Direction for Memphis to Move

[northernbizzkit1]

This could be taken the wrong way...i dunno...some people hate Frenchies haha...

After watching enough movies that end in Paris this past weekend on Turner Classic Movies, I decided that Memphis should steer itself away (if it is even trying to do so) from a major skyscraper perspective and go the Paris route...pure street level. I think the Pyramid is our Eiffel Tower, and the lighting needs to be better...I'd love to have a lighthouse style light on it that revolves similar to the one on top of the Eiffel Tower. Furthermore, Memphis could EASILY become a shopping/dining/cultural destination for the state/region. The mall proposed for Forest Hill and Winchester, IMO, would blow Green Hills out of the water if Nordstrom, Neimans, and Saks/Marshall Fields opened up shop along with other stores new to the area. Furthermore, you have to notice that Poplar is becoming one of (if it isn't already) the most glamorous strips in the area. High-end condominiums are popping up at locations near the Racquet Club and the International Paper building. While we don't have a new symphony building, we have the Canon Center, which is quite nice. Furthermore, the zoo is one of the best in the country and will only get better. I think that whoever becomes...or remains (shudder)...the new mayor needs to move the city in a different direction of growth than the other cities in the South b/c it seems as though they are all copying Atlanta (no offense)...

[ricky_the_great]

This could be taken the wrong way...i dunno...some people hate Frenchies haha...

After watching enough movies that end in Paris this past weekend on Turner Classic Movies, I decided that Memphis should steer itself away (if it is even trying to do so) from a major skyscraper perspective and go the Paris route...pure street level. I think the Pyramid is our Eiffel Tower, and the lighting needs to be better...I'd love to have a lighthouse style light on it that revolves similar to the one on top of the Eiffel Tower. Furthermore, Memphis could EASILY become a shopping/dining/cultural destination for the state/region. The mall proposed for Forest Hill and Winchester, IMO, would blow Green Hills out of the water if Nordstrom, Neimans, and Saks/Marshall Fields opened up shop along with other stores new to the area. Furthermore, you have to notice that Poplar is becoming one of (if it isn't already) the most glamorous strips in the area. High-end condominiums are popping up at locations near the Racquet Club and the International Paper building. While we don't have a new symphony building, we have the Canon Center, which is quite nice. Furthermore, the zoo is one of the best in the country and will only get better. I think that whoever becomes...or remains (shudder)...the new mayor needs to move the city in a different direction of growth than the other cities in the South b/c it seems as though they are all copying Atlanta (no offense)...

ya but even paris has a respectibe skyline ,La D

[northernbizzkit1]

ya but even paris has a respectibe skyline ,La D

[Clobber]

True and, thanks to condo towers, Memphis is getting one as well. I'm not saying to completely shy away from towers in Memphis...I'm just saying to go for more historical refinery. Perhaps in 20 years the East Memphis skyline will be similar to La D

[kayman]

Well, the funny thing is that Memphis is in the same league as New Orleans and Birmingham. All of these cities have a vast number of historical buildings that are being revitalized and reused along with the construction of new buildings and highrises. Memphis has been very wise with the revitalization of such places like the Peabody Hotel being converted into Peabody Place and the redevelopment of Beale Street.

I would have to disagree with you on that notion that ALL southern cities are trying to copy Atlanta. Birmingham isn't in anyway trying to copy Atlanta. A matter fact it's trying to create its own originality amongst Southern cities with its rust belt feel and gritty city appearance. Actually Birmingham and Memphis are direct rivals of one of another when it comes to biotech/medical and historical preservation centers of the South. The only difference between the 2 is Memphis has the Mississippi while B'ham has railroad beds and mountain ridges & valleys.

[cdarr]

I'm of the opinion that you won't see many major (30+ story) highrises built in Memphis for the forseeable future. A condo (One Beale, perhaps) or a major hotel is possible, but we can forget about tall office buildings. You might see more 10-15 story projects rise up along the Poplar Corridor, but that is about the only place in town where market demand and land values are approaching the point where building up makes sense.

For a major company, there is simply no tangible advantage to build an expensive tower downtown when you can build a campus on empty land, adjacent to an expressway, for much lower construction and long-term operating costs. We can talk all we want to about how it would be "cool" for somebody to build a tower, how much the employees want to live downtown (although most really don't or couldn't afford it), or how great it would be for the city. But businesses and real estate developers don't think that way. Not unless there are some hefty tax breaks to alter their financial calculations. And the kind of tax breaks necessary to tilt the financial equation in favor of building a 30 story office building are outside the capabilities of our floundering municipal governments.

So, with that in mind, I think that Memphis development turned away from the skyscraper over 30 years ago and will continue down that path. The real question is, will our relatively low-rise city embrace higher density concepts like New Urbanism, or continue sprawling?