MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you are anywhere in downtown Memphis – or just looking that way from any direction – you can’t miss the towering 100 North Main Building. At 37 stories, it is the tallest building downtown – and those of us who have been around Memphis for decades, will well recall its past glory.
But the building has been shuttered since 2014. And at one point, there was serious talk about demolishing it – which I believe would have been disastrous. But instead, the Downtown Memphis Commission, which owns the building, decided to solicit requests for proposals to redevelop 100 North Main – thinking there would be at least four or five groups interested in submitting bids.
But 11 bids were submitted from both local and out of state developers. The locals include one group with Shelby County School Board members Kevin Woods and Billy Orgel as partners. Another is the Carlisle Corporation headed by Chance Carlisle. New York developer Tom Intrator, who has been planning a massive project in the Pinch District, is also a bidder for the North Main building.
No one knows which one will be successful. But the encouraging thing is, there is interest in bringing the old building back to life. It was just not a good look to have the tallest structure in the city’s skyline sitting vacant and being an eyesore.
The Downtown Commission’s process has been good so far. And that’s good for Memphis.