Downtown leaders sent that “soul” sign proposed for Mud Island back to the drawing board this week but they approved projects that could bring another (smaller) grocery Downtown, revive a blighted building, and give Alcencia’s a glow up.
The Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) Design Review Board (DRB) voted down a planned art installation on Mud Island from the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) on Wednesday. The installation would have brought a large (40 feet tall and 46 feet wide) black and yellow sign (which some said looked like a billboard) to the island. The sign was to face Downtown from the island with large words reading “we have no time for things with no soul.”
MRPP leaders hoped the sign would have drawn visitors to the island from Downtown. For this, they pointed at the success of the “MEMPHIS” sign they erected on the island in 2019. The sign quickly became one of the city’s most Instagrammed spots.
DRB board members invited the MRPP to submit new designs for the installation.
Big River Market (516 Tennessee)
At that same Wednesday meeting, DRB members helped move forward a plan to bring a small market (think: light groceries, coffee, grab-and-go food) to the old Emerge Memphis building in South End. The application for Big River Market describes it as a “boutique market store.” The 2,000-square-foot store would have food, drink, groceries, and coffee.
This comes after last months’ announcement from Castle Retail Group (the company behind Cash Saver and South Point Grocery) to put a full-fledged grocery store on South Main.
“The applicant is excited to join the newly announced South Point Grocery in bringing food accessibility to the southern end of Downtown,” reads the DRB staff report. “The applicant views this market not in competition with the grocer, but as a small market option for those who live or work within a .3-mile radius of the site.
“The business model is built upon having an established consumer base within walking distance. The location especially provides convenience for the South Bluff neighborhood, residents of the Lofts, and the Tennessee Brewery residents.”
Brown Girls Development (337 S Fourth)
The DRB also approved the renovation of a dilapidated building at Fourth and Vance into a modern building with a mix of retail spaces, apartments, and a bar.
Brown Girls LLC is leading the renovation project for the building that has laid dormant, broken, and graffitied for years. The building would feature 15 retail spaces. Twelve of them would be “micro-suites” and the other three would be traditional retail sizes. The building would also house four apartments and a bar on the first floor.
Alcenia’s (317 N Main)
Soul-food icon Alcenia’s was approved for a project to spruce the place up inside and out.
Exterior improvements include new paint, new awnings, new lightings, new trim, and new windows and doors. It will also bring a handicap accessible entrance and a new outdoor seating area.