Proposed parking garage will take away Memphis’ essence
We are Greenlaw and Uptown. Our ability to build bridges, not towers, makes us who we are.
A seven-story parking garage is not what any of us had in mind for enhancing our community.
I have been a resident of Greenlaw for nearly 30 years. My mother bought our home in the 60s, and I returned to this place after serving in Vietnam. I’ve watched young people walk these streets as children and return from college with their children in tow.
I remember admiring how confidently people walked in the middle of 3rd and 4th because cars did not dominate our community. I remember the parks, grocery stores, storefronts, and families that gave Greenlaw its character.
I also remember the razing of the Hurt Village housing projects in the early 2000s. While excited for the mixed-income, multi-family homes and apartments under construction, I remember some oldstyle, Victorian houses were casualties of the redevelopment, stripping the community of some of its character and identity.
St. JUDE/ALSAC is proposing a seven-story parking garage between N. 3rd and N. 4th Street. That very corner of our neighborhood is a gateway to the community. We know the great work St. Jude does, and we admire the dedication of all those who work to cure childhood cancer.
However, neighbors have to be accountable to one another, and so we have to work together to find a solution that supports both St. Jude and the residents of Greenlaw/uptown.
The Community Redevelopment Agency produced the Uptown Plan. That plan includes community voice and is a path to shared prosperity for St. Jude and all the other residents and businesses in the area. The Uptown Plan calls for an activated park in this specific site, not a parking tower.
A welcoming community
Our community is not unfamiliar with nor unwelcoming to visitors. When my husband and I moved into the community to start The Office @ Uptown, we quickly became friends with many of the residents. They went from being customers to neighbors. Their concerns were our concerns. Their passions were our passions.
People from a myriad of backgrounds filled our restaurant. St. Jude employees were some of our most frequent customers. The residents of Uptown continue to be our family. During our early days of construction, I met Mr. Robert Wiseman as he walked his dog down the street. He stopped, interested in our business, and we’ve been friends ever since.
Each morning, women who worked as nurses in our local hospitals would stop by our restaurant before heading to the bus depot. Some of our staff were and are still residents of Uptown.
This is what community development looks like: bringing economic opportunities for people to grow, thrive, and protect their families, not a garage that would impede on their green spaces, increase crime and disturb Uptown’s character.
In Uptown, we pride ourselves on being environmentally astute. Over the years, we’ve sustained our parks and community gardens. The BRIDGES building is the first green commercial building in Memphis. The Gayoso Bayou prevents our community from flooding as we’re so close to the Mississippi River.
The traffic of cars that would drive in and out of our community would thwart all the years of hard work and community effort towards environmental sustainability including increasing the harmful impact on both noise and air pollution coming with the thousand cars traveling through the community.
Realizing the growth plans and needs for St. Jude will require parking, we are more than willing to support them in their efforts to answer that problem.
St. Jude currently owns land within the Pinch District, which would be better suited there as well as increase walkability in the commercial area. We ask that St. Jude reconsider the location of its garage, be a good neighbor and work with us.
We are Greenlaw and Uptown. We are a community. It’s our ability to build bridges, not towers, that makes us who we are.
Robert Wiseman is a resident of Memphis.
Valerie Peavy is a commercial property owner.