(see the above link for a comprehensive PowerPoint that accompanies this post)
During the Fall 2014 Semester, I spent three months working in the Planning and Development Department at the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC). My official supervisor was Jaske (Jay) Goff, Planning Director for the DMC. On a regular day though, I worked under the supervision of Larry Chan, who specializes in analytics, GIS mapping, and data management for the DMC. Others I sometimes worked with were Brett Roler, an urban design specialist, Paul Morris, President of the DMC, and Leslie Gower, Director of Marketing. The internship started out a little slow as my supervisors and I worked to figure out how my skill set could best benefit the DMC and where I could also learn the most through the process. In the end, I spent the semester developing, conducting, and analyzing a comprehensive methodology for blight remediation and redevelopment in the Edge neighborhood.
Around the nation, real estate has been getting a lot of press as cities look to overcome the economic recession and the impacts of sprawl. Downtowns have become especially important in terms of a city’s brand identity, and Memphis is no anomaly. The DMC has worked hard over the last decade or two to establish a renewed downtown Memphis, and have seen great success. As a nation, urban mixed-use properties, infrastructure, and industrial type real estate are some of the best investments one could make (Urban). However, the Memphis-wide metropolitan region is doing fairly poorly in these categories compared to other major U.S. cities. We are #20 in population, yet number 69 in investment prospects (Urban). To me, that is a major issue despite the growth and the renewed excitement in downtown.
Blight remediation is one way to help Memphis climb the rankings. The Edge neighborhood in particular has plenty of pockets of extreme blight despite being anchored by the Medical District, Southwest Community College, FedEx Forum AutoZone Park, and Sun Studios. This is a list hard to rival almost anywhere else in the city, yet somehow the Edge been forgotten. It is a neighborhood without a clear identity and a neighborhood much in need of some focused planning. At the same time, the Edge is a neighborhood with momentum. The Downtown Memphis Commission, the Mayor’s Office, and the media have recognized the untapped potential in the Edge. Sadly, I was not to able attend, but the MemFix event in October was well attended and sought to enliven the intersection of Monroe and Marshall. It is this kind of momentum that makes the Edge worth investigating more extensively.
The bulk of my semester was spent in a three step methodology Larry and I designed. I began with the question, how does the Edge function as a neighborhood? What are the highlights? What are the clear areas for improvement? The answers to these questions fulfilled the macro-analysis portion of my project in which I worked to identify neighborhood-wide trends and patterns. Directly from Larry or more extensively from my own data clean-up, I worked with blight data, property value change since 2005, recent permits, recent business licenses, recent PILOT applications, and several other data points. Using GIS mapping, I plotted, assessed, and compared all these data points with Larry and together we discovered some new trends that had not yet been brought up at the DMC. Next, I used a methodical process of elimination to identify properties ripe for redevelopment. The four properties, or property clusters, are all in close proximity to extreme blight, but these properties would be short-term redevelopment efforts designed to build on the momentum and spur larger investment. Finally, I helped begin the conversation about the DMC’s particular role in generating redevelopment. In essence, how can the DMC support blight remediation given the tools in its toolbox?
Perhaps the area I saw the most growth this semester was in understanding the role of the DMC, and extrapolated to similar quasi-government non-profits, in the larger Memphis development scene. Coupled with Urban Land Institute seminars, some coursework, and the internship, I feel like I have a much more proficient understanding of real estate financing mechanisms and much greater respect for the time and energy a large scale redevelopment project must undertake. I saw PILOT applications come through that had been in the works for many months and once they got approved, the building’s
construction was going to take another few years. To briefly explain, Memphis seems to have chosen the PILOT program—Payments in Lieu of Taxes—as one its primary funding mechanisms. The PILOT is designed to bridge the gap between a redevelopment project being an idea and actually being a fresh piece of the downtown puzzle. The Downtown Memphis Commission, must work with the applicant and prepare a comprehensive application. The application then gets sent to one the DMC’s subsidiary boards, where it is voted on by community leaders. Once approved, the developer bridges the financing gap through savings in city property taxes until the expiration of the PILOT.
One of my favorite things to sit in on were the Design Review Board meetings run by Brett. This is also a subsidiary board of the DMC administered by community leaders with architectural, or design, or planning specialties. The DMC has been tasked with oversight on the general downtown aesthetic and so the Design Review Board ensures any new developments meet the guidelines. I enjoyed reading through the plans and trying to understand the renderings before a spokesperson for the property presented. This tested my minimal working knowledge of architecture and design. It also inspired me with the diversity of projects, from brand new apartments to small storefront facades. For the full-time staff, essentially no day at the Downtown Memphis Commission was the same. Each project, each program, and each report required a different approach. This level of flexibility was something I was unprepared for, but was a great lesson in workplace dynamics as they each brought their strengths to the table and collaboratively considered a project’s short-term and long-term impact in Memphis.
This semester has been one more building block to my larger Rhodes experience. The Downtown Memphis Commission ended up being a phenomenal place to shadow and to work and to contribute, despite some of my initial skepticism about my true fit in the office. Larry and Jay were especially supportive of my work-school balance and I was able to give back some of the resources Rhodes offers in my GIS work and my academic study. I was lucky enough to attend some DMC sponsored events and some Urban Land Institute sponsored events—occasionally events sponsored by both—that really put me into conversations with leaders in the Memphis real estate community. As I look to find my “dream job” right out of college, I also look to find mentorship. The Memphis community is a lot smaller than its 600,000 census count would suggest. It seems that most everyone I met was intrigued by my journey through the field and yet subliminally asserting that I have much more to learn. As such, I may be graduating in 5 months to the day but I will be a student of the field for decades.
Reflections of an Urbanist 