RJ Stillwell And Partners To Bring New Life To Historic Building

421 Union St. building, Nashville, Tennessee.

RJ Stillwell, CEO and Founder of Sound Healthcare & Financial, along with his business partners under the name Historic Restorations, are bringing a historic building back to life in downtown Nashville. Historic Restorations, the development group, includes Stillwell along with former artist manager Patrick Pocklington, singer/songwriter Jason Mraz, and contractor Andrew Eshelman.

Stillwell tells MusicRow, “As a resident of downtown Nashville for over 16 years, I’ve always enjoyed urban living. Aside from music, serving our creative community and philanthropy, my additional passions include urban architecture and interior design. I’m especially excited about this new project with Patrick, Andrew and Jason because it provides us the opportunity to give new life to one of my favorite historic downtown structures, the 421 Union St. building.”

Located in Printer’s Alley Art District, the building was erected in 1901 and was first housed by Parrish Shoes. The space has a long history as a bank, Liberty Bank & Trust, before being purchased by Howell H. Campbell in 1940, the founder of the iconic local brand, Goo Goo Cluster.

The building is most recently home to Nashville’s first sushi restaurant, Koto Sushi Bar. The space features 20 foot ceilings that will be expanded and transformed into a modernist loft boutique hotel, focusing on design and technology.

Photo: Downtown Nashville, looking east down Union Street from 5th Avenue. Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library & Archives.