Sears Crosstown (Memphis, Jackson, Cleveland: neighborhood, universities, taxis)

[BradfromNO]

Not sure I am so jazzed by the news, but you have to start somewhere. There was a building in Meridian
called the Threefoot Building, local icon, tallest building in the city. For decades there was talk about
renovation. Once engineers get in there and the money people find out it's more than replacing some
glass windows broken by kids, the enthusiasm to spend money wanes. Hope this is different...I live out
that way. I hear the Midtown post office just relocated out that way...I was angry about it closing, but
never could find the new spot.

[knucklehead_vol]

Originally Posted by BradfromNO

Not sure I am so jazzed by the news, but you have to start somewhere. There was a building in Meridian
called the Threefoot Building, local icon, tallest building in the city. For decades there was talk about
renovation. Once engineers get in there and the money people find out it's more than replacing some
glass windows broken by kids, the enthusiasm to spend money wanes. Hope this is different...I live out
that way. I hear the Midtown post office just relocated out that way...I was angry about it closing, but
never could find the new spot.

The new one is beside the Sears Crosstown parking garage. And this has a lot of support. Trust me, not all involved have been disclosed, and its an impressive list.

[knucklehead_vol]

The Beacon party was great...

I'll post pics tomorrow and a video

But to summarize, great crowd, not huge, but still about 200 people. Free beer for the adults (albeit crappy Budweiser or something) and free Yolo's for kids, as well as adults. There was food but didn't get any. The band was great and there was even a drum line.

So fun night.

Sears Crosstown being brought back to life - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

[knucklehead_vol]

Well here is one pic from the Beacon Party. I have others, just got to resize them.

[knucklehead_vol]

Here are a few others...

Those are my kids btw.

[knucklehead_vol]

New Day Coming for Sears Crosstown Urban Village - Memphis Daily News

The Crosstown neighborhood is one of the city’s most ethnically diverse and economically challenged areas. Crosstown Arts sees the redevelopment as a neighborhood revitalization project, similar to Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market, also an adaptive reuse of a former Sears facility.
“The Phillips neighborhood, where that is, is a very similar neighborhood to Crosstown,” Richardson said. “If you look at an aerial of where the Crosstown building is, it’s one mile west of Rhodes, one mile east of St. Jude, and one mile north of Methodist. It’s kind of the heart between those three. We see Crosstown as the last variable in helping to knit together those other areas into a really strong, vibrant center city.”
With the number of committed founding partners, Richardson expects 2,000 to 2,500 people being in and out of the building at peak times. He also hopes to have a “diverse range of residential,” from student housing and affordable housing to market rent apartments and potentially some “with higher amenities like condos on the top floor.”

[knucklehead_vol]

Some of the band and drum line.

[knucklehead_vol]

Sears Beacon Party - YouTube

[TheKernel91]

Originally Posted by Kabluey

Sometimes even I will acknowledge it can go too far, but the history is what gives every city its character -- particularly the hardships a city has overcome. And buildings like these are visible reminders of that. But even above that preservation is the importance of preserving the ugliest chapters of history in some form to educate and serve future generations. That is why the Civil Rights Museum is so noteworthy. Dallas has done the same thing, as has Germany. I hope Penn State will do the same (I think the location of the removed statue would be a poignant location).

Music recognition was fairly recent (I still remember Isaac Tigrett criticizing the city's failure to appreciate this history while he was profiled for his Hard Rock Cafe and House of Blues involvement), but it sure came on strong.

The preservation needs to be for a purpose beyond the preservation itself for a community to truly distinguish itself. Preservation is better than nothing, but, a purpose like what is proposed for the Sears would provide some substance to make a meaningful impact beyond eliminating the eyesore nature and preserving a historic structure. Hopefully it will contribute to the arts, education, and health of not just that neighborhood, but the region.

I'm glad it's moving forward, with many noteworthy tenants. I'll look for another location to house my ideas of awesomeness lol...

Your right about that, I believe if Memphis would of been a little carless about it, we would look more mordern or "glassy" like ATL or Dallas. I would like to see a few glass structure rises to mix that old and new flavor

[My_home_town]

Originally Posted by knucklehead_vol

there was even a drum line.

Last night we went to a "thing" at the Brooks Museum and they too had a drum line out front.