Crosstown Concourse is a highly impactful vertical urban village dedicated to the cultivation of health and well-being. The mixed‐use redevelopment will preserve the one million sq. ft. historic Sears Roebuck & Co. Distribution Center, built in 1927 as one of ten US Sears distribution centers, and includes restaurants and retail, a small grocery, a fitness center, and health clinics, a charter high school, a contemporary art center, commercial offices, and 265 loft‐style apartments. The project boasts an enormous amount of local support from the surrounding communities.
Each day, 3,000 people are expected to pass through the building. After opening in 2017, the collaborative effort transformed a once-disinvested area between Downtown and Midtown into a center for wellness and urban
revitalization.
The Project, located in a severely disinvested area where the poverty rate is 37.6% and the unemployment is 2.29 times the national average, will bring much-needed resources in arts, education, and healthcare to a community most in need. The City of Memphis estimates the building will create 800 jobs and generate more than $37 million in new wages annually. 20% of the total 260 residential units are affordable housing units, occupied by low-income residents whose household income is less than or equal to 80% of the Area’s Median Family Income.
The project’s goal of awarding 25% of the work to certified minority and women-owned businesses has been exceeded, and hundreds of new construction jobs have been created stimulating economic regeneration in the area.
The $200 million redevelopment is financed through a mix of Historic Tax Credits, NMTCs, conventional debt, charitable contributions, and local government subsidies. DV Community Investment provided $10 million in NMTC allocation. Additional NMTC allocation was provided by Mid-City Community CDE ($12,000,000), Low-Income Investment Fund ($10,000,000), SunTrust CDE ($10,000,000), Midwest Renewable Capital ($9,000,000), National Trust Community Investment Corporation ($5,000,000), and $36.5 million in Historic Tax Credit equity provided by Goldman Sachs.
But for the NMTC, the project would not have the financial resources to fund the redevelopment of this iconic building, which sat vacant for over 20 years and offer favorable rates and terms to community-oriented tenants. Moreover, the project’s overriding mission to transform the historic Sears Crosstown building and create a unique urban village that is focused on health, wellness, arts, and education, would not be possible due to the incredibly high cost of the rehabilitation.
