Anthony D. Giarratana When residents of Nashville think of housing in the downtown area, the name Tony Giarratana is the first to come to mind. In fact, Giarratana and his partners are responsible for the majority of the housing in the Central Business District. Giarratana’s focus on the downtown market has been constant since he formed his development company in 1986.
Giarratana’s interest in downtown prompted him to form Premier Parking in 2001. This full-service parking company engages in the leasing, management and operation of parking lots and garages. The company owns or manages over 3,000 prime parking spaces in the downtown area and has become the second largest parking company in Nashville.
The ability to think outside the box, coupled with persistence, has enabled Giarratana to develop pioneering projects. The Cumberland, a 24-story apartment building, was completed in 1998. The $35 million tower was a first for Nashville’s Central Business District and helped launch downtown’s revitalization. Another first is Viridian, a 31-story condo tower currently being constructed on Church Street by Giarratana and his partner, Novare Group. Still a year from completion, the $75 million high-rise is nearly 90% sold out.
Giarratana believes that a strong downtown core is critical to a healthy and vibrant Nashville. Accordingly, he has devoted the preponderance of his time to downtown projects. However, Giarratana is also redeveloping the historic Belle Meade Theater, a $30 million mixed-use project in one of Nashville’s most affluent neighborhoods.
Giarratana began working in commercial real estate while at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Upon graduation, he worked with Merrill Lynch Realty Rodgers & Cummings in the Tampa Bay Area from 1979 to 1981. He moved to Denver in 1981 to serve as leasing director for Urban Investment & Development Company until 1983. Following a brief association with Joseph C. Canizaro Interests in New Orleans, he moved to Nashville in 1984 to join Aladdin Resources as director of leasing for MetroCenter.
From 1992 to 1994 Giarratana worked with Brazos, an affiliate of Robert M. Bass and the FDIC, in Los Angeles and Dallas where he participated in the acquisition and disposition of a $3.7 billion portfolio of notes and real estate. He returned to Nashville in 1994 following his purchase of the Cain-Sloan Department Store at 5th Avenue and Church Street and is currently developing this and other prime sites in downtown Nashville.
Giarratana graduated from the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida with a degree in Business Administration.
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