EDGE board approves $1.5 million for Southbrook mall redevelopment project

The board for EDGE, the economic development agency, on Thursday quickly approved measures to send $1.5 million to the ongoing redevelopment of the Southbrook Mall. The money comes from the Shelby County government.

Backers of the project say this money will help complete additional work on the $7.5 million project. They’ve already made much progress in fixing the dilapidated building, including replacing its badly leaking roof.

“When we walked into it, you could see the sun,” said Michelle Moore, project manager with Southbrook Properties, the group leading the mall renovation.

For years, backers have been been seeking taxpayer funding to revamp the mall in Whitehaven.

Moore and project developer Belinda Tate say it’s meant to serve as a town center, not just a mall. The building’s old movie theaters could serve well for community events, they said.

The mall stands directly across the street from Southland Mall. Backers said some of the other mall’s tenants are moving over, including a wedding shop and the hair products business Nappi by Nature.

Thursday’s vote to appropriate funding was taken by the board of the Economic Development Growth Engine, or EDGE.

The money comes from the Shelby County government and had been appropriated by the County Commission in May, according to the resolution approved by the EDGE board.

The board will oversee distribution of the money.

Among other things, mall developers have agreed to spend 28 percent of the funds with minority and women-owned businesses.

The list of eligible improvements includes remodeling of the mall’s old movie theaters, plus improvements to its plumbing, restrooms, parking lot and other infrastructure.

Also Thursday, the EDGE board approved Allworld Project Management as construction consultant for the project.

Some government funding for the project had fallen through in the past.

In 2015, for instance, then-mayor A C Wharton’s administration nixed the appropriation of $3.6 million for the redevelopment project, and city staffers described it as a private project with a questionable impact.

Then in 2016, the Memphis City Council appropriated $1.5 million for the project, but specified it could only be used for improvements for public infrastructure.

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.