The Early Word: Midtown church goes big, and ninjas are coming to Wolfchase
Good morning, Memphis. It’s Wednesday, June 4, and happy Global Running Day to you. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate, running groups Trail Trippers, Hyperfocus and Downtown Beer Runners are teaming up with Grivet Outdoors for a run that starts at the old Comeback Coffee on North Main Street. If that’s too far west for you, Breakaway Running is hosting a run from its Germantown store at 6 p.m.
Not a runner? No worries; it’s also Hug Your Cat Day, so you can just stay home and do that.
Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church unveiled a massive, $310 million redevelopment plan for a new, 73,000-square-foot church building at the corner of Poplar Avenue and Montgomery Street. That would replace its current sanctuary on Jefferson Avenue. But why stop there? Mississippi Boulevard is also proposing more than 600 housing units, a hotel, a health and wellness center, a parking garage and a grocery store. If you’re wondering where all of that stuff would go, we have renderings.
Oak Court Mall is facing the wrecking ball soon, but Wolfchase Galleria is apparently coming to life. A 75,000-square-foot adventure park, to be called Lulu Land Adventure Park, filed a permit to renovate the vacant Sears space. Owner Jason Lu says he’s bringing trampolines, ninja courses, climbing walls and more. And he has a vision that expands far beyond Memphis. (No word on whether you’ll be able to zipline through the mall, but that would be super cool.)
Plus, Collierville won’t stop the party, FedEx pilots are “fed up,” and one man made a difference at Barksdale.
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Bianca Phillips
Bianca Phillips is a Northeast Arkansas native and longtime Memphian who’s worked in local journalism and PR for more than 20 years. In her days as a reporter, she covered everything from local government and crime to LGBTQ issues and the arts. She’s the author of “Cookin Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South,” a cookbook of vegan Southern recipes.
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