SouthStar

What SouthStar does

SouthStar is a privately held commercial real estate development and investment firm headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, in the Cool Springs market. Founded in 2001 by Glenn Wilson, the firm acquires, entitles, develops, and either sells or retains commercial properties spanning office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, storage, and healthcare asset classes. Since founding, SouthStar has developed or redeveloped more than 20 million square feet of commercial space with completed project values exceeding $1 billion across the Southeast USA, with deepest concentration in Middle Tennessee and Williamson County, TN. A 2008 partnership with Glenn McGehee formalized a two-principal ownership structure that remains in place, with subsequent additions expanding the team's combined experience to 85+ years across site selection, development, construction management, and marketing.

The business model centers on direct real estate development: SouthStar identifies sites, secures entitlements via an established professional network, partners with co-developers (notably Chartwell Hospitality on Aureum and Embrey on The Harper), and either sells completed assets to investors or retains and operates properties such as 1624 Westgate Circle. Key revenue-generating outputs are flagged projects including Aureum (a 22-acre, 1.7M SF vertically integrated mixed-use development in Franklin, TN), Legacy Pointe (a USTA-anchored, multi-phase mixed-use community in Spring Hill, TN), Carothers East/West, Lebanon Marketplace, and Ovation. The customer base spans national credit tenants (Lifetime Fitness, Starbucks, Fifth Third Bank, FirstBank) and commercial real estate investors seeking development partners. Operational scale is small, with 1-10 employees including CEO Glenn Wilson, Principal & President Glenn McGehee, EVP Ralph Knauss, VP Houston McGehee, and Senior Real Estate Advisor Steve Stanley, executing through a partner- and network-intensive model rather than a large internal headcount. No AI/technology capabilities are disclosed; revenue is generated through project execution and ownership economics rather than software or licensing.

Name

SouthStar

Legal name

SouthStar

Website

https://southstarco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SouthStar is a privately held, Franklin, Tennessee-based commercial real estate developer founded in 2001 that acquires, entitles, and develops office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, storage, and healthcare properties across the Southeast USA, having completed $1B+ in projects spanning 20M+ square feet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brentwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development & Investment: SouthStar generates revenue through the ownership, development, and investment in real estate projects. The company acquires land, secures entitlements, develops commercial properties (office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, storage, healthcare), and either sells to investors or retains ownership and operates the properties.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

SouthStar is a commercial real estate development and investment firm that acquires land, secures entitlements, and develops office, retail, multifamily, mixed-use, storage, and healthcare properties across the Southeast USA. The company either sells completed projects to investors or retains ownership and operates them, providing site selection, development, construction management, and marketing services throughout the project lifecycle.

Product overview

SouthStar is a commercial real estate development company offering a portfolio of development services and named project products. The company's core service is commercial real estate development including site selection, development, construction management, and investor value creation. Named products include large-scale mixed-use developments such as Aureum (a 22-acre, 1.7M SF vertically integrated project in Franklin, TN) and Legacy Pointe (a 1,600-unit mixed-use community with USTA facility in Spring Hill, TN), along with retail, office, multifamily, and storage developments under projects like Carothers East, Carothers West, Hendersonville, Westgate Circle, and Lebanon Marketplace. The company focuses on the Southeast USA market, particularly Middle Tennessee and Williamson County, TN.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Real Estate Development Services End-to-end commercial real estate development services including site selection, market analysis, entitlements, construction management, marketing, and investor value creation. Serves institutional investors, private equity, family offices, national credit tenants, and landowners.
• Aureum A 22-acre, 1.7 million square foot vertically integrated mixed-use development at Carothers Parkway and McEwen Drive in Franklin, TN, featuring 750,000 SF office, 480 residential units, 700 hotel keys, and 100,000 SF retail. Co-developed with Chartwell Hospitality.
• Legacy Pointe A town-center style walkable mixed-use community in Spring Hill, TN centered around a USTA tennis facility, with 135,000 SF USTA facility, 1,600 residential units, 600 hotel keys, and 535,000 SF commercial space.
• Carothers East Mixed-use development in Franklin, TN including Carothers Retail (15,200 SF across 2 buildings leased to Starbucks and FirstBank), 5030 Office (42,000 SF), 5070 Storage & Retail (106,500 SF), and Lifetime Athletic (120,000 SF).
• Carothers West Mixed-use development in Franklin, TN including The Harper (328-unit luxury apartments co-developed with Embrey), specialty retail (Fifth Third Bank, Elite Sports Medicine, MPower Physical Therapy, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle).
• Ovation 145-acre entitled land development in Tennessee, entitled for 1,400,000 SF office, 450,000 SF retail, 950 residential units, and 450 hotel rooms. Site was entitled then sold.
• Hendersonville

Quantifiable outcome

• $1B+ in completed project values since 2001
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chartwell HospitalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for Aureum project - a 22-acre, 1.7M SF mixed-use development in Franklin, TN at Carothers Pkwy and McEwen Drive. Chartwell brings hospitality development expertise to this vertically integrated project featuring 750K SF office, 480 residential units, 700 hotel keys, and 100K SF retail.
• EmbreycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for The Harper - a 328-unit luxury multifamily community in Spring Hill, TN (Carothers West). Embrey, based in San Antonio, TX, partnered with SouthStar on this multifamily project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Trammell Crow Company: Major national commercial real estate developer with deep mixed-use, multifamily, and office capabilities. Overlapping product set at much larger institutional scale; relevant comp for large-project execution.
• Ryman Hospitality Properties: Nashville-based hospitality and entertainment-focused real estate owner, operator, and developer. Larger, publicly traded scale but comparable Tennessee concentration and mixed-use hospitality expertise (relevant to SouthStar's hotel-inclusive projects like Aureum).
• Lincoln Property Company: Large, diversified U.S. commercial and multifamily developer and operator with a Southeast presence. Comparable product categories (multifamily, mixed-use, office) at significantly larger institutional scale.
• Highwoods Properties: Public REIT and major Nashville-area office landlord/developer. Operates a broader scale and public-capital model but directly competes for the same Class A office and mixed-use tenants in Middle Tennessee.

Direct peers

• Boyle Investment Company: Private, Memphis-based commercial real estate developer with mixed-use, office, and retail expertise across the Southeast U.S. Comparable privately held, founder-led CRE developer profile.
• Southeast Venture: Nashville-based commercial real estate investment and development firm with mixed-use, office, and retail capabilities across the Southeast. Closely comparable size, geography, and product offerings.
• Chartwell Hospitality: Hospitality-focused real estate developer and operator; co-development partner with SouthStar on the Aureum mixed-use project in Franklin, TN. Comparable product type (hotel + mixed-use) and Tennessee footprint.
• Embrey: Texas-based multifamily developer and operator; co-development partner with SouthStar on The Harper 328-unit luxury multifamily in Spring Hill, TN. Comparable multifamily development model with shared project execution.
• Crescent Communities: Private, Southeast-focused mixed-use, multifamily, and commercial real estate developer. Highly comparable product mix (multifamily, mixed-use, commercial) with overlapping Southeast geography.

Regional players

• Gables Residential: Multifamily-focused developer and operator with a strong Southeast U.S. footprint. Comparable multifamily expertise and Class A tenant focus, with primary geographic overlap in the broader Southeast region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthstarLlc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southstar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SouthStar