Loeb Properties Planning $24M Overton Square Hotel

Loeb Properties wants to build on the revival of Overton Square by adding a $24 million, 100-room hotel in the district.

The Memphis-based company and its partners – boutique hotel developer LRC2 Properties and hospitality management company MMI Hotel Group – are seeking a 15-year tax abatement to construct a 100-room boutique hotel at the southwest corner of Cooper Street and Trimble Place, south of Madison Avenue in Midtown Memphis.

According to Overton Square LLC’s application filed with the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County, the project’s owners are seeking a 15-year Community Builder payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) incentive to build a $24.2 million hotel on the 1.3-acre lot that is currently home to a parking lot situated between the Hattiloo Theatre and Bar Louie.

Read more in the Memphis Daily News

Pottery Studio/Coffee House to Open on Highland Strip

Belltower Artisans, a pottery studio and coffee shop founded in 2016 by college students Micah Dempsey and Christopher Galbreath, has inked a deal to move into a 2,788-square-foot space in the Highland Strip.

Aaron Petree represented landlord Loeb Properties Inc. in the deal.

Belltower Artisans offers a full range of pottery classes, from “Date Night” classes to multi-week beginner, intermediate and advanced level courses.

Dempsey and Galbreath first met in art class while attending Harding Academy, where they were studying pottery making. Eventually the pair opened their first location in Minglewood Hall, before deciding to relocate to the Highland Strip to be nearer to the University of Memphis.

Read more in the Memphis Daily News

Done Deals: Loeb Properties Signs Spate of Leases

 

"Loeb Properties has released a slew of recent leases that fill vacancies from Overton Square to Germantown.

• CFY Catering will be the new operator for the The Atrium, an event venue at 2105 Madison Ave. in Overton Square. Owned by Kevin andKristi Bush, CFY has another location at the Loeb Properties-owned Daybreak Shops in Bartlett. CFY’s lease begins July 1.

• Delta Health Alliance signed a 2,043-square-foot lease at 59 N. Cooper St. The nonprofit supports and operates community-based clinics and promotes health education in the Mississippi Delta.

• Elations His and Hers Boutique signed a 1,750-square-foot lease at 714 N. Germantown Parkway, in the Trinity Commons Shopping Center. Trecia Jones operates the clothing and accessories store.

• Mario’s Pool Supply signed a 1,200-square-foot lease at 1986 Exeter Road, at the Farmington Centre in Germantown. The retail shop specializes in pool supplies and accessories."

Read more in the Memphis Daily News

Tenant Profile: Germantown Trainers Studio

"Susan Ritter had been a Marine and a competitive athlete. Mike Farah had been a successful corporate executive who almost worked himself into an early grave, lost 50 pounds, retired, and began competing in body building competitions.

Along the way, Ritter and Farah worked as trainers at area fitness centers, and started talking about having their own business.

Recently, Farah, 61, and Ritter, 50, opened Trainers Studio in a 1,200 square-foot space in Farmington Centre in Germantown. The complex includes a fitness center and yoga studio, plus a chiropractor, but they don’t see any of them as threats. If anything, they are complementary business models."

Read more in the Memphis Daily News

Memphis Daily News: Mary Carter Cake Decorating Center to Grow

"A venerable Memphis cake decorating and supply store is moving to a new location on Summer Avenue.

Mary Carter Decorating Center signed a 4,800-square-foot lease in Cloverleaf Shopping Center at 733 N. White Station Road.

The father-and-son team of Jim and Chris Faherty have operated the family business out of their current, 2,500-square-foot location at 3205 Summer Ave. for 55 years."

Read more in the Memphis Daily News

Local Gastropub Comes to Overton Square

"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."

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Commercial Appeal

Memphis Business Journal

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Memphis Flyer

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