MEMPHIS | Development News

[arkitekte]

I had honestly been under the impression (and from random gossip around town) that Belz had always eventually planned to convert Peabody Place Mall into suites; mainly they proposed and built the mall to cover the overhead coast of the construction and development, and then would receive tax credits for the redevelopment in downtown. Don't place any weight on that, though...it's only gossip, but I guess it's worth mentioned for something to talk about.

I honestly think trying to redevelop that into meeting space is a good idea, BUT not in place of a new convention center. I think that a 60 million dollar renovation of the convention center isn't enough and that with only 60 million it would be done extremely half ass, but it is what it is. I don't trust the city with that 60 million to do it right (which as I stated above that won't be enough, IMO). We got BSL for roughly 50 million, does Wharton honestly think 60 is enough to bring the Cook up to seismic code, remodel, and rebrand? I don't think he's naive that far off base, but seriously, let a private company come in and develop whatever new space is to be developed.

Collins also has a point.

[arkitekte]

Another article, this one from the MBJ which gives a little more detail.

Mayor's Downtown Rotary speech puts spotlight on Peabody Place
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/b...tlight-on.html

Nearly five years after its conversion into a hotel was delayed, Peabody Place just got thrust back into the conversation.
During a meeting of the Downtown Rotary Club, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton discussed the idea of converting Peabody Place into convention and conference space.
After it closed down in 2008, plans and demolition for its conversion into Peabody Suites, a 160-room hotel that would operate separately from the Peabody Hotel, began to take shape. However, Belz Enterprises, which owns Peabody Place, shut down construction on the $74 million project during the recession.

While Wharton didn’t deliver any specific plans for how it would be funded, when construction would start and be completed, a hotel at Peabody Place had been a component of plans for a new convention center. While the site is too small for a convention center to be built there, the hotel could play an integral role if the land adjacent to AutoZone Park along 195 Union were acquired and converted into a convention center.
The convention center conversation will begin anew Thursday when the latest committee to discuss an expansion or new convention center meets for the first time.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

Another article, this one from the MBJ which gives a little more detail.

Mayor's Downtown Rotary speech puts spotlight on Peabody Place
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/b...tlight-on.html

If they push and get a new convention center around Autozone, what becomes of Cook? I've pushed the Crowne Center in KC as an example of kids centric attractions. It would tie into the the more family oriented pull of Bass Pro and should be tied into the Pinch redevelopment.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

If they push and get a new convention center around Autozone, what becomes of Cook? I've pushed the Crowne Center in KC as an example of kids centric attractions. It would tie into the the more family oriented pull of Bass Pro and should be tied into the Pinch redevelopment.

Ideally, something similar to that or a proposal that in a way benefits the general public or something similar to what is planned or Sears Crosstown is the best. Nashville is redeveloping their old convention center (or at least this is what's included in the proposals, I can't remember which combination the winning proposal had) to have a House of Blues (possibly), an African American music museum, commercial space, and a tower that will have office space and probably a hotel or residential component. A solid amount of mixed use development is probably the only feasible way to go, the biggest problem here in Memphis will be keeping the amount of people using whatever happens to it stable.

I think retailers would work extremely well there...an actual grocery store for downtown, an urban Target, etc. The City and the Downtown Memphis Commission continually talk big talk about how they want to grown downtown in residents and businesses, yet there's not the proper amenities and resources present to support that population.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

I had honestly been under the impression (and from random gossip around town) that Belz had always eventually planned to convert Peabody Place Mall into suites; mainly they proposed and built the mall to cover the overhead coast of the construction and development, and then would receive tax credits for the redevelopment in downtown. Don't place any weight on that, though...it's only gossip, but I guess it's worth mentioned for something to talk about.

I honestly think trying to redevelop that into meeting space is a good idea, BUT not in place of a new convention center. I think that a 60 million dollar renovation of the convention center isn't enough and that with only 60 million it would be done extremely half ass, but it is what it is. I don't trust the city with that 60 million to do it right (which as I stated above that won't be enough, IMO). We got BSL for roughly 50 million, does Wharton honestly think 60 is enough to bring the Cook up to seismic code, remodel, and rebrand? I don't think he's naive that far off base, but seriously, let a private company come in and develop whatever new space is to be developed.

Collins also has a point.

While I like Wharton's idea for expanded meeting space, I don't think that it meets the high demand for competition with Nashville, who is fastly blowing by Memphis as the premier metro city in TN. Here's an idea the mayor should propose. Redevelop Peabody Place into a world class Conference Center. Then plan for a new convention center in undeveloped blighted land south of FedExForum.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Here's an idea the mayor should propose. Redevelop Peabody Place into a world class Conference Center. Then plan for a new convention center in undeveloped blighted land south of FedExForum.

No doubt. I'm curious to what will be said tomorrow, especially from Collins. Not to get political (which in this case it actually pertains to development), but as the FOX13 article mentioned his district has been constantly passed over for redevelopment funding even though it was considered a priority. With that being said, they had better try to keep from using City funds to redevelop Peabody Place and concentrate that effort toward a new convention center, but that new convention center would only be doable with a tax increase, and we all know how that will go down.

Belz more than likely has the money to redevelop it on their own, but if they think that the City will pay for it, they'll let the City make that move. Between the shortage of hotel rooms and the limited amount of meeting space, I doubt that the Peabody Place would attract any conventions of a decent size that would make that a wise investment for the City.

[ladsnine]

Hi! I enjoy reading this thread. My sister went to college in Memphis, so I've spent some time in the city, so it's interesting to learn about what's happening there.

I just wanted to ask you guys if there's been any news or developments on the Tennessee Brewery? I read on here a few months ago that the owner wanted to demolish it. Are they still planning to?

[kingchef]

it seems to be the same pattern over and over, spend, spend, spend, on various structures---regardless of how much the first or third paid consultants recommend---do it, the project, by the same few decision-makers, the way they want, w/out following the paid for recommendations, e.g. the two-way auto traffic on the mall, after it was made emphatically plain in writing that, if no recommendation was accepted, but one, the directional problem should be fixed. what happened? nothing! the mayor stated that the city didn't have the approximate 1 million dollars to invest in signage and directional signals for traffic. consequently, after whining about getting more businesses to locate on the mall, it was all for nothing. later, however, the fastest job i've ever seen completed was the stadium, completed even before the projected date---for the football games, two i believe. they had the money for that.

as for the comment about the peabody suites, what ark stated was not a rumor, part of the conversation about the suites and the reasons given for the delay is written in this very forum. after the trouble in orlando and finally getting it opened, memphis took the hit because of the same old line "hard times" excuse, and needed time for capital recovery, etc. actually, the thing that the same old rulers that want a personal finger in every pie which profits them, blocked the proposal of building a highrise (initially, it was the vue), the hole in the ground was upsetting this group suddenly---i guess as good a reason as any, since they knew the logistics of the four corners, after all building a building that would bring citizens downtown was silly to waste a busy corner, when they could build a "world class, upscale, luxury (INSERT ADJECTIVE) parking lot. why can't dumb memphians understand.

all of these things link back to no leadership, no real concern for the citizens of this county nor memphis, no desire for urgency, creativity, and no interest in much more than pensions for many over-paid do-nothings, the proverbial schools topic, and the worry of giving mandates to companies, industries, and businesses contracts, regardless of their ability to do the work, to whomever is described as a minority, meaning blacks and women, which neither are in shelby county, should that be part of minority definition. it is difficult to keep having pride over the things that could go on in memphis, if we had qualified people to do the work. what a shame.

[Chris Warren]

Memphis Skyies to Light Up Blue Downtown

The Commercial Appeal

In celebration of its first 150 years, Memphis-based First Tennessee Bank will light up the skies on Thursday and kick off a yearlong celebration of its sesquicentennial.

The bank’s Downtown headquarters building will be lit in a single color, blue.

Preceding the lighting will be a fireworks display at about 7:45 p.m.

And on Tuesday, coinciding with the bank’s 150th anniversary, the building will glow in blue light and remain so for the rest of 2014.

The blue matches the color used in the bank’s logo and publicity material.

First National Bank of Memphis was opened in 1864 and renamed First Tennessee in 1977. It is the largest bank based in the state, with loans and assets totaling $23.5 billion.

[Chris Warren]

Hilton Garden Inn developer buys Downtown's old Greyhound property

The Commercial Appeal

Turkey Creek Hospitality this week completed its purchase of the former Greyhound bus station Downtown for its plans to build a 140-room Hilton Garden Inn there

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by ladsnine

Hi! I enjoy reading this thread. My sister went to college in Memphis, so I've spent some time in the city, so it's interesting to learn about what's happening there.

I just wanted to ask you guys if there's been any news or developments on the Tennessee Brewery? I read on here a few months ago that the owner wanted to demolish it. Are they still planning to?

I think they're planning to start demolition on August 1, but there are 3 or so individuals who are interested in buying it. I've been inside and structurally everything is pretty sound, but converting it into something that would make money would be a pretty steep task.

[Huntsvillenative]

Nice to see that Memphis is moving forward with plans for a new facility to house the Memphis Music Hall Of Fame Museum. I saw in an article last night that it would be like a visitor's center to Beale Street. Not to pat myself on the back, but I proposed this idea to former Mayor Myron Lowery via Twitter a while back and he liked it. He must have passed it on to higher officials.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

If they push and get a new convention center around Autozone, what becomes of Cook? I've pushed the Crowne Center in KC as an example of kids centric attractions. It would tie into the the more family oriented pull of Bass Pro and should be tied into the Pinch redevelopment.

Saw this:

Domestically they indicate that they may look into building more Sesame Place, Discovery Cove or Aquatica style parks, while saving the SeaWorld brand for potential new international projects…

Memphis should be beating the door down as part of a Peabody Place redo or a Cook redo if a new convention center happens. Sea World is now basically ran by Blackstone group that has a significant piece of Merlin that runs the Lego Discovery Center and SeaLife Aquarium at the Crown Center that I referenced. As part of Sea World they control the marketing rights of Sesame St.

I can't help but think that Memphis could use the synergies of location with major east/west and north/south interstates with 22 and 69 in the near future and possible partnership or location close to St. Jude to attract these weekend getaway type attractions plus give the kids and families of St. Jude a getaway when it's ok.

Just my pipedream.

[kingchef]

wayward, i like your idea or whoever proposed it. the mention of access highways is part of my post a few days ago. memphis has all of these 6 transportation logistics routes, also, the geographical location of memphis is a plus for the area. i believe memphis has been said to be w/in 6-8 hours from over 1/3 of the nation. i have yet to hear how much budget is dedicated to tourism, pr for the city, etc., but i do know that is one of the critical variables identified by the city of memphis for income.

as for the bank, i think that is a great idea, however, i hope some money is spent contracting a professional photographer, w/ the right equipment, in order to get it on the record. perhaps helicopter photos from 500 ft. over the city proper need special permission. someone w/ a loud enough voice should begin now knocking on the heads of those who can make good things happen.

ark's comment re: the grocery/market, urban target, etc., is another one of those ideas that the city commission can't seem to get done, even though the public has asked for them over and over. has the building stopped at st. jude, and is there a good current photo of it? that entire area could support a mickey d's, arby's, etc. people do eat fast food in the pinch district, as well as st. jude. a tremendous amount of building and project work has suddenly begun, but i guess much of it is tied to promised projects years ago. it seems that the medical center downtown signage and the structural towers to help beautify and act as landmarks seemed to be out of the picture, if wharton's comments are to be taken into consideration. again, proposals, but rarely in details at the announcements. again, has the fbi made a decision about location and a building downtown?

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by kingchef

ark's comment re: the grocery/market, urban target, etc., is another one of those ideas that the city commission can't seem to get done, even though the public has asked for them over and over. has the building stopped at st. jude, and is there a good current photo of it? that entire area could support a mickey d's, arby's, etc. people do eat fast food in the pinch district, as well as st. jude. a tremendous amount of building and project work has suddenly begun, but i guess much of it is tied to promised projects years ago. it seems that the medical center downtown signage and the structural towers to help beautify and act as landmarks seemed to be out of the picture, if wharton's comments are to be taken into consideration. again, proposals, but rarely in details at the announcements. again, has the fbi made a decision about location and a building downtown?

I'm not for sure about the FBI's decision on their future location.

I'll try to go take some photos of the St. Jude Expansion tomorrow. No promises.

[arkitekte]

The Cutler Property Group Announces Acquisition of Two Buildings in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee
http://www.marketwired.com/press-rel...ee-1890715.htm

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - March 20, 2014) - The Cutler Property Group announced today it has closed on its acquisition of two commercial/industrial buildings comprised of approximately 65,000 sf of gross leasable area on two acres of land. The buildings are located at 296 Adams Avenue and 273 Washington Avenue, directly across from Memphis police headquarters and county justice center in downtown Memphis. Located a few hundred feet from Memphis City Hall, the county court-house and other federal buildings, 296 Adams is ideal for office/warehouse/distribution use and can be subdivided for up to 3 tenants. The Washington property lends itself to many redevelopment possibilities including showroom/retail space.

"We see this as a tremendous redevelopment opportunity," said Adam Cutler, President. "It enables us to establish a presence in Memphis and deploy many of our same turn-around strategies that ignited interest and demand for commercial loft space along Montreal's Lachine Canal. This acquisition is part of our plan to acquire up to $10 million of property in the Memphis area."

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

The Cutler Property Group Announces Acquisition of Two Buildings in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee
http://www.marketwired.com/press-rel...ee-1890715.htm

I see this as positive.

Let me ask this, and it may have been done before many pages back, but if you knew that redevelopment would replace 201 Popular, would you move the courts and jail (not City administration) to a more central location?

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

I see this as positive

Same here. I wonder what kind of retail they're focusing on. Bail Bonds?

Let me ask this, and it may have been done before many pages back, but if you knew that redevelopment would replace 201 Popular, would you move the courts and jail (not City administration) to a more central location?

Only if that redevelopment would produce the same number of people downtown daily (not counting inmates of course). I don't know how many people work at 201, but I assume that it's a fairly large amount. I don't necessarily assume that the majority of the folks that work there or who have daily business there remain downtown to eat or whatnot (at least at lunch I haven't run into many people who work there) so the economic impact of 201 might not be as big as I might think it is.

[kingchef]

well, as for the justice complex, i really think we need to start think about keeping many of the current solid buildings, instead of building something and tearing it down in 7 or 8 years. of course, i would have probably marched in the streets, if they had followed harold collins' suggestion, as well as a few other commission members, to destroy the pyramid. i have been asked about the pyramid by many, many individuals in other cities. some were coming to memphis for vacation, business, and the like. others have commented on the various landmarks that memphis has in downtown. the pyramid is often cited, as is the river, the forum, and certainly st. jude. another example is the expenditure of money on private rooms, etc. at the med, while they were making plans to completely build a new trauma center and tower. why did they build something that they have planned to tear down the entire time. though the randolph highrise is a building that belongs to ut (i think), it is a good looking building, but they want to tear it down. it makes no sense. if carlisle were to build the one beale project, as he stated he would, when he stated that they were just going to let the market recover, which might be about 7 years---that has come, so why did he build a multi-million dollar headqters on property that would ultimately tear a building down that would be less than 3 or 4 years old. i know why he left the beltz property, due to his alleged big plans for the 120 luxury suites. now, it seems as if the old gang is trying to scratch is back by trying to convince most folks that we need that particular building for a convention building. first, how much space is there, in the first place. second, it would be a parking headache for those living in that area, and those trying to find parking, w/ the exception of the convenient car garage that covered the hole on the busy corners, instead of putting a useful hotel or rental highrise.

i am glad to hear that canada has interest in memphis. maybe they will stumble on some ideas that will diversify the look of the downtown area. we talk so much about diversity, let's use some in this situation. i have heard, about a year ago, that some investors (legitimate) were in the city, visiting from mexico. they were interested in both rental properties, buying property, and locations for possible manufacturing/industry.

what happened to the foote homes deal that had virtually been secured, according to lipscomb over a year ago. the heritage trail seems to be following that of the trail of tears. there 6 year plan times 2 +10 years to complete must have had phoenix and company behind it. i am just glad someone out of memphis bought the bus station downtown. now, are they going to build the garden during 2014 instead of the reported 2015 start? i just assumed that it was a wrong date, but i realized how the average project, if it is ever built, takes about 6 or 7 years, if there isn't 3 to 4 phases. it will probably take the urban land institute to tell everyone of the leaders of these other projects where to build buildings and parking lots, garages, and sidewalks.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by kingchef

what happened to the foote homes deal that had virtually been secured, according to lipscomb over a year ago. the heritage trail seems to be following that of the trail of tears. there 6 year plan times 2 +10 years to complete must have had phoenix and company behind it. i am just glad someone out of memphis bought the bus station downtown. now, are they going to build the garden during 2014 instead of the reported 2015 start? i just assumed that it was a wrong date, but i realized how the average project, if it is ever built, takes about 6 or 7 years, if there isn't 3 to 4 phases. it will probably take the urban land institute to tell everyone of the leaders of these other projects where to build buildings and parking lots, garages, and sidewalks.

See below.

Or the next page. My bad.