The Parkside at Shelby Farms development sits on the northern border of Shelby Farms in the midst of many single-family homes.
The enormous, $200 million development on the northern border of Shelby Farms Park got a positive recommendation from a Memphis City Council committee Tuesday without allowing neighbors who opposed the project an opportunity to speak.
The Parkside at Shelby Farms project came to Memphis City Hall in December. Opposition to the plan began almost immediately from neighbors.
The project would sit on about 55 acres of land close to the corner of Whitten and Mullins Station. It would include high-rise apartment buildings facing south toward Shelby Farms, many smaller, “garden style” apartment buildings, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, and thousands of square feet for retail and office space.
VIDEO:
Shelby Farms Development Clears Another Hurdle
The property is now zoned only to include single-family homes and that has existing property owners frustrated, worried that the huge development would bring traffic, noise, and more to their quiet area.
The question before the council Tuesday was, mainly, whether or not to change the existing rules – the zoning – for the property to allow the new project.
Those opposed to the plan were present at Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s Planning and Zoning Committee. But committee chairman Kemp Conrad asked that they hold their comments on the project until the full council meeting later Tuesday.
Conrad said that the meeting was running out of time after a presentation from the office of Planning and Development and a presentation from those representing the project. He asked those in opposition to bring their thought to the full council. After that, the committee voted unanimously to send the project to the full council with a favorable recommendation.
The project already got the green light from the Land Use Control Board. So, getting city council is a major hurdle toward the beginning of construction.
The project will move along in many phases and developer will have to get a new set of approvals for each phase and hold public meetings about them. However, the council’s vote will put all of that into motion, which can’t easily be reversed.
The project is before the full council during its meeting Tuesday afternoon.
