Tag: Downtown Memphis Commission

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Opinion

Blockbuster Plan for Downtown Would Declare it “Blighted Menace”

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Downtown leaders and property owners are being asked to weigh in on a blockbuster 20-year redevelopment plan that would capture $100 million in taxes and spend it on a public housing project and “Heritage Trail” by declaring all of downtown a slum.

The Flyer obtained a copy of a previously unpublicized memo from the Downtown Memphis Commission that was sent to board members and, by them, to other downtowners this month. It discusses a proposed Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) under the control of the Memphis Housing Authority and the Division of Housing and Community Development, currently headed by Robert Lipscomb. The City administration wants the input of stakeholders before the City moves forward with this plan. The focus is redeveloping Cleaborn and Foote Homes, housing projects in the southeastern part of downtown.

From the memo:

“The CRA is established “to combat slum and blighted areas that constitute a serious and growing menace, injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents of Shelby County.” To provide CRA with jurisdiction to adopt and implement the Master Plan, the CRA is considering declaring Downtown Memphis to be a slum, blighted, and a growing menace.”

The proposed master plan, a 196-page document dated September 13, 2012, includes the entire downtown core, the Beale Street Entertainment District, the South Main District, the South End, Victorian Village, the Edge Neighborhood, and part of the Memphis Medical Center. It targets some 200 downtown parcels for CRA acquisition by purchase or, if necessary, eminent domain. A master developer would be hired by the CRA.

From the memo:

“To begin funding implementation of the Master Plan, the CRA would establish a Downtown tax-increment-financing (TIF) District that would redirect future property tax revenue growth generated Downtown over the next twenty years from the city and county to the CRA. It is projected that over twenty years the TIF would redirect $102,751,238 of city and county property taxes to the CRA. The bulk of this revenue would be generated in the out years, with the first five years generating less than 1.5% of the projected revenue.

“It is projected that 98.7% of this future, incremental TIF revenue will be generated by private properties primarily in the Downtown core outside the Focus Area of the planned improvements. The Cleaborn and Foote Homes redevelopments are expected to generate 1.3% of the TIF revenue over twenty years. PILOT roll-offs are expected to generate 44.5% of the TIF revenue, and general property value inflation is projected to generate 47.5% of the TIF revenue.”

The Master Plan includes 27 miles of streetscape improvements, 6 miles of new streets, and 17 acres of new parks. The TIF funds along with federal grant money would help support the public housing redevelopment in the southeastern section of Downtown, but the source of funding for improvements throughout the remainder of downtown is not identified, nor is a budget or schedule provided for such improvements.

An earlier plan in the Herenton mayoral era dubbed Triangle Noir focused on a much narrower area around Cleaborn and Foote Homes.

The memo asks several questions, including:

How will needed improvements in the rest of Downtown be paid for?

What happens to ongoing private development initiatives if the CRA officially adopt this new, largely unfunded Master Plan for Downtown?

What are the lost opportunity costs of borrowing against and spending twenty years of property tax growth in Downtown Memphis?

If the next twenty years of property tax growth in Downtown Memphis is pledged to pay for the public housing redevelopment project in the southeast corner of Downtown, then how do other important Downtown plans and projects get funded over the next twenty years?

Categories
Opinion

A Darn Good Week for Downtown

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Wow. First the Harahan Bridge Project funding announcement Tuesday, then the Bass Pro Pyramid media event Thursday. Two projects that bookend a third project, Beale Street Landing and the steamboats, that is also changing the face of the riverfront. Over $300 million in public and private investment by my math. And a successful relaunch of the Outdoors Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race last Saturday.

At the Bass Pro deal, someone collared me to say “nanny nah-nah” in reference to some skepticism I expressed over the years, and someone else grabbed me to say how much she likes Bass Pro but the only problem is their clothes hardly ever wear out. A third person came over to reminisce about the Pyramid groundbreaking or “Big Dig” we both witnessed in 1989. It seems like it was only 20 years ago.

Sturdy footwear and garments, along with ammo and camo and Tracker boats and fishing rods and bait and stuffed animals and zip lines and big ole trees in a swamp and live demonstrations and restaurants serving fried catfish and hushpuppies. As the King and the Duke say of their tomfoolery in “Huckleberry Finn,” if that don’t fetch ’em then I don’t know Arkansaw. Or Tennessee either.

Except that Bass Pro is putting another store in Little Rock at about the same time. The apologists who say no big deal are kidding themselves. I’ll drop at least a couple hundred bucks a year at Bass Pro Pyramid and take every visitor there for the rest of my Memphis life. But that 4 million visitors estimate sounds high with so many outlets within 220 miles. I like the band of glass on the exterior of the building but was surprised to see such a major change in the renderings at such a late date in this deal that has been in the talking stages if not the doing stages for seven years. And the fate of the observation deck is still unknown. Sounds like someone hasn’t decided where to spend those funds yet.

The $30 million Harahan Bridge Project, also known as “Main Street to Main Street” is a classic example of politics and creative draftsmanship. Get some repairs done on the mall in Memphis and on Broadway in West Memphis and a very cool but expensive bike and pedestrian bridge paid for in part with federal transportation and stimulus funds. As Bill Dries of the Daily News pointed out, Whitehaven and Graceland got screwed, if you will, on the TIGER funds allotment. Hats off to Charlie McVean, the driving force behind the bike deal. Others have talked and written about it for at least 40 years, but McVean, nothing if not determined, got it done. I agree that every able-bodied soul in this area with a bike will want to do it at least once.

And “once” may be the operative word. It’s no greenline, people. While you’re waiting for the completion of the Harahan Project, which is a couple years away, here are two things to try: bike to Mud Island park on the walkway above the monorail, envisioned as a dramatic sky train 30 years ago. And, for the adventurous, drive to Crump Park next to the National Ornamental Metals Museum, park your car, jump on your bike or put on your Bass Pro sturdy boots, and climb the embankment to the narrow walkway on the south side of the Interstate 55 bridge just south of the Harahan. There is absolutely nothing stopping you. Step out on it and head for “the other side of the river” which can be as much as a mile or more away depending on the river level. You can hear the roar and feel the wind as trucks speed past so close you could reach out and touch them.

It shakes. It shakes a lot. There is a 30-inch concrete wall on one side and a 40-inch railing on the other side. Scary. And hot on a day like today. Nice view, and about the same one you can get from Martyr’s Park or the metals museum. I know there will be all sorts of safety features on the Harahan bike and pedestrian walkway, but that’s the point. This stuff is expensive. It takes maintenance. I can’t remember a day in the last few years when I did not see workmen working on the pilings under the interstate ramps near Riverside Drive and the Pyramid. I wonder how many people have thought this through.

Once it is completed, I hope the Harahan path connects to the levee in Arkansas and a true bike trail on the Tennessee side to make a national destination worthy of attention from Adventure Cycling Association, this Missoula, Montana outfit.

The key to both deals (and Beale Street Landing), says downtown visionary Henry Turley, is leveraging them into lasting broad benefits to downtown and Memphis in general. The Downtown Memphis Commission and the Riverfront Development Corporation have their charge. Whatever mistakes they may have made in the past don’t matter now. That was yesterday, we move on. We bought it, we got it. Now get the cobblestones done, figure out Front Street and Memphis in May and Mud Island Park and the Pinch. Then we’ll really have something to celebrate. We better do this, because a bike bridge, a boat dock, steamboat cruises for $3000, and tax money for a retailer sure doesn’t sound like government belt-tightening or a city and a country supposedly in the throes of a great recession.

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Opinion

Chisca Hotel, King of Blight: Can It Be Fixed?

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The two big uglies I see most often are Sears Crosstown and the Chisca Hotel. I live near Sears and work near the Chisca, which is just southwest of FedEx Forum so you can’t miss it if you go to events there.

The Chisca is one of those buildings that has an air of inevitability around it because it has been on the downtown landscape for so long. Owned by the Church of God In Christ (COGIC), it was built in 1910 or 1911. It was expanded to include an Admiral Benbow Inn and a parking garage. The Chisca has gotten a bit of attention recently due to an Elvis-era connection via Fifties disc jockey Dewey Phillips and Tony Award winner “Memphis,” the 2009 musical. It separates Beale Street and FedEx Forum from South Main, The Orpheum, and the National Civil Rights Museum. The reddish brick building has painted plywood in the windows.

One of the would-be redevelopers is Terry Lynch. His group’s proposal estimates the cost of renovation at $19.8 million. The group is in the early stages of seeking City Council approval for $2 million in capital improvement funds. Here are excerpts from a recent conversation I had with Lynch.

Why save it?
The alternative is tearing it down and having a vacant lot. One of the big benefits of FedEx Forum was supposed to be economic development around the arena. But it’s still mostly vacant lots and blight that really breaks up the fabric of South Main and the Central Business District.

Is it an old hotel that will always seem like an old hotel?
The original rooms were wide with a lot of windows — this was before air-conditioning — and nine-foot ceilings. So we’re thinking of taking a couple of hotel rooms and making them into a small apartment, with a goal of 149 apartments, with plenty of natural light.

Is there enough demand for housing there?
Our studies show strong demand. The occupancy rate for downtown apartments is above 90 percent. Barboro Flats has been well received. We think a good price point for this would be $750 to $800.

Could it be fully or partly redeveloped and wind up like the empty Horizon on the South Bluff?
The Horizon was a condo building. There is always a risk somebody won’t come. But we think there would be good demand. I don’t think you will find any unsuccessful apartments downtown.

Why undertake this now when it’s been vacant for so long?
It’s a challenging property. In one of the best real estate cycles in years it was passed over. It takes local, civic-minded people to get involved. Either it happens now or it is going to be demolished in the next year or two. It has been in Environmental Court for a couple years and the court will get impatient about it.

Does the proposed $2 million in city funds make that much difference?
Yes it does. Ten percent might not seem like a lot, but it is in this project. It would offset unusual costs of development such as environmental remediation, structural issues, and selective interior demolitions like an old ballroom in there. If you took on a warehouse, you would not have all of that.

Could COGIC benefit financially?
We have a confidentiality agreement so I can’t say much. It would put it behind them. From what we can tell, there are no liens or environmental fines on it.

What would be the development fee?
Typically three to four percent.

Is the Memphis music and nostalgia connection that relevant?
I think so. We’re thinking of taking the old studio on the mezzanine level and rebuilding it on the ground level so people could come and see it.

What’s next?
The council appropriation, then the Downtown Memphis Commission for a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), then the Downtown Parking Authority for approval. We feel fairly comfortable about all of them.