How South Memphis TIF could create a ‘social impact project’
If a proposed sweeping South Memphis redevelopment plan comes to fruition, the residents living inside the proposed tax increment financing district could have more than a revitalized neighborhood — they could have ownership of it.
Developer J.W. Gibson, CEO of Southwest Regional Development Corporation, which is behind the TIF project, said he was looking to create a neighborhood investment portfolio, which residents can invest in for small monthly sums.
“What that looks like is that with the TIF funds, you will be taking ownership of properties to redevelop them. Those properties that we own and control, we would put into this portfolio and it will be a portfolio that will be open to individuals living in South Memphis to invest in, for as low as $10 a month,” Gibson said.
The properties in the portfolio produce revenue and dividends are paid to the residents who have invested in the portfolio, giving them a return on their investment and a piece of the commercial projects in their neighborhood.
Setting up a neighborhood investment portfolio will be tricky, Gibson said. It has been done in Portland, Oregon, and SRDC will be bringing in a group that worked on the project to help guide the efforts in Memphis.
A Brookings Institution review of the Community Investment Trust set up in Portland found in addition to economic benefits, 68% of those who invested said their civic engagement increased after their investment.
The proposed TIF district, which would be bordered by Poplar Avenue to the north, Lamar Avenue to the east, Mclemore Avenue to the south and the Mississippi River to the west, is comprised of 7,900 parcels.
Gibson’s proposal is one of two TIF district proposals for South Memphis. Reginald Milton, a Shelby County Commissioner and executive director of the nonprofit South Memphis Alliance, is part of a group putting forward a similar proposal. That TIF district would be presided over by the Soulsville-usa Neighborhood Development District, an umbrella group representing multiple community organizations.
Gibson said SRDC is in the process of acquiring 56 single-family parcels from the Shelby County Land Bank and owns the old Southside Church of God in Christ on Mclemore, which, after a $2 million redevelopment, will become the new home of the Young Actors Guild.
Gibson said future plans also include a technology center, multiple types of housing and partnerships with organizations like United Way and Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis to “provide programming that will help break the cycle of poverty.”
“We are in a prime situation with this TIF concept to create a social impact project that has never been seen before in the city of Memphis, and not often in any other city across the country,” Gibson said.
SRDC is also in the process of acquiring the Metro Shopping Plaza with plans for a $36 million redevelopment that would include a grocery store and space for Memphis Health Center.
Gibson said the group plans to submit the TIF application to the Community Redevelopment Agency board by the end of the year. The plans would then have to go to Memphis City Council, Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the state for approval.
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 at 901-297-3245.