5 days ago
Agency ‘optimistic' for new grocery near downtown
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There could be a new grocery in store for the Uptown community near downtown if a new project is successful.
The Community Redevelopment Agency of Memphis and Shelby County is seeking proposals for what it's calling its Manassas Market Project at the corner of A.W. Willis and Seventh Street.
The proposed 26,000-square-foot site off Jackson Avenue used to be a grocery store, but has sat vacant for more than 15 years.
Residents say a full-service grocery store would be a welcome and needed addition to the neighborhood.
'This here would be great for the community, great for it,' said Robert Pearson, who works at nearby Village Mart. 'A lot customers that we have that come here are in wheelchairs, disabled, so yes, that would help them out tremendously.'
But bringing a supermarket isn't easy and opening one in a food desert can come with a list of obstacles for the store to make a profit.
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City officials have been trying at this spot for years, as there's been a push to bring inner city neighborhoods access to fresh foods. In the Uptown area, the closest full service grocery store in Memphis is several miles away, or over the I-40 bridge in West Memphis.
Andrew Murray, president of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Memphis and Shelby County, says a developer recently came close to creating a mixed use space on the property, including a store, but the proposed project didn't end up working out.
But he believes it's time to try again.
'I'm very optimistic,' Murray said.
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He points to the explosive growth of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital across the street.
'St. Jude, they're building that 15-story tower basically kitty-corner from the site. There's a lot of really positive stuff happening along Jackson,' he said.
There is also neighborhood growth in surrounding communities.
'There's been thousands of units of housing that have been built in the neighborhood just in the last six years,' Murray said.
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Another addition, known to draw big crowds will be the Chick-fil-a, which currently is being built just feet away.
'We talk about this every day because of the notoriety, we're not in a plaza, we have customers but it will bring us more customers,' he said.
Request for Proposals are due by August 22.
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