Plans submitted for Falls Building renovation
The historic Falls Building, at 22 N. Front St., was sold for $10 million last month to New York-based Left Lane Development. (Neil Strebig/The Daily Memphian)
The historic Falls Building may turn residential sooner rather than later.
Nashville-based Earl Swensson Associates has filed a commercial alteration permit for select demolition with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development.
Screenshot of renderings for the Falls Building selective demolition. (Courtesy of Earl Swensson Associates)
Developers plan to turn the existing office space into 176 residential units.
The plans include 258,964 square feet of renovated space for the 10-story building, including a game room and arcade area in the basement and a swimming pool on the ground floor.
Nearly 15,000 square feet of amenity space is outlined on the first two floors of the building, including a 5,096-square-feet area reserved for a retail tenant on the first floor.
Tim Crowley, chief marketing officer for Left Lane Development, said the team is aiming to have the project completed and ready to lease by quarter four 2023.
Screenshot of Falls Building renderings. (Courtesy of Earl Swensson Associates)
Last month, New York-based Left Lane Development bought the building, located at 22 Front St., for $10 million. The building previously was owned by California-based Hertz Investment Group.
Crowley said Left Lane had been looking at the Memphis market for about 18 months before deciding to purchase the Falls Building. It is the development team’s first project in Memphis.
“We take a very holistic approach to multifamily,” Crowley said. He added that the team focuses on amenities and making the most out of the buildings they’re redeveloping to ensure residents have everything they need in one place.
“If anything like COVID happened again you’d feel pretty comfortable to be [living] there,” he said.
Several tenants, including the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, have relocated offices after being informed in January that leases would not be renewed. The chamber is relocating to the Tower at Peabody Place in August.
This is one of three projects Left Lane is working on with Earl Swensson Associates, Crowley said. The tandem is also working on a $200 million multifamily project at the former Gibson Guitar site at 1111 Church St. in Nashville.
Topics
Falls Building Downtown Memphis Commercial Real Estate Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development Left Lane DevelopmentNeil Strebig
Neil Strebig is a chef turned journalist covering economic development and commercial real estate for The Daily Memphian. He grew up in Pennsylvania and has worked at media outlets including the York Daily Record/USA Today Network and most recently as Report for America Corps Member with Lookout Santa Cruz. He is a graduate of Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
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