Schneider Electric headquarters could be done by late summer

April 20, 2017

Brentwood Home Page

Schneider Electric’s new 150,000-square-foot space in Two Franklin Park in Cool Springs is scheduled to be completed late this summer and will become the workplace for more than 800 Nashville-area employees including engineers and research and development staff.

Schneider has chosen Turner Construction Company’s Special Projects Division in Nashville as the general contractor for the build out of a new regional office that will consolidate two of its existing Middle Tennessee locations under one roof.

Among Turner’s current active projects are the Hill Center Brentwood.

The Schneider Electric headquarters, designed by Gresham Smith & Partners,  will take up six floors in the Two Franklin Park building in Cool Springs, between McEwen Drive and the Nissan North America headquarters east of I-65.

Williamson County competed with several other locations for the company, ultimately granting up to $2.1 million in tax rebates over 10 years if the company meets employment milestones.

To earn the rebate, the Paris, France-based company, which has 180,000 employees around the world (30,000 in the U.S. and 1,600 currently in Tennessee) will have to bring 80 percent of the jobs projected (916) in the deal to the county by 2023.

Because the jobs will increase base disposable income spent here — they average a salary of $73,000 per year plus benefits — the county would make money back on the deal over time.

The jobs created will mostly be engineering and research and development positions.

The new office’s open-concept design will feature an abundance of both formal and informal meeting spaces and multipurpose work cafes, with one conference room designed for large gatherings. Additional features will include a movable wall system and electric-vehicle charging stations. Modern aesthetic touches, such as millwork ceilings in the entryways and exposed beams, will embellish the space. Several of Schneider Electric’s own products will also be incorporated into the project, such as the Building Automation System, access control and many low-voltage systems.

“The progressive design of this office will offer great flexibility for employees to work in the manner they find most effective, whether individually or in groups,” said Ted Klee, senior vice president, global supply chain at Schneider Electric. “When employees enjoy coming to the office, that inspires them to do their best work. Our previous collaborations with Turner give us confidence that the quality of the finished product will match the ambition of the design.”

This project continues a long working relationship between Turner Construction Company and Schneider Electric. Since 2010, Turner has direct-purchased more than $56 million of equipment from Schneider, and its subcontractors also use Schneider equipment frequently. The two companies have successfully partnered on several notable projects, including Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro (formerly Middle Tennessee Medical Center).

“Continuing a long-term relationship, we are very excited to partner with Schneider Electric on their first-class regional office,” said Kevin Williams, manager of Turner’s Special Projects Division in Nashville.