MEMPHIS | Development News

[James Owen]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

On the site layout map, it says there will be a privacy fence separating the residential and hotel property. So it could be anything from a big 8 ft tall wall or covered fence which would give both properties their privacy.

From what I understood, the fencing is supposed to be similar to what is already in place on the main property. They are also preserving the trees in the back and sides of the property, so it should provide some added buffer space between the hotel and the adjacent houses along Old Hickory Road.

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

There are some really big things about to happen in Memphis. Yet, some Memphians find fault and complain about them. First up, the Pyramid-Bass Pro Shop attraction opening in November. At first, it wasn't all that appealing. But since they unveiled the full scale of the project through renderings of what the interior will look like and what all it will feature, including the observation decks, it is gonna be one of the biggest, if not THE biggest attraction in Memphis! It's gonna have an aquarium, a fish-themed bowling alley, restaurants, retail shops and a hotel.

Then there's the new Guest House at Graceland resort opening next summer, part of a multi-year expansion redevelopment project. That, along with the Pyramid attraction, will bring in a lot more tourism and revenue to the city that it is desperately seeking now. Possibly doubling tourism.

Then there's the push for a Hard Rock Hotel downtown on Beale and the relocation of the new Hard Rock Cafe and the long awaited Memphis Music Hall Of Fame museum. Aside from that is the development of the multi-million dollar Blues Hall Of Fame.

Next up, the redevelopment of the Memphis fairgrounds with retail, restaurants, a hotel, and a world class sports complex. Also a 5,000 seat arena to replace the Mid-South Coliseum.

So Memphians, instead of looking for the bad, try to appreciate and enjoy the good that's soon to come.

You've said it a lot better than I could. Appreciate the good things that are happening in the city while dealing with the troubles and issues that are still in front of us.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

It's supposed to look like a bigger version of Graceland. The whole entire hotel will be all Elvis/Graceland-themed. It's not for business leaders or convention goers who aren't Elvis fans. It's for the fans who wanna take in the ultimate Elvis experience. Like I said, it's no different than a Disney resort or the new Dollywood's Dreammore. Actually bigger! And there's nothing "cheezy" about it.

I completely understand all of that, but in my opinion that's what makes it cheezy, but that's just my opinion. You can still hold to the Elvis theme without recreating a large scaled knock off.

The reason it's only 6 stories is due to its location. EPE probably felt that if it were any taller then residents wouldn't have liked it and possibly tried to delay or block it. This way, they now can go through with construction plans and have it opened in time for Elvis week 2015

.

Believe me, this hotel could be 20 stories and Whitehaven's resident's wouldn't have a voice in this. If Graceland were in Central Gardens we'd have a different situation.

Look at it this way, it's a massive upgrade to the horrible looking and much smaller Heartbreak Hotel that they have now.

I agree with that.

This is EPE's money being spent so the city crooks have no say in how it looks nor should they. Having it look more like a larger version of the home that will cater to those who visit Graceland, instead of just another typical tall tower conventional hotel, will be more appealing this way and bring more business to that part of town that never goes there now. That hotel will open closed doors that Whitehaven has never seen opened before. It's already being reported that a possibl upscale movie theater is headed to the nearby area now, and outside investors are interested in developing in that area.

And because it's in a TDZ (Tourist destination zone) the city will get money back on tax incentives for future developments that are publicly and/or privately funded.

I agree with all of that as well. I've voiced my opinions on the way that they city has handeled EPBlvd in the past, but hopefully now that these new developments are coming on board the city will actually allocate those funds back to Whitehaven other than ignoring the fact like they have in the past.

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

There are some really big things about to happen in Memphis. Yet, some Memphians find fault and complain about them. First up, the Pyramid-Bass Pro Shop attraction opening in November. At first, it wasn't all that appealing. But since they unveiled the full scale of the project through renderings of what the interior will look like and what all it will feature, including the observation decks, it is gonna be one of the biggest, if not THE biggest attraction in Memphis! It's gonna have an aquarium, a fish-themed bowling alley, restaurants, retail shops and a hotel.

There's nothing wrong with complaining about any development taking place, that generally means that those complaining want the best for their city rather than something that won't necessarily promote growth within the neighborhood. I'm glad that something is being done with the Pyramid and no doubt that Bass Pro will bring in a lot of money, but I'm not a fan of a lot of the things that are being done within that redevelopment.

As I stated before, Bass Pro including a hotel and various restaurants inside of the Pyramid lets them market that destination as one where you don't have to leave the Pyramid for an entire weekend if you don't want to, which could hurt any futre development in the Pinch. The fact that they had to downsize their hotel plans is actually good because that allows an outside developer to try to come in and develop a new hotel.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

I completely understand all of that, but in my opinion that's what makes it cheezy, but that's just my opinion. You can still hold to the Elvis theme without recreating a large scaled knock off.

.

Believe me, this hotel could be 20 stories and Whitehaven's resident's wouldn't have a voice in this. If Graceland were in Central Gardens we'd have a different situation.



I agree with that.



I agree with all of that as well. I've voiced my opinions on the way that they city has handeled EPBlvd in the past, but hopefully now that these new developments are coming on board the city will actually allocate those funds back to Whitehaven other than ignoring the fact like they have in the past.




There's nothing wrong with complaining about any development taking place, that generally means that those complaining want the best for their city rather than something that won't necessarily promote growth within the neighborhood. I'm glad that something is being done with the Pyramid and no doubt that Bass Pro will bring in a lot of money, but I'm not a fan of a lot of the things that are being done within that redevelopment.

As I stated before, Bass Pro including a hotel and various restaurants inside of the Pyramid lets them market that destination as one where you don't have to leave the Pyramid for an entire weekend if you don't want to, which could hurt any futre development in the Pinch. The fact that they had to downsize their hotel plans is actually good because that allows an outside developer to try to come in and develop a new hotel.

Bass Pro downsized the hotel, but it the video tour that was posted on Memphis Biz Journal it had gone back up to 101 rooms. I don't think that many picked that up.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

Bass Pro downsized the hotel, but it the video tour that was posted on Memphis Biz Journal it had gone back up to 101 rooms. I don't think that many picked that up.

Was it not originally proposed to be 200 rooms? If not I was under the impression that it was to be that big, but still, 100 rooms in downtown Memphis is more significant than one would imagine. They key is how much those rooms will go for a night compared to the other hotels in the area.

[memphisborn]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

There are some really big things about to happen in Memphis. Yet, some Memphians find fault and complain about them. First up, the Pyramid-Bass Pro Shop attraction opening in November. At first, it wasn't all that appealing. But since they unveiled the full scale of the project through renderings of what the interior will look like and what all it will feature, including the observation decks, it is gonna be one of the biggest, if not THE biggest attraction in Memphis! It's gonna have an aquarium, a fish-themed bowling alley, restaurants, retail shops and a hotel.

Then there's the new Guest House at Graceland resort opening next summer, part of a multi-year expansion redevelopment project. That, along with the Pyramid attraction, will bring in a lot more tourism and revenue to the city that it is desperately seeking now. Possibly doubling tourism.

Then there's the push for a Hard Rock Hotel downtown on Beale and the relocation of the new Hard Rock Cafe and the long awaited Memphis Music Hall Of Fame museum. Aside from that is the development of the multi-million dollar Blues Hall Of Fame.

Next up, the redevelopment of the Memphis fairgrounds with retail, restaurants, a hotel, and a world class sports complex. Also a 5,000 seat arena to replace the Mid-South Coliseum.

So Memphians, instead of looking for the bad, try to appreciate and enjoy the good that's soon to come.

Just want to piggy back on your post there is a lot of exciting things happening in the city and lets not forget big plans for a new convention center.

[kingchef]

i enjoy reading your statements, suggestions, and the other information concerning ideas and approaches used by other cities, in order to problem-solve particular issues in one community to the next. nevertheless, one has to be careful in the selection of "model" cities, due to politics, location of the city, along w/ a possibly long list of problems falling from fairly minor to almost insurmountable. although austin has certainly been fortunate in the last 20 years or so to have been positioned in the right location, timing, and no doubt a good deal of hard luck---doesn't hurt to have two wonderful, moderate, intelligent presidents, who have served in various high levels of government, very capable to getting much of their agendas, both politically and personally brought to governmental fruition. little rock, la, tn, etc, have, as in history greatly profit from the presidential help and back door deals, in both while they were in office and as they continued to dabble in party politics. i forgot about the attention of alaska and, to a lesser to degree at this point, hawaii, however, it is coming, and w/ chicago, we haven't seen anything yet. texas is an absolute powerhouse, and i would probably say, imo, it is not far of surpassing the political strengths, as well as other power-based institutions. capitol cities, growing demographics, growing populations, early jumps into the technology arena, e.g n.c., who has been invested heavily into many types of technology. you can easily hear the brooding of northeastern cities and midwestern states, along w/ upper northern states over the various speculative sunbelt states and many of their real or imagined feelings of a "wild and continued growth." actually that number is rather limited to an overall limited number.

[arkitekte]

Something positive:

Horizon condos up for sale after clearing legal morass
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...ing-legal.html

The stalled 16-story Horizon condominium tower overlooking the Mississippi River has cleared some 22 lawsuits and is now for sale.

The four banks that repossessed the property – Capital One NA, Trustmark National Bank, Bank of America and U.S. Bank – recently settled a number of those lawsuits, clearing the 155-unit tower at 717 Riverside Drive of the liens that prevented a sale.

The banks will likely take a big loss on the luxury project, whose $67 million first phase was roughly 85 percent finished when Ridgeland, Miss.-based The Bryan Co. defaulted on a $58.6 million loan in 2009.

Apartments are the likely use for the development, but the units were built larger and with a higher price point than just about any rental units currently on the market. Despite that, the property has already seen high interest from local and regional players, so it could sell quickly at a lower price.

[Chris Warren]

Chisca Hotel owners file $20M permit to begin repairs

The Business Journal

The owners of the historic Chisca Hotel have pulled a $20 million permit to begin remodeling the Downtown Memphis landmark.

Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC is finishing up the $24 million redevelopment's $3 million clean-up phase, which has cleared the way for selective demolition and repairs to begin on the 300,000-square-foot building at 272 S. Main St.

Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Morris said he expects the DMC to buy the Chisca's parking garage by the end of June and renovate it for a total cost of $1 million.

[Chris Warren]

Shelby Farms files $25M permit to expand Patriot Lake

Business Journal

[QUOTEShelby Farms has pulled a $25 million permit to expand Patriot Lake, making the lake and its surrounding area the "Heart of the Park."

Shelby Farms Park Conservancy has hired Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC to increase the 52-acre lake south of its Visitors Center to 85 acres, making the lake the "nerve center" of the park, according to a public permit and the Conservancy.

The Conservancy would also add an amphitheater, paths, a swimming beach and other amenities.

The expansion of the lake is part of the $70 million "Phase One" expansion of the 4,500-acre Shelby Farms.
][/QUOTE]

I wonder about the ''SWIMMING BEACH'' is it like a lazy pool with sand

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

Was it not originally proposed to be 200 rooms? If not I was under the impression that it was to be that big, but still, 100 rooms in downtown Memphis is more significant than one would imagine. They key is how much those rooms will go for a night compared to the other hotels in the area.

Yes, but at one time I think it was said to have decreased to a bit under 100. It's all been posted here way back but I ain't rereading a bunch of pages,

[arkitekte]

New owner to replace French Quarter Inn roof for $150K
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...-roof-for.html

The new owner of the dilapidated French Quarter Inn near Overton Square is taking its first step toward reviving the former hotel.

NCE Realty & Capital Group has hired William B. Day's WB Day Construction LLC to replace the roof of the 77,866-square-foot building at 2144 Madison Ave.

The contractor this week filed a $150,000 building permit for the roof work.

The permit is the first renovation NCE has undertaken since buying the property in December 2013 for $1.9 million. The owner's representative hasn't returned numerous calls, but sources tell me the plan is to reopen a boutique hotel after a renovation.

This is pretty positive news in the eventual redevelopment of the hotel, especially after the reports of recent interior demolition taking place this weeks and last week. Part of me selfishly wishing that there were plans to tear it down and to replace it with another hotel or mixed use development that actually addresses Madison.

[kingchef]

there was ,initially, a plan for a 209 room hotel. then, they took it out because of the alleged lack of structural integrity to hold the load and spans. the next thing was the rumor which stated that a hotel would not be a realization. finally, they came out w/ plans showing about 67 cabin-like structures for over night guest. suddenly, that was scrapped, and a proposal for a hotel across was batted about, and then another one, which is the current 200+ rooms.

frankly, i haven't been impressed w/ all of the back and forth w/ this project. the head-honcho supposedly has come up w/ most of these ideas. if he were working my plans for one of my test facilities or labs/offices, he would be in an unemployment line.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by kingchef

there was ,initially, a plan for a 209 room hotel. then, they took it out because of the alleged lack of structural integrity to hold the load and spans. the next thing was the rumor which stated that a hotel would not be a realization. finally, they came out w/ plans showing about 67 cabin-like structures for over night guest. suddenly, that was scrapped, and a proposal for a hotel across was batted about, and then another one, which is the current 200+ rooms.

frankly, i haven't been impressed w/ all of the back and forth w/ this project. the head-honcho supposedly has come up w/ most of these ideas. if he were working my plans for one of my test facilities or labs/offices, he would be in an unemployment line.

The head honco has many irons in the fire. One if his long in the making projects is about to open up again along with a Champions Tour event for it. They soft opened some of it for a bit last year to film and gather marketing stuff before shutting it down for the winter till now. Watch the video that's at this link:

http://www.big-cedar.com/Page/Top-of-the-Rock.aspx

Once he's done it's a sight to behold, Google Image search Dogwood Canyon as well. You should be glad he's taking a personal interest in this instead of it being a formula store everyone else has got outside of Springfield.

[DoomJ]

I didn't realize this was happening so soon/fast.

Also, the Beale Building seen here to the south is also completely rubble. Supposedly new buildings for the UTHSC are in the pipeline for these locations. But we all know that's dependent on State allocations, so I'm not holding my breath. Hello more parking lots in the meantime.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by DoomJ

I didn't realize this was happening so soon/fast.

You're not kidding. I somewhat forgot that this was getting demolished...I also can't remember what's replacing it, which convinces me that it's nothing halfway decent.

Also, the Beale Building seen here to the south is also completely rubble. Supposedly new buildings for the UTHSC are in the pipeline for these locations. But we all know that's dependent on State allocations, so I'm not holding my breath. Hello more parking lots in the meantime.

Idk, they might move fairly quickly. This is the UTHSC so they'll allocate whatever funds it needs quickly. If this were a regents school then I'd for sure anticipate that parking lot for at least 3 or 4 years. I'm sad to see the Beale Building go, but I'm fairly confident that what ever replaces it will at least address the street and decently add to the density of that neighborhood, which with the additions of the SWTCC building and the new UTHSC building is looking pretty good.

[kingchef]

the demolition of those buildings allegedly for a newborn hospital and women's hospital. they seem to have no trouble knocking the city down, but when it comes to building the buildings, well---that's a different story. that madison building was a very nice looking highrise, 17 stories i think. reportedly, a two story newborn/women's high tech hospital will got in this area. of course, following the announcement, about 5 or 6 months ago, there was no photo, drawings, conceptions of what my be placed in the dozed areas.

as for the graceland inn, i really think huntsville native makes a very good and accurate argument. his closing statements are right on point "...graceland is not for memphians...vistors and fans...most memphians don't even visit graceland, etc..."

as for the size of the hotel, it is okay and decent in appearance, imo. i never thought it would be 17 stories, much less 20. we can't even get a 20 story downtown. the fairground project seems to be geared to a particular group, but my feeling is that group is local. question? why build a 5,000 seat coliseum, if you have one that will hold thousands?

[DoomJ]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

You're not kidding. I somewhat forgot that this was getting demolished...I also can't remember what's replacing it, which convinces me that it's nothing halfway decent.

Idk, they might move fairly quickly. This is the UTHSC so they'll allocate whatever funds it needs quickly. If this were a regents school then I'd for sure anticipate that parking lot for at least 3 or 4 years. I'm sad to see the Beale Building go, but I'm fairly confident that what ever replaces it will at least address the street and decently add to the density of that neighborhood, which with the additions of the SWTCC building and the new UTHSC building is looking pretty good.

Like Kingchef said the demolition of the tower is for a planned "women and children's pavilion" or hospital component of The Med- but as far as movement on that, it's VERY preliminary. Like it MIGHT happen 10 years from now.

An article in the Daily News quoted a UTHSC official that the Beale Building site might be a good place for a public-private housing development for students (I agree- but the "might" worries me) but that in the mean time it would be a parking lot (they stated "blight" as a reason for demo... I also consider empty parking lots to be "blight" but whatevs).

I don't know... I lament the passing of the Beale Building because its the largest remnant of the Memphis Street Railway Company. As a history geek that burns a little. All that's left now are some polls for catenary wires on Cleveland and Madison, and the occasional streetscape oddity.

I feel like if you want some attractive student housing a converted warehouse would be way cooler than some generic Highland Row-type development, but I guess the generic is better than nothing. Also, the tower part of the building was pretty iconic in that area, at least to me. A lot could have been done with it.

Here's a link to that Daily News bit: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...n-investments/

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by DoomJ

An article in the Daily News quoted a UTHSC official that the Beale Building site might be a good place for a public-private housing development for students (I agree- but the "might" worries me) but that in the mean time it would be a parking lot (they stated "blight" as a reason for demo... I also consider empty parking lots to be "blight" but whatevs).

I agree on that.

I don't know... I lament the passing of the Beale Building because its the largest remnant of the Memphis Street Railway Company. As a history geek that burns a little. All that's left now are some polls for catenary wires on Cleveland and Madison, and the occasional streetscape oddity.

I feel like if you want some attractive student housing a converted warehouse would be way cooler than some generic Highland Row-type development, but I guess the generic is better than nothing. Also, the tower part of the building was pretty iconic in that area, at least to me. A lot could have been done with it.

I understand what you're saying. One big problem, especially here in Memphis (as we're seeing with the brewery) is that generally no one cares about these older historic buildings until it's almost too late. From a development standpoint, it's usually easier, cheaper, and faster to tear down an old building and plan and build a new one. That's not particularly what I would do, but being involved in both the architecture and historic preservation fields I've seen all too many times developers have big plans for a rehab of an existing building, but in actuality, the support, funding, etc. isn't in place. To complicate that issue, many developers can't afford to wait 5 or 6 years to try to get funding in place, and most of the times it's fairly hard to find a bank or another private financial institution to fund a project.

From an economic stand point (especially for UTHSC), you can tear down the existing building, plan, develop, and construct the new housing or research buildings all while "cleaning up" the neighborhood which most people see as a positive over rehabbing an abandoned or historic property. I somewhat understand that mindset, but at the same time I don't.

Anyways, like you said, it would have been nice to see a rehabilitation and a lot could have been done with it.

[DoomJ]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

I understand what you're saying. One big problem, especially here in Memphis (as we're seeing with the brewery) is that generally no one cares about these older historic buildings until it's almost too late. From a development standpoint, it's usually easier, cheaper, and faster to tear down an old building and plan and build a new one. That's not particularly what I would do, but being involved in both the architecture and historic preservation fields I've seen all too many times developers have big plans for a rehab of an existing building, but in actuality, the support, funding, etc. isn't in place. To complicate that issue, many developers can't afford to wait 5 or 6 years to try to get funding in place, and most of the times it's fairly hard to find a bank or another private financial institution to fund a project.

From an economic stand point (especially for UTHSC), you can tear down the existing building, plan, develop, and construct the new housing or research buildings all while "cleaning up" the neighborhood which most people see as a positive over rehabbing an abandoned or historic property. I somewhat understand that mindset, but at the same time I don't.

Anyways, like you said, it would have been nice to see a rehabilitation and a lot could have been done with it.

Oh I totally follow. I hope some quality redevelopment takes place. Especially residential/mixed use. I'm just worried, with all the other open land and pavement in the medical district all we did was bulldoze some character we can never recreate to leave nothing in its place.

[kingchef]

according to various reports---depending on who is behind the microphone, if the governor is in town, cohen, name somebody, anybody---the corner at poplar and adams, where the gas station and convenient store are located, was proposed to be a specialty hospital---inpatient special need patients, as tn needed on or two more, and memphis was on the list, because it was going to be in the medical center. there is also plans for baptist to build a specialty hospital, which will be somewhere along wolf blvd or magically rotating in the air, which could give them some more space.

shortly after the baptist announcement came the statement for the 30-30 pataient, 2 story speciality rehab hospital. then the announcemnt that the uthsc was going to raze two of three of the medical buildings---feurt, randolph, madison, which is the one being razed at this time. the others are across the street. they housed, at one time, the medical labs and rooms, the administration building, social work, and the like. hasalam promised 30+-40 million to get the simulation clinic built, after the renovation of one of the older buildings, and raze the cluster standing on the rt side of the sidewalk, going north to poplar. and just like so many others, it will probably be 10-15 years before the children's-newborn and women's center will make it on the scene, if your waiting on haslam and his promises, along w/ the legislature. naturally, uthsc is the largest of the health component of the u oftn, yet it receives the least funding than any of the other schools.

looking at aerial views of the city the other day reminded me of the european countries bombed during world war II. the surface parking lots look as if the are left foundations of buildings. the 6 years of the ten at the downtown medical center is begining to make that area look sometime like a slum area. but, it is clear to see that citizens may not know what is coming or going to be built, but we can rest assurred that it will be knocked down, as if children were set free on the beach to destroy all of the sandcastles in view.