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Downtown Nashville’s 2023 in review

The Nashville Downtown Partnership’s 2023 Annual Report offers a comprehensive overview for residents, workers, and visitors alike.

January 29, 2024 • 
Dylan Aycock
Nashville's skyline on a sunny day with the AT&T building as the main focus point.

Downtown Nashville ranks No. 1 in the country in recovery post-pandemic, according to a 2023 study. | Photo by NASHtoday

Did you know that 95 new retail businesses either opened or announced future locations in downtown Nashville last year?

That’s just one insight from the Nashville Downtown Partnership’s 2023 Annual Report, which offers a snapshot of economic development and market trends shaping the downtown core. Whether you call downtown home or just work or play there, let’s dig into the key findings.

Live

  • Downtown is home to 17,630 residents, up from 16,302 the previous year.
  • There are currently 4,400 units under construction and 14,530 planned units.
  • The largest cohort of downtown residents is Baby Boomers at 35%, followed by Generation Z at 31%, and Millennials at 27%.
  • 62% of residents identify walkability as their primary reason for living downtown.

Work

  • 71% of all downtown businesses are locally owned.
  • There are 78,000 workers employed downtown.
  • The downtown office vacancy rate is currently at 11.5%.
A lit arrow sign attracted to a building and red brick building behind it

Psst — in addition to deals at Fifth + Broadway, the shopping center and Ryman Auditorium are two of the six locations on Vanderbilt’s 615 Day scavenger hunt. | Photo by @proofbranding

Play

  • 6.4 million people visited Fifth + Broadway for dining, shopping, and events.
  • 250,000 people gathered in Nashville for the 2023 Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th event.
  • NDP hosted over 1,100 free programs with 16,000+ participants in Church Street Park. Pro tip: Bookmark the calendar for 2024 programming.

The report also revisits a study on downtown recovery rates, released last fall, which found that Nashville leads other major US cities in post-pandemic recovery and has completely rebounded to 2019 levels.

Check out the full report for more stats on downtown, including hotel development, 2023 accolades, the number of active cranes (spoiler alert, there are 25), and more.