MEMPHIS | Development News

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

EPE has hired 85% of the workers from that area, and are creating 500 news jobs with intensions to hire locals from that area. Yet the black community wants nothing to do with Elvis nor his fans. They have even said so on social media. There were some wanting to burn GRaceland down to keep fans away. THEY DO NOT CARE!!!

First, does anyone else see the contradiction in that post?

Second, can a moderator please delete this ignorance?

[Wayward Memphian]

This has to do with my Mud Island Obsession. It's one of the two absolute no brainers with the other being a new Memphis Zoo owned Aquarium, for the Island:

Washington - (8/25/16) A new attraction is opening in Seattle this week at Pier 57, home to the Great Seattle Wheel. The new attraction is called "Wings over Washington", which can essentially be described as being very similar to Disney's Soarin' style flight simulation ride, (they even share the same hardware manufacture - Dynamic Attractions) but this smaller version is all about the sights of Washington state. The ride film itself is from our friends at Super78 and it will have a grand opening ceremony held today, August 25th.



Speaking of the the Aquarium concept:
St. Louis—The rebirth of Union Station in downtown St. Louis is set to include a 75,000-square-foot aquarium, which will feature one of the largest collections of sharks in the Midwest.

St. Louis Aquarium
St. Louis Aquarium is set to open in late 2018.
Bob O’Loughlin, chairman & CEO of Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) and Union Station owner, officially announced the $45 million project earlier this month. Plans also call for a v-shaped rope-and-steel bridge that will suspend visitors above the shark tank, displays of thousands of aquatic species, a gift shop, 8,500 square feet of private event space with the shark tank as a backdrop, and possibly a themed restaurant.

Construction on the St. Louis Aquarium, which will replace Union Station’s shopping mall, is set to begin this fall and be complete in about two years.

Developers hope that the new attraction will become a game-changer for the area, similar to Chicago’s Navy Pier. The project is expected to attract one million visitors per year, as well as spur other nearby developments, while also creating construction and service industry jobs.

St. Louis Aquarium will be a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The facility will employ marine biologists and aquarists to care for the creatures displayed and oversee water chemistry, animal nutrition, veterinary duties, education, staffing and safety, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

[Wayward Memphian]

Looks like the Graceland folks are going to run Prince's Paisley Park as well.

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by arkitekte

First, does anyone else see the contradiction in that post?

Second, can a moderator please delete this ignorance?

I just think it's a lack of separating particular parties with one being the so called BLM movement. I say "so called" because it's not like there's an organizational chart on it structure. There seems to be some looseness with what is official and what's not.

[KingWestMemphis]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

EPE has hired 85% of the workers from that area, and are creating 500 news jobs with intensions to hire locals from that area. Yet the black community wants nothing to do with Elvis nor his fans. They have even said so on social media. There were some wanting to burn GRaceland down to keep fans away. THEY DO NOT CARE!!!

I heard the owner comment on the protest and he was not happy. He even alluded to restoring the area to the way it looked when Elvis first bought the mansion, which means no residential areas. Plus they released a 3D depiction of the surrounding area where no homes or businesses are included. I'm just saying. But to do that they will have to buy up deedson homes and offer homeowners a respectful amount per owner to make that a reality. Will they or can they afford to? Time will tell. But they know what is at stake now. The protest was a walke up call for EPE.

A wake up call? What is EPE going to do, find a way to remove all the black people from a majority black neighborhood located in a majority black city?
Let's stick to HEALTHY discussions about development on here. I think most people (black, white, purple), know how significant Elvis was to the music scene. Why and when did race even come into this conversation? It seems like you need to look for another forum to voice your opinions, because they have nothing to do with growth in the Memphis area.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by KingWestMemphis

A wake up call? What is EPE going to do, find a way to remove all the black people from a majority black neighborhood located in a majority black city?
Let's stick to HEALTHY discussions about development on here. I think most people (black, white, purple), know how significant Elvis was to the music scene. Why and when did race even come into this conversation? It seems like you need to look for another forum to voice your opinions, because they have nothing to do with growth in the Memphis area.

The Memphis Daily News just posted something really interesting concerning this very subject.

"The cover story of the new edition of The Memphis News examines the Whitehaven plans Graceland has underway and the link Graceland Holdings is making to the Whitehaven community with the expansion of Graceland. The goal is to change much of Elvis Presley Boulevard – not just the areas Elvis Presley Enterprises bought about 20 years ago in anticipation of some kind of expansion. This all comes as Whitehaven is on the upswing. And Graceland as well as Whitehaven leaders are reaching across what has traditionally been the border that separates tourist from Memphian in our city.

A PDF of the entire issue is on this website now. The hard copies are in the racks Friday morning with the web story to go up online Friday afternoon.

There is at least one more announcement coming from Elvis Presley Enterprises and it will probably come by fall.

The way tour buses enter Graceland is probably going to change according to Joel Weinshanker, the managing partner of Graceland Holdings, who didn’t go into any detail.

But previous majority owners of EPE made it clear several years ago they wanted to relocate the tour bus area now in Graceland Plaza to the same side of the boulevard as the mansion on land just north of the mansion’s walls -- between the mansion and the Guest House." https://www.memphisdailynews.com/new...ralphs-return/

It's no secret that they have been planning this for a while. They wanna remove portions, (not all) of the surrounding neighborhood, which is not all black. The majority of the whites in Whitehaven live around the Graceland mansion on Dolan and Timothy. But there's projects just feet away from the Graceland wall just south on both sides of the boulevard. This is a concern for EPE and why other investors won't go there. But some can be "politically correct" if they choose to be and ignore the elephant in the room.

[DRG901]

Just saw a breaking article on CA website that the Mud Island Cates idea has been withdrawn. So the yurts idea is out which I know has been talked about here. Hopefully something creative comes of this.

Besides that this board has been too quiet

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by DRG901

Just saw a breaking article on CA website that the Mud Island Cates idea has been withdrawn. So the yurts idea is out which I know has been talked about here. Hopefully something creative comes of this.

Besides that this board has been too quiet

Everyone knows my thoughts on that and I see the MBJ article on Memphis getting it's ass kicked by Nashville on the convention front and anyone that regularly reads this board know that i favor a 50 to 55 thousand seat indoor stadium/convention center/hotel trifecta for the area between Union and Beale is my desire to fix that. That might have helped sell Memphis to the Big 12 a bit better.


Seems Viking can't find a suitible builder for their river ships and their entrance into the market has been pushed back till either one is found or the silly 1920's law making it mandatory that the ships be built in the US is repealed.

[DRG901]

Investors plan new riverfront condo development- Thomas Bailey JR, Commercial Appeal.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/busi...394293351.html

I know the original plan to be a second tower next to the Horizon before the recession. This is a nice piece of real estate. Hopefully anything to add some more height towards the area.

[TheKernel91]

That's exciting news about another condo tower on the South Bluffs. Hoping it blends, it could be a second skyline downtown.
The Artisean condominiums has space for another tower originally when it was The Horizon.
They are almost sold out, so the new owner may erect another tower on the campus. Possibly in a few years we can see two new towers on the South Bluffs.

[VSRJ]

Although I'm glad it's in use, the Artesian is one of the most horrendous looking buildings (in my eyes) — especially downtown. It looks like something suited for Tunica or a touristy beachside town. I sincerely hope they won't follow through with the second tower. One is more than enough.

[KingWestMemphis]

A lot of people don't like the Artesian's exterior lol. It is very different for Memphis, but I like it. I like it a lot better than the Renaissance Tower.

[DRG901]

Originally Posted by KingWestMemphis

A lot of people don't like the Artesian's exterior lol. It is very different for Memphis, but I like it. I like it a lot better than the Renaissance Tower.

I definitely like it a lot better after the paint job.

[TheKernel91]

If/and when The Artisean expands, maybe we could see a glass tower finally. The Artisean is different, it dose fit for a building near a beach or in Tunica. Now to be honest the Graceland Guesthouse looks like a Casino/Hotel that could be in Tunica. When I drove past it, that was the first thing came to mind.

[maximus10]

Originally Posted by DRG901

Investors plan new riverfront condo development- Thomas Bailey JR, Commercial Appeal.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/busi...394293351.html

I know the original plan to be a second tower next to the Horizon before the recession. This is a nice piece of real estate. Hopefully anything to add some more height towards the area.

Thought this might happen after I read how fast the units were selling at the Horizon/Artesian.

[kingchef]

i really like the artisan building, particularly its location. i don't like the lower rise part near the front. to me, that section should have gone to the back of the building, made from steel, glass, and concrete. what would be the roof, could have been a running track, an outdoor pool, and a place where one could play some games, e.g. putting green, bocci ball, badminton, and so-forth. i hope any new condos are built, as one poster remarked, from steel and lots of glass, something similar to the trinity proposal. that could be an ovoid shape, instead of round, and, it would be a nice off-set from 15 and 16 story buildings, by building it to 21-22 stories.

[maximus10]

Is there something going on with the old Ambassador Hotel on South Main? Noticed there's been some activity over there in the past few days.

[DRG901]

I thought I had read before about a few new mixed used developments/apartments coming to midtown-- this is at McLean and Madison across from the Gilmore (a few blocks away from the upcoming Belz Midtown Market at Union @ Mclean)- Good to see more dense developments spreading that way, figured it would soon with all the success of the Square etc.

"Makowsky Ringel Greenberg is forming a company, Madison & McLean Partners, for the project to replace existing buildings with a five-story building with 108 apartments, 127 parking spaces and ground-floor amenities."


"Developer seeks tax relief for new Midtown apartments"- Wayne Risher, Commercial Appeal, 10/4/16
http://www.commercialappeal.com/stor...ents/91573144/

[maximus10]

This is the rendering of the McLean and Madison project.

[maximus10]

Originally Posted by Johnny Ryall

Apartment projects slated for Downtown areas
Memphis Business Journal



http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/p...-downtown.html

Rendering:COURTESY CITY CENTER SERVICES INC.


Photo:ALAN HOWELL | MBJ

No inside info. here but drove by this site a few weeks ago and believe I saw surveyors out there taking measurements on the empty lot.