Investors apply for project in Pinch by Pyramid

Memphis investors plan to redevelop a distressed acre in Downtown’s Pinch District, a project that could help tie Bass Pro at The Pyramid with the Main Street pedestrian mall.

Pinch Partners Investment Co. filed an application for a planned unit development with the Shelby County Office of Planning and Development.

The filing is dated March 27 and came to light Thursday. It is tentatively scheduled to be considered May 14 by the Land Use Control Board.

Pinch Partners’ address at 65 Union is in the same suite as Henry Turley Co. Henry Turley, a prominent Memphis developer, invested in the Pinch district in the 1990s under a company called Pinch Partners. Turley could not be reached for comment.

The new project would encompass eight parcels bounded by Jackson, Main, Second and Interstate 40. The investors did not say what they intend to build although the application notes the project “aims to add coherence to the future development of the subject site.”

The proposal comes as Bass Pro nears its April 29 opening of a major tourist attraction in the riverside arena.

It was not clear Thursday how the Pinch proposal fits with city plans to redevelop the Pinch District. Memphis’ Department of Housing and Community Development is tentatively planning meetings to identify new uses for the Pinch area.