Simon Property Group and its partners officially broke ground on Sagefield in Thompson's Station on Thursday, November 12, 2026, marking the start of construction on a planned 100-acre, open-air destination at the crossroads of I-65 and I-840. The site, currently an open field, is expected to eventually hold 16 buildings, with Simon aiming for a late-2028 opening.
What Simon Says Is Coming
According to Simon Property Group, the development is planned to include approximately 80 boutiques and iconic brands, along with restaurants, an organic gourmet market and multiple wellness concepts. The company also says roughly 60% of the property will remain green space, featuring miles of nature trails, walkways and water features. Simon has not yet announced which specific shops and restaurants will occupy Sagefield, saying that information will come later. The project is being built in collaboration with Arco Murray and designed by Gensler and SWA Group, per PR Newswire.
Mark Silvestri, president of development for Simon Property Group, acknowledged that staffing a project of this scale won't be easy. As reported by WSMV, Silvestri said the job market can be difficult for a development this size, and the company plans to hold job fairs and open houses as part of its hiring push. Sagefield is expected to bring 700 full-time jobs once it's operating, the station reported. Simon separately says in its own announcement that the project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions, without reconciling that figure against the 700 number cited elsewhere.
A Neighbor's Worries About Traffic and Noise
Not everyone near the site is excited about what's coming. Jane Sadler, who lives about five minutes from the Sagefield site, cited traffic, infrastructure and staffing concerns as reasons for her opposition to the project. “None of us are happy about this. We don't want it and don't need it,” Sadler said, warning that the development would bring traffic, noise pollution and light pollution to the area, and that additional cars could make the surrounding road obsolete.
Her concerns echo worries raised earlier in the approval process. At an earlier community meeting, Williamson County Commissioner Betsy Hester said, according to the Williamson Herald, that “the intersection of Lewisburg Pike and 840 was never, ever designed for the traffic we have now.” A town planner previously told WKRN that Simon would be required to conduct an impact study and would likely need to update several local roadways, and an earlier report described plans to widen Lewisburg Pike from a two-lane highway into a four-lane divided road, with Simon responsible for a large portion of that widening.
Infrastructure Dollars and Parking Math
WSMV reports that Sagefield includes more than $40 million in infrastructure improvements, including road widening on Lewisburg Pike and water and sewer upgrades. A shared-parking study by Burch Transportation, dated April 27, 2026, examined the planned development at 1733 Lewisburg Pike and found that approximately 2,088 parking spaces are planned across the project; the town's land-development ordinance would require a minimum of 2,625 spaces for the proposed uses.
The project's scale has shifted in public reporting over time. An earlier Williamson Herald account described conceptual plans calling for roughly 450,000 square feet and between 70 and 80 retail and restaurant spaces, while an earlier WKRN report put the figure at half a million square feet. A later WKRN report instead described the planned development as 325,000 square feet, with construction potentially finishing by 2028. Economic-impact estimates have varied too: the Williamson Herald reported a Simon representative projecting approximately $830 million in annual impact, including $7 million toward Williamson County schools, while Williamson, Inc. president Matt Largen told WKRN the development would generate $880 million a year in wages, sales tax and local property tax. Job estimates have likewise ranged, with an earlier Simon presentation reported by the Williamson Herald projecting 3,000 new jobs.
From Outlet Mall to Mixed-Use Retail
Sagefield's concept has evolved since it was first pitched to the community. WKRN previously reported that Simon revised its proposal from an outlet-style development to a general retail and entertainment concept after community feedback, with earlier plans also including a resort-style component projected to have 60 to 100 rooms. Simon already operates other Middle Tennessee properties, including Opry Mills and Green Hills Mall, and is positioning Sagefield as its next major addition to the region's retail landscape as construction moves forward toward the company's targeted late-2028 opening.
