Nashville’s 100 Oaks Mall is about to experience yet another overhaul, but this one is likely to forever change the immediate surrounding area. I like what I’m hearing about this project because it preserves what is working well on the property (major merchants such as CompUSA, Michael’s and the Hollywood 27 theaters) and makes good use of what is not working at all (the all-but-abandoned interior space of the mall).

This blend of medical and retail offerings on the same property seems like a natural fit, and it appears to be an emerging trend elsewhere, too. Note the increasing presence of walk-in clinics at pharmacy chains and other locations.

Another great element to this plan is the possibility for a pedestrian bridge across Thompson Lane to improve access to the growing Berry Hill merchants’ district. I believe that this area of town is in position for a major boom over the next several years: It has (fairly) convenient interstate access in a central part of the city, and it’s gaining high quality medical operations that will likely bring increasing demand for retail with them.

What’s in it for Vanderbilt? A visible, convenient and accessible location and relocation of several high patient-traffic services away from the highly congested campus on 21st Avenue. When completed, this site will be the largest Vanderbilt clinic outside the main campus and the most significant addition, according to hospital officials, since the hospital was constructed in 1980.