constrained parcel operating inside an active retail center.

For West Nashville, the proposal adds new housing capacity in a corridor where daily services already exist, potentially shifting some trips from car-dependent patterns to shorter local travel—while also raising familiar questions about traffic management and construction impacts at one of the area’s busiest shopping destinations.