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First Look at Fifth & Broadway’s Newest Tenant: EV Company Rivian Opens its Downtown Showroom

Nashville Business Journal

October 6, 2023

Fifth + Broadway’s newest tenant may not be what you expect.

Electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive Inc. is opening the doors to a 2,000-squarefoot showroom in the popular downtown development today. The space allows guests to interact with Rivian vehicles, speak with specialists, buy Rivian gear and learn about electric-vehicle trip planning.

“We’re really excited to unveil a highly experiential space where customers and interested people can come and learn about EVs, learn about charging trip planning, but most importantly, our products are here so they can see the R1T, they can see the R1S, touch and feel them and also interact with our team that’s really highly trained product specialists,” said Tony Caravano, senior director of customer engagement at Rivian. “This is about brand awareness, so this is a brilliant version of a billboard in my opinion.”

A Rivian SUV sits in the center of the showroom, surrounded by interactive educational stations, including charging systems and customizable car features, as well as Rivian merchandise.

Rivian will expand beyond the walls of its showroom with a vehicle on permanent display in the center of the shopping district, as well as cars located in the Fifth + Broadway garage that guests can schedule for tests drives.

“We see other automakers with showrooms in lifestyle centers. Ours is different because we’ve tried to make them as playful and interactive as possible. We are really inviting customers and we’re inviting families in to make this a place where they can spend some time and come more than once,” Caravano said.

Rivian is an American electric vehicle manufacturer best known for designing the first electric pickup truck. The car company manufactures two vehicles, a pickup truck and an SUV, which are both on display and available for test drive at the Fifth & Broadway space.

This will be the first tenant of its kind in the retail and restaurant development.

“This is an unbelievable place to drop a pin and introduce our brand to Nashville. It’s highly visible, there’s a lot of traffic here and there’s a lot of curiosity,” Caravano said. “The visitor to Fifth + Broad is very excited. They come with a lot of energy. They have things to do in the day. They’re really into exploring, so I think we fit with the other brands that are in the area.”

The electric vehicle brand opened a service center in Franklin last year — the Fifth +Broadway location will be its first showroom in the Nashville area. Caravano says the EV company is in the process of looking at future showroom locations in Nashville.

“We wanted to find the best location to introduce the brand. We know that Fifth + Broad is a brilliant place for that to happen,” Caravano said. “We’ve looked at other neighborhoods like the Gulch, but Fifth + Broad is a really great place for us. There’s just so much energy here.”