About 400 people visited South Main Street in Downtown Memphis Sept. 17 to tour some of the area’s available prime real estate.
Organized by the Downtown Memphis Commission, its "Property Crawl" invited current and prospective small business owners, investors, entrepreneurs and the public to take a gander at vacant spaces within three blocks between Talbot Avenue and GE Patterson Avenue. Serious participants hoped to find a location for their various companies within the 11 spaces shown off by the DMC.
Milton Howery, the DMC’s Chief Marketing Officer, said the event was all about bringing awareness to the “amazing properties” downtown. Many of the 11 are move-in ready, and three are prepped with a kitchen for potential restaurant space.
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Howery said recent growth and walkability continue to make South Main a prime destination for locals, tourists and new business owners. Good Fortune, Felicia Suzanne’s and Ritual Coffee have all moved in within the last few years amid other art galleries, boutiques, shops and restaurants.
“South Main is a great location particularly because it already has a bunch of great things from trolley nights to new restaurants in the last couple years, historical markers like the National Civil Rights Museum, to hotels like Arrive and Central Station,” he said. “South Main already has a good mix of business that keeps it vibrant and active.”
The spaces up for grabs are diverse in size and function.
One space was formerly an architecture firm with remaining desk cubicles; another was a past restaurant and bar; and yet another was a previous video recording studio.
Most were ground-level spaces, while some offered two-stories.
Preserving vibrancy on South Main
DMC Commercial Strategist Coleman Armes said events like this are all about maintaining momentum in the area.
"We wanted to target commercial brokers and ... clients who are looking at spaces in South Main, who might not know about some of these spaces,” Armes said.
“We also wanted to target any existing business owner or entrepreneur around the whole metro. Whether you're looking to start out your first brick-and-mortar location, or if you're an existing business wanting to expand it out to a bigger site., there are options on South Main.”
Some grants up for grabs if eligible
The DMC incentivizes small business growth with a multitude of grants, such as Open on Main, Table Ready for filling vacant restaurant space, the Retail Tenant Improvement Grant and more. For the 11 properties, grants are still decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the business's function.
Entrepreneurs touring the spaces had a wide range of ideas, and nearly all said they toured a property that caught their eye. Kayla Chambers was on the hunt for a home for her nurse consulting business, and the architecture firm at 498 S. Main St. seemed to fit the bill.
“I love the modernness of it, the floorplan, there’s a lot of great collaboration [opportunities] there,” she said.
Deidre Ellis said that her business, The Studio Karaoke, is considering an expansion downtown from its first spot in Poplar Plaza, and a few of the restaurant spaces on offer might work with a conversion. She appreciated the networking opportunities of the event as well.
“This is brilliant," Ellis said. "I’m really impressed with the coordination and the [number of] spaces available. It’s been really cool, I’ve met a lot of people and have gotten like five business cards, so even aside from seeing the buildings, the networking part of it has been really cool.”
Though none of the 11 were a perfect match for Ellis, she’s still in luck.
Armes said more tours are being planned for two other core city areas — the Main Street Mall and the Edge District.
Armes said he’s enjoyed watching Downtown grow so rapidly within the two years he’s been at the DMC. He knows how important the area is to Memphis’s growth and atmosphere.
“I always say downtown's the quarterback,” he said. “So when everything's going good, it's going to get all the praise. When things are going bad, it's going to get all the blame. And I think things are heading in a good direction here downtown.”
Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering Dining, Retail and Real Estate in the Memphis area. You can reach him at jacob.wilt@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Hundreds tour prime South Main Memphis real estate to urge biz momentum
