Philanthropy: Nashville Yards

Nashville Yards and Susan G. Komen are teaming up to fight breast cancer in Tennessee and beyond.

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There’s no question that Nashville Yards is one of the most highly anticipated new builds in town.

The $1 billion endeavor with a 16-acre footprint will not only house Amazon’s newest campus, it will also include a 4,000-seat music venue within a larger entertainment district said to include a boutique hotel, shops, and restaurants.  

Nashville Yards is set to become a new symbol of downtown Nashville, with eight entrances to underground parking garages, accessible from six streets crisscrossing the project, and a public 1.3-acre park that the developers hope will foster healthy living. It will also be home to one of Music City’s newest philanthropic partnerships. 

San Diego-based Southwest Value Partners, the developers behind the project, have made a financial commitment to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. It’s part of the development’s initiative to promote a healthful lifestyle. 

“One of our central goals for Nashville Yards is to build a sustainable community with a strong focus on healthy living and wellness, so we are particularly interested in developing relationships with very effective organizations that share our commitment to health,” says Cary Mack, Co-Managing Partner of Southwest Value Partners.

“Partnering with the organization that is leading the fight against breast cancer and advancing critical health research initiatives—including several research projects right here at Vanderbilt University—is a natural fit for Nashville Yards.”

Paula Schneider, CEO of Susan G. Komen, agrees that the pairing is a perfect one. 

“The Nashville Yards development can serve as a regional hub for our organization, enabling us to host a variety of events both for our national efforts and for our initiatives to support the local community through our Susan G. Komen Central Tennessee Affiliate,” she says. “We are also excited about engaging all of Nashville Yards’ corporate partners and their business community in the fight against breast cancer.”

Schneider says working with such a high-profile district is key to continuing to grow Susan G. Komen’s reach in Nashville and beyond. 

“The project’s prominence helps to elevate our presence and expand our national activities in Nashville,” she says. “This is an important area for our organization, as we have strong existing partnerships with entertainers like Jason Aldean, and it is the home of our Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Jennifer Pietenpol, Director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.”

With Susan G. Komen’s existing initiatives and connections, and the enormous presence of Nashville Yards, the sky is the limit for this partnership. 

“Not only does Susan G. Komen mirror our commitment to health and wellness, the organization also hosts regular events and activities that are an asset to downtown Nashville,” says Mack.

“We’re excited to serve as the location for future events of significance to us all, including the annual More Than Pink Walk [which will relocate from Brentwood], and we also look forward to helping Komen reach its overarching goal to reduce the number of U.S. breast cancer deaths by 50 percent by 2026.”