Design-build and general contracting for retail, flex, manufacturing, and warehouse projects across Middle Tennessee, delivered on budget and on schedule.
Nashville is building faster than it has in a generation. Across Middle Tennessee, business owners are outgrowing leased space, developers are turning raw ground into flex and retail, and manufacturers are expanding to keep up with demand. All of it needs a commercial general contractor who can move at that speed without cutting corners.
That's the work we do. We build small bay retail centers, commercial and industrial flex space, manufacturing facilities, warehouses and showrooms, and pre-engineered metal buildings throughout Nashville and the surrounding counties.
Commercial construction goes wrong in two places: the budget and the schedule. We address both before the first shovel hits the ground. You get a realistic conceptual budget early, a schedule we intend to hold, and one point of contact from design through certificate of occupancy, not a different name on every call.
We know Davidson County permitting and we know how Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, and Sumner counties each do it differently. That local knowledge is usually the difference between a project that opens on time and one that doesn't.
Tell us about your project and we'll tell you what it takes to build it.
Strip centers, multi-tenant retail, and pad sites across Middle Tennessee, delivered as shell, white box, or finished tenant space. Fast permitting, tight schedules, and buildings your leasing agent can actually fill.
Small Bay Retail Construction
Small bay flex is the fastest-moving product in the Nashville market. We build multi-tenant flex, office-warehouse, and shop-with-office buildings sized for the tenants actually signing leases, 1,500 to 10,000 square feet.
Commercial Flex Space Construction
Production, assembly, and processing facilities built around your equipment instead of the other way around. We plan slab loading, power service, and clear span before design starts, so your line runs the day you open.
Manufacturing Construction
Distribution space, warehouse-showroom combinations, and build-to-suit facilities. We size clear height, dock positions, and drive-in access to how your product actually moves, then hold the schedule that gets you operating.
Warehouse & Showroom Construction
Not every project belongs out to hard bid. We manage budget, design, permitting, and trades from concept through certificate of occupancy, with one accountable point of contact and cost certainty before you break ground.
Construction Management
PEMB goes up faster and costs less per square foot than conventional construction. We handle the shell, the site work, and the full interior buildout, one contractor from foundation to finish.
Metal Building ConstructionCommercial construction goes wrong in predictable ways. Here's how we work to keep it from going wrong on your project.
An early budget is only useful if it holds. We build conceptual budgets from real current costs and real site conditions, not optimistic placeholders that climb once you're committed. If a project doesn't pencil, we'd rather you find out during pre-construction than halfway through a foundation.
Metro Nashville doesn't review the way Williamson County does, and Rutherford, Wilson, and Sumner each run their own process on their own timeline. Knowing those differences before submittal is usually what separates a project that opens on schedule from one waiting on corrections.
You get the same person from the first budget conversation through closeout, someone who knows your project, has authority to make decisions, and answers the phone. Not a different name on every call.
We build schedules we intend to meet, then tell you early and honestly when something threatens them. Weather, utility delays, and long-lead materials are real. Being surprised by them isn't acceptable, and you shouldn't hear about a problem after it's already cost you time.
Most owners build one or two buildings in a career. Here's exactly what happens, in order, so there are no surprises.
We start with what you're trying to accomplish and where. We walk the site, look at zoning, utilities, access, topography, and drainage, and flag anything that could affect cost or schedule before you spend real money on design.
You get a realistic number early, one you can take to a lender, a partner, or a board. This is where value engineering does the most good, because changes on paper cost nothing.
We coordinate with your architect and engineers, or bring ours, and keep constructability and budget in the conversation as drawings develop. Then we manage permit submittal and shepherd it through the reviewing jurisdiction.
We run the site, the trades, and the schedule. You get regular reporting on progress, budget, and anything that's changed, enough detail to know where you stand without needing to chase anyone for it.
Punch list, final inspections, certificate of occupancy, and complete closeout documentation. Then we stand behind the building. Warranty work gets handled by the same team that built it.
We build throughout Middle Tennessee: Nashville and Davidson County, Franklin and Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne, Mt. Juliet and Lebanon, Hendersonville and Gallatin, and the communities between them. Each jurisdiction handles permitting and inspection differently, and knowing those differences going in saves weeks.
Our service area across Middle Tennessee.
Rated five stars on Google. A few of the things clients have said.
Horn Construction did an outstanding job. The communication with Keith and his foremen was second to none.
Attentive to what was needed, communicated well during the process, and provided a great product.
He answered all my questions and got back with me within the hour. I would not hesitate to do business with him again.
It depends on building type more than anything else. Metal building shells sit at the low end; finished retail, restaurant, and medical space sit at the high end, with flex, warehouse, and manufacturing in between. Site conditions can swing any of them significantly. A parcel needing extensive grading, detention, or utility extension can add meaningfully before the building starts. We'll give you a real number for your specific site rather than a range that doesn't tell you much.
Timelines vary with project complexity, current review volume, and how complete the submittal package is. The single biggest factor is quality of submittal. Incomplete drawings generate corrections, and each correction cycle adds time. We handle submittal and coordinate through review, and we'll give you a realistic expectation for your specific project and jurisdiction up front.
In hard bid, design finishes first, then contractors bid completed drawings and you take the best number. It works well when scope is fully defined. In design-build, one contract covers both, construction can begin before design is fully complete, and you have one company accountable for the whole thing. Design-build is generally faster and better suited to evolving scope; hard bid is generally more competitive on price for a fixed, well-defined project.
Yes. A large share of our work is in Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, and Sumner counties, where most of the region's growth is happening. We're familiar with how each jurisdiction handles plan review and inspection.
Tell us about your project and we'll tell you what it takes to build it, honestly, and before you're committed to anything. Send us the site, the square footage you're targeting, and your timeline.