MEMPHIS | Development News

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by Johnny Ryall

It seems other developers would have to consider publicly known projects waiting in the wings. With the sale of the Peabody Orlando resort & convention center (around half-billion dollars?), it seems like Belz Enterprises has the capital to move on Peabody Suites which they last budgeted at $75 million. Of course it'll be majority hotel rooms, but I'm interested to see what they do with aspects like ground level retail, meeting space, exterior overhaul (hotel room windows), maybe add some additional floors, etc. Belz has the opportunity to reactivate that half block in a big way.

All that leads me to think if Belz can build a world-class resort & CONVENTION CENTER in Orlando, why don't they make good on the city's desire to have a new convention center coupled with a Peabody Suites tower? The city could still move forward with exterior & interior upgrades to the Cook CC. I think that would be a good strategy to grow convention business downtown. Somebody at Belz Enterprises give me a call and lets talk about it.

They sold off the Peabody in LR too. maybe they aren't going to expanded further into the hotel biz. I actually like the fact that the Peabody name is a Memphis exclusive again. That branding should always be Memphis only.

[memphisborn]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

This move is interesting. For one thing, the location is much closer to the once proposed Beale One tower that is now canceled. Could that be the future site of a much needed Hard Rock Hotel? Or, for more room, that large open space parking area on S. Main and Beale St. It's practically the same size of lot as the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego sits on in downtown. And it would be a stone throw away from the new location of the Hard Rock Cafe.

Just to piggy back on your insight about the hard rock cafe move a possible connection to a Hotel an interesting article from CA today.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...way-for-a-new/ There is definitely some consideration to a hotel IDK if it will be a HRH or not but would love to see it.

[Johnny Ryall]

Southland Park Expanding Casino Operations
Memphis Daily News/ AP

Southland Park in West Memphis is starting work on a $37 million expansion that will give the greyhound track an expanded casino-style gambling area and a new exterior appearance. Southland President and General Manager Troy Keeping said Friday that the track is in the final stage of negotiating with a branded restaurant and sports bar that will also open at the facility. The name will be announced later. The expansion will add 41,000 square feet to make room for 500 new gaming machines, which will give the facility a capacity for nearly 2,000 games.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...rations/#83714

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Site rendering from the Commercial Appeal:
Photo by Courtesy, Southland Park
http://media.commercialappeal.com/me...land1_t607.jpg

http://media.commercialappeal.com/me...land1_t607.jpg

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by Johnny Ryall

Southland Park Expanding Casino Operations
Memphis Daily News/ AP



http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...rations/#83714

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Site rendering from the Commercial Appeal:
Photo by Courtesy, Southland Park
http://media.commercialappeal.com/me...land1_t607.jpg

http://media.commercialappeal.com/me...land1_t607.jpg

Now if they can get the truck yard in the rear moved and the motel and boat dealer in front relocated and replaced with nicer stuff. That crap really rednecks up the place but I love the dogs more so than horses.

[kingchef]

ark, thanks for your answers on the hotel. however, i was under the impression that beltz built the orlando project for an estimated 165 million dollars. they needed a bit more capital, therefore they stop the project at the memphis location, in order to add it to finish the orlando project. when it was completed, they announced early last year that they were going to sell the little rock facility, again adding that they needed cash reserves to add to their intended project in memphis.

the way that i read the above articles, beltz sold the new facility for approximately 500 million dollars. that would be about a 150 million dollar loss on the investment. to me that is surprising.

i fail to understand why memphis identifies itself as a tourist destination (and in my view it is), there was an announcement that a ten story addition was to be added to the, what is now the shearaton, but used to be the convention marriot. city officials have spoken on several occasions about the need for downtown hotels. now, it seems that no one can give facts supporting any need for hotel rooms for tourist guests, convention guests, or housing for downtown residents. however, they consistentlly reported the growth on harbortown island in both residents and in the continued buildings of various housing units and complexes. the same is true in the south main district. legends II continues to build multiple housing on poplar to ayers, the continued building of housing can be seen in north memphis, uptown, and again north memphis.

the situation w/ the one beale project had sold a majority of their condos, and they realized tht they c9uld make much more money by developing for condos and selling them to those calling for them. it was an underestimation of the selling team; therefore, they chose to redesign the hotel, while giving back the money on all of the sold out condos. the additional condos would come from reduced office, retail, and rental space, along w/ hotel space.
nevertheless, i don't understand who runs the development of large projects in the city, and i don't understand who explains these constant mixups and city business practices. you hear the developers blame city government and county government for the failures of pulled projects, and you hear just the reverse on the other side.

[Johnny Ryall]

Lest we forget. On a couple tour stops with his bands TOOL & A Perfect Circle, Maynard James Keenan, onstage in front of crowds of thousands, mentioned Andy Kaufman's dealings within the Mid-South Coliseum.

The King remembers his antagonistic jester
Memphis Biz Journal

Kaufman taunted Memphis, sending videos instructing residents how to use soap, even naming the Bluff City as "the nation's redneck capital." Crowds packed the Mid-South Coliseum hoping to see the comedian get his comeuppance. They weren't disappointed.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/b...n-Memphis.html

Andy Kaufman sings to Jerry Lawler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAjHU...layer_embedded

Forgotten Memphis - bcbuckner


Twitter/ MBJ

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

Now if they can get the truck yard in the rear moved and the motel and boat dealer in front relocated and replaced with nicer stuff. That crap really rednecks up the place but I love the dogs more so than horses.

I would assume a cleanup is soon to come, at least in front between the track and the interstate. They could probably make quite a bit of extra money from interstate traffic with some slight improvements.

Originally Posted by kingchef

ark, thanks for your answers on the hotel. however, i was under the impression that beltz built the orlando project for an estimated 165 million dollars. they needed a bit more capital, therefore they stop the project at the memphis location, in order to add it to finish the orlando project. when it was completed, they announced early last year that they were going to sell the little rock facility, again adding that they needed cash reserves to add to their intended project in memphis.

I'm completely ignorant on that project, so anything you guys know from the past is new to me.

the situation w/ the one beale project had sold a majority of their condos, and they realized tht they c9uld make much more money by developing for condos and selling them to those calling for them. it was an underestimation of the selling team; therefore, they chose to redesign the hotel, while giving back the money on all of the sold out condos. the additional condos would come from reduced office, retail, and rental space, along w/ hotel space.
nevertheless, i don't understand who runs the development of large projects in the city, and i don't understand who explains these constant mixups and city business practices. you hear the developers blame city government and county government for the failures of pulled projects, and you hear just the reverse on the other side.

I mean on the front end the recession probably is the major factor that stopped OneBeale. However, many developers who had projects get put on hold or cancelled before the recession have been able to bring something similar back to the table, most of the time exchanging condos for apartments or adding a larger retail portion. Banks love apartments and not condos right now. Anyways, you can throw some of the blame toward Carlisle for not being progressive enough (supposedly they still have the capital for even a scaled down OneBeale), but what about TIF funding for the hotel portion?

I'm assuming they just wanted to scrap and forget about the entire project, because if not the means were probably there, maybe not the demand, but certainly the means.

[arkitekte]

New Housing Option Comes to Victorian Village
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...orian-village/

Planters Row II will feature seven single-family homes built with universal design principles so residents can “age in place” on the edge of Downtown.

Scott Blake, president of Design 500 Inc., and Victorian Village stakeholders purchased the old ICB store site at 653 Jefferson Ave. at auction for $218,000 and will develop Planters Row II there.

“We’re going to build for a market that will attract so many more buyers than standard construction would, and it’s small enough of a project that it can work and be a market indicator for much larger development,” Blake said.

The homes, which will be built on 150-foot-deep lots and can feature up to 2,000 square feet on one floor, will include wider doorways and halls, cabinets and appliances at levels that can be easier to reach, non-slip tile in showers and plenty of open spaces. The homes will begin at around $290,000.

[kingchef]

this is beautiful, pleasin, and in a great spot for an enlarged development. we need a few more of these in midtown, and one rather large one in the south main district. i know they are not the painted row houses that you see in san fran, but i like the different victorian, classicism, and renaissance revival styles. somewhere in this area of jefferson and adams, the city has a drawn plan for a 22 story highrise. i'll have to look at my last entry about it, but it is in the memphis city compilation section.

seems like 2012 and 2013 were years of many promises. however, it seems that there is a tremendous amount of construction, both large and small projects, are taking off suddenly. i am not going to be satisfied until i begin approaching the city from the ark gateway and begin to see some dramatic changes in the city skysline---i talking about 4 or 6 nice size buildings, all significantly taller than we currently have up. it isn't just for ht. but because of the need for some nice granite buildings, some w/ varying colors, some w/ strikingly different shapes and roofs, others w/ a good deal of window work. i hear many business m"ology.hush, hush" regarding business, industry, manufacturing,and techn

[Johnny Ryall]

Indoor soccer complex planned for Shelby County
Memphis Biz Journal

BankTennessee is backing a new indoor soccer complex planned for Shelby County. Lakeland-based developer Wes Misenhelter has purchased 5.6 acres at 237 Woodlake Drive, located east of Grays Creek on Walnut Grove Road, to build the Wesscorp Sports & Office Property. The $6 million development will consist of a 50,000-square-foot, climate-controlled indoor sports facility with a turf soccer field and three separate areas for all manner of sports programs. In addition, the site has two out parcels dedicated for office/medical development.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...anned-for.html

Wesscorp

[Johnny Ryall]

Conduit Global call center to create 1,000 jobs
Memphis Daily News

Conduit Global will hire 1,000 people over the next three to five years to staff a large call center in Shelby County, the company announced Wednesday, Jan. 22.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...obs-explosion/

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

New Housing Option Comes to Victorian Village
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...orian-village/

Finally, someone gets creative in Memphis. This will be attractive, if done right. And from the looks of the renderings, it should be. Just don't have it near projects or crime areas or it'll be a failure.

[Centropolis]

almost looks like lafayette square in st. louis.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Finally, someone gets creative in Memphis. This will be attractive, if done right. And from the looks of the renderings, it should be. Just don't have it near projects or crime areas or it'll be a failure.

https://www.google.com/maps/preview/...3d2c5b5f3c0530

[kingchef]

i very much like the new housing concept option for victorian village. it is very refreshing and i would love to see this concept in several areas and a bit larger. i also like the new building at ut med, i think it is the general education building; there is a very similiar design at u of m. as the translational building comes to the end of construction, there are 3 buildings in the city that have been completed that are very similar to it. i hope that the announced hotels in the heritage development won't be nothing more than a glorified box.

i looked at the plans for the enclosed soccer facility, and i have to say that it reminded me of those jim walter homes, as did another building shown a few pages back. nevertheless, the soccer building seems to be interesting. i wonder why the city has no interest in trying to work out something w/ this deveooper, if they continue to go forward w/ plans for the fairground athletic project. perhaps the developer wanted something while the earth was turning.
seems that so much is going on, both in all sectors of the economy. i have yet to understand the hotel situation, how the administration analyzes it, and why the secrecy. i would love to hear serious discussions regarding a new convention center, the building of the vue residents building, the trinity highrise, and the one beale project. i heard that carisle does what he says he will do, even stated by the ca, so why can't a reporter go down to his office and simply ask if this building is part of memphis' future. maybe we could go on a national search for developers, who would be willing to build office towers for future occupancy.

[Chris Warren]

Looks like The Horizon won't be a sleeping giant for long

The stalled, 16-story Horizon condominium tower development overlooking the Mississippi River could be up for sale later this year after clearing a legal quagmire.

The four banks that repossessed the nearly finished 155-unit tower at 717 Riverside Drive expect to wrap up multiple lawsuits by various contractors by the end of the year – "sooner than later," said Jim Summers of Allen Summers Simpson Lillie & Gresham PLLC, which is representing White Contracting.

Capital One NA, which is taking the lead on the property, said in a statement that a sale is the next step for the building, whose developer – Ridgeland, Miss.-based The Bryan Co. – defaulted on a $58.6 million loan in 2009.

“The property is involved in litigation, and it is currently not for sale," the bank said in a prepared statement. "The bank continues to maintain the property pending a resolution of the litigation, at which time it is the bank’s intent to offer the property for sale.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/b...rside-mem.html

The Memphis Business Journal

[VSRJ]

^ Too bad it won't meet the wrecking ball. I think it's such a bland, out-of-place building.

[Johnny Ryall]

New Downtown apartment units to open by '15
Memphis Biz Journal

The 172 units created in a $14 million second phase of the Crescent Bluff Apartments development in Downtown Memphis could begin coming online by the end of 2014.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...outh-main.html

COURTESY SHAPIRO & CO. ARCHITECTS INC.

[Johnny Ryall]

Wright Medical adds more money to expansion
Memphis Biz Journal

Wright Medical Group has filed a $5.5 million building permit to continue the expansion of its manufacturing and distribution operations in Arlington

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...-money-to.html

[kingchef]

well, i know several of you hate the horizon, but i will stay my original opinion about it being decent looking. i would almost be willing to bet that the exterior has been repainted. i remember that a friend of mine and i were going to cross the I-55 bridge, and he got several photos of that building and the area. it was royal purple, a thalo blue, and the front 2 story-looking building was a magenta-like color.

anyway, collins, city council member, wanted to knock down the pyramid, the half-wit gov got rid of a very decent state building, on the premise of costs and tenetcy, while the state recently spent millions and millions of dollars on an additional 5 story building in jackson, no one could give the amount for the ballroom and amenities added to the gov's mansion, and other building projects. again, several want the horizon to slide off into the miss. river, kroger apparently will take it's toll on union ave, in midtown, and there are several other large buildings due to be razed, randolph tower, to name one, that is very nice. so, it looks as if there might be plenty of room on the river walk, and pat won't have to worry about her view in any direction being blocked.