Stories

Feature Story Students learn Javascript coding during Tech Equity Week.

Memphis' first Tech Equity Week targets the digital divide

“I want the rest of the country to know what we’re doing in Memphis, that we are on the front lines of addressing the importance of diversity and inclusion, and it’s important that we are part of the national conversation."

Development News Germantown train stop

Germantown bets on live-work-play with $200M town hall project

Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo who envisions the project as similar to Overton Square with the potential for jazz playing in one of the center’s public realms on cool evenings or a pop-up ice skating rink in the winter.

Development News THDA executive director Ralph M. Perrey and THDA West Tennessee liaison Amy Schaftlein in Legends Park in the 38105 ZIP code, which qualifies for the down payment assistance fund.

Home ownership takes off with state's down payment assistance program

“There are probably a lot of households in Memphis that have been thinking about home ownership, but also thinking it was probably something for two to three years down the road. Now they’re taking a look and finding that this is a product they can qualify for and is possible for their family right now.”

Development News NineteenthCenturyClub

After four months in operation, Izakaya restaurant closes until July

“Even if they didn’t make a go of this new restaurant, which I think they will, there’s probably going to be a lot of people after that building because it is ready to go, especially for a restaurant."

Innovation & Job News The now vacant spots at 7 and 9 N. Main will be activated with a host of pop-up shops through December.

16 new shops headed to Downtown through pop-up shop initiative

The tenants’ specialties range from handmade refurbished furnishing to locally designed fashion as well as a theater troupe and sewing school.

Feature Story Bail Out Day

Black Lives Matter bails Memphis moms out for Mother's Day

The organizers decry a "wealth-based detention" system that keeps poor Memphians in jail longer because they are unable to afford bail. 

Feature Story TraVure office and retail development site in the West Poplar District of Germantown, TN,

Landlocked Germantown models urban growth strategies

Germantown is looking to densify by supporting major-dollar mixed use projects that are new types of development for the suburban community.

Feature Story Participants of Memphis Fashion Week attend a runway show at Memphis College of Art.

Memphis fashion design scene encourages collaboration, youth participation

Avianne Robinson is an 18-year-old award-winning fashion designer. That may seem like a young age for such an accomplishment, but for her, it’s been a long time coming.

Feature Story Greensward

Overton Park supporters rally to raise $1M to fund parking for Memphis Zoo

A public fundraising campaign for $1 million is the latest plot twist in the long-simmering parking dispute between the Memphis Zoo and Overton Park.


Development News A rendering of the future MAA headquarters at TraVure.

Germantown urban-style development set to open next February

The urban, walkable setting of TraVure stands out against other suburban developments of multistory buildings set in a sea of parking.


Development News Wimpys

Wimpy's returns to Memphis

Local entrepreneurs Edith Kelly-Green and Jacob Crafton have opened their first Wimpy’s Burgers & Fries in Memphis at 150 N. Avalon in Midtown, and they have plans to open more.

Development News The Detroit riverfront sees nearly 3 million visitors annually.

What Memphis can learn from Detroit’s riverfront transformation

About $134 million in investment into the Detroit riverfront has yielded more than $1 billion of private development and 3 million annual visitors.

Innovation & Job News John Paul Shaffer announces the rebranding of BLDG Memphis.

CD Council and Livable Memphis begin new era as BLDG Memphis

The Community Development Council of Greater Memphis and Livable Memphis have merged and rebranded as BLDG Memphis.


Innovation & Job News A blighted property at 1960 E McLemore Ave.

Memphis receives scholarship assistance to fight blight

A national nonprofit will help Memphis address property vacancy, abandonment and deterioration as well as provide technical assistance assessing local and state legal systems pertaining to receivership and property tax enforcement.  

Feature Story Work Local

City of Memphis employs panhandlers to beautify the city

“At the end of the day, you’ve actually worked for the Mayor. It's a big deal. It's not some handout. It's a public works job site.”

Feature Story NEA

Cuts to the NEA would starve Memphis' minority-serving arts organizations

Memphis arts organizations brace for decreased federal funding that could impact the work they do with underserved and minority populations.

Feature Story Employees unloading product at Park Place Storage & Logistics.

Spikner stitches together separate recycling and embroidery businesses

Memphis native Fred Spikner has found success in running two companies that seemingly have nothing in common.

Development News Sprouts

Sprouts Farmers Market to open bulk grocery store in East Memphis

This will be the health and wellness-focused chain's first location in the East Memphis market. 

Development News The RiverPlay pop-up park will open in May.

Memphis riverfront activated with skating rink, Downtown activities

RiverPlay, a temporary pop-up park with playing fields and basketball courts, a skating rink, and spaces for mobile food vendors, will open in early May on the Memphis riverfront within Mississippi River Park and adjacent parts of Riverside Drive.

Innovation & Job News Local hip hop artist Marco Pavé performs at Midtown Opera Festival, flanked by backup dancers, DJs and instrumentalists

Midtown Opera Festival pushes boundaries

“The festival brings this art form back to the center of town, literally, in a well-known performance space and provides the opportunity for the company to push the boundaries of the art form and combine genres.”