NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- Work on the new $194 million Nashville federal courthouse is moving ahead.
Site prep work is already underway, architects have delivered the plans and bidding has been narrowed down to three contractors.
Steven C. Smith is the Washington D.C. based General Services Administration project manager for the construction. He says a number of security features are being built into the facility, including what he describes as a “curtain wall” that will stand along the building's curved front entrance facing Church and 7th Streets.
“We try to do it in a way that it doesn’t make our buildings look like fortresses. ...so It’s kind of all behind the scenes, whether it’s blast resistant or whatever the requirements are.”
The new federal building will include eight courtrooms and chambers for eleven judges. A number of federal agencies will also make the facility their mid-state home.
“The U.S. District Court, the U.S. Probation, the U.S. Marshall’s Service, obviously, the Office of the U.S. Attorney, the General Service Administration, …and potentially members of Congress.”
The general contractor will be named in December or perhaps early January. Construction is slated to start in the spring with a completion date in 2021.
If you’d like to get an occasional update on the project, browse by the website gsa.gov/courthouseconstruction.
The new Nashville federal courthouse will be named for the late attorney, actor, politician and Tennessean Fred Thompson.