The Carrefour at Kirby Woods shopping center in Germantown’s western gateway sold for $17 million last week to a group of investors that includes Billy Orgel of Tower Ventures.

The new ownership group is expected to continue with the plan already approved by Germantown for the site with some minor adjustments possible.

Carrefour at The Gateway revised outline plan approved

Former owners Henry and Nelson Cannon with Cannon, Austin & Cannon proposed a mixed-use development — including apartments, retail, hotel and office uses. The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the outline plan in December 2019.

“We are looking closely at the existing outline plan and going to figure out over the next 30 to 60 days what our plan would look like — staying within the parameters they established because we feel that’s the best thing to do with the city and for the property,” Adam Slovis, broker and project manager, said of the 10-acre site.

Tweaks are possible but no major changes, he added.

However, developers plan to move forward quickly due to Tennessee’s laws regarding vested rights. After three years of receiving approval of an outline plan, site preparation must begin. Then developers have another two years to begin construction. If they don’t, the vested rights on the property expire. 

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“We are going to be working diligently with the right people to do exactly that — to try to start the project by the end of the year,” he said.

That three-year period expires in less than 11 months.

Slovis complimented what the Cannons accomplished thus far in gaining city approvals. The group is still determining their next steps. Slovis is not sure which components of the development will be completed first.

“There are so many moving parts they had laid the groundwork for,” Slovis said.

The Cannons will no longer own the property but still have a part in managing it. The partnership regarding Carrefour is separate from Orgel’s Tower Ventures. Slovis has worked with Orgel for more than two decades on redevelopment in various parts of Memphis, and the two were intrigued by the Carrefour at The Gateway project.

“Billy asked me what I thought about what the Cannons had planned at Carrefour and wondered if the multifamily part was something that we could do with them,” Slovis said. 

 Slovis and Orgel met with the Cannons and kept conversations rolling before ultimately making an offer on the whole property. 

“It’s such a well-deserving piece of property to be updated and redone,” Slovis said. “The Cannons did a great job of teeing it up and getting it to where it is, but it was time for a new development group to come in and see what we can do to move it along. We plan to do it diligently and quickly. We are motivated to see something happen and we are definitely excited about working with the city of Germantown to get this thing done.”