The long-planned redevelopment of the Carrefour at Kirby Woods in Germantown is poised to begin phase two, which includes a six-story building with 320 apartment units and 27,000 square feet of commercial space.

The mixed-use development at Poplar Avenue and Kirby Parkway, first announced in 2018 and now known as The Standard Germantown, will ultimately consist of six phases and cost $300 million to $500 million when complete, possibly by 2030 to 2032. 

The $5 million phase one at 6695 Poplar Ave. is nearly complete, with the shell of the building finished and tenants being recruited.

Inked: Skateboard company and jewelry store moving to Bartlett

A tenant could be signed within 30 to 60 days, project manager Adam Slovis with Slovis Commercial said.

Slovis said the building, which will be the smallest in the development, has an upstairs and downstairs with an opportunity to have two tenants.

Slovis is seeking a restaurant for the downstairs and a bar/lounge area for the upstairs, which is fitted with a wraparound patio space with retractable glass doors.

“I’ve been chasing people all over the country, all over the region and all over the city trying to figure out who fits best,” Slovis said. “I think you could have a great restaurant downstairs, have a bar upstairs that’s connected but different and feeds off each other.” 

He said once a tenant is signed, the buildout should take about three months. He is targeting it to open in the spring.

“It’s very exciting, without a doubt,” Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo said. “This is going to be something that will add to our tax base and our commercial area, taking pressure off our residential-property taxpayers.” 

Palazzolo said he has seen the site’s transformation since the mid-1970s when he used to ride his bike with his friends to the Kirby Woods Mall. 

About 20 years later, the mall was converted into an exterior-facing mall known today as Carrefour at Kirby Woods, soon to be The Standard Germantown. 

The 10-acre development has six phases:

• Phase one: two-story, 8,700-square-foot commercial building
• Phase two: a six-story building with 320 apartment units, 27,000 square feet of commercial space and structured parking
• Phase three: six-story, 150-room hotel 
• Phase four: a 40-unit condominium with a liner building attached for structured parking and commercial space
• Phase five: a four-story parking garage and retail space
• Phase six: redevelopment of a section of the parking lot into an outparcel

Slovis said the development team, CRE Devco Germantown LLC led by Billy Orgel and his Tower Ventures CRE team, expects to start phase two within a couple of months.

Phase two consists of demolishing the back half of the Carrefour at Kirby Woods shopping center and launching the six-story building with lofts, commercial area and parking. 

The front half of the shopping center will remain as the current tenants finish out their leases. 

The lofts will have a pool, patio area, workout facility, media room, meeting rooms, coffee bar and park plaza. 

The 463-space parking garage will start one floor beneath the ground level and two levels above ground. The third floor of the structured parking will be a mezzanine level that will hide the parking spaces. The lofts will sit on top of the garage.

Slovis said phase two will cost from $95 million to $100 million and is expected to be completed in two years. 

He said the last two pieces of the puzzle are to meet with the City of Germantown and the Art Commission of Germantown before getting final approval and a building permit. 

For phase three, Slovis said the team is targeting a flagged hotel like the Autograph Collection Hotel by Marriott or the Tapestry Collection Hotel by Hilton. 

“We want it to be more of a boutique, higher-end hotel,” Slovis said. “We’re making some progress with some folks that are in that world.”

Slovis said he would like the hotel to have a rooftop bar, a pool, meeting space and a food-and-beverage component.

Construction of the hotel is expected to begin in the second half of next year.

Phase four will transform the parking lot between phases one and two into a building with 40 own-only condos. A liner building with parking and a second-story potential office space will also be attached to the condos. 

Slovis said they are still working out the details for the later phases, but the condo owners will have a pool, workout room and their own amenities.

Phase five will turn the remaining structure of the Carrefour at Kirby Woods shopping center into a four-story parking garage with commercial space. 

Slovis said construction for phase five depends on the timing of the current leases running out and the timing of construction for the other phases.

“I could potentially see relocating a couple of tenants into (phase two) if they wanted to stay, if it worked out,” Slovis said. “(The remaining shopping center) could potentially go away at the same time that the condos are ready to go, and the tenants could be relocated there.” 

Phase six will take the last plot of land that faces Poplar Avenue and turn the space into an outparcel Slovis said he hopes to make an office building or another restaurant. 

“We could end up building another building like (phase one) next to it to complement each other,” Slovis said. “If we were fortunate enough and got an office tenant, we would build an office building there.” 

Slovis said the entire project could be finished by 2032.

“If everything were to fall into place and the market conditions were favorable enough for us to continue to design and build as opportunities presented themselves, I think six to eight years is doable, pushing more to eight years,” he said.

Palazzolo said he and the board are looking forward to progress at the site and praised the local team for bringing more economic development to the area. 

Local developer Spence Ray is leading the multimillion commercial development Thornwood Germantown, bordered by Neshoba, South Germantown and Exeter roads.

Ray said he looks forward to seeing The Standard built and praised Orgel and his team’s track record of “quality mixed-use projects” and historical projects around Memphis. 

“The development was the entry statement coming into the City of Germantown from the west,” Ray said. “Now, it’s going to have this new, exciting and vibrant mixed-use project that establishes an experience or level of expectation for someone coming into Germantown.” 

Ray said although there is competition in Memphis real estate, the success of one development is “never predicated on our competitors not succeeding.”

“We see it as a win-win for everyone,” Ray said. “For businesses and residents in Germantown, it’s economically healthy for both sides.”