The Memphis City Council met on Tuesday, December 15th, to discuss more development in small areas that they hope will revitalize the city. The Small Community Planning and Development committee will target seven areas. Neighborhoods that will be focused on at the beginning of 2021 will be Klondike, South City, Orange Mound, White Haven Plaza, and Raleigh Town Center.
The topic was brought up because Councilwoman Easter-Thomas received some questions from her constituents asking about the benefits to the upgrades to their communities. John Zeanah, director of the Division of Planning and Development, was the primary point of contact, and presented a guidebook for the city planning process. Development will begin with smaller community changes in order to kick start the Memphis 3.0 plan. He referenced the Memphis 3.0 annual update, which was made available on December 2nd.
“This is supposed to be a framework for the future growth of the city,” said Zeanah.
Raleigh Town Center, Elvis Presley Blvd., and Raines were completed late last year. They have been working with the developers from HED and the Binghampton Development Corporation.
They consider whether a place needs an anchor business to help attract new residents. An anchor business in the Orange Mound Historic Melrose district, for example, can have a larger impact on the surrounding area.
Public involvement is recommended and encouraged. Council member Rhonda Logan stressed the need for oversight after the development has completed.
Caritas Village in Binghampton offers multiple programs for residents.
“Are there meetings to come back and look at where we are and continue to maximize the opportunity? Can we build that into the plan?,” asked Logan.
“We did not have a designation plan in the Raleigh Town Center but that is now a part of the guide,” said Zeanah. “When there is a regulatory measure, like a a change in the land use or change in zoning to be made obviously, that’s something that the follow up is on the collective us,” he said.
