100 N. Main developer seeks $5M demolition loan from EDGE
It's looking like a busy Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County (EDGE) agenda for this week's Wednesday meeting.
The development team behind the 100 N. Main project is seeking a $5 million commercial loan from the EDGE industrial development board. The loan will be used to help finance the internal demolition phases of the project, according to the loan application.
In January 2022, 100 N. Main Development Partners won the redevelopment bid to renovate the historic 37-story 100 N. Main building in Downtown Memphis. The development team includes Jay Lindy, Michael Mclaughlin, Billy Orgel, Adam Slovis and Kevin Woods. The building opened in 1965 and has been vacant since 2014.
Earlier this year on Jan. 25, the Downtown Mobility Authority, an affiliate board of the Downtown Memphis Commission, approved a request for $7 million to assist in financing the cleanout and remediation of the building.
The $7 million cleanout was expected to take between 12 to 14 months and be conducted over the course of three phases. The initial phase would remove all trash and furniture along with elevator repair. The next two phases, at an estimated $5.5 million cost, would handle hazardous material removal, abatement and select interior demolition. The first phase began in February.
During that Jan. 25 meeting, the Downtown Mobility Authority also approved a development agreement for the site including a $10 million purchase price. 100 N. Main Development partners will purchase the 2-acre site and building from the Downtown Mobility Authority. That purchasing agreement is split in two phases: an initial $5 million payment for the tower and parking garage, followed by a second $5 million payment once later construction phases on the project begin.
The initial $5 million was expected to be paid once renovation work had begun. If the renovation began prior to the development agreement being signed 100 N. Main Development Partners would be reimbursed $3.75 million for expenses during the cleanout period, reducing the total purchase price to $6.25 million.
The 100 N. Main development is expected to cost upward of $261 million and, once finished, will include a restaurant, condos, 205 apartments, a 160room hotel and office space.
Northside High School redevelopment
Also, on the agenda for the upcoming EDGE board meeting is a payment-inlieu-of-taxes (PILOT) amendment for the Northside High School renovation located at 1212 Vollintine Ave.
In February 2022, the EDGE board approved a 15-year PILOT for the Northside Renaissance Development's proposed renovation of the former high school site. The development team, which includes The Works Inc. and Comcap Partners, is seeking an additional five years on the term.
Per the application, the Works Inc. was seeking a new market tax credit structure with the initial PILOT and is now seeking a 20-year community builder PILOT. If the amendment is approved, the new 20-year term would require approval from both the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission. (The EDGE board is only allowed to approve PILOT incentives up to 15 years.)
With the term changes, a new addition to the project's scope was also included in the application. A condominium structure will now be included in part of the project. The proposed condos will take up approximately 33% of the building, according to the application.
In July 2022, The Works Inc. announced a rebranding of the former high school site called, Northside Square. The project would convert the 270,000square-foot high school into a mixeduse space including an event space, office space, vocational training facility, 42 affordable housing units and a Northside High School Hall of Fame. The $72 million project is expected to open in 2024.
Northside Renaissance purchased the building and 10.76-acre site in May 2021 for $400,000, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds. The site has been vacant since 2016.
Memphis-based LRK is the architect for the project and Memphis-based Grinder Taber Grinder is the general contractor.
American Residential Services seeks jobs PILOT & PILOT extension for RDX Trucking
Memphis-based American Residential Services and Rescue Rooter are seeking a 10-year Fast Track PILOT for a $1.2 million expansion at its 965 Ridge Lake Blvd. 36,480-square-foot headquarters in East Memphis.
According to the application, the expansion will include 50 direct jobs and 75 indirect jobs. Those 50 direct jobs are split with 44 office jobs with an average base salary of $92,560 and six management jobs with an average base salary of $350,000. All 50 jobs will include benefits.
On Monday, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced the company would invest $2.75 million in the expansion.
It wasn't immediately clear why the cost of the expansion varied.
Additionally, Memphis-based trucking company RDX is seeking an extension that would bump its PILOT closing deadline from Dec. 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024. This would be the second such extension. The EDGE board previously awarded an extension for the incentive's closing date in September 2022.
In 2020, RDX was awarded a six-year PILOT for the construction of its new $8.6 million facility at 4504 American Way. The 11,516-square-foot facility opened in October 2022.
The EDGE board will meet at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Junior Achievement of Memphis and Mid-south building located at 516 Tillman St.