Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Downtown Memphis is on the verge of beginning construction on two new skyscrapers at the mouth of the Mississippi. The combined project is known as One Beale because it will be at the corner of Beale Street and Riverside Drive. One skyscraper is to be a 30-story 280-room apartment building and the other a 22-story hotel with 300 rooms. Ample retail space will also be available. An 800 space parking garage is included.
The project is being proposed by and will be managed by the Carlise Corporation. Once city approval is given, construction could begin in the first quarter of 2016. The Carlise Corporation has financially positioned itself to go forward by selling off other assets last year. The company also says lenders are lined up to provide the remainder of the financing required for the $150 million project. Once started, the project is expected to be completed in 24 to 30 months.
Each floor of the apartment building will have 10 units consisting of 900 and 1,140 square foot apartments. The second floor of the building will include a restaurant and public access to Beale Street. There will be a total of 168 one bedroom apartments (900 square feet) and 112 units of two bedroom apartments (1,140 square feet).
Carlise Corporation says it is working with an international hotel chain to occupy the south tower but is not yet ready to divulge the name of the company. However, it is a four star hotel chain.
The hotel is expected to create between 150 to 300 permanent jobs and the construction phase of the entire project is estimated to create 1,500 jobs. The construction phase is estimated to pay about $72 million in wages.
Besides the skyscrapers, the campus will include other building such as class "A" office space and a conference building. Retail space will be available at other sites across the campus.
According to Carlise, being at the mouth of the Mississippi is one of the most attractive features of the site. As a supporter of the project, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton has publicly stated his desire to see the project connect the river to the rest of our city, not just Beale Street.
The Downtown Memphis Commission’s Center City Revenue Finance Corporation recently held a public comment meeting on the project at which the Carlise Corporation made a presentation that was generally well received. Still, final approval has not been granted and addition meetings with The Downtown Memphis Commission’s Center City Revenue Finance Corporation will be needed. Carlise Corporation says they will also be holding meetings with other Downtown neighborhood groups.
Author bio: Brian Kline has been investing in real estate for more than 30 years and writing about real estate investing for seven years. He also draws upon 25 plus years of business experience including 12 years as a manager at Boeing Aircraft Company. Brian currently lives at Lake Cushman, Washington. A vacation destination, a few short miles from a national forest in the Olympic Mountains with the Pacific Ocean a couple of miles in the opposite direction.
