[Johnny Ryall]

Also, a large upscale redevelopment across the street on the southeast corner opened late last summer (and is heavily marketed to law students).

Metro 67, a $30 million, 12-story upscale apartment project at 67 Madison developed by EFO Residential Partners LP.

(from the Memphis Business Journal)-
Its project manager, Kip Platt, a principal at EFO Residential, believes the market can hold a few hundred luxury units. “I’m guardedly optimistic, but there is no comparison to anything else here,” Platt says. “This is a property that is rent by choice for people who want to try Downtown, people who are empty-nesters or people who live in Memphis for two-three years.” With the exception of the penthouse, units range from 587 square feet to 1,740 square feet, with the average unit being 1,013 square feet. Rents range from $755 to $2,600, with the average unit renting for $1,381 a month. The penthouse is a 2,570-square-foot unit with a private balcony on the 12th floor. While the other rooms have nine-foot ceilings, the penthouse has 12-foot ceilings. Platt would not disclose its asking price.

Built in the former Union Planters Bank headquarters building, Metro 67 also has 8,000 square feet of storage space, 18,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 400 parking spots in the garage across Madison, connected by an underground access. Metro 67 has a litany of other features, including a 10th floor amenity deck overlooking the new University of Memphis Law School, a wine cellar and coffee bar, a fitness center, a business center, a media room with stadium seating and an environmentally friendly design that saves 30% on utilities compared to a traditional unit.

Although the country is in the middle of a recession, Platt points to the fact that Metro 67’s leasing company, Fogelman Management Group, only has to lease 157 upscale units, not several hundred typically found in a multi-family project. He adds that while the economy is down in Memphis, it’s not as bad as other parts of the country. These high-end projects also have the Downtown submarket’s strengths to fall back on. Downtown has the highest rents in Memphis for new construction at $1.06 per square foot, according to CB Richard Ellis’ Multi-Housing MarketView report for the first quarter. The overall Memphis average for new construction is $0.86 per square foot. New apartments Downtown also have a 90.2% occupancy rate, slightly under the 90.7% occupancy average for new construction across all Memphis submarkets. “The numbers are down from years past, but just slightly,” Pera says. “There are not many areas across the country that have not been impacted by the economy, but for the most part it is outperforming the rest of the market.”