in this issue:
More Comingto Mud Island
First ProjectHits New Main
Madison TrolleyLine Opens
Uptown's Community
Land Trust
Lighting Up First Tennessee
CCC Seeks Minority Developers
Development Briefs New DowntownBusinesses
Available PropertySpotlight
Upcoming MeetingSchedule
CCC ContactInformation
The Downtown Developer
is a monthly publication
produced by the
Memphis Center
City Commission
114 North Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103
phone 901.575.0540
toll free 888.303.0002
fax 901.575-0541
downtownmemphis.com
All rights reserved.
More Coming to Mud Island
Over $60 million in new developments on Mud Island are underway, making room for 1,000 more residents. Over 3,000 Memphians already reside on the Island that measures just under 1 square mile.
Three new residential communities, constructed on the east side of the Island, will add 400 new single-family homes: Island View Phase 1 and 2, and Island Point.
In addition, Harbor Town founder Henry Turley is nearing completion on his latest Island project, Harbor Town Landing. This residential community overlooking the marina will consist of four different projects totaling 70 condos and 12 townhomes: The Cottages (12 townhomes), The Beacon (20 loft condos), The Regatta (36 traditional condos), and The Portico (formerly The Yacht Club, 21 condos). Harbor Town Landing will also have 7000 sf of commercial or restaurant space. The project is expected to be complete in July.
Also coming to Mud Island is a new 30-room bed & breakfast, River Inn. This upscale inn will offer two restaurants overseen by George Falls (owner of Pauletts and Three Oaks Grill), a wine cellar and meeting facilities.
Click here to review other Downtown projects in the works.
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First Project Hits New Main
Excitement is building on New Main with the block's first project opening next month, The Cornerstone at Main Street Flats.
The Cornerstone will bring the first completed living space to New Main in 15-loft apartments. These urban-chic apartments include original hardwood floors, high ceilings, exposed brick and huge windows that allow for panoramic views of Downtown. The ground floor will offer 5,000 sf of commercial space, and there is basement parking available for residents.
Project costs to renovate this historic building on the northwest corner of Main and Gayoso were around $3 million.
New Main is the block on Main Street located between Union and Gayoso undergoing redevelopment. When complete, the block will have over 500 residents, 70,000 sf of retail space, over 440 parking spaces, and streetscape improvements.
Other New Main News:
Demolition of the Cook & Love building is slated to start this month. Demolition will allow for construction to begin on Gayoso Place, a new 20-story residential tower with a 440-space Downtown Parking Authority parking garage on the first three floors. Construction on the parking garage should begin in late summer.
To celebrate the activity on New Main, the Center City Commission is hosting a New Main Block Party on Thursday, April 15 from 5 - 7 pm. The event will include live music, refreshments, and previews of upcoming projects on New Main. Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information on New Main, contact CCC Director of Planning & Development Laura Morgan at (901) 575-0584.
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Madison Trolley Opens March 15
The new two-mile, $56 million Madison Trolley Line that will connect the Downtown Core to the Medical District opens on Monday, March 15.
The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) plans to host a grand opening celebration on March 15 at 10 am on the corner of Cleveland and Madison. Federal Transit Deputy Administrator Robert Jamison is scheduled to attend.
For more information on the trolley line and public transit, visit their Memphis Area Transit Authority website.
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Uptown Alliance Works To
Maintain Neighborhood Integrity
To ensure healthy growth in the up and coming Uptown Neighborhood, the Uptown Alliance has created a Community Land Trust (CLT), the first instituted in Memphis and Shelby County.
A CLT is a non-profit corporation designed to acquire properties in order to develop or maintain safe, affordable housing within a certain area. The Uptown CLT will act as the steward of the properties it acquires, maintaining ownership of the land for the good of the community by selling, leasing or renting properties within the financial means of local residents.
The CLT will control pricing in order to maintain the affordability of the units and the integrity of the neighborhood.
For more information on the Uptown Alliance, go to the Uptown Memphis website.
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Lighting Up the First Tennessee Building
First Tennessee, an active supporter of the arts, is using its building at 165 Madison to serve as the canvas for an extraordinary piece of public art.
Local artist Arnold M. Thompson has created an abstract lighting design that represents "the energy and synergy" of Downtown Memphis and encompass 19 floors of the 25-story building. The lighting designs, which will resemble brilliant diamonds glittering in the sky, will grace all four sides of the First Tennessee Building beginning Friday, March 12.
The colorful work is part of the city’s Light It Up: The Downtown Illumination Project. Light It Up is a progressive initiative to enhance the image of Downtown Memphis through the lighting of buildings, help stimulate evening commerce and offer an increased sense of security for customers and employees.
For more information on Light It Up: The Downtown Illumination Project, contact Project Director Dawn Lopez at (901) 575-0564.
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CCC Seeks Minority Development Participation
In an effort to stimulate minority participation in Downtown real estate development projects, the Center City Commission is exploring ways to grow the local minority developer base.
To that end, the Center City’s W/MBE committee, made up of representatives from all five of the CCC boards, sponsored a Downtown Minority Development Forum last month. The purpose of the program was to give prospective minority developers an opportunity to learn the “tricks of the trade” from a panel of six successful downtown developers, including two African Americans. Thirty-six people attended the meeting.
Panelists unanimously agreed that downtown real estate development is at best a difficult, high-risk business, and even more so for the inexperienced. That is why the CCC staff is encouraging partnerships between the experienced and the inexperienced wherever possible. The audience was also encouraged to contact the CCC for guidance and assistance.
This meeting was a follow-up to the “African-Americans & Development Summit” hosted last year by Councilwoman Barbara Swearengen Holt (a current member of CCC's W/MBE All-Boards Committee).
To receive notification about future CCC W/MBE committee hosted events, please contact the CCC's Assistant to the President, Nicole Hernandez, at (901) 545-0542.
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Development Briefs
The Center City Commission and the Memphis BioTech Foundation will present rezoning plans for the Victorian Village neighborhood to the Office of Planning and Development this summer. Looney Ricks Kiss Architects (LRK) was chosen by a selection committee to design a plan that will foster thoughtful residential growth in this area.
The Blue Suede Brigade has initiated a "Downtown Merchant of the Month" program designed to recognize Downtown businesses that excel in customer service and presentation. The first award was granted to Prime Minister's on Main Street in January.
Demolition of the buildings on the corner of Manassas and Union is complete, making way for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's construction of a new $70 million UT Cancer Institute. The new building will include research and patient clinic facilities operated by UT Institute's partner, Boston-Baskin. The 80,000 sf Institute will employ over 100 physicians and 400 administrative personnel. Construction is expected to take 18 - 24 months.
The Tom Lee Memorial, which was destroyed in the windstorm last summer, will be replaced with a new memorial in Tom Lee Park. The UrbanArt Commission will select the design for the new memorial next month. The Riverfront Development Corporation is planning other improvements for the park as well.
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is hosting a program in Memphis for professionals interested in the real estate and land use industry. Maureen McAvey, ULI's Senior Resident Fellow for Urban Development, will deliver a presentation titled, "The Metropolitan Time Bomb: Dealing with the Demands of Growth." A panel of local land use experts from the private and public sectors will respond to Ms. McAvey's message and bring the issue closer to home. The event will take place at The Peabody Hotel on Wednesday, April 21 from 9:30 am - 1 pm. For more information, contact Nicole Hernandez at the Center City Commission, 575-0542.
The Marriott Residence Inn is scheduled to open in July on the corner of Main Street and Monroe. The newly renovated hotel will bring 90 new hotel suites to Downtown. Most recently the building served as the William Len Apartments but originally opened as the William Len Hotel.
The Center City Commission is accepting bids for gazebo renovations and general park improvements in Court Square. For more detailed information, click here.
The Downtown Parking Authority is accepting bids for CCTV Security Improvements for Peabody Place Tower Garage. For more detailed information, click here.
Construction on the FedEx Forum continues to be on time and in budget. Some upcoming deadlines include:
- March: Begin seating installation
- May: Enclosure complete
- June: Begin scoreboard installation
- August: Substantial completion of FedExForum
- Sept: FedExForum Grand Opening Events
New Downtown Business Openings
Krispy Kreme Donuts will open at 125 South Main Street in Pembroke Square (former site of Java Blues). The tentative opening date is April 6.
Stella Restaurant is expected to open within the next few weeks on the ground floor of the newly renovated Brodnax Building (Monroe at Main). Owner and chef Johnny Kirk was the chef at nearby
restaurant McEwens on Monroe.
Zoe's Kitchen, a nation-wide restaurant chain that specializes in "fast casual" fare, is opening on the ground floor of Brinkley Plaza at Main and Monroe this month. The restaurant offers sandwiches, corporate catering and meals to go.
Pie in the Sky Pizza is opening at 116 1/2 Front Street on the west side of Pembroke Square in the upcoming weeks. The original Pie in the Sky is located in Cooper Young and is owned by Lou Savarin, who was also the owner the famous Blues Alley (which was located just a few doors down from the site of his new Downtown pizzeria).
Jack's Food Store is re-opening at 82 North Main Street by the end of March. A fire destroyed the grocery's original location on the corner of Jefferson and Main.
Kabab King is now open for lunch at 26 South Second Street. Kabab King serves middle eastern cuisine and delivers Downtown. Call 525-6001.
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Available Property Spotlight:
River City Chrome Building, 598-614 Monroe
The River City Chrome Building in the Edge Neighborhood is a two-story brick and corrugated steel structure with frontage both on Marshall and Monroe Avenues. The west side and older part of the building was built in 1950 with 19,900 sf that includes 2 loading docks with 2 grade level doors. In 1997, 9,600 sf were added to the east side of the property bringing another dock and 2 grade level doors. The complete building now offers 29,500 sf.
Located just east of AutoZone Park and near the new Madison Trolley Line, this unique multi-use property would serve as an ideal conversion into retail, office, warehouse and/or residential studio(s).
The purchase price is listed at $499,000.
For information on this property, contact Tucker Beck at Crye Leike Realty, (901) 378-1300 or go to the website at www.crye-leike.com.
To review other available properties in Downtown Memphis, click here.
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Upcoming Meeting Schedule
Center City Revenue Finance Corporation: Tues, March 16 at 1 pm
Center City Development Corporation: Wed, March 17 at 8:30 am
Center City Commission Board: Fri, March 26 at noon
Design Review Board: Wed, April 7 at 5 pm
The above meetings will be held at the Center City Commission, 114 North Main Street. For more information, contact Nicole Hernandez at (901) 575-0542.
The Downtown Neighborhood Association will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 pm at the Center for Southern Folklore. Call 527-DNA1 or go to www.memphisdna.org for more information.
The South Main Association will hold its next general membership meeting on Thursday, April 8 at The Arcade. The theme for this meteing is "Fifties Sock Hop". The time has not been determined.
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Center City Commission Staff
Executive
Jeff Sanford, President
Nicole Hernandez, Assistant to the President
Development
Laura Morgan, Director of Planning & Development
Brad Elmer, Planning & Development Coordinator
Jaske Goff, Development Project Manager
Dawn Vinson, Development Assistant
Financial
Jim Street, Chief Financial Officer
Marketing
Lee Warren, Senior VP of Marketing
Leslie Gower, Director of Communications and Editor
Sridhar Sunkara, Director of Information Systems
Jerome Rubin, Business Recruitment and Retention Coordinator
Stephanie Ziemba, Special Events Coordinator
Operations
Janet Pfaff, Senior VP of Operations
Dave Rice, Parking Manager/Environmental Coordinator
Christine Taylor, Office Manager/Administrative Assistant
Gaston Davis, Blue Suede Brigade Manager
Blue Suede Brigadiers:
Eugene Brassell
Fannie Garner
Mika Hilliard
Jarvis Jenkins
Kay Jennings
Bobby Parker
Katie Stewart
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Email your questions or comments to Leslie Gower, Editor.