The Great Escape, the longtime used multimedia retailer that has anchored a stretch of Charlotte Avenue in The Nations for nearly two decades, expects to relocate from that location by the end of the year. Co-owner Rob Baker says staying put simply is not an option anymore, with the property's owners eyeing a different future for the land underneath the store.
Why The Great Escape Has to Go
Baker told the Nashville Scene that the store expects to relocate by year's end because planned development means it cannot remain at the property. The Scene reported that Baker considers continued occupancy infeasible given the site’s anticipated future.
The Charlotte Avenue location opened in summer 2008, expanding the company’s warehouse and online operations, according to the Nashville Scene. The store occupies a former bowling alley spanning 26,500 square feet, a building larger than the retailer’s four other locations.
A Building That Survived the 2010 Flood
The store also endured the historic 2010 flood. Baker told the Nashville Scene that floodwaters reached three feet inside the building. The business continued operating from the location in the years that followed.
The retailer previously left its flagship at 1925 Broadway after the property’s owners notified it that rent would rise significantly when its lease ended in 2010, the Nashville Scene reported. The Broadway store closed and merged into the newly reopened Charlotte Avenue location on Oct. 17. Founder Gary Walker told the outlet the company could not find an affordable site near Broadway with adequate parking.
Who Owns the Property Now
Ownership of the land around The Great Escape's current store has shifted in recent years. According to the Nashville Post, Elmington Capital Group paid $2 million for a fast-food building at 5320 Charlotte Avenue, expanding its footprint in the corridor. The Post's report noted that Elmington already owned the adjacent 5330 Charlotte Avenue property, which it had purchased for $17 million in December 2021, and described that property as an 8.3-acre parcel that includes a suburban retail strip center once anchored by a Goodwill and still home to The Great Escape.
The Scene's separate account of the same purchase instead placed the $17 million transaction in January 2022 and described the site Elmington sought to redevelop as 7.4 acres. What both outlets agree on is that Elmington had not settled on a final plan for the land. A spokesperson told the Post, “We are still evaluating the best way to move forward with repositioning or redeveloping the property.”
Metro’s Broader Corridor Guidance
Metro Nashville Planning Department records show the Charlotte Avenue Corridor Study was adopted by the Planning Commission in October 2018. A Metro Planning Commission staff report says most of the broader study area is designated “Transition and Infill,” a policy context encouraging higher-density housing along and around corridors. That guidance does not establish a redevelopment plan for The Great Escape’s site.
The Charlotte Avenue Store
The company is treating the departure as the end of an era for the Charlotte Avenue building that has served as its retail, warehouse and online hub since 2008, following years of uncertainty over the property's redevelopment plans.
