A prominent commercial space empty in Bartlett for more than 16 years finally has a tenant, and a variety of other commercial projects in the city are getting new life. The wave of commercial rebirth in the suburb includes new ground-up construction and adaptive reuse of existing properties. Gill Properties has signed O’Reilly Auto Parts to a lease for 32,350 square feet at the Stage Centre retail complex on the northwest corner of Kirby Whitten and Stage roads, where the company plans to open a superstore. O’Reilly, which operates a regular store just a block away at 2841 Kirby Whitten, could have the superstore open by the fourth quarter of next year, according to Patty Bullock, Gill Properties senior vice president. “The landlord must complete work to the premises before the tenant can move in,” she said. <strong>Lopez Grill, under construction on Stage Road in the Bartlett Station historic district.</strong> (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Lopez Grill, under construction on Stage Road in the Bartlett Station historic district. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Roughly 21,000 square feet of what had been a long-vacant space measuring more than 50,000 square feet remains available at the center. The last tenant there was an Albertsons grocery store. Other big commercial news in Bartlett includes the recent sale of the former Bartlett Nursery property at 7157 Summer Ave. The nursery had been in business there for more than three decades. There is some indication the new owners could plan for an open-air entertainment venue on the site. Other existing Bartlett properties are also being retrofitted with new concepts, including Bluff City Pickleball going in at the former Malco theater in the Malco Plaza Shopping Center on Bartlett Boulevard. John and Leslie Daniel hope to have the 27,000-square-foot facility open by February. There also is new commercial construction in Bartlett, including the Lopez Grill Mexican restaurant and Fast Pace Health urgent care clinic. Lopez Grill is being built on the west end of the city on a previous empty parcel at the corner of Stage Road and Shelby Road. The new Fast Pace Health location is nearing completion on the east side of Kirby Whitten Road. With the BlueOval City within commuting distance, most of the viable commercial sites currently available in Bartlett are getting attention from existing and new investors, according to Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce president John Threadgill. He points out that the city wants to open locations that can serve retail. “The development of Union Depot at Summer and Stage will be adding about 85,000 square feet of commercial space, which will have a substantial impact on the area’s retail inventory,” Threadgill said. The chamber announced a retail strategies partnership earlier this year with the Memphis-based Jones Aur commercial real estate firm. “We do know the market well. We know Bartlett’s strengths and weaknesses and how to overcome those,” said Jones Aur founding partner Dustin Jones. His firm is recruiting retailers and offering brokerage-related consulting services on existing and potential deals. The focus is on the Bartlett Station historic district and the Stage Road/U.S. 64 corridor and working with property owners to make their existing parcels more attractive. “The city’s got some ideas on how to put those incentives in place,” Jones said. He credits Bartlett’s new administration’s push for economic growth. “The previous administration had been there for so long and was set in their ways,” he said adding that former mayor Keith McDonald was a great mayor, but sometimes it was hard to do business in Bartlett. That’s changed under the new leadership. “It’s a real breath of fresh air,” Jones said.

Germantown’s Planning Commission endorsed plans for the final phase of a mixed-use development Tuesday night. The decision on the application was simply a recommendation by the commission. It still needs to go before the Design Review Commission and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen before work can begin. Gill Properties presented a third rendition to round out TraVure, a mixed-use development on Poplar Avenue east of Kirby Parkway. It’s situated between Nottoway and The Garden District Apartments, formerly Westminster Townhomes. Plans for the northern 2 acres have been approved twice. In 2018, plans included a two-story office building, but with COVID-19, people transitioned to remote work. In 2022, a different iteration submitted to Germantown had three stories with retail on the ground floor and two stories of offices. The plan reviewed Tuesday included 35,000 square feet with retail on the ground floor and office above. The idea has some inspiration from another Gill Properties project —White Oak on White Station Road in East Memphis. The strip of stores north of Poplar includes Rotolo’s Craft & Crust, Nothing Bundt Cakes and a women’s health clinic. “We said, ‘You know, we ought to replicate the White Station success for retail here,’ ” Ray Gill, president of Gill Properties, said previously. In the previous version, it was hard to attract retailers because they wanted parking near the storefront, said Brown Gill, Gill Properties vice president of development. Employees will be required to park in the existing garage. The building is further south than it was in previous proposals. Brown Gill believes this is the plan that will move forward and is the best use of the site “Our retail tenants here that are of high quality and great operators, they want parking at the front door,” he said after the approval. “We’ve been in the retail business 40 years. ... That’s how we develop most of our retail, because I think women feel safer when you can drive up to the front door, you can see through the front door and see people are inside. It’s around people being comfortable and women feeling safe in our city.” Alderman Tony Salvaggio said the new building will become “a destination location.” “It’s been a dirt mound for several years now. … I think there’s a better use for the property,” said Greg Marcom, former alderman, whose office is across the street from the site. Plans for the southern portion of the building are designed in such a way that a restaurant user might take the space. A proposed retaining wall closer to Poplar will shield parking from the roadway. The proposed landscaping will be reviewed by the Design Review Commission.

Stu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal A look inside the Best Wash Laundromats location at 3558 South Mendenhall Road in Memphis on May 30, 2025. St. Louis-based Best Wash Laundromats has expanded into Memphis and aims to have six laundromats operating in the city in 2025.

Dread going to the laundromat? Best Wash is working to change that in Memphis and beyond St. Louis-based Best Wash Laundromats has expanded to Memphis with four locations already open and more on the way. https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/business/2025/06/09/laundromats-in-memphis-tn-best-wash/83820163007/

Misael and Amai Alvarado owned five burger restaurants in California. "We moved here because there's nothing like this," Misael said. "In California, there's too much competition." The Alvarados' restaurant, Tommy's Burgers, is set to open April 1 at 4969 Park Ave. Tommy's will specialize in California-style burgers. "We put the meat on the char-broil, not on the grill. It's juicy," Misael said. "This is different." The Alvarados found the Park Avenue spot by googling. That led them to Barry Maynard of Gill Properties, who brokered the deal for both sides, along with Frank Dyer III. The location has gone through a few iterations over the years. It began, according to Maynard, as a Huddle House. It then became a CK's, and later an E's 24 Hour Cafe. More recently, the Waffle Iron relocated from Collierville to the spot. Then, it was El Palacio. Tommy's offers an extensive menu, serving breakfast, including breakfast platters and sandwiches, hot cakes, burritos, and omelettes. In addition to the burgers, they will offer sandwiches, such as tuna, Philly cheesesteak, patty melt, Polish sausage, and fish. Dinner plates include fish and chips, fried chicken, jumbo shrimp, and a ribeye sandwich. They will also have Mexican dishes like fajitas, tacos, and quesadillas. There will be milkshakes, too, and Boba drinks. The burgers at Tommy's are topped with Thousand Island dressing. There is the chili cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, jalapeno cheeseburger, and a burger topped with pastrami. Misael's recommendation? Go for the pastrami burger. "Nobody has pastrami burgers around here," he said. "It is really good." The Alvarados have done some small renovations to the space and have painted the outside a bright, inviting yellow. They plan to add a patio out front. The restaurant is set to be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Capacity is around 52. Misael said he expects to employ around 10 people. "Nobody has this menu here in Memphis," he said of Tommy's. "I was living here for five years, and I didn't see anything like this." Related Articles

Union Depot, the large-scale mixed-use development in Bartlett, is now underway. The long-planned $162 million project is being built by Blue Sky Communities, which is led by developer Keith Grant of Grant & Co. Union Depot was designed by Shapiro & Co. Architects PC. The development is set to bring 70 townhomes, 337 apartments, and 85,000 square feet of commercial space to a 74-acre property right off of U.S. Highway 70, at the site of the former Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home. Ground was broken in January, and Union Depot is now entering the vertical construction phases. The developers look to have the project come online in spring 2025. Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III with Gill Properties are handling the commercial sales and leasing for Union Depot. “It's something Bartlett hasn’t seen in a long time,” Shapiro & Co. president and CEO Brad Shapiro told MBJ. “They haven't seen the scale of this, the mixed-use area with a whole, traditional neighborhood. It's a really nice blend of single-family homes, mixed-use buildings, some loft apartments, and commercial areas.” Shapiro said that the project came together with much more support than large mixed-use projects normally do in suburbs nationally. “It's something that was really favorably received by the mayor and the aldermen of Bartlett because they also recognize that this is something new and upscale, that the citizens would really appreciate and want [it],” Shapiro said. “In a lot of cases, developers face an uphill battle in cities with governments not being very development-friendly. Here, they were very favorable to this because they saw the design integrity and what the developers wanted to bring to the table.” Union Depot brings a different look to Bartlett, with Shapiro noting that the project leans more toward urban design styles, including its color, than what suburbs typically see. Renderings, provided by Shapiro, show greens, blues, and reds mixing with the grays, whites, and browns of many traditionally styled buildings. The project also had a unique design-related challenge: Shapiro & Co. was in the process of construction on its new headquarters in the Edge District. Shapiro said that the company had to work in a temporary office located under what is now their operational headquarters at 435 Madison Ave. Shapiro said that coordination with Union Depot's contractor, Grant & Co., keeping a focus on work and collaboration, and remembering that less challenging days were ahead kept the team locked in. “We'd be sitting there and little bits and pieces of concrete would come down on our desktops,” Shapiro said. “We're like, ‘What's going on here?’ It was challenging for sure. It was one of those things where we really had an eye on the prize at the end of the day, and the prize was this beautiful [headquarters] office space.”

Ranked # 10 Gill Properties Inc. gillprop.com 6815 Poplar Ave. #110 Germantown, TN 38138 901-758-1100 Total Agents; 8 Full Time Employees: 16 Percentage of Business Office: 30% Industrial: NA Retail: 70% Executive: Ray Gill, President

The Whimsy Cookie Co. retail store at 4704 Poplar Ave. is being demolished, which opens up a prime spot of real estate in East Memphis. The site is already spoken for. It is set to become parking for Soul Fish Cafe at 4720 Poplar Ave. Brown Gill of Gill Properties, Inc. represents Soul Fish. He said he had no official role in the deal. He served to connect the parties, which included Nina Tayloe, who had the ground leases. Tiger Bryant owns Soul Fish Cafe, along with Raymond Williams. Bryant said that Soul Fish's Poplar location is second only to Germantown, as far as customer traffic. The other locations are in Cooper Young and Cordova. "We were looking for a long-term solution to make sure we secure parking for Poplar because we just renewed our lease there," he said. Bryant said they will use the existing parking behind Soul Fish for employees, with customer parking on the site of the former Whimsy building. "We will reorient the entrances," he said. "We'll still have the front entrance but have walkways and handicap access." Bryant estimated the deal will bring parking up to 50-plus spaces. Soul Fish currently has 20 parking spots at its Poplar location. The new lot will feature plantings and lighting. Bryant said he is planning to do something similar at the Cooper Young location at 862 Cooper St., with a neighboring building being taken down for parking. He's talked with the Cooper Young Garden Society about adding green space. "I'm not trying to concrete the city," he said. "I'm just trying to make it easier for our patrons." Bryant said he had hoped to have the Poplar Avenue lot ready by Lent — Soul Fish sells a lot of fish — but the demo staging was being done Feb. 9. The Cooper Young demo should start this week. Bryant noted that at the Cooper Young location, patrons aren't averse to walking a few blocks. But, at the Poplar store, there's not really such a scenario for a mom, with kids and a stroller in tow. "It's going to really help traffic flow. The patrons are the ones who are gonna really benefit from it all," Bryant said. "As you can imagine, I hate spending a bunch of money for parking, but it's a necessary evil."

Ranked # 12 Gill Properties Inc. gillprop.com 6815 Poplar Ave. #110 Germantown, TN 38138 901-758-1100 Commercial S.F. developed since company founded: 2,000,000 Commercial S.F. completed in 2023: 27,000 Local projects completed in 2023: White Oak on White Station Type of development: Retail, office, self storage Founded: 1983 Ray Gill, President

Collierville building fully leased, up for sale The 7,800-square-foot building at 547 West Poplar Ave. is now fully leased and on the market. Lula Harriss, owner of the local 40-year-old dress company, Lula’s Fashion, leased 4,153 square feet. Her son, Steven Harriss, rented the remaining square footage for his photography studio. The landlord, Apple Enterprises, bought the property in 2023 for $1.3 million. Apple Enterprises renovated the property, now valued at $2.5 million. Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III with Gill Properties facilitated the leases, the purchase of the building and now the sale.

Fair Break Federal Credit Union moves on Covington Pike Fair Break Federal Credit Union leased a 1,631-square-foot space at 3074 Covington Pike for seven years and four months. The low-income-designated credit union was represented by Gill Properties Barry Maynard and Frank Dyer III as well as the landlord.

By Michael Waddell, Special to The Daily Memphian Published: March 21, 2025 4:00 AM CT Construction has begun on a Chipotle at the northeast corner of the Stage and Kirby Whitten roads intersection. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Site work is underway on new infill construction at one of Bartlett’s busiest intersections. Crews with Grinder Taber Grinder began digging up the parking lot this week for a new freestanding Chipotle restaurant on the northeast corner of the Stage and Kirby Whitten roads intersection. The new 2,330-square-foot building, located in Gill Properties’ Stage Centre commercial development, will fill in a section of a large parking lot between the center’s CVS and Dollar General stores. “Permits are in hand for Chipotle’s construction,” Patty Bullock, Gill Properties senior vice president, said. “(We are) responsible for the site work and building shell, which should take six months to complete.” Chipotle will be responsible for the interior construction. Bullock anticipates an opening by the end of the year. Gill Properties President Ray Gill estimates the cost of construction at approximately $2.5 million. The center picked up two new tenants last year, with Tommy’s Burger California Style moving into a freestanding building previously occupied by Back Yard Burgers and an O’Reilly Auto Parts superstore opening in part of former grocery store space that sat vacant for almost 18 years. A 22,000-square-foot space adjacent to O’Reilly’s space remains available. “We’re speaking with several interested prospects,” Bullock said. “Bartlett is growing, and we would like to make sure we lease to a tenant that aligns with the market’s long-term viability.” Gill told The Daily Memphian last fall that he wants to build another 10,000-square-foot building behind the Tommy’s Burger California Style building. Activity near that intersection has increased throughout the past year, with traffic counts hitting 26,854 vehicles per day on Stage and Kirby Whitten roads registering 19,430, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “In ‘24 it was much higher than in ‘23, but there was a decline before that,” Bartlett Traffic Engineer Becky Bailey said. She expects the $220 million Union Depot mixed-use project at Stage and U.S. 70 to increase those traffic numbers even more in the coming years. Commercial space at a premium in Bartlett’s big retail centers Stage Road Place is home to Stage Road Barber Shop, Bluff City Escape Rooms, Holliday Flowers, Pho 64, Intensity Martial Arts and more. (Michael Waddell/Special to The Daily Memphian) Across the intersection from Stage Centre and across Stage Road from Union Depot, one of Bartlett’s oldest strip centers, Stage Road Place, is rumored to be considering extensive facade improvements. The building owners are hoping to modernize their center before nearly 2,000 new residents are expected to move in at Union Depot across the street throughout the next few years. Bartlett Alderman Kevin Quinn says he has heard the strip center owners would like to renovate, and he said he hopes they are able to get it done since it’s such a prominent building. “It’s definitely extremely outdated in the style and has continued to have several vacancies, so maybe that will help keep (tenants),” he said. “Even the best quality business will have problems attracting new clients if the building’s in bad shape or very outdated.” The center at 6761 Stage Road opened in the early 1970s and had an Ace Hardware as a main anchor. Today, it is home to the Stage Road Barber Shop, Bluff City Escape Rooms, Holliday Flowers, Pho 64, Intensity Martial Arts and more.