Ray Gill of Gill Properties, which is developing the rest of the project, said TraVure was designed to be a walkable, urban and user-friendly place, where people can leave their car in a covered garage — cool in the summer and away from the elements in the winter — and walk the rest of their visit, whether that's to their office, a dinner date, some retail therapy or all three. In early discussions, the development drew strong opposition from neighbors, particularly the gated Nottoway community, where residents expressed concerns about potential issues like light emanating from the development’s parking garage. Gill said the parking garage, which can hold 476 vehicles, will make visiting the complex more convenient for shoppers and workers. “The whole idea was to have retail, office and hospitality on one site,” he said. “You can park your car and walk and stay all day."

"TraVure provides us with a unique opportunity to have a newly constructed campus-like setting with amenities such as covered parking, and soon restaurants, a hotel and a fitness center all within walking distance," he said.

“Ever since the building’s been up and MAA started moving in, the [leasing] activity has been wonderful,” Bullock said.

“When you think about the entire block – Poplar Avenue to Sanderlin Road and Mendenhall Road to White Station – it’s the most dynamic mixed-use block in all of East Memphis,” said Gill, who cited its two grocery stores, major movie theater, 10 to 15 restaurants, great bars, abundance of office space and residential condos. “It just needs to be more pedestrian friendly.”

"There are no other blocks in East Memphis that has that many uses on it that are walkable.''

Gill noted that he made a concerted effort to keep news of the project from getting out before he had a chance to talk to the surrounding neighbors face-to-face because he feels they are an integral part of the process and deserve the developer’s respect.