Austin-based Oracle considering $1.2 billion expansion in Nashville

Austin-based software giant Oracle is considering a major expansion in Nashville. 

Oracle, the second-largest software company in the world, could invest $1.2 billion in a new downtown Nashville office hub.  The proposed campus could eventually employ 8,500 people, and would be among the largest economic development deals and job infusions in the city's history, according to the Nashville Tennessean news paper. 

The potential Nashville expansion comes as Oracle is decreasing its presence in Silicon Valley. In December, Oracle announced it was relocating its corporate headquarters from Redwood City, California, to Austin.

Oracle has about 135,000 employees worldwide. In Central Texas, the company employs about 2,500, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce. In 2018 Oracle opened a five-story, 560,000-square-feet campus overlooking Lady Bird Lake in Southeast Austin.

More:Software giant Oracle moving corporate HQ to Austin

At the time, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said he expected the Austin campus to grow to as large as 10,000 employees.

In Tennessee, a deal has not yet been finalized, but the software giant has had an interest in Nashville for years, the Tennessean reported. Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee flew to California in early 2020 to meet with Oracle executives.

The proposed Nashville hub would be on a 60 acre campus in downtown Nashville.  Oracle would have 1.2 million square feet of office space and retail, and the campus would be part of a mixed-use development described as a mid-rise "West Coast Campus." 

The Tennessean reported the Nashville campus could bring the area an estimated 8,500 jobs in the next decade, according to company documents. The documents also showed about 2,500 jobs are expected by the end of 2027, which would grow to about 8,500 by 2041. Documents also the average job salary at the campus would be $110,000 a year.  

Oracle's proposal includes the company investing $175 million in investment in public infrastructure to support the 60-acre campus, a pedestrian bridge connecting to Germantown, and a riverfront park and greenway.

 In turn, Oracle would receive tax incentives from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, according to the proposed deal.  

More:Oracle co-founder Ellison says he's not moving to Austin with company

It's unclear if the company would get any incentives from the state. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is still in negotiations with the company. 

Oracle co-founder Ellison recently became the sixth person in the world with a net worth of more than $100 billion, Forbes reported. The Oracle chairman  remains the sixth-richest person on the planet. 

Ellison moved to Hawaii last year and said he has no plans to move to Austin, despite the company's headquarters relocating to Central Texas.  

This story includes reporting from Yihyun Jeong of the Nashville Tennessean.