Memphis Sears Building Redevelopment News

[sleepy]

A hearing will be held next month before the Memphis Office of Planning and Development on a proposal to redevelop the 1.36 million square feet, 80 year old, Sears Building in Midtown Memphis. The proposal is using as a model the redevelopment of a similar Sears building in Boston--the Landmark Center--and includes retail, commercial, office, and residential space. At 200 feet, the building is the tallest between Clark Tower in East Memphis and the Medical Center nearer downtown. Let's hope things work out.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A10593

A pic:

[Rural King]

Cool thats a great old building, and really needs a new lease on life so it is not allowed to fade away. I'm sure those residents in those homes near the Sears building would love for it to have a purpose and activity with in it again.

[sleepy]

You're right. North Watkins, which is where the Sears building is located has seen better times. Directly to the east is the rich Evergreen Historic District, but Watkins itself is derelict--somewhat of a Vietnamese slum.

And at 1.3 million square feet, it's got to be the largest building in Memphis aside from some warehouses out near the airport. If they fill all those "feets" up with the commercial, retail, office, and residential that they propose, that would have a huge positive impact not just on Watkins, but on Midtown as a whole.

[Lexy]

AWESOME building! I am glad to see that intrest in it is getting bigger and something may be done to re-use this gem. I would love to have that up here man.

[cheeriokid61]

How close is this to downtown, I don't remember seeing it in skyline pictures. And how would this affect downtown once it is completed?

[sleepy]

It's nowhere near downtown. I would estimate it's a good two miles from downtown at the beginning of the Midtown area. I don't think it would have any impact on downtown at all. Its impact would be on North Watkins/Cleveland Avenue which is semi-slummy.

[smeagolsfree]

Thats a great building. I had a freind that lived right down the street from it. That was about 1998 and I noticed there were a lot of older empty buildings around town. I am glad its changing for the best there. As far as older building rehab, Memphis has a lot more potential than Nashville. Memphis has got so many beautiful older buildings. Most of the larger older buildings in Nashville are already occupied or plans have been made for them.

[mandrws1]

Thats a great building. I had a freind that lived right down the street from it. That was about 1998 and I noticed there were a lot of older empty buildings around town. I am glad its changing for the best there. As far as older building rehab, Memphis has a lot more potential than Nashville. Memphis has got so many beautiful older buildings. Most of the larger older buildings in Nashville are already occupied or plans have been made for them.

That area used to be very vibrant. When I was a small kid, I remember going into that Sears building to get school clothes. I think it was around '87 or '88 when it was an outlet store of some sort. My aunt owned a restaurant for a couple of years that was next to a florist. All of the shops along Watkins/Cleveland were open and the Colonial bread factory was a few feet down from the Easy Way. Sweet memories.....things have really changed in that area.

[sleepy]

That area used to be very vibrant. When I was a small kid, I remember going into that Sears building to get school clothes. I think it was around '87 or '88 when it was an outlet store of some sort. My aunt owned a restaurant for a couple of years that was next to a florist. All of the shops along Watkins/Cleveland were open and the Colonial bread factory was a few feet down from the Easy Way. Sweet memories.....things have really changed in that area.

I remember going to that Sears many times in the 60's. They had an old-fashioned, wooden-case candy section. I also remember when the Crosstown theater across the street showed first-run movies.

[Clobber]

How close is this to downtown, I don't remember seeing it in skyline pictures. And how would this affect downtown once it is completed?

It's more in the Midtown/Med District area, between the Med district and Rhodes College/Zoo area.

That Crosstown theater you're talking about, isn't that occupied by Jehovah's witness group or something?

Also, I think it's kind of funny that some places around there use the Krosstown moniker. Maybe not "some," maybe more like a few or a couple. I just remember seeing that around somewhere. I certainly prefer the Crosstown spelling. I'd love to see that turn into a cultural (ethnic-wise, not performing-arts-wise) center, where immigrant cultures can be shared, and newcomers can get their footing. Already, there are some African and Asian influences in some of the stores and restaurants. I kind of want to see this area develop some kind of unique identity, but you can't necessarily artificially create something like that, so we might have to wait and see what develops.

[sleepy]

It's more in the Midtown/Med District area, between the Med district and Rhodes College/Zoo area.

That Crosstown theater you're talking about, isn't that occupied by Jehovah's witness group or something?

Also, I think it's kind of funny that some places around there use the Krosstown moniker. Maybe not "some," maybe more like a few or a couple. I just remember seeing that around somewhere. I certainly prefer the Crosstown spelling. I'd love to see that turn into a cultural (ethnic-wise, not performing-arts-wise) center, where immigrant cultures can be shared, and newcomers can get their footing. Already, there are some African and Asian influences in some of the stores and restaurants. I kind of want to see this area develop some kind of unique identity, but you can't necessarily artificially create something like that, so we might have to wait and see what develops.

There was an article today in the Commercial Appeal about the building. Apparently, it will be a mixed use with residential on the top floors, a big-box type retailer in there somewhere, and some offices. At 1.36 million square feet, that's a lot of redevelopment. My basis of comparison would be the 697 feet One Shell Square in New Orleans which is about a million in square footage.

Right, the Crosstown Theater is now a Jehovah's Witnesses building.

The article also mentions some 30 unit residential unit going in just south of the Sears Building. I don't have a clue what that's about, but apparently the Evergreen Historic District people have spoken well of it, so it ought to be an improvement over whatever is there now.

http://commercialappeal.com/mca/business/a...4276053,00.html

The "Krosstown" moniker. I think it's done just as an advertising gimmick (note the "Krosstown Kleaners" on the right):

You're right about that area being ethnically diverse:

streetcar stop with temple theme:

[sleepy]

Here's a link to what Minneapolis is doing with a very similar Sears building. Sounds like the Memphis developers envision something similar:

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/feat...ughesa_midtown/