When it was announced that the Oak Court Mall was to be auctioned in December, I was saddened but not surprised. Malls in general have been on a slow death march for years, and every shooting at Oak Court has made it more of a ghost town than it already was. No amount of marketing lipstick was ever going to return it to its former beauty-queen status. And if not repurposed, it will be torn down like the Mall of Memphis and others throughout the country. Amazon has destroyed the retail landscape, and the pandemic helped to make office space less necessary, so those two adaptive reuse options are off the table.
Whatever will replace the mall is guaranteed to harm the environment. Massive amounts of pollutants spewing into the air as it’s razed, thousands of truckloads to remove the debris, causing gallons and gallons of diesel to be emitted, and a landfill devoted to what is an unnecessary exercise in demolishing a perfectly good building. And it is almost certain that anything resembling green space will be destroyed in the name of increased density.
What I am proposing would save Oak Court and create prime real estate that developers would rush to buy: Move White Station High School to the mall and tear its campus down for residential use. This solution would allow both entities to reach their highest and best use.
As a bonus, developing the WSHS campus would not run afoul of the usual neighborhood association concerns related to height, density, and traffic. That’s because on its west are two high-rise apartment buildings; on its south, commercial development and a church; and on the north, Pecan Grove Condominiums. I’m certain there isn’t a single developer who would miss the endless rounds of neighborhood meetings that delay their projects.
Pecan Grove residents would have few concerns if a thoughtful configuration were created along their southern perimeter. Examples could include things such as making the main entrance run along the northern edge where the parking lot is now, and locating a dog walking area there. In other words, no tall buildings towering over their homes. On the east where the current football practice field lies might make a good location for green space, a pool, tennis courts, clubhouse, etc., so that the owners in Wellington and the lone house behind the eastern edge of the property could be assured of the same privacy as residents of Pecan Grove.
As for traffic, I can attest that having once picked up my own children from WSHS, there will be no grieving by the residents at the Embassy, who would love not having traffic blocked twice a day for 180 days of the year, not counting baseball and basketball games.
What I am not suggesting is another zero lot development or one of single-family homes. What I am envisioning is a Lexington-style complex that would answer the need for one-story homes that offer a garage. If one wants to downsize and remain in East Memphis, there are few options. Zero lot homes might reduce yard maintenance, but there are still gutters to be cleaned, trim to be painted, and stairs to be climbed. Yes, there are plenty of condominiums available, but almost none with garages. And since many of the developments are two stories, you’re back to the stair question.
Downsizing at my stage in life, however, doesn’t mean living in 1,200 square feet and two bedrooms. So I’m hoping that were it to be developed, more square feet would be part of the plan
Many questions remain about the existing anchors of the mall, but there are plenty of adaptations elsewhere in the country that could be used as models. Perhaps the upper parking deck adjacent to Dillard’s could be resurfaced for a baseball field, while the area closest to the tracks, if there were room, could be turned into a football stadium where games could actually be played on campus, with no residents to be bothered by lights. And unlike the current site, there is ample parking for students and faculty. The existing food court could function as a cafeteria, and since the mall interior is already green, gray, and white, no loss of school identity would occur.
And with the ubiquity of school shootings, proper design decisions could make the existing mall virtually impregnable.
So here’s to preserving the mall. And building my old-age dream home.
Ruth Ogles Johnson is an occasional contributor to the Flyer.
