Nearly $60 million in new projects ongoing in Frayser
Grinder Taber Grinder is proud to share their involvement with Girls Inc. and the Ed Rice Community Center.
By Omer Yusuf, Daily Memphian
Porter-Leath’s newest Early Childhood Academy set to open in the coming weeks is the latest in a growing list of projects reflecting the growth and revitalization of the Frayser community.
City of Memphis officials also gave updates on the demolition and rebuild of Ed Rice Community Center and repurposing of Davy Crockett Golf Course in a virtual meeting with the Frayser Exchange Club — the neighborhood’s civic organization — this week.
The three projects are part of at least $60 million in developments at various stages of completion in Frayser that address important neighborhood issues such as early childhood education, recreational activities and affordable housing.
“I hope others will come by and come see Frayser and think about doing the same,” Sean Lee, Porter-Leath president, said Friday, March 26 at a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Put your program here. Invest your business here. Do work here. It’s really important.”
Porter-Leath
When on-site programming begins at Porter-Leath, about 248 children from six weeks to 5 years old will be taught at the Early Childhood Academy in Frayser. The nonprofit is also creating a program — the Teacher Excellence Program — to train local preschool teachers and early childhood educators.
Porter-Leath invested nearly $12 million in its second Early Childhood Academy at 3060 Baskin St. It’s also located within a two-mile radius to two other multi-million dollar projects in Frayser – the proposed expansion of Girls Inc.’s youth farm and the newly renovated Renaissance at Steele apartments.
“There are 45,000 residents here and if you ask anyone of them, they’re very proud of their community,” Lee said. “I hope we’ve built something that will be a point of pride for them for a long time to come.”
Renaissance at Steele
Roshun Austin, executive director of The Works Inc., and Archie Willis of ComCap Partners collaborated on the Renaissance at Steele project — a $17 million renovation of 146 single- and multi-family units. It was previously a heavily blighted apartment complex with 25% to 30% occupancy before the renovations.
The apartment complex at 3085 Steele St., in addition to affordable housing, also has space for cooking classes, financial literacy courses and home ownership assistance. While quality affordable housing was crucial to the renovation, giving those who reside in the apartments additional benefits was also important.Receive the latest news, developments and back stories from Memphis’ neighborhoods.
Pastor DeAndre Brown, executive director of Lifeline to Success in Frayser, said this project represents another small but important step toward neighborhood revitalization.
“A lot of times (when) people think of community revitalization they think, ‘Just build, build, build,’ ” Brown said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony March 18. “But if you don’t assist the people in transforming the way they think about themselves and where they live, it’s just a waste of money.”
Willis said in a March 18 interview that ComCap Partners is looking at doing further affordable housing work in Frayser with one project in the early planning stages.
Girls Inc.
Construction on Girls Inc.’s youth farm expansion is expected to begin this summer, said Lisa Moore, president and CEO of Girls Inc. Memphis.
The estimated $7 million renovation of 8 acres includes a new center for girls ages 5 to 18, additional farming operations for the youth farm and administrative offices for staff at 1179 and 1199 Dellwood Ave. Girls Inc. opened its 9.5-acre Frayser youth farm in 2015.
“We have begun conversations about program collaboration with Porter-Leath, our neighbors across Baskin Street, to boost childhood literacy and with The Works, to provide fresh produce and programming with residents of the newly renovated Renaissance Apartments,” Moore wrote in an email Friday. “We are very excited to begin construction to anchor the community development happening all across Frayser, especially along Dellwood!”
Ed Rice Community Center
Completion of the new Ed Rice Community Center, at 2907 N. Watkins St., remains on track for spring 2022, Nick Walker, the city’s neighborhood and parks director, said at the Frayser Exchange Club on Thursday.
The project is about 25% complete, Walker said. The new $8 million city of Memphis-funded facility will include a gym, aquatics center, tennis court, park and art space.
A new basketball court, a stage, three community meeting spaces along with workout and fitness areas will also be featured in the 27,000-square foot center. The new facility will be located at the same address as the original founded in 1965, which remained opened until last year.
“I know for folks who’ve seen it coming, it’s been a long time coming, and it can’t get here quick enough. But we’re looking forward to being in there next summer,” Walker said.
Along with a new $11.5 million Frayser library set to open later in 2021 and $7 million in ongoing renovations at Rodney Baber Park, the total investment in neighborhood projects isnearly $60 million.
Davy Crockett golf course
Of the five projects highlighted, the repurposing of Links at Davy Crockett golf course is the probably the furthest from coming to fruition. That’s mainly because while Davy Crockett will likely not reopen in its current form, what exactly will take its place remains unclear.
Discussions remain ongoing between city officials and community members about the best use for one of the city’s least-utilized courses at 4380 Range Line Rd. built in 1961 and closed last year.
Some of the ideas mentioned at Thursday’s Frayser Exchange Club meeting included a mountain bike trail, walking trails, community garden, proposed playground, picnic pavilion and fishing pier.
Walker estimated early costs of the Davy Crockett renovation between $4 million and $5 million, and since it’s likely going to be a multi-year project, funding for the repurposing will spread out over two or three years.
