About Us

I have a rule about real estate: There’s a time to buy and a time to sell. The trick is knowing when to do that. You just have to have feel about it. - Bob Mathews

About Us

The Mathews Company has an 80-year history as a progressive builder, an environmentally and historically sensitive developer, and a leading real estate service provider. Since 1938, the company has helped shape the skyline of downtown Nashville, developing more than 5 million square feet of office buildings, industrial parks, apartment buildings, and retail centers throughout Middle Tennessee.


In addition to construction, investment and development activities, The Mathews Company manages more than 10 million square feet of commercial real estate across all property types for clients such as Vanderbilt University, Guardian Life, and Alex Brown Realty. The company provides a full range of accounting and asset management services as well as 24-hour maintenance services for buildings of every type ranging from 8,000 to 770,000 square feet.

The Mathews Company creates value for its partners by putting to work the skills and resources of its related companies, R.C. Mathews Contractor and Colliers International Nashville.

Robert C.H. Mathews Sr. founded R.C. Mathews Contractor in 1938, and in 1951, his son Robert C.H. "Bob"  Mathews Jr. joined the company. 


Over its first four decades, The Mathews Company established a reputation for integrity and success.


In the early 1980s, Bob Mathews' two sons, Bert and Walker, joined the company. At that time, the company's brokerage, property management and development services were separated from the construction company, which retained the original name of the company. The new company was called The Mathews Company. 


In early 2000, the commercial brokerage operations merged with NAI TaylorVaughn Green and formed NAI Mathews Partners. In 2010, The Mathews Company and NAI Nashville joined the Colliers International family as Colliers International Nashville to provide local strength in the Middle Tennessee market. 


In June of 2008, Bob Mathews passed away, leaving behind a legacy of projects that shaped the character of Nashville, the city he loved. Bob embraced change while honoring tradition, a balance that enabled him to help transform the Nashville community. 

The Mathews Company continues to honor the city of Nashville’s rich history, rehabilitating the 100-year-old Stahlman Building into the first multifamily units delivered in Downtown Nashville for 10 years. In 2011, the Mathews company renovated the once abandoned Trolley Barns at Rolling Mill Hill into creative office and retail space. 


In 2014, the company moved its downtown office on Broadway to the burgeoning SoBro District at 3rd and Lea Avenues. 


Today, the family-owned and operated business continues with three distinct, innovative, companies under the Mathews umbrella. Each has its own professionals, specialists, clients and service areas. Walker Mathews is president of R.C. Mathews Contractor, and Bert Mathews is president of The Mathews Company and a partner at Colliers International | Nashville.

It's my opinion that the economic history of Nashville dates to 1818 when the first steamboat, The General Jackson, docked on the Cumberland. For with that steamboat, modern transportation made it possible for Nashville to become the region’s shipping and distribution center. Nashville, with the Cumberland's connections to the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi river, soon ranked second only to New Orleans in importance among Southern cites. - Bob Mathews

Our Leadership

The Mathews Company's most valuable assets are its employees. The company and its affiliates have more than 150 employees, including brokers, accountants, property managers, maintenance staff, construction workers and corporate staff. All leadership and staff adhere to the same simple, but essential, precepts instilled when R.C. Mathews, Sr. opened his contracting firm in Nashville in 1938:


  • Excel in quality product
  • Attain a keen understanding of community
  • Uphold the integrity of one's word

Related Companies

Colliers International Nashville

R.C. Mathews Contractors 

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