I saw an article in the CA about the city officials looking into a feasibility study to see what needs to be done to renovate the historical Sterick building in downtown Memphis. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/201...long-vaca/

I would suggest the city make an offer to the current landowners and then find a developer willing to finance and build a bigger and better Sterick (or another name) building for mutli-use in it's location as the city's new signature tower and tallest building in Memphis. Make it around 35-40 stories.

The abatement alone would cost a fortune.

(05-03-2012 06:04 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  The abatement alone would cost a fortune.

True, but anyway you cut it, it's gonna cost money. Even implosion would cost a fortune just to knock it down to get rid of it.

Gee glad you thought of that... Toss in a wax museum and it suddenly becomes feasible.

Actually I would love to see that building redone. It is classic. I asked about last time in Memphis. Story seemed to be the multiple issues (structural, Ada, etc) made it a bad bet unless you had a tenant in mind to lease the floors. That is a lot of space in a market like Memphis...

Still, its nice to dream. Good link paz...

(05-03-2012 06:42 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Actually I would love to see that building redone. It is classic. I asked about last time in Memphis. Story seemed to be the multiple issues (structural, Ada, etc) made it a bad bet unless you had a tenant in mind to lease the floors. That is a lot of space in a market like Memphis...

Still, its nice to dream. Good link paz...

I agree. They don't make them like that anymore.

(05-03-2012 06:48 PM)eltigre Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 06:42 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Actually I would love to see that building redone. It is classic. I asked about last time in Memphis. Story seemed to be the multiple issues (structural, Ada, etc) made it a bad bet unless you had a tenant in mind to lease the floors. That is a lot of space in a market like Memphis...

Still, its nice to dream. Good link paz...

I agree. They don't make them like that anymore.

You'd need an anchor tenant to basically relocate to Memphis and bring a ton of jobs to even make this work.

The only way someone with my limited brain power can see this getting done is:

(a) the city ponies up some massive tax breaks to basically bribe a large corporation to move to Memphis, bringing jobs and reusing the building. I'm not sure this is feasible for a multitude of reasons.

(b) the city gives breaks to a developer to turn it to speculative mixed use office/residential development. I see this as only slightly less of a dream shot.

Basically, it is commercial or mixed use space that comes with a huge price tag and any private development would have to be subsidized pretty heavily I think...

it should be re-done...but as always, it's an issue of money and apathy.

(05-03-2012 06:11 PM)paztiger Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 06:04 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  The abatement alone would cost a fortune.

True, but anyway you cut it, it's gonna cost money. Even implosion would cost a fortune just to knock it down to get rid of it.

An implosion would indeed be expensive.

I just wish the market for spec office/mixed use in midtown could reasonably absorb 30 floors of space that would need major renovations...

(05-03-2012 07:05 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  it should be re-done...but as always, it's an issue of money and apathy.

Well, if I remember correctly, Memphis is generally structured like most American cities as mostly suburban with lots of office jobs being moved to the periphery (suburban office parks).

Architecture, much like many other things, is market based. Just having a great spot and building doesn't mean jack if no one is clamoring to use it.

This is just one more tough story of how we've gotten a bit overbuilt as a country. Makes it tough for those of us in the building/design/real estate trades to make it...

It would be a shame to see yet another historic structure demolished to make way for yet another new, lowest-bidder structure. Closer to my neck of the woods, they're putting all these new residential high-rises along the East River, and it totally cheapens the neighborhood and changes the feel. Sad to me, but I can admittedly be sentimental about historic things.

(05-03-2012 07:08 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Well, if I remember correctly, Memphis is generally structured like most American cities as mostly suburban with lots of office jobs being moved to the periphery (suburban office parks).

I think I'd shoot myself if I had to work downtown. What a miserable commute both ways.

(05-03-2012 08:53 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 07:08 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Well, if I remember correctly, Memphis is generally structured like most American cities as mostly suburban with lots of office jobs being moved to the periphery (suburban office parks).

I think I'd shoot myself if I had to work downtown. What a miserable commute both ways.

It all depends on where you live. Up until last year, my wife worked downtown for 12 years and loved it. She really misses it.

(05-03-2012 08:53 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 07:08 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Well, if I remember correctly, Memphis is generally structured like most American cities as mostly suburban with lots of office jobs being moved to the periphery (suburban office parks).

I think I'd shoot myself if I had to work downtown. What a miserable commute both ways.

I think it'd be fun to live downtown. Living and working Brooklyn is great, but living and working in Manhattan might be better. My brother works in downtown and lives in Millington, but the commute is still not too bad. I have 45-60 minutes to midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn.

Commutes are all relative.

Having said that, when I go on vacation now, I do NOT visit other cities. I love living urban, but for a break, it's off to cabin or hiking or a small town.

(05-03-2012 09:08 PM)papajohn Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 08:53 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 07:08 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  Well, if I remember correctly, Memphis is generally structured like most American cities as mostly suburban with lots of office jobs being moved to the periphery (suburban office parks).

I think I'd shoot myself if I had to work downtown. What a miserable commute both ways.

It all depends on where you live. Up until last year, my wife worked downtown for 12 years and loved it. She really misses it.

There is also the bigger issue of 'what is a city?'

As a military brat I've been privileged to live in quite a few cities and communities (Memphis, NOLA, VA Beach, DC, SD, NYC, StL, etc, etc, etc) and it's always interesting to me a city's relationship to it's inhabitants.

Memphis is actually trending upwards in that regard. The repopulation of downtown in recent memory is very cool and there are the beginnings of true mixed use areas I find exciting.

Some communities treat density differently. It's no great shakes that some of our more dense cities in the country deal with geographic constraints (NYC/SF) that force them to be a certain size due to sheer limits to space.

The competition I just completed (signature below, I'll be pulling it soon as it is obnoxiously big) was sited in Vancouver and they have similar geographic concerns to NYC/SF. They are goosing density by allowing a second house (a lane way house) to be built to the rear yard of a single plot.

By using the rear yards and alley access, they are allowing for smaller more affordable homes to be built for residents who wish to stay in Vancouver, yet are being priced out. I'd love to see something that imaginative in some of our denser cities, but alas, there are few alleys in NYC :(

http://www.straight.com/article-102875/l...-be-better

http://smallworks.ca/

Living downtown would be even worse than working there. 10 minutes each way Lakeland to Bartlett is plenty for me.

(05-03-2012 09:18 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  Living downtown would be even worse than working there. 10 minutes each way Lakeland to Bartlett is plenty for me.

To each their own. Most great communities have a mix of urban, suburban, and rural. Enjoy your path

(05-03-2012 06:11 PM)paztiger Wrote:  

(05-03-2012 06:04 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  The abatement alone would cost a fortune.

True, but anyway you cut it, it's gonna cost money. Even implosion would cost a fortune just to knock it down to get rid of it.

It's on the national historic register so you can't just tear it down.

(05-03-2012 09:18 PM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  Living downtown would be even worse than working there. 10 minutes each way Lakeland to Bartlett is plenty for me.

You think living in Bartlett and Lakeland is better than working downtown?

You:
BRB going to eat at the gas station in lakeland because that's all this armpit of a town has.

View of I-40

Me:
BRB Going to Beale Street to eat lunch or pretty much anywhere that is unique and not a chain restaurant.


View of the mississippi river

I'll take downtown any day.