Downtown Office Hi-Rise to be Redeveloped into Hotel, Apartments in $100M Project

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

100 North Main, the iconic downtown office building formerly known as the Union Planters Building, is officially headed for redevelopment into hotels and residential housing.

The property had been plagued by high vacancy rates, even in comparison to the Memphis CBD’s 20 percent plus rate. As previously reported, rumors surfaced in mid-2013 that the high-rise office building would be converted into a mixed-use project that might include office, retail, residential and hotel components.

The Memphis Business Journal broke the news that 100 North Main’s ownership group, identified as One Hundred North Main LLC, announced it will be spending a little less than $100 million to completely flip the office tower into a hotel-residential asset. The LLC picked up the 792,000-square-foot structure in August 2013 for a mere $5 million from Myron Zimmerman Revocable Trust, which had paid $10 million for it in 1978.

Construction is set to kick off in the second half of the year and will create 266 residential units and 171 hotel keys. The ownership group expects to sign a brand in the following two weeks to manage the hotel which will take up floors nine through 17 as well as the rooftop restaurant, a 5,600-square-foot revolving eatery.  Floors 18 through 38 will be converted into high-end apartments, while the first eight floors will comprise parking facilities, mechanical rooms, executive office suites, hotel services and the lobby, reported the Memphis Business Journal. The 46,000-square-foot roof will feature amenities such as green spaces, an outdoor plaza, swimming pool and lounge.

Architecture Inc. has been appointed project architect, while a general contractor remains to be selected. The remaining tenants, less than 40 entities, have until June 1^st to vacate the building.

Image courtesy of Samuel Grant via Wikimedia Commons