hat do Wonder Bread, Sun Studio, and ArtFarm Gallery
have in common? They are on the edge, the edge of downtown.
But they’re also in the Edge, a new name
for an old neighborhood, reaching from Linden to Jefferson Avenues and
from Danny Thomas Boulevard to I-240, and the name of a newly formed
community association. It’s downtown but not
really. Midtown too but not really.
“This neighborhood has been somewhat of a no-man’s-land between
Midtown and downtown, and we want to bridge that gap between the
Medical Center and the river,” says Michael
Todd. Todd serves as president of the Edge Community Association and owns
property in the area.
On Saturday, the association will hold its first Edgefest, featuring
live music, art exhibits, an Elvis play by Sleeping Cat Studio, and a
walking tour through the neighborhood.
“This neighborhood is unique because it’s a mixed-use area, and we
have a lot of grassroots-type businesses
here,” says Will McGown, vice president of
the Edge and a furniture maker with a studio on Monroe.
Mixed-use means the Edge is not only art galleries, restaurants, and retail
stores but also an industrial zone with businesses such as Wonder Bread, the
auto-body shop A.S. Martin & Sons (in operation for more than 100 years),
and Murdock Printing Company. Those businesses were skeptical when the
artist group connected to ArtFarm Gallery wanted to establish a neighborhood
association about four years ago.
“The commercial businesses were afraid that this area would
become solely an artist community. But we don’t want them to leave. We want
to embrace the community as it is,” Todd says.
Chris Martin of A.S. Martin & Sons, an inactive member of the
association, says that there were concerns at
first. “This area is not absolutely
artist-dominated. I could name four other body shops that are located in the Edge
area,” Martin says.
Plans for a neighborhood association took hold about two years ago,
an outgrowth of ArtFarm and Neighborhood Watch meetings. “I guess
people realized that this neighborhood was up for the next big push in
development. Downtown is running out of space, and we didn’t want to see the
historic houses torn down for just another Home Depot or a shopping mall.
We wanted to control our own destiny,” Todd says.
Controlling their own destiny and having a say about what’s happening
in the community are often how neighborhood associations get started.
Today, Memphis has 350 associations registered with the Center For Neighborhoods,
an agency that provides training, technical assistance, and information to
community associations and help to communities that want to establish an
association. According to Vernua Hanrahan, the center’s coordinator, people usually
get together in a block club first, and several clubs will form a neighborhood
association later.
Every community can start a neighborhood association, and
every neighborhood association will be recognized as such even if it’s not
registered as a nonprofit. It’s about citizen participation, not IRS
designation.
Right now, commercial businesses in the “Edge district” are still hesitant
to take an active role. Kudzu’s Deli & Bar, ArtFarm, Sleeping Cat Studio,
Marshall Arts, and McGown Studio are playing the lead.
“We would like to see everybody involved,” McGown says. But getting
everybody involved is often a sluggish process. The Edge doesn’t charge
any membership fees, which encourages more people to be part of the
community association. If money is needed for projects such as Edgefest, the
association will try to raise the money or get members to donate services. Todd,
who sees himself as mediator between the artist and the business
communities, estimates that, at this point, the
Edge has 50 members, 15 of whom are very active.
But this is not a one- or two-man show. Important decisions that will
affect the whole neighborhood are discussed and voted on. Because
a newsletter hasn’t been established yet, neighbors, no matter if they
are part of the association or not, are informed through e-mail or
by word of mouth.
The Edge’s first success came when the Memphis Medical District
master plan was introduced. Initially, the plan called for major development
in the Edge community, until the association voiced its concerns and
the plans were changed to be more in accordance with the community’s
vision.
“The hardest part for us right now is to build our own
identity. It takes a lot of volunteer work and community commitment
to get this thing going,” Todd says. Edgefest is the first big step
toward this goal.
But building an identity in this neighborhood could be a very
delicate issue. Artists are drawn to the Edge because studio space is
extremely cheap. Improving the community, renovating buildings,
and attracting more businesses will naturally increase the rent.
What then?
“We are not trying to become another Cooper-Young, and we
are not trying to get rich. We are trying to build a neighborhood,”
Todd says.
Edgefest, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, August 17th.
