MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis is becoming a national leader in breathing new life into old buildings, to bring more housing to the rental market.
This is known as Adaptive Reuse, and Memphis currently sits as the 27th biggest pipeline for these projects according to Rent Cafe. In 2023, Conwood Flats opened, bringing 137 new apartments to a former warehouse.
“The more housing that you have, the more diversity that you have," said Doug Ressler, Yardi Matrix manager of business intelligence. "You have grocery, retail shopping, things like that, that all lend themselves to having a much broader comprehensive base.”
Just across the street, Conwood II is now under construction to put an additional 294 units in a 1950's factory. Overall, a Rent Cafe study found 1,210 new apartments in development in the Memphis area, ahead of cities like Minneapolis (with 1,071 units), Nashville (with 969 units) and Orlando (with 914 units).
The amount of projects itself grew by 17.6% across the country in 2023, seeing the most in hotel to apartment conversions, but office conversions are anticipated to become more popular according to Rent Cafe, with 58,000 units in development.
While some people say this can help turn an eyesore into something productive for the city, others say these kinds of projects actually come with some caveats.
“Often times, highest and best use is code for what makes us the most money," said Austin Harrison, Rhodes College assistant professor of urban studies. "But I would argue that we need to be thinking bigger than just the dollar, and we need to think about what are the spaces that communities want to see there.”
In his studies, Harrison told ABC24 more often than not, these project do not necessarily account for what nearby neighbors want. Another concern is when out-of-town companies lead the projects, like rental conversions. In the past Harrison has said out-of-town management can be hard to reel in, leaving rent prices seemingly ever increasing.
Adaptive Reuse is nothing new to Memphis. In some cases, it has been even celebrated for the innovations and life it can bring to an old building. However, Harrison said there has been some romanticized views of how beneficial it can be to communities, a clear example being Crosstown Concourse.
“My neighbors that I’ve lived with for the past five to six years do not see Crosstown as something that was built for them," said Harrison. "In reality, communities need to demand that they have that seat at the table and demand that there’s a community benefits agreement that those developers follow through if that doesn’t happen.”
According to a post by Rent Cafe, the average cost of an apartment in Memphis was $1,073 in March. Meanwhile, the cheapest listing for a Conwood Flats apartment came out to over $1,300.