Loeb building retail center on Union Ave.
Loeb Properties will build a 7,500square-foot retail center on Union Avenue two blocks from Overton Square, the entertainment district which Loeb bought and revived.
The development in Midtown will rise on Union two blocks west of Cooper.
The site now contains the closed Valvoline oil change shop. That building will be demolished.
The new center would mark the latest in a spurt of significant projects by the Memphis real estate firm.
The center’s design by architecture firm brg3s includes space for a restaurant with patio and dedicated parking.
All but 2,250 square feet already has been leased, but the future tenants are not ready to announce themselves, officials said.
Space along Union Avenue has been in demand among retailers and restaurants in recent years, commercial brokers have said.
“This constitutes a rare opportunity for a tenant to move into brand-new retail space on Union Avenue in the heart of Midtown,” said Loeb’s Aaron Petree, leasing broker.
Demolition will start this month and construction will begin in May and be completed this fall, Loeb said in a statement. The construction contractor is Grinder Tabor Grinder.
In recent years, Loeb bought nearly empty Overton Square and completed the $20 million renovation, bringing the entertainment district to full occupancy by late 2015.
The firm also bought and upgraded Highland Strip, a retail area near the University of Memphis campus, and is upgrading the Shops of Chickasaw Gardens, a retail area on Poplar in East Memphis.