Charter school buys former Kroger, plans $12M transformation
By Stephen MacLeod – Reporter, Memphis Business Journal
Mar 22, 2023
Memphis Merit Academy Charter School (MMA) has purchased a former Kroger and its surrounding shopping center at 4089 American Way, with plans to convert it into a K-8 school.
The charter school, which is currently kindergarten through fourth grade, purchased the Parkway Village facility for $922,000 on March 10, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds.
MMA now plans to spend $12 million to renovate the Kroger as it begins to expand, according to founder and head of school Lakenna Booker. The school will also look to use the adjacent shopping center for tenants that can provide services to the school and wider community, such as health care and tutoring. The school is working with current tenants to see what the future of the area looks like.
“Our vision is that [with] the placement of tenants for this new place, for those businesses to lend themselves back to the school in some way,” Booker said.
Ground breaking on the project is scheduled for April 13, and Booker expects work to wrap around December. However, the school wouldn't move into the new location until August 2024, giving the development plenty of time for delays and setbacks.
Memphis Merit Academy also plans to add a new grade each year as it ramps up to a K-8 model. Fifth grade is set to start this fall, with each additional grade following annually. The school is currently enrolling students for K-5. It has 300 students right now and expects an enrollment of 540 when it is at full, K-8 capacity.
The school currently has 40 employees and would reach 72 at full scale, according to Booker. MMA was founded in 2019 and has been located about a mile and a half east of the new site, at 4775 American Way.
The design of the renovated school features some unique concepts and amenities. The project — designed by Archimania and being built by Grinder, Taber & Grinder — features a playground in a central courtyard that is surrounded by buildings.
“It's inside the school, it’s an indoor cut-out,” Booker said of the playground. “It’s one way we tried to think about how we can ensure the safety of our students while also ensuring that they have a green space where we can have things like a school garden and play area.”
MMA was represented by Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors in the purchase negotiations. The seller was an LLC controlled by Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Co.
