$950M Union Row proposed for Downtown Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - We’re getting our first look at a proposed mix-use development for the Bluff City.

It's called Union Row and has a price tag of $950 million.

There’s not a whole lot there now, just some abandoned buildings, empty lots, and a few operating businesses.

Developers said they've taken significant steps towards their goals, but they need the public's help to make it a reality.

Union row is a 29-acre project bordered by Union Avenue on the north, Danny Thomas on the east, Fourth on the West, and Beale on the South.

In the first phase, they want to complete a grocery store.

There’s also 85,000 square feet of commercial space for restaurants, along with an apartment building and a boutique hotel with a possible rooftop bar overlooking auto zone park and green spaces.

Sixty-five percent of this project under contract, but Kevin Adams with Big River Partners said this week the project is going public, seeking tax breaks and other incentives.

Memphis City Council Chairman Berlin Boyd called this project a "game changer.”

“They definitely need a little help from the city as well as taxpayers but the end results for us always end with job creation and tax revenue creation so the investment the city makes we get it in return,” Boyd said. If all goes as planned, construction will begin June of next year.

Boyd and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland have already expressed their excitement for this project.

Tuesday, Strickland said the Union Row project is a big win for the city.

“When you have momentum, things just start falling in line,” Strickland said. “Union Row is close to a billion dollar development that we are talking about.”

The project will include 126,000 square feet for retail including a grocer, two hotels, two buildings for office space, four parking garages, and a unique way to connect downtown Memphis to the Edge District.

“We are going to propose a structure that is built over Danny Thomas between Union and Monroe that will be converted into a park,” said project developer Kevin Adams.

Adams said parks over interstates isn’t anything new. Cities like St. Louis and Dallas have built similar structures like Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. Adams said this week the “Union Row” project has gone public, meaning actively seeking incentives such as tax breaks.

“They definitely need a little help from the city as well as taxpayers but the end results for us always end with job creation and tax revenue creation so the investment the city makes we get it in return,” Boyd said.

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