Boyle lands health care giant for Brentwood project

October 18, 2016

Nashville Business Journal
by Eleanor Kennedy and Adam Sichko

Boyle Investment Co. started construction in December 2015 on this five-story, 130,000-square-foot office building in Brentwood.

An industry-leading behavioral health care company is joining Boyle Investment Co.’s newest Brentwood Commons office building.

According to a Metro building permit, Universal Health Services Inc. will occupy part or all of three floors in the upcoming 130,000-square-foot building. Boyle’s Thomas McDanielsaid Universal Health Services will take 65,000 square feet of the building. Universal Health currently owns a two-story Brentwood office building containing about 24,000 square feet of space.

Officials with Universal Health Services were not immediately available for comment. It was not immediately clear if this new space replaces or is in addition to UHS’ existing local footprint.

Universal Health, based in King of Prussia, Penn., is well known in Nashville, particularly for its 2010 acquisition of Psychiatric Solutions Inc., the company previously run by the team now behind fast-growing Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc., a UHS competitor in the behavioral health care space. Universal Health Services also made a local buy late last year, spending $350 million on Brentwood-based Foundations Recovery Network.

Changing government policies and societal attitudes have made behavioral health a white-hot sector for growth and investor interest in recent years. As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, shares of Universal Health (NYSE: UHS) were trading at $126.08, up about 2 percent on the day. The company’s 52-week range is $100.82-$139.77.

In addition to more than 200 behavioral health care facilities, UHS also operates a couple dozen acute-care hospitals.

Previously, Nashville-based contractor Bell & Associates, which is erecting the project on behalf of Boyle, was announced as a tenant for the same building, which is valued at $30 million. Bell will take about 15,000 square feet of space.