James Owen

It got dropped in the mid 2000s after the city council decided not to move forward with those plans. It was an ambitious pitch being made by Willie Herenton at the time, but the support for a light rail system wasn't there due to cost. That and the proposed route between downtown and the airport would've gone straight along Airways Boulevard and/or Lamar Avenue through areas of the city deemed undesirable.

IIRC, they only have one or two at the moment, which were previously used by San Diego's transit system. Right now, AFAIK, they're only being used for testing purposes along the Madison line. We're still several years out - depending on funding - before we actually see those streetcars like the U2s get put into general service.

MATA purchased some more vintage trolleys recently from Charlotte, NC with the intent on having them run not only on Main Street, but along a reopened Riverfront Loop line in the near future. As for the Madison Avenue line, MATA plans on utilizing light-rail/modern streetcars there as opposed to the vintage trolleys as they don't want to run the risk of having anymore of them catch fire - resulting in the initial shutdown of all three lines back in 2014.

An update on the planned renovations to the Liberty Bowl, along with updated renderings and a start date. Memphis Athletics Unveils Details for Transformative Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Renovation The University of Memphis via GoTigersGo.com https://gotigersgo.com/news/2024/3/18/football-memphis-athletics-unveils-details-for-transformative-simmons-bank-liberty-stadium-renovation Stadium capacity is being reduced to roughly 30,000 for the next two years. Once renovations have been completed in 2026, the final capacity will be around 50,000. All images provided by The University of Memphis and POPULOUS After Phase 2 renovations: Completed renovations after Phase 3:

I didn't believe it made sense either to turn the tower entirely into residential - especially with the adjacent Falls Building being converted from office to multifamily use as well. What I would like to see happen to the former Morgan Keegan/Raymond James Tower is a mixed-use conversion that includes a hotel and retail component (considering it was built on the same footprint where the old Hotel King Cotton once stood), while also allowing for some residential units on the upper floors.

A follow-up on this. BCBST made its plans to relocate its Memphis operations official this week. Blue Cross Blue Shield moving into the Commonwealth Building in Downtown Memphis Neil Strebig, Memphis Commercial Appeal https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/development/2024/02/26/blue-cross-blue-shield-of-tennessee-in-memphis-moving-commonwealth-building/72750517007/ They're also exploring options for its property along Danny Thomas between Jefferson and Adams avenues, which they are vacating in this move.

COVID aside, the river cruise industry in general had been largely affected by the record low levels of the mighty Mississippi River over the last couple of years due to drought. It's unfortunate, but hopefully someone buys the ships and put them to new use.

The NBA has upped its requirements for cities to be able to host All-Star Weekend; essentially putting small markets like Memphis, OKC, and a few others out of reach. Currently, we meet none of those three requirements. 1. The Peabody is the only 5-star hotel we have downtown, although there are a couple of projects - including revised plans for a Grand Hyatt - in the pipeline. However, the need for more large-scale hotels remain. 2. The Renasant Convention Center only has 118,000 square feet of exhibition space, which is way too small under the new rules. 3. Memphis currently has no international flights (despite efforts to lure one, which is ongoing). The only exception being the occasional seasonal flights to Mexico. Point 1 is doable, but point 2 would require a substantial expansion of the Renasant Convention Center or building an entirely new one altogether (And no, we should not be building a dome. That is not feasible for a market our size and without an NFL team).

That's a good question as there hasn't been much movement on that planned conversion of the former Morgan Keegan/Raymond James Tower from office to residential.

It's not exactly that. It's really more about better connecting the Forum with the surrounding area (like Lower Broadway is to Bridgestone Arena). Among some of the pitches that had been made over the last few years have included potentially adding a Hard Rock Hotel (or its limited-service Reverb brand) along Beale Street and even expanding the district eastward to include improvements to Robert Church Park next door.

The owners of the Sheraton next to the Renasant Convention Center have placed the property up for sale. Sheraton Memphis Downtown, largest hotel in Memphis, is now listed for sale By Stephen MacLeod, Memphis Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2024/02/01/sheraton-memphis-downtown-hotel-listed-for-sale.html Whomever assumes ownership of the hotel will hopefully carry out the plans to renovate it completely.

The article in question, which is behind a paywall: The Memphis Grizzlies have plans for Downtown, Beale Street By Samuel Hardiman, The Daily Memphian https://dailymemphian.com/subscriber/section/metrocity-of-memphis/article/41388/memphis-grizzlies-plans-downtown-beale-street-fedexforum To sum it up: The entire pitch being made by the Grizzlies does not just include upgrades to the Forum, but enhancing the area around it. In particular, they are looking at doing a full revitalization of the adjacent Beale Street Entertainment District as part of those plans.

If anything, the renovations to the Forum and the surrounding area around it will likely mimic what was recently completed over at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (which the Forum was largely based off of when it was first being conceived), and may or may not include some potential redevelopments along Beale Street (i.e., a potential Hard Rock Hotel on the Pat O'Brien's/Jerry Lee Lewis site). I still believe 901FC would best be served having their new stadium located in close proximity to downtown as opposed to Liberty Park, and hopefully a resolution can be had some time this year to satisfy their needs as well as those of the Redbirds in order to keep the both of them here long-term. Side note: I think this discussion should be moved over to the Memphis Sports thread.

The senior living development - known as HarborChase of Germantown (despite the fact it's in the Memphis city limits) - is already completed, so I'm not sure why it's still listed there. I think we're all curious to see what the two mixed-use developments will look like, and hopefully the hotel components will compliment the Hilton and Marriott hotels that are already there as opposed to being another run-of-the-mill, limited-service hotel like the ones we already have. I suspect we'll know more about the redevelopment plans for Oak Court Mall and the former Racquet Club property in short order in the coming months as the area has the potential to be like Green Hills in Nashville if done properly.

The short answer is no in both cases. The longer, more realistic answer is everything will be done in phases in between seasons over a 2-3 year span during times in which there is little activity going on in those buildings, and will not require a temporary relocation.