Living in Marathon Village

Marathon Village itself is the century-old former Marathon Motor Works factory complex, redeveloped beginning in the late 1980s into a mixed-use district of offices, shops, distilleries and the Marathon Music Works venue. The historic buildings remain an adaptive-reuse landmark; the major recent change has happened on the surrounding blocks, where new ground-up construction has filled in the area around the old factory.

The largest of these is The Chartwell at Marathon Village, developed by Nashville-based Chartwell Residential (led by Ben Schaedle) at 801 12th Avenue North, with 10 for-rent townhomes on a triangular parcel at 800 14th Avenue North. The project totals 388 residential units, including studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, live/work flex units and the townhomes, plus roughly 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building was designed by David Baker Architects, with Johnson Johnson Crabtree Architects as executive architect, and is now open and leasing. Reported amenities include a pool, courtyard space, co-working/coworking areas, a fitness center and a parking structure.

Cost figures reported over the project's life range from an early estimate of about $85 million (Nashville Post) to roughly $112 million cited by the developer. Construction was financed in part by a Principal Real Estate Investors / Principal Life Insurance loan of about $63.2 million, a deal that closed July 9, 2021. The site, formerly known as Union Brick (the former Union Station Brick Company property), was acquired in early 2021 for about $17 million, and demolition of the old brickworks building began that July.

The Chartwell is one of several multifamily projects in the immediate area. Nearby, RangeWater Real Estate's The Scottie (a roughly 320-unit apartment community at 806 16th Avenue North) and the Mint House Marathon Village extended-stay property (a 78-room aparthotel near 14th Avenue North) have also opened, reflecting a broader wave of residential construction in the blocks around the historic factory.

For relocating buyers, the practical takeaway is that the blocks immediately around Marathon Village have shifted from light-industrial and surface parking toward dense apartment living within walking distance of The Gulch, downtown and the Marathon Music Works / distillery district. The historic Marathon factory buildings remain commercial and creative space rather than for-sale housing, so most residential supply in this pocket is rental rather than owner-occupied condos.