Developers go behind the deal on their $267M plans for 100 N. Main
By Stephen MacLeod – Reporter, Memphis Business Journal
The bid by 100 North Main Development Partners — a group of several local developers and power brokers led by Kevin Woods, VP and Memphis market president of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee — was awarded the job to redevelop 100 North Main building.
The Downtown Mobility Authority made its decision at a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
MBJ got an exclusive interview with development leaders about their $267 million vision and what comes next.
Who is developing it?
Every day, Woods looks out the window of his BlueCross BlueShield office at a particular building.
He never liked what he saw. He watched the tower at 100 N. Main St. stand empty and dilapidated.
Woods called it an “eyesore.”
He also saw potential, so he got to work.
Woods called up Billy Orgel and Adam Slovis — two men he’d worked with before — to put together a team who could redevelop the building.
That team now includes Orgel, Slovis, Jay Lindy, and Michael McLaughlin and comprises 100 North Main Development Partners.
“We have a track record of taking opportunities, particularly in Downtown Memphis, and reimagining spaces,” Woods said. “100 N. Main is just yet another opportunity to do so.”
There’s much work to do, but it's not something unfamiliar to the Woods-led group. The team has worked to restore buildings Downtown in the past.
They’ve done redevelopment on the Tennessee Brewery, the Snuff District, 99 S. Front St., and others. Adaptive reuse has become a signature of Downtown development, especially when Orgel and his team is involved.
Orgel loves the history of 100 N. Main. He excitedly talked about how its original architect, Robert Lee Hall, designed several iconic buildings throughout the city, including Clark Tower and the University of Memphis' Patterson Hall.
“We get weak knees over decrepit, dilapidated, abandoned, or vacant buildings,” Orgel said of he and his partners. “We like things that need attention.”
Orgel is eager to take on another adaptive reuse project, especially one that would reactivate the same functions the building used to hold, such as the rooftop restaurant and bar and retail space.
The group believes that a restored 100 N. Main would have a huge potential impact.
Slovis thinks their plans for the building can help revitalize Main Street by bringing more Downtown residents and attracting tourists to explore Memphis.
“Tourists come through here and walk the streets from the Renasant Convention Center to Beale Street, and they pass this block and 100 N. Main,” Slovis said. “How exciting is it going to be when there's a hotel in there, people who live there, and there is a restaurant and bar? You can go up to the top floor and have a drink and look around.”
What comes next? And when?
Now comes the real work for the development group and for 100 N. Main.
The Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) and the partnership will review and map out specifics over the next six months, but the basics of the $267 million project are outlined.
The existing tower will feature 180 to 210 apartments; a hotel with 154 to 200 rooms; a renovation to the existing, 420-car parking garage; 60,000 square feet of office space for the City of Memphis; and 38,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and rooftop amenity space.
There will also be an infill structure built to the south of the tower, featuring another 140 apartments; 352 additional parking spaces; and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Woods and his team still have some design and due diligence to do on the building to refine the plans, but the timeline will be aggressive.
That due diligence is expected to take 180 days, and construction is expected to start right after.
Construction is estimated to take about 28 months, although the official time frame will be known after a formal agreement is made after the due diligence period.
Why this bid? How was it different?
The DMC committee for selecting the project authored a memo with insight into how it decided on this local bid.
The memo stated that although several of the finalist candidates were seen as more than capable of pulling off the project, the Woods-led team’s commitment to diversity from day one was what put them over the top.
“The commitment was serious because we were not only looking at Kevin Woods as a major project participant but even the vendors who were a part of their team,” said Paul Young, DMC president and CEO. “We look at this as an opportunity to uplift the city. We truly believe that in order for our city to grow at the level we want it to, we need to have minority developers playing a role in the building up of our city.”
The project noted several minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) consultants in the early process, including:
• Allworld Project Management: Project coordination and management
• Carpenter Law PLLC: Bond counsel
• Design Love Studio: Architecture
• Innovative Engineering Services (IES): Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection
• Judith Johnson & Associates: Historic preservation
• M&M Enterprises: Apartment leasing and management
The 100 N. Main partnership has agreed to far exceed the DMC’s Equal Business Opportunity program. Every vendor will be required to meet those requirements.
The remaining major project vendors currently are:
• Davis Patrikios Criswell: Structural engineering
• DHS Lighting Design: Specialty lighting
• Grinder, Taber & Grinder: Construction
• HBG Design: Core design leadership
• Kimley-Horn: Civil engineering and landscape architecture and design
• Winston Hospitality: Hotel development and management
The partnership will also seek to have more than 30% in local minority investor participation with respect to the total number of equity partners.
“We were unapologetic about the idea of a local land project and building local wealth,” Woods said. “We believe over time that this could be a project that also yields a return for investors.”
The DMC memo also stated that the partnership has identified “several” minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) that are interested in potentially being office or retail tenants when the building opens.
The partnership has also expressed an eagerness to work with the DMC.
"Because of the leadership of DMC president Paul Young and his amazing staff, we are building a better Downtown Memphis," Woods said. "Even more important, their commitment to increased inclusivity will not only benefit Downtown but also all of Memphis. While we put together a great team and a strong proposal, we wouldn't be here if it was not for the strong leadership of the DMC and the City of Memphis."
Where does everyone go from here?
The DMC was extremely pleased with the request for proposals (RFP) process utilized to select 100 N. Main’s developer.
“There were some very, very qualified teams responding to the RFP,” Young said. “We are hopeful that they will continue to show interest in the city of Memphis. We'd like to see more developers helping us build up our city. We're going to continue to identify opportunities for them to bid on properties to purchase.”
Young said that although the DMC has not yet identified its next project, it is very open to utilizing a similar RFP process.
As for Woods, he’s ready to fix his view.
“It's going to be an opportunity for Memphis to once again say that anything's possible,” Woods said after the Jan. 19 decision. “There are a number of naysayers on this project, probably even after the vote today, who believe that it wasn't an asset worth saving. We’re hopeful that 100 N. Main can be seen as an amazing opportunity to preserve an amazing asset in Downtown Memphis.”
