The industrial park around Medacta's future Spring Hill campus is marketed with far more sewer capacity than city records show allocated to it.

A CBRE listing describes Nexus at Spring Hill as a "±600 acre master-planned industrial development" with up to 6,403,200 square feet of space, "backed by a firm municipal sewer commitment." A CBRE marketing brochure for the park from August 2026 cites "200,000 GPD of dedicated sewer allocation in place by 2027," with "additional capacity via TDEC-approved program in 2028."

CBRE brochure page titled "Above-Standard Capacity" listing sewer at 200,000 GPD capacity by 2027, with further expansion in 2028 via a TDEC-approved program.CBRE brochure page titled "Above-Standard Capacity" listing sewer at 200,000 GPD capacity by 2027, with further expansion in 2028 via a TDEC-approved program. Source: CBRE marketing brochure for Nexus at Spring Hill (Aug. 2026)

City records show a smaller number. The listing's figures don't match the allocation in city records, and city records don't show where the additional capacity would come from. Under the sewer moratorium, Ordinance 25-29 handed out the last of Spring Hill's treatment capacity in January 2026. The ordinance calls it "a single, one-time allocation of all remaining municipal wastewater treatment capacity," and says "no additional development capacity remains available at this time." The whole Spring Hill Commerce Center, the land now marketed as Nexus, got 20,000 gallons per day. By comparison, Legacy Pointe, home of the planned Sam's Club site off Saturn Parkway, got 62,995.

City staff say Medacta's roughly 184,239-square-foot building is expected to use 15,204 of those gallons. That leaves 4,796 gallons per day for the rest of the park.

Mayor Matt Fitterer spoke about sewer at the Planning Commission's October 26, 2026 work session. "My understanding is the owners of the property have a somewhat speculative plan that is somewhat tied to us being able to provide sewer capacity," he said.

He also told staff the land has a new name: "the site's being marketed now as Nexus at Spring Hill and not the Spring Hill Commerce Center."

A CBRE broker's LinkedIn post announcing the listing for client Greenlaw Partners said the site could hold "a warehouse, data center, hospital or just about any type of use here (other than res)."

Public money behind Medacta

  • State grant: Tennessee awarded a $3.3 million FastTrack Economic Development grant to the Industrial Development Board of the City of Spring Hill for Medacta Americas Manufacturing and Medacta USA. The state says it will help offset costs like site acquisition and construction.
  • City tax break: On June 15, 2026, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 9-0 for Resolution 26-189. It lets the city's Industrial Development Board give "Project Blue" a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal (a PILOT). The resolution sets the limits: the break covers personal property only (things like equipment, not the land or building), lasts no more than 10 years, and has the company pay 50% of the taxes it would otherwise owe. The IDB keeps those payments. The minutes say Fitterer noted the arrangement would create funding for the IDB independent of the General Fund.
  • IDB votes: On June 23, 2026, the IDB voted 5-0 on a Project Blue local incentive resolution and on the TNECD grant.

A tree fund that doesn't exist

The same work session took up a request to clear 34 acres on Project Blue's south parcel. Staff's proposed conditions offered a fallback: if new trees can't be planted on the site later, the owner pays into a "Tree Bank." Fitterer said there isn't one.

"A tree bank doesn't exist in the Spring Hill chart of accounts, so I would caution us writing conditions about contributions to a fund that doesn't exist," Fitterer said.

He said he agreed there should be "some kind of enforcement mechanism that when the site develops the trees get restored according to code based off what was removed," and that he'd be fine with that happening "by a certain date or a site plan."

That's where the sewer came back in. Because the owners' plans depend on sewer capacity, he said, "I wouldn't want to hold a surety for an open-ended number of years past sewer capacity being provided."

Commissioner Greg Groninger agreed. "I didn't know what a tree bank was, and my concern was ... similar to the sidewalk fund we were talking about a couple sessions ago, where we would pay money to a sidewalk that was going to be created ... 50 years down the line. I didn't want that here," he said. He asked for "a specific date that the trees be restored."

Nobody spoke during public comment. Work sessions don't include votes, so the plan will come back later.

What we know about Medacta in Spring Hill

  • Who: Medacta is a Swiss-listed maker of joint replacement, spine and sports medicine devices, founded in Castel San Pietro, Switzerland.
  • What: It is moving its U.S. headquarters from Franklin to Spring Hill and putting what will become its U.S. manufacturing hub on the same site.
  • Jobs and pay: The state funding board's packet says Medacta committed to 235 net new jobs at an average wage of $30.89 an hour. The governor's announcement said "more than 200."
  • Investment: $84,055,000 within five years, according to the funding board. The public announcements round it to $85 million.
  • Where: Jim Warren Road near I-65 and Saturn Parkway, in the Spring Hill Commerce Center. The address on city filings is 3446 Jim Warren Road. CBRE markets the larger park under 3357 Jim Warren Road. The brochure's site map shows the sold Phase 1 parcel at the park's north end, on the east side of I-65 just south of Jim Warren Road. The Commerce Center sits in both Maury and Williamson counties.
  • The building: a two-story industrial building of about 184,239 square feet on the north Project Blue parcel. It got planned development final approval in June 2026, and the Planning Commission approved revised elevations on October 12.
  • Timeline: The state and city announced the project on July 31, 2026. The city said Medacta plans to begin site prep "later this year." The state says the project will be built in several stages.
  • The team: Plans list Hamilton Development Company of Nashville as owner and developer and Kimley-Horn as engineer.

CBRE site plan for Nexus at Spring Hill along I-65, showing Phase 2 (285 acres), Pad A (85 acres), Phase 3 (185 acres) and Pad B split into "Under Contract" and "Sold."CBRE site plan for Nexus at Spring Hill along I-65, showing Phase 2 (285 acres), Pad A (85 acres), Phase 3 (185 acres) and Pad B split into "Under Contract" and "Sold." Source: CBRE marketing brochure for Nexus at Spring Hill (Aug. 2026)

The clear-cut request

The application is STP 2194-2026, a tree preservation plan for Project Blue's southern parcel.

  • Area: 34.07 acres, all of it to be disturbed.
  • Trees: most existing trees removed, including 65 significant trees. Staff say fewer than 10 significant trees appear to be kept.
  • Why: The plans say grading the south parcel is needed to balance earthwork for construction on the north parcel. Staff note no approvals have been granted for the south parcel itself.
  • No replacement trees yet: None are proposed. Staff recommended a surety, backed by cash or a letter of credit, to cover replacement trees. It would be released once the trees are planted after a future site plan, or, if that plan limits planting, through a contribution to a "Tree Bank." That's the fund Fitterer said doesn't exist (see above).

The Commerce Center's own pattern book points two ways. Page 44 prohibits clear cutting "unless specifically permitted by the Planning Commission." A condition on page 72 says: "Clear cutting and mass grading are not permitted. A grading permit is required, and reasonable protection and preservation of existing mature tree growth will be required." Staff asked the commission to decide which applies.

The January 2027 deadline

The Commerce Center's preliminary development plan was approved by Ordinance 22-26 in January 2023. In May 2025, Ordinance 25-09 extended its vesting period by one year, to January 3, 2027. The same month, Resolution 25-24 amended the project's development agreement. City staff say that agreement supersedes earlier conditions of approval where they conflict, mainly on the traffic study and road design. City filings also note the Jim Warren Road preliminary plat approved in December 2023 had not received final plat approval as of October 2026.

What happens next

Staff asked the developer to address work session comments by Revision Deadline #2. The request then goes back to the Planning Commission for a vote. We haven't seen a date yet.

Open questions

  • What will replace the "Tree Bank" in the conditions, and by what date must trees be replanted?
  • What does Nexus at Spring Hill's "firm municipal sewer commitment" refer to?
  • Who has a claim on the Commerce Center's remaining 4,796 gallons per day?
  • Will the January 3, 2027 vesting date be extended?
  • What is the estimated dollar value of the PILOT?
  • How are Hamilton Development, Greenlaw Partners and the Commerce Center's past owners connected?

Related

Sources