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Even as Congress moves closer toward banning TikTok from operating in the U.S., the company’s real estate plans in the country continue to take shape.
The tech giant is moving forward on building out 57K SF across two full floors in the Moore Building at 827 19th Ave. on Nashville’s Music Row, CoStar reports.
The agreement would see TikTok move from its current space in a WeWork at the One Nashville tower a mile and a half away. The move, which is awaiting signoff from the local government, comes as TikTok’s parent company faces increasing pressure from federal legislators.
The House of Representatives passed a measure Wednesday morning that would force China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or face being banned in app stores in the U.S. The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate as well as the support of President Joe Biden.
The bill passed the House 325 to 65, the Washington Post reported, and while its fate in the Senate is uncertain, it has bipartisan support in the upper chamber of Congress.
Concerns over national security and allegations that TikTok could be used as a way for the Chinese government to spy on U.S. citizens are fueling the legislation, although the Chinese government has denied the allegations and TikTok has pushed back on the bill.
"This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it's a ban," a TikTok spokesperson told Bisnow in an emailed statement. "We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service."
The spokesperson didn't respond to Bisnow's questions about how the legislation could affect its real estate footprint.
Even as the bill advances, TikTok remains in the middle of a build-out of the Nashville space it intends to step into. The Moore Building office space, designed by Gensler, is reportedly costing TikTok roughly $2.8M. The space is linked to the company’s national data security team, CoStar reported.
TikTok is among the employers enforcing a return-to-office mandate, requiring members of its 7,000-strong workforce to report to the office between three and five days a week. The mandate means the company needs more physical space than it previously operated in.
The social media company is a significant office occupier elsewhere in the country. It leases almost 660K SF in a sublease arrangement in San Jose and is reportedly looking to expand in the Bay Area, in addition to 50K SF in Washington, D.C., 155K SF in Seattle’s suburbs and 232K SF in New York City.
The company also announced plans to set up fulfillment centers in September as it pursues a bid to create an e-commerce line of business.
The Moore Building, a 247K SF office tower in Nashville’s historic Music Row, was recently developed by a joint venture of Creed Investment and Portman Holdings. Its tenant roster includes Boston-based Albany Road Real Estate Partners and legal advertising firm Whitehardt.
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