A large, mixed-use development — 350 apartments, two structures for tenant and public parking, and 52,000 square feet of commercial space — is proposed for the entrance into Midtown’s Cooper-Young neighborhood.

A father-and-son development team of Clayton Kemker, 25, and Frank Kemker, 55, have acquired two parcels and have a third under contract, totaling 5.6 acres, near the southwest corner of Central and Cooper.

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The site does not include the century-old building housing Haizlip Studio and Lululemon, but generally extends south and west of it to the railroad tracks and along much of the north and south sides of York to Tanglewood.

Clayton’s RE&D Investments LLC, with Frank’s FEK LLC, on Friday, Oct. 30, filed an application with the Land Use Control Board requesting approval for a planned use development called Central Yards.

“I just think it’s an incredible location,” said Clayton, who was a precociously successful bond trader with Carty & Co. before teaming with his father in real estate development.

“You are getting the best of Midtown,” he said, noting the site is sandwiched between Cooper-Young — “the epitome of eat/shop/live local” — and Overton Square’s entertainment district.

“Just in terms of location, you couldn’t pick a better place,” he said.

The Land Use Control Board is to consider the request for planned development approval at its Dec. 9 meeting. The City Council will have final say.

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But the project also will be contingent on receiving a tax incentive — a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) — through the Downtown Memphis Commission, Clayton Kemker said.

Midtown advocates for preserving the district’s walking-friendly, urban fabric and century-old aesthetic are typically strident watchdogs in judging new developments. And a prepared statement issued by the development team on Friday seems to be mindful of the sensitivities.

“New Urbanism is a part of the Central Yards Development design, including the promotion of pedestrian use, well-designed streetscapes, on-street parking, articulation of building facades, transparency at ground floor levels, and concealment of major public parking,” Scott Fleming states in a release. He is principal architect with Fleming Architects.

Special consideration in the buildings’ design and placement was given to lessen the impact on nearby residents, the release states.

Clayton Kemker first purchased the Albert Cook Plumbing Co. property at 2101 Central in May 2019. The plumbing business is to move to another location next week, he said.

He next purchased property that is south of York but west of Bluff City Sports on the southwest corner of Cooper and York. And Kemker is to soon close on buying property west of Cook Plumbing, taking the development all the way west to a railroad right of way.

Frank Kemker is a long-time builder, mainly of housing. He will manage the construction development.

The site plan includes a north-south private drive connecting Central to York, Clayton said. “There will be retail along that private drive.”

“And we will have green space on the (northwest) corner of York and Cooper, with an outdoor patio” across Cooper from Memphis Made brewery.

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“In my mind that is the beginning of the Cooper-Young area,” he said. “We will activate that a little bit as you are starting to go into Cooper-Young.”

One parking structure will be on the south side of York; the other will be on the west side of the site between York and Central.

“The parking garages will add parking spaces for the area,” alleviating the often congested parking on the street,” Clayton Kemker said. “We will provide additional parking on top of what is required for the development.

“One of the main priorities is to make sure we have an abundance of parking, which is a big problem in that area,” he said. “And I know the Cooper-Young Association has been asking for 15 years for a parking garage down there.”

The father-and-son team started its first project earlier this year. The Kemkers are converting into apartments a 57-year-old commercial building at 193 Pine, just southeast of Union and Cleveland and on the edge of Central Gardens. That project is about $2 million.

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The Kemkers have not held any community meetings yet for the Cooper-Young development. But one of their priorities is to make sure Central Yards fits in with the historic neighborhood.

“That’s the benefit of me and my dad being born and raised in Memphis,” he said “We know the feel. We are local. We build things local.

“That’s at the forefront of my mind, making sure people in the neighborhood and people who drive by on their way to work are not going to roll their eyes. They’ll be excited about it. It will be an addition to another great area versus being a detraction. I’m not trying to change the feel of the area, I’m just trying to be part of the area,” he said.

Kemker was unable to answer some questions about the project cost estimate and the design, including building heights and number of parking spaces. The design is still underway, he said.