MEMPHIS | Development News

[Johnny Ryall]

Hampline bike trail reaches funding goal
Memphis Biz Journal

The two-mile on-road/multi-use trail project known as the Hampline, which will connect the Shelby Farms Greenline with the existing trail network within Overton Park, has reached its funding goal... The Hampline will run through the resurgent Broad Ave. arts district. With its completion, Memphis' two largest public spaces, Shelby Farms and Overton Park will be connected with an uninterrupted bike and pedestrian trail.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/n...ding-goal.html

ioby

[Johnny Ryall]

Basically, 2/3 of I-269 is complete.

Opening of eight-mile stretch finishes long-awaited Tenn. 385
Memphis Daily News

The roughly eight-mile section between Macon Road and Tenn. 57 in Piperton is the final piece of a nearly 50-mile route that travels from Millington through Arlington and south through Fayette County and into Collierville before linking back to Interstate 240 in the city of Memphis... Portions of the state route eventually will be included in Interstate 269, the planned outer loop around Memphis. The opening of the final portion of Tenn. 385 comes as the state prepares to launch a massive overhaul of the Interstate 40-Interstate 240 interchange... The project will include the state’s first four-level interchange, including a towering 75-foot-high flyover ramp leading from the north loop of I-40 to the eastbound lanes on I-40... State officials said the $109 million project, the largest contract ever awarded by the state, will improve traffic flow on the heavily traveled interstate system and the roads that lead to it. Average daily vehicle counts in the area range from around 97,000 vehicles to nearly 150,000 vehicles. The state projects the interchange will need to handle more than 350,000 vehicles daily by 2035.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...tion-complete/

[Johnny Ryall]

University of Tennessee Health Science Center outlines master plan
Memphis Daily News

Over the past three to five years, UTHSC has received between $250 million and $300 million in capital improvement funds. Several construction projects are already underway, including a multi-disciplinary simulation center and a translational research building, which is in the final stages of completion and is expected to be finished in the next three to six months. The $5 million demolition of five older buildings on the campus, including the Beale building built in 1925, is in the final stages. The Feurt, Randolph, Hyde and Goodman buildings (all built between 1961 and 1988) are also being torn down... Next up for the campus and Hnedak Bobo will be a $68.4 million renovation of the school’s historic quadrangle... Other ongoing work on the campus includes Brg3s Architects designing a pharmaceutical compounding facility. The Plough Foundation donated approximately $4 million to support the project, and UTHSC is likely to contribute another $5 million. The university also wants to design a building for the College of Medicine, is in the process of designing a second building for the College of Dentistry, and it hopes to acquire some properties owned by Bioworks Foundation, where there are future plans for demolition and construction.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news...ampus-revival/

[DoomJ]

More Crosstown news: http://investing.businessweek.com/re..._11174_60449-1

Excerpts:

The mammoth Crosstown redevelopment project has been placed on the agenda for the Dec. 3 City Council meeting, and at least one councilman indicated Tuesday that money may have been found to complete the funding of the $175 million project.

"I have heard there have been sources found'' for the $15 million gap, Councilman Shea Flinn said Tuesday evening. "I cannot speak to exactly what those sources are."

Flinn also said, "My understanding is it's not taking any money from other parts of the budget."

[kingchef]

it is good to see a posted update on the downtown medical center. i think the article should have described the bill of particulars concerning the 68+ millon renovation of the quad. i wonder if this area will be part of the cosmetic designs, which are shown in earlier drawings and renderings of the campus. those renderings can be found in the compilation section, submitted by johnny ryall, in the memphis forum. much of that information informs the reader of planned definition of the uthsc campus, signage, architectural elements, etc. an expenditure of 68 million dollars by the state, public, and private sources would be interesting. one issue that hasn't been mentioned in a good while happens to be the plan for the former garage and holiday inn. i was under the impression that the funding was already awarded, both public and private.

once again, i don't understand the need to implode a very decent looking highrise, which overlooks the quad. i think it is 17 stories. one article stated that it was empty, at this time; however, it was a dorm for students at the health science schools.

one thing that should be noted and credited to the one behind it is the diligent attention given to the ten identified structures in our community that are important to most memphians and the city, itself. i'm glad to read the news about the 15 million dollars to be used on the sears crosstown project. the chisca, the pyramid bldg, and some others. hopefully, of the 10, all of them will be saved for re-purpose. the sterrick bldg comes to mind. in my opinion, that is good governace. i hope that the one beale project, the vue highrise, the trinity place building, along w/ the building of the new fbi office building, and some others will spruce up and sparkle the downtown boundaries. it would be great if some of these corporations and the newly planned west cancer treatment center would build downtown. i guess there are no incentives for doing such. still, i believe that downtown is a great place, and i hope that new hotels, law offices, government offices, and such will see in the future.

[arkitekte]

Excellent news about Crosstown and the Hampline bike path project. Broad Ave is up and coming and should get much better in the months to come.

[arkitekte]

I'm not crazy about the new apartment units under construction at Patterson and Southern, mainly the fact that you enter each unit from the outside which tends to look somewhat tacky from the outside, especially if the materials are pretty cheap.



Anyways, the massing and presence on Southern is fine, the materials of course aren't that nice, but other than that the street wall isn't bad and it's for sure 100 times better than what was previously there. Sorry for the crappy pics.



The lots directly to the west will also have a development similar to this one which should begin in the next few months.

[VSRJ]

^ I agree. I think it will definitely look better from the front. I was surprised that the entries to the units were outside. I wonder if the other development will be the same.

[ILoveMemphis]

Well, lights are back off at 100 N Main. Back to the few lights at night. I still plan on going to the owner and talking with him to see what he has planned for the building!

[VSRJ]

^ I noticed that too. I can't wait to hear what you find out from the new owner.

I hope we see larger, more exciting developments and projects in 2014. It's a bit sad that 100 N. Main's lights and future, as exciting as they may be, are what we're talking about.

[arkitekte]

City would pay $20 million for Autozone Park, plus $5 million for improvements, in proposed deal
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...D=happeningnow

The City of Memphis would take on $25 million in debt to buy AutoZone Park in a multiparty deal that would also see the St. Louis Cardinals take control of the Memphis Redbirds, according to a document with details of the agreement that was received Sunday by The Commercial Appeal.

It's behind the paywall. Anyone want to summarize?

[DoomJ]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

It's behind the paywall. Anyone want to summarize?

City pays $20 million to purchase the park, contributes $5 million for park improvements; Cardinals contribute $15 million for stadium "upgrades".

City issues bonds for purchase, bonds paid by: sales tax rebates for items sold at the stadium, $831,260 in the most recent year in which numbers are available; Cardinals pay $300,000 in rent annually; and City and Shelby County PILOT revenues, estimated at $515,000, for the Toyota Center and the adjacent parking garage.

Totals about $1.6 million next year, administration says it will cover the cost of debt.

Cardinals would have a 17-year lease with potential of two 5-year renewals.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by DoomJ

City pays $20 million to purchase the park, contributes $5 million for park improvements; Cardinals contribute $15 million for stadium "upgrades".

City issues bonds for purchase, bonds paid by: sales tax rebates for items sold at the stadium, $831,260 in the most recent year in which numbers are available; Cardinals pay $300,000 in rent annually; and City and Shelby County PILOT revenues, estimated at $515,000, for the Toyota Center and the adjacent parking garage.

Totals about $1.6 million next year, administration says it will cover the cost of debt.

Cardinals would have a 17-year lease with potential of two 5-year renewals.

This is actually a very good deal for Memphis. It cost just over $80 million to build back in 2000, that's equivalent to $109 million in 2013. So all the city is paying is $20 million out of that to have full ownership of a stadium that the city got nearly tax free to begin with. It's a win-win!

[DoomJ]

Crosstown funds approved:

The Memphis City Council will invest $15 million in the Crosstown Development Project, laying the final piece of the funding puzzle for the $175 million project.
Housing and Community Development director Robert Lipscomb provided the council with a funding outline for the $15 million and claimed none of that money will come from the city's general fund but rather federal dollars captured by the city.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog...s-city-council

FYI, Construction fence was erected around Crosstown building a couple days ago.

[VSRJ]

New Renderings of Proposed "Truck Stop" Restaurant Concept:

http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMe...munity-meeting

The Truck Stop is a hybrid concept that combines a restaurant serving small plates, adult beverages, and desserts with parking space for a rotating cast of three food trucks. Diners place their order for any menu item at the restaurant or from the food trucks' menus at one counter so no one has to stand in line at a food truck. The trucks will stay on the lot for several hours at a time, and when they leave, other food trucks will take their place.

[arkitekte]

^I can live with that truck stop proposal; I just wish it actually fronted Central and Cooper and that the parking was in the rear (I don't think it would nearly as cheap that way).

[arkitekte]

Update photo on the Hattiloo from archimania's Facebook page.

[VSRJ]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

^I can live with that truck stop proposal; I just wish it actually fronted Central and Cooper and that the parking was in the rear (I don't think it would nearly as cheap that way).

I agree. Apparently developers don't want customers that close to "traffic and fumes:" https://twitter.com/cooperyoung/stat...39311825989632

I'll take the risk of being a victim of "traffic and fumes."

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by VSRJ

I agree. Apparently developers don't want customers that close to "traffic and fumes:" https://twitter.com/cooperyoung/stat...39311825989632

I'll take the risk of being a victim of "traffic and fumes."

Lol yep...they could care less about traffic and fumes. They're mainly afraid that parking in the rear will discourage people from stopping because they think most people will automatically assume there's not enough or no parking.

[VSRJ]

A few days ago I noticed that a construction fence has been set up around the former Mason YMCA on Walker Ave. near the U of M. I wasn't able to get a picture, but I'll try to get one soon.

Here's the rendering that was shown last year:



More info: http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/p...as-retail.html