Tag: AutoZone

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Downtown Projects Could Bring a Skybridge, a Boat Dock, and (Maybe) Huge Koi

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

New designs for Downtown show a skybridge on Front Street, a boat dock at Greenbelt Park, and a new co-working space (with koi) in the Edge District. 

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s (DMC) Design Review Board (DRB) meets next week to review the proposed designs. That approval is a sort of first step for a project to come to fruition.    

Here are some of the most interesting proposals:

1. Skybridge from AutoZone to the Mobility Center

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

AutoZone Inc. has proposed building a skybridge from the under-construction, $42 million Downtown Mobility Center and its Downtown headquarters. 

The bridge would connect from the Mobility Center’s fifth level to AutoZone’s third level, spanning the intersection of Front Street and Peabody Place.

“This skybridge will be an enclosed and secure connection for AutoZone employees and their visitors,” reads a description of the project. “The exterior of the skybridge will extend the modern aesthetic of the Mobility Center using the same metal finishes and curtain wall glazing.”

2. Greenbelt Park boat dock

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission
Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

Greenbelt Park already has a boat ramp at its northern edge. But the city is proposing to dock more than jon boats. 

“With the growth of the number of cruising vessels on the Mississippi River, the city of Memphis needs to be able to accommodate multiple vessels docking Downtown,” reads a description of the project.  

Cruising vessels. Cruise ships. River boats. That’s what the city has in mind for Greenbelt Park. 

An enormous dock would jut into the river just north of the existing boat ramp. Two shade structures would be built nearby for passengers waiting land transportation. Another building would house golf carts for passengers. The parking lot would be patched and new lighting added. 

But DMC staff thinks the project will be good for locals, too. 

“The new pedestrian paths will help connect visitors to the park’s existing trail system, and the shade structures will provide a welcome amenity during warm weather,” reads the staff report. “The proposed structures blend well with the landscape of the park, and the use of the golf cart storage structure for signage and art near the entrance to the lot will assist with wayfinding.”

The project is slated to begin construction next month. 

3. Creative Co-Working

Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission

A tucked-away and vacant space in the Edge District is due for a glow up a new purpose. 

The project will bring two new storefronts, one an office for cnct. design + develop and the other would be studios, gallery space, and retail space for Ugly Art Co. The building at 635 Madison sits in a corner near the intersection of Marshall and Madison with an alley connecting the two streets. 

“Art will spill into the alley in the form of asphalt art and lighting,” reads a description.  “The alley will connect the site, strengthening access to a central courtyard and pedestrian traffic within the Edge District.”

Design renderings show the massive white walls of the building covered with a mural of koi fish. The application says the fish are only placeholders (bummer) “but the koi fish theme is expected to carry through to the final design (huzzah!). 

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News News Blog

Renasant Convention Center Reels in First Big Client

Rendering of the Renasant Convention Center (Credit: Memphis Tourism)

The Memphis Tourism team is in the zone.

AutoZone, specifically.

Yesterday, Memphis Tourism announced that it had finalized plans for the Renasant Convention Center to host AutoZone’s national sales meeting in September . The Memphis-based Fortune 250 company will mark the first large-scale meetings event to take place at the center after its $216 million renovation and modernization project.

The event will see 3,000 attendees converge on the convention center, making full use of the 300,000 square feet of space and amenities from September 27th to 30th. Memphis Tourism expects the event to generate almost $2 million in economic impact, and create demand for 3,500 room nights at nearby hotels.

“We are very excited to recognize our amazing AutoZoners, support local partners and hold our National Sales Meeting in downtown Memphis at the newly renovated Renasant Convention Center,” said David McKinney, vice president, Government and Community Relations, Customer Satisfaction for AutoZone.

The event is a promising sign for the revitalization of Memphis’ hospitality and tourism industry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, direct spending from the meetings, conventions, and trade show industry saw a huge $97 billion decline in the United States. Construction on the Renasant Convention Center was already in progress when health protocols put most of the country into lockdown. However, with restrictions now lifted in Shelby County, the center can aggressively be used as a tool to generate revenue for the city. 

The facility was also awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR, a third-party validation that ensures meeting and event facilities have implemented strict health and safety protocols for biorisk situations like the coronavirus.

“The tourism and hospitality industry as a whole has been severely impacted by the pandemic, especially the meetings and events sector. Now is the time to get back to business,” said Kevin Kane, president and CEO of Memphis Tourism. “AutoZone is sending a strong message to the business world as a Fortune 250 company, demonstrating it is possible to safely resume in-person meetings, and that business travel remains a critical part of growing the bottom line.”

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News News Blog

“Pork Report” Judges Bluff City Law, Megasite, and More

CREDIT: Jake Giles Netter/NBC

Beacon Center

Corporate welfare, Bluff City Law, and lax government spending topped the Beacon Center’s 2020 Pork Report for Memphis and Shelby County this year.

The center is a non-partisan, free-market think tank in Nashville. Its new Pork Report marks the 15th year the agency has taken aim at wasteful government spending in Tennessee. This year, the report featured 12 examples of “pork” from this year and three of the group’s “favorite” examples of government waste from the last 15 years.

“Beacon has long fought corporate welfare, where governments lavish some big businesses with massive handouts that other small businesses aren’t fortunate enough to receive, all at the expense of taxpayers,” reads the report. “And we’ll continue that quest until the government stops picking winners and losers.”

FastTrack

AutoZone HQ in Memphis

The report reviewed the state’s FastTrack program. It’s similar to the Memphis and Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) program as it also gives grants and tax breaks to companies to locate, expand, or stay in Tennessee.

The Beacon report said, “Tennessee taxpayers are asked to give up millions of dollars to private companies through the state’s main corporate welfare program: FastTrack.”

In the last year, the program has given $39.6 million to big companies like Pringles and Accenture. Last year, AutoZone got $2.3 million in a grant from the program for an expansion and new location project here worth $191.3 million and 130 new jobs.

”The overwhelming evidence shows that these types of programs make little difference in company relocation and expansion decisions,” reads the report. “Estimates indicate these handouts sway companies as little as 2 percent of the time. Do we really think when Pringles is investing over $200 million to expand its factory that giving it $400,000 is really necessary?”

Bluff City Law
Jake Giles Netter/NBC

Going straight — Caitlin McGee (left) and Jimmy Smits play father-daughter attorney duo at the Strait Law Firm.

Beacon said Shelby County taxpayers are still on the hook in 2020 for a courtroom drama that was canceled in 2019.  Beacon Center

EDGE delivered Bluff City Law $1.4 million in tax breaks back in August 2019. That was part of a larger incentive package worth $4.2 million.

After the show was canceled, Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess took aim at the incentive here, according to The Commercial Appeal.

“My team and I strongly believe that there is absolutely no public benefit that would justify Comcast and NBC receiving $1 million per year of taxpayers’ money that I can recognize,” Burgess said at the time. “Accordingly, I believe that Shelby County government should challenge the approval of the PILOT and the loss of tax revenue.”

They didn’t.

“Because of the incompetence of the Memphis EDGE board, Memphis taxpayers are left holding the bag while politicians try to explain away the bad decision and talk about all the ‘unseen benefits’ that the short-lived show created for the city,” Beacon said in the report. “Film incentives are always problematic and should be eliminated entirely.”

However, Charles Vance, director of marketing and communications for EDGE, said the future years of the PILOT ended when the show cancelled. The show did positive things for the city’s image and economy, he said.

“As the show was canceled, future years of the PILOT are now canceled, and Comcast will only see benefits from the first year,” Vance said in a statement. “That provision was always built into the PILOT agreement.

“The PILOT benefit started on December 31st, 2019 and expires December 31st, 2020. The show’s promotional value was significant. On top of the great [public relations] exposure for our city, the show created jobs, and spent more than $31 million here.”  

Shelby County hiring freeze

After a warning about the county’s dire financial situation by Mayor Lee Harris, the Shelby County Commissioner agreed to a freeze on hiring and promotions earlier this year. The freeze lasted about a month.

“This is the problem with government finances,” reads the report. “When times are tough, families have to dig deep and make tough decisions.  Beacon Center

“But for governments, tough times are merely an inconvenience. Governments at all levels are able to kick the can down the road (like the federal government) or ask struggling taxpayers to bail them out (like Nashville). Our leaders need to remember that they are charged to be stewards of taxpayer money, not treat it like monopoly money.”

For this, Beacon suggested that Shelby County government should cut unessential services and enact a spending cap tied to economic growth to curb excessive government growth.

Memphis Regional Megasite

TNECD

A view of the megasite looking north from I-40.

The Memphis Regional Megasite won a spot in Beacon’s top three worst “porks” of the last 15 years.

No company is showing interest in the 4,100-acre piece of land east of Memphis that Beacon calls “the field of empty promises.” This is after more than a decade and $200 million in state investment.

”Yet, after numerous major companies have begged off, all they can do now is watch the grass grow,” reads the report. “It’s high time to flush this boondoggle down the drain once and for all.”

See the full report here:

[pdf-1]

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Memphis Gaydar News

Memphis Law Firm Gets Perfect Score in Equality Index, AutoZone Scores Low

A Memphis law firm, FedEx, and First Horizon scored well in this year’s Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, while International Paper and AutoZone fell toward the bottom of the list.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC scored a perfect 100, making it one of only two major corporations and/or law firms in Tennessee with a perfect score. The other was Nissan North America Inc. in Franklin.

That means the company prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, has vendor/contractor standards that don’t discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, offers partner health insurance, has other “soft” benefits for partners, offers transgender-inclusive health coverage, has organizational competency programs, has a firm-wide diversity council or LGBT employee group, and positively engages the external LGBT community.

FedEx scored high with an 85 percent. The main thing that kept FedEx from scoring higher was its lack of transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage. First Horizon Corp. also scored an 85 percent. 

International Paper scored a 25 percent, and AutoZone scored a 10 percent. The only LGBT-friendly policy at AutoZone is one prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

In total, 851 companies across the country were officially rated in the 2016 index, up from 781 in the 2015 report. The average score for companies and law firms based in Tennessee is 69 percent. Of the 12 Tennessee companies ranked, two earned 100 percent, and four earned 80 percent or above.

“Corporate America has long been a leader on LGBT equality, from advocating for marriage equality to expanding essential benefits to transgender employees,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “But this year, many leading U.S. companies have broken new ground by expanding explicit non-discrimination protections to their LGBT workers around the globe. They’ve shown the world that LGBT equality isn’t an issue that stops at our own borders, but extends internationally.”

To see the full index, go here.

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Memphis Gaydar News

FedEx Scores High, AutoZone Scores Low on Equality Index

The Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) assessed LGBT inclusion in a number of major companies and law firms in Memphis. 

The CEI ranks companies on a scale of 1 (worst) to 100 (best) based on non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBT diversity and inclusion, public commitment to LGBT equality, and responsible citizenship.

Memphis-based FedEx Corp. and local law firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz tied with for high scores of 85, while AutoZone Corp. received a low score of 15.

FedEx’s non-discrimination policy covers sexual orientation and gender identity. They offer domestic partner benefits, and their insurance covers transgender health benefits, such as hormone therapy and short-term leave after surgical procedures. They have an LGBT employee group, and they actively market to LGBT consumers.

AutoZone does have a non-discrimination policy regarding sexual orientation, but gender identity is not covered. The company also fails to offer domestic partner benefits, and it lacks an LGBT employee group.

Other Memphis companies on the list scored as follows: First Horizon National Corp. (75), Unum Group (60), and International Paper (45).

Nationally, a record 366 businesses scored perfect 100s. The only Tennessee company to score a 100 was Nissan North America, Inc. in Smyrna. 

“When it comes to LGBT equality, Corporate America is a leader, not a follower,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “At every turn, from advocating for marriage equality to providing vital support for transgender employees, this country’s leading companies have asked, ‘what more can we do?,’ and they’ve worked tirelessly to achieve new progress. That kind of leadership changes countless lives around this country, and sets an important example to other companies around the globe.”

            

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Editorial Opinion

Pride in St. Jude

Back in the heyday of Plough, Inc., there used to be giant billboards all over Memphis advertising one of the locally based corporation’s most well-known products. “St. Joseph’s Aspirin,” the signs would proudly proclaim. “Memphis Makes. The World Takes.”

And yes, those billboards and that message did generate a fair amount of pride of place among us locals, even though we knew that St. Joseph, as a brand, would never overtake the industry monolith, Bayer. And, indeed, it never has, though it continues to exist, after a change in geography and ownership, as a low-dose brand, well-advertised online.

In any case, it was something we locals could boast about, in the same way that we once boasted about Holiday Inn, the giant hotel chain that was founded in Memphis and for many, many years run from here. Ditto with AutoZone, which continues to be headquartered in its birthplace, in a handsome downtown building overlooking the mighty Mississippi.

And there is FedEx, yet another Memphis creation that connects the whole wide world with the cargo shipments that come and go from the company’s massive footprint here.

International Paper, another widely known mega-corporation, was born elsewhere and is a transplant to Memphis, but it is nevertheless a major player on our cityscape. And, we’d be remiss not to mention Graceland, home of the the most iconic entertainer ever, and either the first- or second-most visited residence in America, depending on which survey you read.

This list could go on for a while. But there is one other treasure known to those of us who live here and who admire its service to the world: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is as famous as Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York and John Hopkins in Baltimore and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and may be doing more valuable therapeutic and research work than any or all of those other institutions.

The difference, which we keep discovering every time we ask about it, is that those who direct the marketing affairs of St. Jude have decided it is never to be mentioned or promoted in tandem with Memphis, its host city. And it never is. According to James R. Downing, president and CEO of St. Jude, there are no plans that it ever will be, despite the fact that, as Downing told the Rotary Club of Memphis on Tuesday, the hospital plans a major expansion — one that will connect to affiliates elsewhere but will still have the same headquarters-to-network relationship to them as FedEx Memphis has to its ports and bases elsewhere. For this and the other great benefits St. Jude brings to our fair city, we are most grateful.

But still, it stings a bit that the world-renowned hospital’s hometown never gets a mention in its marketing campaigns. Downing did his best to explain: The hospital is meant to be regarded everyplace at once. It’s a marketing strategy that helps with donors. That may make sense to the marketing department, but not necessarily to Memphians, who understandably swell with pride knowing that St. Jude, as founder Danny Thomas ordained, does its remarkable work here.

We are somewhat comforted by a remark made about the research function of St. Jude by the legendary surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey: “To cure one child in Memphis is to cure a thousand children worldwide.” As a marketing slogan, it has a certain ring, we think.

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News

AutoZone Stock Rises on Good Earnings News

Shares of Memphis-based AutoZone (AZO) motored higher Tuesday after the auto-supply retailer handily beat Wall Street’s first-quarter profit targets.

From TheStreet.com: For the first quarter ended Nov. 17, the Memphis company earned $132.5 million, up 7 percent from $123.9 million a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, earnings jumped 17% to $2.02 from $1.73 last year, as the average number of shares outstanding dropped 9% due to buybacks. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $1.91 a share.

More analysis and detail at TheStreet.com.