Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Remember the Main Article - Memphis Daily News

I thought I would take a moment to write a quick post beore running off to work today. I recently met up with an old Mpact Memphis friend who has been working on a proposal for a development project in downtown Memphis.

The proposal is for a $43 M apartment building along South Main. It would include quite a bit of retail space and a parking garage as well.

I was excited to hear about this proposal because upon my return to Memphis, I found very few options. Most of the places that were once apartments have been renovated and are now upscale condo buildings. When my apartment came onto the market, I snached it off the day it posted. This used to be something I had only heard of in LA or NYC, but right now, there are so few options in downtown Memphis that I see it happening here too.

And, it just so happens that my apartment is a condo... so even my apartment isn't exactly an apartment.

I guess my story made an impact because I'm the "old friend" in this article about the development project. You can find the original version here: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=95655

I hope their project is chosen; good luck! :-)

I have placed a few excerpts for you below:

Remember the Main
New development team wants to build $43 million complex at Main and Gayoso
by Andy Meek

In the midst of guiding the development partnership he helped assemble to create what could become the largest African-American-led project ever in Downtown Memphis, Darrell Cobbins heard from an old friend recently.

She told him about her impending move back to Memphis and all but reaffirmed the untapped market for the multimillion-dollar mixed-use project Cobbins' team wants to develop at a key site along Main Street.

Operating as Riverside Partners, the developers have submitted plans to build a $43 million, 20-story apartment and commercial building at the corner of Main Street and Gayoso Avenue. The proposal calls for, among other features, the inclusion of six efficiency apartments, 118 one-bedroom and 78 two-bedroom apartments at the site.

Cobbins and the rest of his team - mostly young black professionals who have tapped some major financial backing for their project - say they believe rental opportunities at top-quality apartment developments Downtown are quickly drying up. Yet demand for them remains intense.

One example is the recent search by Cobbins' friend, who moved back to Memphis within the past month.

"She had to rent an apartment online, sight unseen, just to go ahead and grab it because she couldn't find an apartment anywhere Downtown, and she wanted to live Downtown," said Cobbins, an associate with the Memphis-based commercial real estate firm Commercial Advisors LLC.

...

And in addition to apartments, the team also is planning 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 390 parking spaces. There's been talk of adding a concierge in the lobby of the development, which will be called Riverview at Gayoso.

...

A roof garden also has been added to the design for the top story, a feature that gives panoramic views of the Downtown skyline and the river.

....

Officials with the CCC's Downtown Parking Authority still are evaluating proposals from the four development teams that submitted plans for the site a few weeks ago.

To read the entire article, go here:
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=95655

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