Two new articles have been posted recently about Overton Square; one from the Commercial Appeal containing updates on the programming that will enhance the arts & entertainment district, the other from the Daily News giving a general update on the project’s status.
Tom Bailey reports on Anna Holtzclaw, the Overton Square Promotional Director, and her presentation to the Memphis Chapter of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) this past Wednesday.
Loeb Properties figures it’s going to take more than a new parking garage and renovated buildings to make Overton Square a success after construction is complete in the third quarter of 2013.
Success requires the square to be different, Anna Holtzclaw told the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America on Wednesday. She’s Loeb’s promotional director for Overton Square.
Staking out an “arts district” theme on the retail and dining space goes only so far in distinguishing the place. After all, Memphis has a bunch of arts districts.
In branding the redeveloped Overton Square, Loeb aspires to inject art and even a little theater in the common occurrences of shopping and dining, Holtzclaw said.
Sarah Baker of the Daily News caught up with Loeb Properties president Bob Loeb, to get an update on the overall Overton Square redvelopment. Bob discussed the vacant buildings on the north side of Madison, and the goal of leasing them completely by the end of 2012. The first lease in this area was announced several weeks ago, as Local Gastropub is taking over the former Yosemite Sam’s building at 2126 Madison.
They discussed the new Overton Square logo (above):
With Overton Square’s physical changes comes a new logo from Red Deluxe Brand Development. The design features a royal purple speech bubble with the words “Overton Square – Memphis – ” pointing to the words, “Be there.”
“A logo can communicate an emotion and a vibe and a feel that you can build on,” said Stinson Liles, partner with Red Deluxe. “Overton Square is going to be a pretty exciting place and a pretty active place where lots of stuff is always going on because the way they’re planning to program it.”
MEMPHIS, TN (April 30, 2012) – Local Gastropub, a popular downtown restaurant and bar, will open its second location in Overton Square. Following the recent Chiwawa lease at the old Chicago Pizza Factory, Local is the next to lease a spot in the commercial redevelopment of Midtown’s historic arts and entertainment district.
Local Gastropub will open in the former Yosemite Sam’s at 2126 Madison Ave., at the northwest corner of Madison and Cooper. The 100-year-old, 5,826 square foot, two-story building housed Yosemite’s Sam’s for 39 years. “It’s always been one of the gateways to Overton Square and that will continue with Local,” said Aaron Petree, vice president of leasing for Loeb Properties. Petree represented Loeb in the lease negotiations.
“We are excited to be part of this exciting vision for Overton Square,’’ Local Gastropub owner Jeff Johnson said. “Downtown is a destination and Overton Square will be, too. I’m glad to be there from the beginning.” Local Gastropub, now located at 91 South Main Street, will be replicated in Overton Square, featuring upscale food in a casual, pub-like setting.
The Overton Square site for Local Gastropub has undergone “significant renovation,” according to Tom Hayes, vice-president of construction for Loeb Properties. “The building had major structural problems when we purchased it, and we knew going in that the rehab would cost as much as the purchase price. My working concept has been a ‘rebirth’ because the building was at the end of its functional life, but it had good bones and given its history, it was worth saving,” he said.
Matt Prince, senior vice-president of Loeb Properties, said the contract with Local Gastropub is the “first step in an effort that will not only revive Overton Square but surpass our memories of it.” Loeb Properties will invest about $20 million to revive the arts & entertainment district and Overton Square’s footprint to about 115,000 square feet, including the redesign of existing buildings and construction of new buildings.
Local is an important and symbolic tenant for Overton Square, said Prince, because “it’s a local company with local ownership and that was, and will continue to be, an important part of the district’s personality and vibe.” He said Loeb Properties is encouraged by the enthusiasm and the interest of retailers and restaurateurs in leasing opportunities in Overton Square.
“We see Overton Square as the linchpin between Overton Park and Midtown, capitalizing on the hundreds of thousands of people drawn there by Playhouse on the Square,’’ said Prince. “With the relocation of Hattiloo Theater to the Overton Square arts & entertainment district, the number of theater-goers will only grow,” said Prince.
Loeb Properties owns and manages a portfolio of more than two million square feet of retail, office, multifamily and industrial properties in Tennessee and Mississippi, and is the largest developer in the Midtown area.
Neil’s Bar is relocating to our Yorkshire Square shopping center at Quince and I-240. After a fire last year destroyed their Midtown home of twenty years, owner Neil Heins decided to relocate further east.
Neil’s new digs will be “exactly like” its previous location, Heins said, with pool tables, a full-service bar and kitchen, and entertainment space. Its square footage is slightly smaller but includes a side room for Neil’s stage area and a large kitchen.
“It was appealing to us, we liked the location and liked that little strip center where it is,” Heins said. “Of course, it’s not far from my house, so that’s a good deal. It also had a lot of stuff in it. A lot of our stuff got burned up, so it was a good deal for us.”
Aaron Petree represented Loeb in the deal. Sarah Baker from the Daily News covered the story here.
_________
In the weekly Memphis News, Fredric Koeppel explores Zaytoon Mediterranean Cafe (Trinity Commons tenant in Cordova) and discusses the preparation practices prescribed for “halal” meat. Mohammed Halimah owns and operates Smooth Moves Juice Bar at Sean’s Cafe in Midtown and Zaytoon in Cordova.
These rules are designed to make certain that no forbidden meat or carrion is consumed; that compassion, in the name of Allah, is shown to the animal; that the animal receives a swift death; and that no blood taints the meat.
For Halimah, 47, the conjunction of halal with contemporary concerns about healthy eating, vegetarianism and veganism speaks to the way that people live and eat today – and the way he wants to operate his restaurants.
(photo by Lance Murphey)
Read the full article at this link, and find out more about Zaytoon here.
________
Also in the Daily News yesterday: a story about independent grocery stores, including tenant Cash Saver Cost Plus at our Cloverleaf Shopping Center (White Station & Summer Avenue).
Burkhead’s Cash Saver is one of just two grocery stores in Memphis operating with the “cost-plus-10” business model.
“I was one of the first few to open and I was able to jump on the bandwagon,” said Burkhead, whose store is licensed and supported by Kansas City, Kan.-based Associated Wholesale Grocers, a retailer-owned cooperative that has more than 1,900 member stores.
Jeff Ireland covered the story here. The Commercial Appeal also ran a story about Cash Saver last year, right after it was rebranded.
Loeb Properties President, Bob Loeb, has been traveling the Memphis civic club speaking circuit this winter, sharing his Overton Square presentation (which can be viewed here). After speaking at several Rotary meetings around town, as well as Lambda Alpha International, Bob made a stop at the Downtown Memphis Rotary chapter meeting this week to speak again about Overton Square.
Memphis Daily News covered how Bob incorporated the tenets of Rotary to his vision for the development:
Among the first of Bob Loeb’s comments when he addressed the Memphis Rotary Club Tuesday, Jan. 10, was that when his firm finishes the redevelopment of Overton Square, the hope is to pass the Rotarian Four-Way Test.
For Rotary, the Four-Way Test is the cornerstone of all action that asks the following questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? And will it be beneficial to all concerned?
“Our goal will be to pass the test when we finish this development,” said the president of Loeb Properties Inc. “It’s been a labor of love and we think that 2012 is going to be a lot more exciting than 2011.”
The Memphis Flyer‘s City Beat Blog covered the luncheon speech as well, noting Bob’s vision of the reborn Overton Square being more family-friendly than its famously wild ’70s-era past.
“We’re not bringing Billy Joel back,” Loeb told the Memphis Rotary Club Tuesday. “Our plans are relatively modest. We’re rehabbers. We love old buildings.”
He gave an overview of the project that managed to whet appetites for a revived Overton Square while tamping down expectations a bit. The space, he noted, is “not that big” but the project seems bigger and more expensive — pushing $20 million — because of the partnership with the city on a floodwater detention basin and parking garage. Developers believe $4 a gallon gas will lead to inward migration and a more vibrant Midtown.
In addition to Overton Square, the blog post also discusses the nearby Sears Crosstown project.
Memphis Mayor AC Wharton discussed Overton Square recently at a Kiwanis Club meeting; Andy Ashby writes about it on the Memphis Business Journal blog:
Wharton also defended the city’s recent decision to invest $16.5 million in a parking garage and water detention basin in Overton Square. Some have criticized him for focusing on some parts of the city while neglecting others. He repeated something he told a Cooper-Young resident who challenged him on the Overton Square deal.
“All these areas of the city are my children,” he said. “I love all my children. I’m not going to pit Overton Square against Cooper-Young, Cooper-Young against Beale Street, Beale Street against Germantown Parkway. The secret is that if one prospers, they all prosper. When you see the grand plan we have to pull all of those areas together, you will see that we don’t have to shun one part of town to develop another part of town.”
At the aforementioned Rotary meeting, Bob Loeb discussed this idea of Overton Square and its programming bringing something different to the table…not poaching on what Beale Street or Cooper-Young are about, but filling its own niche for Memphis.
Today’s Memphis Daily News features a front-page article regarding the Overton Square development and proposal for public funding. City Council is set to vote on the public portion of the project on December 20, 2011. Bob Loeb, President of Loeb Properties, Inc., discusses the Lick Creek water detention facility and the four-level parking garage:
“If I had it to do all over again, I sure would call it two different projects – the Overton Square redevelopment and Lick Creek detention basin – because to group them together sounds like the city’s financial involvement in the Overton Square redevelopment is a lot bigger than it really is,” Loeb said.
(photo by Lance Murphey)
The estimated cost of the project increased from figures released earlier this year when an engineering study recommended the storm-water retention pond’s capacity increase from 70,000 cubic feet to approximately 1 million cubic feet. [Read more about the Lick Creek flooding situation in the Commercial Appeal's recent guest column on the subject, here.]
As for the retail side of the development, Loeb is prepared to invest over $19 million in Overton Square, which encompasses roughly 120,000 square feet in redeveloped and new buildings.
The city’s involvement isn’t so much in the revitalization of those businesses, but the parking lot they share. That’s why it’s important to note there are two projects on the table, said Loeb president Bob Loeb.
“Without the city, it would be damaging to the neighborhood because there are existing businesses and institutions that depend on the parking that they’ll lose,” Loeb said, noting businesses such as Bari Ristoranta e Enoteca, Restaurant Iris, Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse, TheatreWorks, Side Street Grill and Mr. Lincoln’s Costume Shop. “It will be a lot better plan if the city participates; it’ll have more density and more vibrancy by the city building its infrastructure there. If the city chooses not to do that, then we’ll have a less dense plan, but it’ll still be a good plan.”
To voice your support for the publicly-funded aspects of this project, email your Councilmembers at the email addresses found here.
In this article, Michael Waddell expounds upon the usefulness of the iPad in commercial real estate. Loeb Realty Group’s Frank Dyer weighs in:
“The mapping capabilities on the iPad 2 are amazing,” said Frank Dyer, principal broker with Loeb Realty Group. “I’ve been able to take business lists and construct .kml files in Windows and Google Earth, and literally drive into a town and have the retailers that I’m interested in plotted on the map. That’s been a fantastic thing. And it’s nice to be able to receive documents on the road.”
