TikTok's Nashville office takes shape near Music Row

TikTok is planning a multistory Nashville office space in the Music Row area and investing millions to build it.

The social media site, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has maintained an office presence in Music City for several years, including occupying several floors at the downtown WeWork coworking building.

According to recent construction permits, TikTok plans to start interior construction projects on the top five floors of the Moore Building on 19th Avenue.

The company previously signed on to lease several floors of the office building, which was completed last year. Construction on the 12th and 13th floors of the building will add partitions to create open-concept office spaces, enclosed offices and meeting rooms, among other additions. The estimated construction cost for that project is $2.8 million, according to the permit.

Another permit describes the addition of a staircase connecting the 14th, 15th and 16th floors, which is estimated to cost $1.8 million.

The Moore Building was developed by Portman Holdings , based in Atlanta, and Creed Investment Company. It was designed by Gresham Smith.

An LLC tied to Portman Holdings purchased the lot in 2020 for $8 million.

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn previously expressed disapproval of TikTok expanding its office footprint in Nashville, saying the app is dangerous to national security.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TikTok's Nashville office takes shape near Music Row