The Sears Crosstown building was once the largest retail center in the city, and project leaders are confident that it will regain a similar reputation as a vibrant, creative hot spot. The Crosstown Development Project made headlines in August 2012 when it announced plans for renovating the Sears building, complete with commitments from eight heavy-hitting founding partners.
The idea of fixing the blighted Sears building and neighborhood was not in itself innovative. But what is innovative is how it’s being redeveloped. The Crosstown Development Project is an innovative approach to real estate and urban renewal and a novel way to turn a presumed community liability into an asset. The concept Crosstown is implementing is a “vertical urban village,” a place that appeals to the whole person — health, entertainment, retail, residential, and even arts. It’s a daunting task, no doubt, but these developers haven't been swayed.
“It's because of the building that this vision is possible,” says Todd Richardson, project leader for the redevelopment, co-director of Crosstown Arts, and assistant professor at the University of Memphis. “It inspired the approach. The usual method [of redevelopment] is finding an anchor tenant and filling in around the edges, but we knew we weren't going to do that. We wanted to recruit companies that were not only interested in relocating but also shared the mission and vision. The idea that we're better together, being able to share resources, programming, and, of course, space. Collection of usage that turned out to be arts, education, and healthcare, which creates community and makes the project sustainable.”
He continues, “From the beginning we took a two-pronged approach — seeing the building as both a verb and a noun. Then we simultaneously embarked upon building community — having events, exhibitions, concerts, both in the building and in the community to remind folks it's a great neighborhood and will be a great neighborhood. Because of the mystique of the building, people are enamored with it. With the idea of a 'vertical urban village,' we started rebuilding the community that was going to make it up.”
And that community is strong. “Our founding partners came on early, took a risk, and are part of the process,” says Richardson. With space reserved for each of the founding partners — ALSAC, Church Health Center, Crosstown Arts, Gestalt Community Schools, Memphis Teacher Residency, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Rhodes College, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — the building has since acquired new tenant commitments from Christian Brothers University and Goodwill Memphis' Excel Center.
Sharing in the enthusiasm, Dr. Scott Morris, CEO of the Church Health Center, says what drew him to the project was “the possibility and the excitement of what could actually happen in Memphis and be transformative. It's an amazing opportunity for one plus one to equal three. The real beauty is in the top floors [the residential space]. Having the ability to influence a young, transformative community in Memphis, how could we not want to a part of that?”
As far as fleshing out what the building will look like, Crosstown Arts plans to provide 24/7 art-making labs allowing Memphians access to expensive tools that most students lose access to after college programs end. The residential component is in the hands of McLean Wilson, Vice President of Kemmons Wilson, Inc., who says that the concept is basically taking a thriving community block and flipping it on its side. Therefore, the retail and residential aspects play a vital role — each connects people to the urban hub.
This type of creative energy is what the developers want to sustain by attracting residents with the same spirit. Since the building is only a short bike ride away from FedExForum, University of Memphis Law School, Rhodes College, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and downtown features, they anticipate attracting young doctors, artists, and students.,
But Wilson says that it will also be family-friendly — attracting a certain type of personality to live there rather than a specific age bracket. Wilson explains that while Memphis has a plethora of urban living opportunities, the Crosstown building provides the opportunity for young, bright minds to be in close proximity to one another all the time.
Morris says his hope is “that this will really be the heartbeat of Memphis and will help us envision the possible. From the Church Health Center’s perspective, it will help us know what’s possible in God’s imagination. Outside of the God language, how do we create energy and raise up a young generation who cares and can see that we can be a world leader instead of just on the list of the worst out there. The Minneapolis Sears building was once known as ‘murderopolis,’ and its [development] completely transformed that. And all they did was fix it up and lease it. What we're doing is very intentional around the partners and what we would want Memphis to be like. Every day I’m around it, I’m energized.”
An estimated 3,000 people will be in and out of the building daily; this provides the unique chance for Memphians to naturally encounter other creative individuals and collaborate, which will be beneficial for the city. Richardson says, “[We have] great momentum. We will be 100 percent complete with construction documents by mid-November 2013. Financially, we’re doing well. We went before City Council in March asking for $15 million for infrastructure needs, and we go back this fall. That's the last piece; after that, all the other pieces will come together. Assuming those things go well, we'll close financing in early 2014, hopefully begin construction shortly thereafter, and from there it’s a two-year build-out, so we're looking at [opening] early 2016.”
Innovators: Todd Richardson; McLean Wilson; Gayla Burks; Bologna Consultants, LLC, with Carkuff Interiors; AllWorld Project Management; Community Capital; LRK/ DIALOG; Grinder Taber & Grinder, Inc.; doug carpenter and associates; Universal Commercial Real Estate; Christopher Miner/Crosstown Arts.
Innovation: Crosstown Development Project, a new perspective on redevelopment and urban renewal, using the Sears Crosstown building as the hub for revitalizing a community.
