Officials broke ground Wednesday, Nov. 11, on the Early Childhood Academy in Orange Mound, a collaboration of the University of Memphis and Porter-Leath.

Construction on a new Starbucks at 3545 Austin Peay Highway is expected to begin this week. The Starbucks will be located at The Marketplace at Raleigh development. 

The brewery already has installed “state of the art” brewing systems and plans to open this winter behind the Rec Room at 584 Tillman St. this winter.

Volunteers and a small staff have been serving morning meals for eight years at the Ozanam Center, 1306 Monroe Ave. Now the Catholic lay organization plans to work with Room In The Inn to shelter homeless women and children each night.

A businesswoman who is a veteran of the logistics industry proposes to adapt shipping containers for housing if she can receive approval for a 34-lot planned development in North Memphis.

The City of Memphis is taking extra time to write a request for proposals for bidders on its 4.5 acres at 1925 Union. City Hall wants not just a high bid, but a “highest and best” use that can be felt from Downtown to the University of Memphis.

The Amherst Planned Development totals 101 acres at the northwest corner of the intersection of two major roads, Walnut Grove and Houston Levee.

The developers say Central Yards meets the intent of the Midtown Overlay District except for some of the building heights, which they say are necessary to provide enough public parking that already is in demand in Cooper-Young.

The development would comprise 5.6 acres near the southwest corner of Cooper and Central, provide extra parking for an area that is often short on spaces, and be intentional about fitting in with the old neighborhood, the developers say.

A 7.5-square-mile area will be served by a fleet of passenger vans that fill the big gap between fixed-route buses and the personal, more expensive rides from taxis and Uber.

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Awards recognize excellence in preservation practice and partnerships.

Kroger did build a fuel center on the north end of the site, but just sold the other, still-undeveloped 17.3 acres for $2.6 million.

The University of Memphis wants to build new student apartments in part to become less of a commuter school and gain academic prestige. But neighbors say the proposed apartments are too close to their houses and will hurt property values and their quality of life.

If the initial plan is successful, FCS officials hope its full return to in-person learning mirrors Shelby County Schools, slated for January 2021.

Two groups of the historic community’s younger residents hope people have hung on to their property, will hang on a little longer because The Mound is about to be reborn.

Paula and James Campbell know the appraised value of their Orange Mound home is far less than the $300,000 they spent to build it. But that’s OK. They intend to stay.

The Raleigh Springs Civic Center “unofficially” opened this spring when construction signs were removed following completion of the $45 million development’s initial phase. That included the 11-acre walking trail and lake, and a new skate park. 

A developer has given up — for now — on a two-year effort to recruit a grocery store to serve South City in an otherwise comprehensive, $227 million project to improve the quality of life in the economically distressed neighborhood.

The street has been closed between Poplar and Jackson avenues since October 2019.

Some people have asked but the owners of Piano’s flower shop say there is no reason for them to leave the Whitehaven community.

Facility will serve 200 3-, 4-year-olds in the Melrose High School neighborhood.

The Frayser CDC recently received $450,000 in state CARES Act funds. Eligible families can use the money for housing costs and utility bills.

Two local higher education institutions are the recipients of surplus lab equipment given in a long-term loan from the Health Department.

Even though the Cooper Young Festival was canceled this year due to coronavirus restrictions, the annual four-miler race went on.