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Large-scale $162 million Union Depot project underway in this local suburb By Stephen MacLeod – Reporter, Memphis Business Journal Apr 15, 2024 Updated Apr 15, 2024 4:09pm CDT

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.”

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Demolitions to improve Soul Fish Cafe’s parking on Poplar and in Cooper Young By Susan Ellis – Projects Editor, Memphis Business Journal Feb 12, 2024

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."

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Memphis-Area Commercial Real Estate Developers Ranked by Commercial S.F. developed since company founded locally Locally Researched by: Cole Schnell, Memphis Business Journal May 31, 2024, 9:40am CDT

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

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