Yesterday in the Commercial Appeal, there was an article about four proposed projects to fill in the big, muddy hole at 100 S. Main, former home of the Cook & Love shoe store and of some abandoned buildings that burned in the late 1990s. The hole was to be filled by a 28-story apartment complex called The Vue, but the project was abandoned when funding could not be secured.
After looking at the four proposals, the one that I think would be best for Downtown Memphis is the 20-story apartment-and-retail building proposed by Riverside Partners. Here are the reasons why, as a long-time Downtown resident, this one looks best to me.
First of all, this development would have the most apartment units (202) of any of the four proposals. The people involved correctly assessed that there are not enough apartment units in the core of downtown, as many of the existing units are being converted to condos. With downtown thriving and more restaurants and entertainment options being added all the time, I have no doubt they would be able to fill those apartment units.
Also, building apartments rather than condos will increase diversity downtown. More and more, downtown is approaching as situation where people can’t afford to live there unless they can purchase a condo for $200K or more, or write a four-digit rent check every month for one of the few remaining apartments. There are a few exceptions, but those apartments are becoming harder and harder to find. I want to have artists and musicians as my neighbors downtown; I want to have people in education as my neighbors; I want the people who work service-industry jobs downtown to be able to live nearby and walk to their jobs. Therefore, I’m happy to see more apartments being planned.
The Riverside Partners proposal also contains more square feet of retail space (about 14,000) than any of the others. There are still plenty of retail opportunities yet to be adequately addressed (GROCERY STORE!!! BOOKSTORE!!! DRUGSTORE THAT STAYS OPEN LATER THAN EIGHT FREAKIN’ P.M.!!!) downtown, and making as much space as possible in the downtown core, on the trolley line, is a good thing. The project does not include any hotel or office space, but several other hotels are currently being built nearby, and as far as I’ve heard there’s no lack of office space in the area.
In addition, three of Riverside’s partners (Darrell, Cardell, and Eric) are people I’ve known and worked with in Mpact Memphis for the past five years. They’re people of strong character, and I know that when they propose projects, they’re looking to enrich the community as well as themselves.
Also, this is the only of the four proposals that has 100% minority involvement. In a city like Memphis, that’s extremely important.
They have solid financial backing in place, through a real estate brokerage and finance firm out of Dallas, so it’s unlikely the deal would fall through like the Vue did. They also have a partner on their team who runs the Washington, DC Minority Business Development Center. Sounds like they’ve assembled a capable team.
So, if anyone from the Center City Commission reads this – and I know my blog is read regularly at the CCC – consider this some citizen feedback. I can’t speak for all Downtowners, but this is the project at least one Downtowner would like to see.
Coming tonight: My recommendations for a fun New Year’s Eve downtown, how to have fun without dealing with pushy crowds and high cover charges.