Nashville Fire Department HQ Breaks Ground Downtown

Metro Nashville broke ground November 6 on the Nashville Fire Department Headquarters and Fire Station 2 at 500 2nd Avenue North. The eight-story, 207,000 SF project combines a fire station, department headquarters, and Metro office space on a 2.2-acre site. HASTINGS Architecture designed the building, with civil engineering by Barge Civil (BCA).

The program allocates roughly 52,000 SF to Fire Station 2, 108,000 SF to the NFD headquarters, and 47,000 SF to Metro expansion office space. The station includes six apparatus bays, each 18 feet wide with 14 feet of clear height and a 75-foot apron setback. Trucks enter on 1st Avenue and exit on 2nd Avenue. Two lobbies front both avenues, and the building has vertical clearance for testing 90-foot ladders.

Below-grade parking provides 525 spaces. The facility includes backup power, water systems, generators, and emergency electricity rooms.

The project replaces the original Fire Station No. 2, which closed in 2019 over building and mechanical issues and was demolished. Metro Council approved an $11 million spending plan. Headquarters staff temporarily relocated to the Bridgestone Building at Global Mall in October 2025. The site is zoned DTC, with a future residential mixed-use phase proposed and a riverfront public park planned adjacent to the building.