East Memphis Wishlist

[memphian]

I'd like to see:

• A new mid to highrise full service hotel (something unique)

• Condos for sure and if they are mid to highrise that's even better

• More entertainment options (lounges, 21+ & up clubs, non-chain restaurants, etc...)

• Light Rail out to Germantown and Collierville

• the demolision of all the strip malls on Poplar

• replace the strip malls with architecturually pleasing buildings

• BURY the power lines

Just a few things I would like to see. Not too much detail but certainly some idea starters.

[ricky_the_great]

I'd like to see:

• A new mid to highrise full service hotel (something unique)

• Condos for sure and if they are mid to highrise that's even better

• More entertainment options (lounges, 21+ & up clubs, non-chain restaurants, etc...)

• Light Rail out to Germantown and Collierville

• the demolision of all the strip malls on Poplar

• replace the strip malls with architecturually pleasing buildings

• BURY the power lines

Just a few things I would like to see. Not too much detail but certainly some idea starters.

yes for crying out loud bury the power lines in memphis. its certainly some of the easiest soil to do it in.

bothers me everytime Memphis had an Ice storm or really windy storm.

[bluff2085]

The Paradiso area would be perfect for more entertainment options...the place is always packed on the weekends but a few more restaurants and bars would definitely help make the area East Memphis' signature entertainment district. And why not build a mid to high rise hotel/condominium somewhere in there too. The double tree is already back there but we need more hotels anyway if we're gonna get the nba all-star game. The area is pretty developed but there is still a TON of surface parking.

But my only real wish for East Memphis is light rail connecting it to midtown/downtown and germantown/collierville.

[Bears]

Well I'd like to see Downtown keep its historic structures, so East Memphis is the place for the modern, glass filled skyline. The historic look of downtown is attracting the filming industry and is already an entertainment district/neighborhood. I don't wanna see the life get sucked out of downtown again.

I think since most HQ's are in East Memphis anyway, its really the CBD. In terms of housing, maybe a few high rise codos and apartments but mostly townhouses. Maybe a couple more White Station Tower sized buildings and a parking garage somewhere near the light rail line.

Entertainment should be concentrated in Downtown. I hear good things about the Pardiso but yea maybe a little more entertainment but nothing big. Its too close to the U of M so it'll be hard for Downtown to compete. Maybe a House of Blues or something. I really won't mind East Memphis becoming quiet after 6 PM. An entertainment district there would probably would draw folks from Fayette County.

I know the Mall of Memphis site isn't in what was meant by East Memphis but maybe something like Atlantic Station should go there.

[sleepy]

Light rail would be great running along the RR tracks on Poplar from Collierville to Perkins, then following the tracks down Southern with a stop at the Univ. of Memphis, then to Parkway and up through Midtown to downtown. For the life of me, I can't understand why MATA isn't making that line its first priority rather than the airport line.

I think the idea of a few clubs around there, maybe in the Perkins area, might be nice as well.

Anyway, that whole area seems ideal for mid/high rise condos. I'd rather see that than the tear-down/zero lot line stuff.

That area has enough money that I'd also like to see some more upscale retail at Laurelwood or Oak Court.

With all that, just think--Mrs. Van Snoot from Collierville could take the train to a Bloomingdale's for tea and shopping.

[Bears]

Light rail would be great running along the RR tracks on Poplar from Collierville to Perkins, then following the tracks down Southern with a stop at the Univ. of Memphis, then to Parkway and up through Midtown to downtown. For the life of me, I can't understand why MATA isn't making that line its first priority rather than the airport line.

I think the idea of a few clubs around there, maybe in the Perkins area, might be nice as well.

Anyway, that whole area seems ideal for mid/high rise condos. I'd rather see that than the tear-down/zero lot line stuff.

That area has enough money that I'd also like to see some more upscale retail at Laurelwood or Oak Court.

With all that, just think--Mrs. Van Snoot from Collierville could take the train to a Bloomingdale's for tea and shopping.

I agree. MATA does alot of things that irk me. CSX line fell into their laps and now the tracks might be ripped up for a greenway. I like greenways but how many people will really walk all that way? I think most Cordovians would rather walk in their subdivisions and a light rail line would've also been popular year round. The Poplar RR is used quite a bit by freight so I think it'll be hard to share the ROW. Maybe a double decked rail line? Its also hard to find a convient route online. You have to give them your starting address and where you want to go, and they'll send you an email a few days later. You should be able to get routes and times in a few seconds! Do they have digital schedules that tell how much longer till the next trolley/bus?

[cdarr]

The Poplar RR is used quite a bit by freight so I think it'll be hard to share the ROW. Maybe a double decked rail line?

Eventually, Norfolk Southern is going to have to get out of that yard by the Fairgrounds. They are absolutely landlocked. Look for them to abandon it at some point in the next 5 years and hook into the big yard being built near T.O. Fuller State Park in SW Memphis. If that happens, the Poplar rail line would be largely abandoned by frieght traffic, I think.

I live about a quarter of a mile south of that railroad. Based on the frequency of whistles, it seems to get busier by the day. Just about every time I cross it at Estate, there's a train parked there waiting for another to pass. I think I read somewhere that it gets about 25 trains a day.

[bluff2085]

Eventually, Norfolk Southern is going to have to get out of that yard by the Fairgrounds. They are absolutely landlocked. Look for them to abandon it at some point in the next 5 years and hook into the big yard being built near T.O. Fuller State Park in SW Memphis. If that happens, the Poplar rail line would be largely abandoned by frieght traffic, I think.

I live about a quarter of a mile south of that railroad. Based on the frequency of whistles, it seems to get busier by the day. Just about every time I cross it at Estate, there's a train parked there waiting for another to pass. I think I read somewhere that it gets about 25 trains a day.

yeah I lived near the park/ridgeway intersection and everytime I got back home I am reminded how many trains go by everyday. While I was living there I just assumed that all tracks had that much traffic

[Bears]

^Yea that line gets so much traffic that I think G'town actually proposed an ordinance for the times the trains could come thru.

Eventually, Norfolk Southern is going to have to get out of that yard by the Fairgrounds. They are absolutely landlocked. Look for them to abandon it at some point in the next 5 years and hook into the big yard being built near T.O. Fuller State Park in SW Memphis. If that happens, the Poplar rail line would be largely abandoned by frieght traffic, I think.

Thatd be good news!!! According to the google map, that line doesn't reach a junction until La Grange. When the Moscow and La Grange grow, a commuter rail there would be very easy to implement if Fayette doesn't rip up the line. Light rail service should stop at Collierville though. I'm hoping for an iconic transit center at the fairgrounds since all three lines will luckly converge there!