Midtown developments on track despite COVID-19
In the six months since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Shelby County, much of the metro area, like the rest of the country, has seen a sharp economic contraction, layoffs, furloughs, small business closures and other signs of stagnation in the local economy.
Some developments in Memphis have been delayed. Construction on The Walk on Union — the project formerly known as Union Row — will start in the first quarter of 2021, rather than the fourth quarter of this year, due to the pandemic, developer Kevin Adams said.
However in Midtown, several developments have seen construction work carry on uninterrupted during the pandemic. Here's a look at where those projects stand.
Memphian Hotel at Overton Square
At the beginning of the pandemic, the team behind the Memphian Hotel being built at Overton Square talked about whether it would have to make changes to its construction timeline, said Micajah Sturdivant, president of MMI Hotel Group. However, enough
work had been done on the hotel pre-pandemic that the construction timeline didn't need to be altered.
“We've been able to progress,” he said. “We haven't had any hiccups.”
Sturdivant said the majority of the construction work on the hotel is done and the hotel is on pace to welcome the first guests in the spring. Two model rooms have been completed and the group behind the hotel is working on fine-tuning details, including the Memphian's dining options.
“We've started to do tastings with our chef and exploring the menu conceptualization,” he said.
The hotel will also have a rooftop bar, in addition to the ground-floor restaurant. He said he wants the hotel to be able to offer something different from nearby dining options and feel like an extension of the surrounding neighborhood, a place for Midtowners as well as visitors.
“We're super excited about what this property means for Overton Square,” he said.
“The spaces will be approachable... when you're in the Memphian you don't feel like you're somewhere else. You feel like you're in Memphis but in a fresh new way.”
Madison@mclean apartments
Work has almost finished at the 108-unit apartment complex at the southwest corner of the Madison Avenue and Mclean Boulevard intersection. Pre-leasing for the studio, one- and two-bedroom units has begun, and the first residents are expected to move in by Dec. 1.
Jimmy Ringel, COO at Makowsky Ringel Greenberg, LLC, which is managing the property, acknowledged the pandemic had changed the process for leasing a new property but said virtual tours have been popular among prospective residents. Ringel said they were anticipating “a successful lease-up.”
“We've been receiving calls and emails from prospective renters for months,” he said in a release. “We've just begun contacting these prospects within the last week and have already pre-leased several apartment homes.”
In-person tours of the units, which range from 518 square feet for a studio to 1,099 square feet for a twobedroom with a balcony, can be arranged by appointment starting Dec. 1. The apartment complex will have a fitness center, a pet washing station and bike storage.
The development also includes covered parking, and the ground floor will have 1,100 square feet of retail space for lease. No retail tenants have been announced.
Midtown apartment complexes
Work continues on three other Midtown apartment complexes: Madison Gardens, Madison Midtown and Poplar Arts Lofts.
All three have made noticeable progress in the past six months and exterior work on Madison Gardens, a three-story, 24-unit apartment building at 1655-1665 Madison Ave., is nearing completion. The project is being developed by Collierville developer Chamkaur Singh.
The apartment building, which sits just to the west of the Marathon gas station at Madison and Belvedere Boulevard, replaces several vacant houses that previously sat on the property.
Across the street and to the west, the Madison Midtown mixed-use development at 1544 Madison Ave. has progressed from groundwork to structural work. When completed, the 175,000-square-foot, $25 million complex will feature more than 200 apartment units, a fitness center, a pool, a communal outdoor grilling area and a pet play area.
The group developing the apartments includes Three Madison Investments LLC, Berlin Boyd, Adam Slovis, Benjamin Orgel, the Orgel Family LP, Michael Mclaughlin and Jay Lindy.
According to a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes application filed by the development partnership in 2017, 70 of the apartments were designated for "low or moderate-income residents." About 80% of the apartments will be one-bedroom units. The remainder will be twobedroom units.
The $16 million Poplar Arts Lofts mixed-use project at 1935 Poplar Ave., across from Overton Park, has also started to take shape during the pandemic. Crews working at the site have erected the foundations of the apartment complex from what was a mud-pit several months earlier.
The six-story, 111-unit building being developed by Vince Smith is being constructed on the site of dorms and offices of the former Memphis College of Art. It will feature a ground-floor coffee shop at the corner Poplar and Tucker Street and, after requests from nearby property owners, retail space at the corner of Poplar and Rembert Street.
Smith has previously said the apartments would be one-bedroom units that would rent for between $1,250 and $1,800.
Representatives of the three projects could not be reached for comment.
Corinne Kennedy covers economic development, soccer and COVID-19'S impact on hospitals for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.kennedy@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Corinneskennedy