266 Developer Moving Forward with Mixed-Use Project for Downtown Memphis

By Liviu Oltean, Associate Editor

Downtown Memphis might become home to a new, mixed-use project at the southeast corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and South Front Street. Operating under an entity called 266 Developer, LLC, Robert Mallory, John Dicken and Vince Smith have just made a request for a 10-year payment in-lieu-of-tax incentive to the Center City Revenue Finance Corp (CCRFC) for the development of a 145-unit residential complex.

The project will comprise three separate buildings that will be linked by an outdoor courtyard:

• A three-story, ±76,000 square-foot apartment building – located along the northern property line, parallel to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
• A three-story, ±60,000 square-foot apartment building – on the southern half of the property.
• A two-story, 8,000-square-foot commercial building – adjacent to South Front Street.

The two apartment buildings will feature 450 square-foot micro units, 830 square-foot one-bedroom lofts and a few two-bedroom units at 937 square feet. According to the company’s PILOT request, the vast majority of the lofts will be the one-bedroom model.

The development cost of the project has been estimated at $17.8 million, from which $200,000 will go towards the demolition of the one-story office building and the parking lot that are currently sitting on the 1.73-acre site.

The developers hope to break ground in March, 2015 and to have the entire project completed in February 2017. The first building has been slated for completion in April, 2016.