Music City Center building jobs come slowly

02/22/2010 myrakaj

<b>Metro Councilman Bo Mitchell wants work on convention center to go to locals.</b>

Mayor Karl Dean and other supporters sold the $585 million Music City Center project as a stimulus package for Nashville, where the unemployment rate is about 10 percent. They’ve said the project should create 2,500 to 3,000 jobs, with 800 to 1,000 people on-site at peak times.

About 100 people are working on the job already, said Gary Schalmo, project director and senior vice president with Bell/Clark/Harmony, the general contractor. They’re working on plans and shop drawings, procurement and other tasks.

Excavation work will start around March 1, bringing 20 people or so to the construction site south of Sommet Center and First Baptist Church. An additional 100 workers will start putting up the 1.2-million-square-foot building’s concrete frame in April or May.