|
Welcome back to Bluff City Biz, where every Monday we speak with someone in the know about our top stories from the previous week. Follow along for insight into key developments and analysis of all things Memphis business.
This week, we’re talking riverfront development and smart city planning with Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.
 Mayor Jim Strickland said the time is right for the riverfront request, which would be a one-time expense. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)
At a special City Council committee meeting last week, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland unveiled riverfront plans that include enlarging the dock at Beale Street Landing, a new dock by Mud Island’s Greenbelt Park and forming a new lake through damming up the city harbor.
Strickland also said the city is discussing with a contractor the possibility of it owning and operating a riverside Ferris wheel, all part of the city’s state funding priorities for 2022, what the mayor called a one-time, “big ask” of Nashville.
While some of the propositions were met with skepticism, Young said we should take seriously Memphis’ potential for becoming a hub of riverboat transportation.
“Riverboat tourism continues to grow nationally,” Young said, “and the Mississippi River is the greatest river in the United States. Memphis is perfectly situated to be a central hub for that type of activity.
“Expanding docks to accommodate more businesses to bring more visitors to Memphis could only be a great thing. The other benefit is continuing to activate the riverfront even further north. This is part of a broader idea of creating a Downtown for everyone, an area where we here at the DMC are aligned with the city.”
 November 6 Investments recently announced plans to buy and redevelop the Historic Greyhound Complex, which was built in 1937 on North Main in the Uptown section of Downtown. (Courtesy LRK)
The historic Greyhound bus facility in Uptown could undergo a $29 million redevelopment that would see it transformed and readapted to 21st century life.
Developers Gabe Velasquez, Susannah Herring and Bill Ganus, doing business as November 6 Investments, want to turn the complex at 525 N. Main, which as built in 1937, into a mixed-use property, including 40 industrial loft apartments.
Young said this project is just one of many returns on the investments that were made in Uptown more than 20 years ago.
“The story of Uptown is one we don’t celebrate enough,” Young said. “In the late 90s and early 2000s, they implemented a TIF for the Uptown community, starting with some of the larger public housing redevelopments, but they also took the time and effort to ensure the residents who were living in that community were not displaced, that they were able to maintain their homes.
“It took a while before we saw the private sector really begin kicking in, but now you see that activity in leaps and bounds, and now you’re seeing projects like this. And you’re seeing projects like what’s happening north in the Snuff District. All of the investment from the early 2000s is starting to pay off.”
More Bluff City Biz:
 Doug Browne, president of Peabody Hotels & Resorts, will serve as the next chairman of the Greater Memphis Chamber. (Daily Memphian file)
The Greater Memphis Chamber named Peabody Hotels & Resorts president Doug Browne as its next chairman during the chamber’s annual Chairman’s Luncheon held Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Jennifer Collins, dean of the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, will become Rhodes College’s 21st president.
Michael O. Harris of GWERC sent a letter of opposition to the City of Memphis regarding One Stop Housing LLC’s proposed project that would convert the former Red Roof Inn hotel on Elvis Presley to workforce housing.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center announced Monday the appointment of its 11th Chancellor, Dr. Peter F. Buckley.
By late February, First Horizon will have closed six Memphis-area IberiaBank branches and rebranded another
After years of speculation and false starts, it seems Whataburger is getting closer to breaking into the Memphis market. Also, updates on the progress of work done at One Beale and new ownership for Chickasaw Oaks.
Chamber officials and members share experiences of the pandemic, plan for the future
The Orgel Education Center was announced during a Wednesday, Dec. 8, board of trustees meeting.
The Binghampton Development Corp.’s six-month program is designed to open new opportunities for participants by providing training.
The Downtown Memphis Commission affiliate Center City Development Corp. will decide whether to expand the South City Good Neighbor Grant program when it meets Wednesday, Dec. 15.
The EDGE Board will review PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) projects that would keep several hundred existing Memphis jobs, while adding dozens of new positions earning more than $45K annually in wages
AutoZone opened the new Peter R. Formanek Store Support Center at 104 S. Front St., a space that combines two historic properties and creates space for 300 workstations.
..... |
