MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
Members of the Homesdale subdivision in Whitehaven are rallying together against the rezoning of their neighborhood.
Atlanta-based TPA Group, Inc. is proposing the redevelopment of approximately 58 acres of vacant land at the corner of Airways Blvd and Kilarney Ave. Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority Currently owns the land.
If the Memphis City Council approves this, it would take property that is residential and allow it to become commercial.
However, neighbors aren’t so happy about that, saying it’s a continuation of a cycle that could destroy their neighborhood.
“This is a slow walk to gentrification of an Afro-American community,” Gwendolyn Keyes, the Homesdale Subdivision coalition leader, said.
Residents said it’s the same old song with different dancers as rezoning and commercial construction continue in this area.
“All the way up to Airways from here there were houses,” resident Charles Hudson recalled. “Matter of fact I used to play golf with a lot of the guys that lived in this neighborhood. But when the airport came in with their buyout and they were going bring those large planes in here that have a lot of noise they bought us out. And a lot of them moved on and they weren’t happy about moving out."
The company said rezoning and development of the property will “encourage employment growth...”
They say they plan to develop the nearly 60 acres of land into a logistics center. The company says it will be a fulfillment center complimenting, among other things, the FedEx World Hub.
But residents like Clydia Phillips wonder at what cost.
“My granddaughter told me the other day; she said ‘grammy when you get old, I'm going to move [into] your house, and this is going to be mine’,” Clydia Phillips said. “Which lets me know my granddaughter at 16 feels like this area is still good enough for her to be here. We don’t want something tearing it down.”
Residents say this could cause problems for the community, just like other commercial properties have caused flooding.
“This will interrupt our quality of life and our way of life,” Keyes said. “They’re also going to cause flooding in the neighborhood. Once they cut down those trees flooding will actually go out through the neighborhood.”
In a letter to the Shelby County Land Use Board, the company says they will put measures in place to attempt to prevent flooding saying, in part, “The applicant is working with the city engineer to mitigate flooding north of the site...”
And though the company says a storm retention pond to help alleviate flooding is a part of their building plans, still, for some, it doesn’t ease their concerns.
“It would just devastate the Whitehaven community as a whole. This would not happen in Collierville,” Keyes said. “This would not happen in Germantown...”
City council is expected to make a final decision in the coming weeks on whether this property can be rezoned or not. The resolution to rezone the property is expected to have a second on March 7.