67 Madison, Ground Zero, Coyote Ugly

[HKG]

There have been several announcements concerning downtown that I haven't seen any chatter about in the last couple of days.

(1) 67 Madison, former UP headquarters, is under contract to be sold. In an earlier post, I alluded to the hope that the law school moving downtown would spur someone to purchase this building. I guess my wish came true. This was the building used for filming "The Firm" and its stately facade corners Front Street and Madison. It is 255,000 square feet. I just hope the purchasers do not convert this building into condos...the south end has priced me out!

(2) Ground Zero. Morgan Freeman was in town for groundbreaking of a new club south of Beale Street. I think this club and the Westin are exactly the type of development that the Forum was suppossed to provide to downtown. For those that don't know, Morgan's original Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale, MS, has been a hit for several years. He had several cities vying for this new club, but he decided one Memphis.

(3) Coyote Ugly will open on Beale Street where the Funny Bone was located. This isn't huge news, but certainly shows that Beale Street is working. Now if only Elvis Presley's could get a tenent...

[jmduke]

67 Madison: This is a good-looking building which would be a great location for a hotel. Sheraton, Hyatt, and Hilton are not represented downtown...heck, how about a Ritz-Carlton? Agree about the condos, but if the demand is there, well, I guess the market must be chased. Either way, I'm glad to see some movement on this property.

Ground Zero: Looks like this deal will be successful. There are some big names with big $$$ supporting this project. The hotel tie-in and the location make it a pretty sure bet. I think the Beale St. blues purists can also support this project as the investors know the significance of the intersections of Highways 61 and 49 and can find their way to Clarksdale.

Coyote Ugly: Guess this was bound to happen eventually. Well, Pat O'Briens was a good additon to the street, so CU will probably keep the tourists happy. This is probably not the place for the Ruby Wilson crowd, but I hope it's successful. What's next, a Virgin Megastore?

[TennBear]

There have been several announcements concerning downtown that I haven't seen any chatter about in the last couple of days.

(1) 67 Madison, former UP headquarters, is under contract to be sold. In an earlier post, I alluded to the hope that the law school moving downtown would spur someone to purchase this building. I guess my wish came true. This was the building used for filming "The Firm" and its stately facade corners Front Street and Madison. It is 255,000 square feet. I just hope the purchasers do not convert this building into condos...the south end has priced me out!

67 Madison has been mentioned for Condos, Hotel, and Mixed use. With the news that the Falls Building may give up being office space to be condos and all of the new proposed hotels mentioned lately. I would say that It might try to go mixed use with the upper floors condo. I think that just about everything that you see coming in downtown will be housing. There just doesn't seem to be the call for commercial space in downtown. Hence the fact that downtown gets a new office tower every ten years or so. At some point the economy of scale will shift and office space will be in demand.

[sleepy]

I'm confused. The 67 Madison Building was the headquarters of UP? I thought that was the 100 North Main Building--the thing with the orange sign?

Does anyone have a pic of 67 Madison? I know I've passed by that corner probably 500 times in my life, just don't recall the building. Is it that old building that almost has a really soft light yellow hue to it?

[Bears]

I'm confused. The 67 Madison Building was the headquarters of UP? I thought that was the 100 North Main Building--the thing with the orange sign?

Does anyone have a pic of 67 Madison? I know I've passed by that corner probably 500 times in my life, just don't recall the building. Is it that old building that almost has a really soft light yellow hue to it?

Heres a website for the building with a few pictures...

http://www.sweetspotrealty.com/67MadisonAve.htm

[Rural King]

Thanks for the link, put it alot more in perspective for me. I was like sleepy and always think of UP and 100 North Main.

[northernbizzkit1]

(3) Coyote Ugly will open on Beale Street where the Funny Bone was located. This isn't huge news, but certainly shows that Beale Street is working. Now if only Elvis Presley's could get a tenent...

According to a pdf file on one of the Beale Street websites, Coyote Ugly is going in where Have a Nice Day Cafe was located. Could be wrong, though.

[TennBear]

I'm confused. The 67 Madison Building was the headquarters of UP? I thought that was the 100 North Main Building--the thing with the orange sign?

Does anyone have a pic of 67 Madison? I know I've passed by that corner probably 500 times in my life, just don't recall the building. Is it that old building that almost has a really soft light yellow hue to it?

Sleepy, the 100 North Main Building was never the Union Planters Bank Headquarters. They just paid money to have their logo on the tallest building in town to let themselves have a logo that stood taller than 1st National Bank of Memphis, nee 1st Tennessee, nee 1st Horizon, excetera. Untill they built their new headquarters on Poplar near Germantown, their headquarters had always been in the buiding across the street from the Front Street office of the Post Office at 67 Madison. It is tan and has arched openings across the front of the building and goes up 12 stories for half of the building and 9 for the other half. I think that it was built around 1915.

[northernbizzkit1]

I'd love to see 67 Madison turned into an upscale boutique hotel. Downtown/"Center City" (see other thread) could become really unique if was a haven for many boutique hotels along Madison, Main, and Front. Of course, I'd love to see Ritz-Carlton or something along the lines of that take on the building (the building looks slightly similar to the one Ritz-Carlton renovated for its New Orleans hotel), I think a boutique boom for downtown is a bit more feasible. If Memphis did it right, it could have numerous 5-star boutique hotels enter the downtown market and add to the upscale tourist market.

[TennBear]

I'd love to see 67 Madison turned into an upscale boutique hotel. Downtown/"Center City" (see other thread) could become really unique if was a haven for many boutique hotels along Madison, Main, and Front. Of course, I'd love to see Ritz-Carlton or something along the lines of that take on the building (the building looks slightly similar to the one Ritz-Carlton renovated for its New Orleans hotel), I think a boutique boom for downtown is a bit more feasible. If Memphis did it right, it could have numerous 5-star boutique hotels enter the downtown market and add to the upscale tourist market.

I have to worry that Memphis may not have a large enough number of business types to support too many 5-4 or 5-star boutique hotels.

[sleepy]

Heres a website for the building with a few pictures...

http://www.sweetspotrealty.com/67MadisonAve.htm

Thanks, that would make a wonderful hotel. I imagine it's got a great old lobby.

[sleepy]

I have to worry that Memphis may not have a large enough number of business types to support too many 5-4 or 5-star boutique hotels.

You may be right, and I guess we'll find out.

But aside from boutique hotels like the Madison, I think it's entirely possible that 67 Madison could work as a chain along the lines of a Hilton or somesuch.

Sleepy, the 100 North Main Building was never the Union Planters Bank Headquarters. They just paid money to have their logo on the tallest building in town to let themselves have a logo that stood taller than 1st National Bank of Memphis, nee 1st Tennessee, nee 1st Horizon, excetera. Untill they built their new headquarters on Poplar near Germantown, their headquarters had always been in the buiding across the street from the Front Street office of the Post Office at 67 Madison. It is tan and has arched openings across the front of the building and goes up 12 stories for half of the building and 9 for the other half. I think that it was built around 1915.

Thanks. That's very interesting and I never knew that. I just figured that 67 Madison was their old headquarters prior 100 North Main opening up in the sixties.

[HKG]

Heres a website for the building with a few pictures...

http://www.sweetspotrealty.com/67MadisonAve.htm

Bears, that website is mighty nice. Let's assume a purchase price of $5.5 Million, which was the list price on downtownmemphis.com. The website suggests 140 units. At 200,000 per unit, that's $28 Million, or $22.5 Million of renovation and other costs to break even. I'm not sure why that this building has not been converted prior to today. Perhaps developers will renovate into apartments to compete with 10 Main. Perhaps developers will install retail. This will be interesting to see in the future weeks.

[cdarr]

This building is directly across the street from what will be the U of M Law School in 2009. This leads me to think that it will be converted to apartments. The fact that this sale was announced within days of the Law School announcement is telling, although it may just be a coincidence.

I would prefer to see a ritzy hotel there, but having anything there will be awesome. That's one of the biggest vacancies in downtown. Now if we can just get somebody working on the Sterick Building

[northernbizzkit1]

I think I'd rather see all these smaller buildings turned into condos and then have the Sterick turned into a massive, luxury hotel. It'd be nice to have that as the sig. hotel building in Memphis.

[Bears]

I think I'd rather see all these smaller buildings turned into condos and then have the Sterick turned into a massive, luxury hotel. It'd be nice to have that as the sig. hotel building in Memphis.

I think it would be feasible to throw in a Virgin Megastore in the Sterick along with a hotel. If Richard Branson is putting people in space, why not a megastore in Memphis? The city has had a big influence on music and millions of tourists come visit here because of it.

[Clobber]

There have been several announcements concerning downtown that I haven't seen any chatter about in the last couple of days.

(1) 67 Madison, former UP headquarters, is under contract to be sold. In an earlier post, I alluded to the hope that the law school moving downtown would spur someone to purchase this building. I guess my wish came true. This was the building used for filming "The Firm" and its stately facade corners Front Street and Madison. It is 255,000 square feet. I just hope the purchasers do not convert this building into condos...the south end has priced me out!

(2) Ground Zero. Morgan Freeman was in town for groundbreaking of a new club south of Beale Street. I think this club and the Westin are exactly the type of development that the Forum was suppossed to provide to downtown. For those that don't know, Morgan's original Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale, MS, has been a hit for several years. He had several cities vying for this new club, but he decided one Memphis.

(3) Coyote Ugly will open on Beale Street where the Funny Bone was located. This isn't huge news, but certainly shows that Beale Street is working. Now if only Elvis Presley's could get a tenent...

I didn't realize that Morgan Freeman had another Ground Zero. My understanding was this was going to be the first (and perhaps only despite a plethora of solicitations from other cities), and that his other venture in Clarksdale was just the upscale restaurant called Madidi (which has received rave reviews).

[sleepy]

No, Clarksdale has one as well as Madidi's. Freeman said the Memphis location would likely be the only other one.

[Clobber]

No, Clarksdale has one as well as Madidi's. Freeman said the Memphis location would likely be the only other one.

Thanks for the clarification.