Demolition begins at site of failed 28-acre Midtown Memphis development
By Tom Bailey Jr.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Demolition workers have started removing the blight of the failed Washington Bottom development in Midtown. "I'm extremely pleased that Lehman Brothers has stepped up to the plate," neighborhood activist Candice Hawkinson said of the bank holding company that owns 38 vacant buildings on about 28 acres southeast of Poplar and Cleveland.
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Photo by Jim Weber
The Washington Bottom development was approved a few years ago for an area bounded by Poplar, McNeil, Court and Cleveland. But the project never materialized and neighbors complained that the site had become an eyesore, with some buildings inhabited by squatters. The property was scheduled to be cleaned up more than a year ago, but little has happened other than the addition of a security fence. However, demolition work began this week on McNeil, where Frank Shaw of Memphis Wrecking Co Inc. finishes off three houses Thursday.