Wonder Bread bakery renovation begins

The former Wonder Bread bakery’s conversion into Orion Federal Credit Union’s headquarters is beginning.

Orion on Friday pulled a building permit for a $7 million renovation of the shuttered bakery at 400 Monroe.

Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC is the project contractor, and Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK) is the architect.

Orion won a 20-year property tax abatement in January for renovation of the building into 75,000 square feet of office space.

The project continues a trend of vacant buildings in or near Downtown being repurposed for office space. ServiceMaster moved its headquarters into the former Peabody Place mall at B.B. King Boulevard and Peabody Place, and Southern Sun Asset Management is renovating the long-vacant Medical Arts or Hickman Building at 240 Madison.

Orion last August announced its intention to relocate to the Edge neighborhood just east of Downtown. West Tennessee’s largest credit union, it’s based at 7845 U.S. Highway 64 in the Wolfchase Galleria area.

The credit union headquarters is among multiple pieces of an Edge redevelopment organized by developer Gary Prosterman and Development Services Group.

The Wonder Bread building has been vacant since 2013.

An industrial building that was the eastern half of the bakery is being removed to make way for new construction: 286 apartments and a 480-space parking garage.

Reach reporter Wayne Risher at (901) 529-2874 or wayne.risher@commercialappeal.com.