in this issue:

   Big Plans to Fill
       Big Hole on Main

   Project Moves Forward
       at 113 South Main

   RDC Announces Finalists
       for New Landing

   Action Along
       Auction Avenue

   Development Briefs

   May Meeting
       Schedule

   CCC Contact
       Information

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.

Volume 1, Issue 9                www.downtownmemphis.com               May 2003

Big Plans to Fill "Big Hole" on Main Street

Gayoso Place Pending approval from the Downtown Parking Authority, a large-scale project on the Main Street Demonstration Block could change the Downtown Memphis skyline as plans for a new parking garage and residential tower totaling 20-plus floors come closer to reality.

This past February, the Downtown Parking Authority (DPA) issued a request seeking proposals for the creation of a new development on the quarter-block at Main Street and Gayoso. The property currently includes six parcels of vacant land and the former Cook & Love building, which is scheduled for demolition. Guidelines outlined by the DPA stipulated that the development must incorporate a public parking garage with approximately 300-spaces to meet increased parking needs on Main Street.

A selection committee reviewed submitted proposals last week and recommends that the Downtown Parking Authority select a project called Gayoso Place, a 20-plus floor tower that includes 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail space, a 384-space public garage on the next few floors, and a 262-unit apartment tower above. Due to the height of the building, most apartment tenants will have views of the Mississippi River.

Gayoso Place plans to reserve 20% of the apartments as affordable housing units. These units will have the same floor plan and amenities as the market-rate apartments. Affordable units will range between 66-79 cents per square foot whereas market-rate units will range from $1.12 - $1.27 per sqaure foot.

The proposal was submitted by a team led by Memphis-based The Nashoba Group and Austin, Texas-based Housing Initiatives Corporation. Other team members include Makowsky Ringel Greenberg, Renaissance Group, Morgan Keegan, Prudential Financial, Trammell Crow and Webb Building Corporation.

Total project cost is estimated at $40 million.

Pending final approval of the project from DPA at its board meeting on Tuesday, May 20, construction on the garage will begin in late 2003 with construction on the tower beginning in fall of 2004.

Take a virtual tour of the exterior of Gayoso Place going north on Main Street:



For more information on the Main Street Demonstration Block, contact CCC Director of Planning & Development Laura Morgan at (901) 575-0584.

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New Project Moves Forward at 113 South Main Street

Across from the proposed Gayoso Place, another project on the Main Street Demonstration Block is moving forward. Renovations will begin in June on the WT Grant Building located on the northwest corner of Main and Gayoso. Plans call for 15 loft apartments on the second through fourth floors, and approximately 11,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and basement.

Project costs are $2.1 million and the project received a 19-year PILOT (tax freeze) from the Center City Revenue Finance Corporation. The development team will be applying for a development loan from the Center City Development Corporation at its meeting later this month.

For leasing information on this property, contact Adam Slovis at (901) 260-7221.

For more information on the Main Street Demonstration Block, contact CCC Director of Planning & Development Laura Morgan at (901) 575-0584.

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Riverfront Development Corporation Narrows
Beale Street Landing Design Finalists to Five

Five finalists and seven honorable mentions have been selected from 171 submissions in Shaping the New American Riverfront, a design competition conducted by the Riverfront Development Corporation to create a new riverboat landing at the foot of Beale Street at the Mississippi River. This competition represents the first-ever international design competition held for a major public/private construction project in Memphis.

Submissions were received from 20 different countries and 27 states within the U.S. The five finalists will receive a cash award and are invited to refine their ideas for the second and final stage of the competition. Finalists are invited to Memphis to present their proposals to the competition jury. It is RDC's intention to select a design team from the second stage to develop their proposal for implementation.

Click here to see the designs of the five finalists.

For more information on the Beale Street Landing competition, contact RDC's Director of Communication, Dorchelle Spence at (901) 312-9190.

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Action Along Auction Avenue

With the Uptown Neighborhood Revival underway, many new developments along Auction Avenue and surrounding streets are under construction or are in the works.

In addition to the $500 million St. Jude campus expansion, just over $39 million in new development projects are under construction along Auction. These developments will include more than 300 residential rental units.

Map of Auction

Click here to see a list of current development projects underway or recently completed in Downtown.

For more information on development projects in Downtown, contact the CCC Development Project Manager Jaske Goff at (901) 575-0582.

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Development Briefs

SAVE THE DATE! The Center City Commission's Annual Meeting and Luncheon will be held on Thursday, June 26 from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Ballroom. For more information, contact Dena Owens at (901) 575-0562.

American Golf Schools is opening a new location inside Pembroke Square in the 1,900 square foot space that was formerly Carlton Cards. The School will have four indoor hitting bays which simulate the flight of a golfer's ball and will also include retail space featuring Nike products. Membership packages that include supervised lessons and practice sessions will be available.

Downtown School The Downtown Elementary School will hold a special pre-registration for Downtown residents for the Fall 2003 school year throughout the week of May 19 from 9am - 3 pm.

The Field, Beale Street's first sports-themed bar, opened this month at 340 Beale Street (formerly Dick's Last Resort) with a newly constructed outdoor patio.

Ross De Alessi, the lighting designer for "Light It Up! The Downtown Illumination Project", received the prestigious General Electric's Edison Award of Merit for the exterior lighting design of the Pyramid Arena. The award noted the building's skillful blend of fluorescent and advanced technologies to create an artistic solution to a challenging lighting problem.

The Center City’s Operations Department will be monitoring compliance with the City’s Downtown Dumpster Ordinance on a weekly basis and reporting violations to the appropriate enforcement agencies including the Health Department and the City’s Public Works Division. Among its provisions, the ordinance requires that all dumpsters be closed and secured with locking devices at all times, that dumpsters not block the public right-of-way, and that dumpsters in public view be screened. For more information, contact Dave Rice, CCC Environmental Coordinator, at 575-0591.



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Available Property Spotlight
Catherine's Dress Shop: 64 South Main

64 South Main Wedged between the Lawrence Building and the former New York Suit Exchange Building on Main Street is Catherine's Dress Shop building. This property is a two story steel/brick/concrete structure with a full basement and potential for a drive-down parking garage.

Near the Union Commons corridor and on the Main Street trolley line, this location would serve as excellent multi-use potential for a retail, residential, office or restaurant space. There are five parking garages within walking distance. There is a working elevator in the building.

The property is listed at $275K, less than $25 per square foot.

For leasing information on this property, contact Tucker Beck, at Crye Leike Commercial, (901) 758-5670.

To review other available properties in Downtown Memphis, click here.

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May Meeting Schedule

Downtown Parking Authority:  Tues, May 20 at 2:30 am
Center City Development Corporation:  Wed, May 21 at 8:30 am
Center City Commission Board:   Fri, May 23 at noon
Design Review Board:  Wed, June 4 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 Center City Commission offices will be closed on Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day.

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Center City Commission Staff

Executive
Jeff Sanford, President
Nicole Hernandez, Assistant to the President
Development
Myron Hughes, VP of Development and Planning
Brad Elmer, Business Development Analyst
Jaske Goff, Development Project Manager
Laura Morgan, Director of Planning & Development
Leigh Ann Simmons, Existing Business Specialist
Financial
Jim Street, Chief Financial Officer
Marketing
Lee Warren, Senior VP of Marketing
Leslie Gower, Director of Communications and Editor
Dena Owens, Marketing Manager
Sridhar Sunkara, Director of Information Systems
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:
      Derrick Burnett
      Eugene Brassel
      Fannie Garner
      Jarvis Jenkins
      Kay Jennings
      Leonell Klank
      Bobby Parker
      Michael Williams

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We want to know what you think about this publication - email your comments to Leslie Gower, Editor. And thanks to those who have already responded with their suggestions!