How the old is making Downtown Memphis new again, from the Sterick Building to 100 N. Main

Subtle and forgotten grandeur might be the best way to describe Memphis' skyline today.

In fall 2023, the lights came back on the historic Sterick Building in Downtown Memphis. A literal sign that the "Queen of the South" is looking to reign again.

Stuart Harris of Constellation Properties purchased the 29-story building, located at 8 N. B.B. King Blvd., in March 2023. Harris, colleagues and a few friends spent about two days inside the tower figuring out wiring and how best to get the exterior lights back up.

For Harris, the city's ethos has become geared toward preservation and adaptive reuse — and it's become beneficial for both Memphis and developers to capitalize on such investments.

"We're trying to fill the street back up again," he said.

Inside the Sterick and a new Downtown district

Touring the Sterick with Harris and his father, Mike Harris (a principal in Constellation Properties), one can see the shared enthusiasm the two have for the building. That zeal extends for the city and the role projects of this scale play into the redevelopment of Downtown Memphis.

The tower will have a multifamily and hotel component. The 6,000-square-foot basement is an untapped canvas, one Stuart Harris believes could be split into two concepts or used as a jazz bar. The first-floor former First National Bank area will most likely serve as a restaurant.

The pair noted, the challenge is ensuring that every square foot of the property needs to be active and contribute as a revenue generator. It's one of the hurdles with preservation and reactivating derelict spaces. (The building has been vacant since 1986.)

“You want them to feed off each other," Mike Harris said regarding the multiple concepts and amenities.

While designing and financing those concepts is a work in progress, the allure of that is reviving a piece of Memphis history. Both Mike and Stuart Harris acknowledged that there's no price on the nostalgia component inside the Sterick, the tricky part is in the execution restoring it.

Each floor inside the Sterick is slightly different. Largely the tower is a Pinterest board of 1970s interior design with art deco hallmarks scattered throughout the building from metal "S" on the doorknobs to four different skylights on the second floor accenting that opulence of the art deco era.

Stuart Harris said they worked with Chattanooga-based firm Know Your Space that used drones and a 3-D spec of the entire 340,000-square-foot building. Memphis-based LRK is helping with architecture and design for future mixed-use of the building. Harris estimates the earliest the building could come back online is 2027, but when it does those remnants inside will remain an integral piece of the reimagined Sterick.

"We want to tell the story on each floor, and that’s why the building is unique," Stuart Harris said.

Is adaptive reuse a saving grace for Memphis?

The Sterick is just one piece of the Downtown puzzle. Constellation Properties also owns the nearby Commonwealth Building along Madison Avenue. The Commonwealth, located at 240 Madison Ave., dates back to 1926 and is now a mixed-use property that includes apartments on its upper floors and Boycott Coffee on the ground floor. Once the Sterick is reactivated, the development firm wants to see the entire block operate in harmony.

Just northwest of the Sterick is the 100 N. Main building, being redeveloped in partnership by local development firm 100 N. Main LLC and Kanas City-based Block Real Estate Services. The city's tallest building is undergoing a $282 million redevelopment plan.

“Aesthetically people just don’t build buildings like they used to," said Michael Winter, principal and vice president of 4FDesign in East Memphis. "People are a lot of times drawn to the visual interest the historical buildings provide. I do think that’s part of the fabric and character of the city.”

That is a shared consensus within the local development community, especially when it comes to Downtown Memphis. The uniqueness for Memphis, however, comes from the wealth of historic properties in the city's Downtown core.

“Downtown Memphis isn’t like anyplace, USA and that’s an advantage," said Brett Roler, Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) chief operations officer.

The DMC has been one of the largest contributors for grants and incentives to help preservation and reactivation in Downtown. Other entities, such as the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County (EDGE), have also played key roles. In February, Center City Revenue Finance Corp., an affiliate board of the DMC, approved a 30-year payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the 100 N. Main project. Similarly, the EDGE board purchased a nearby parking garage to assist in the redevelopment of the Sterick Building. The EDGE board also approved a $5 million loan to aid in the 100 N. Main redevelopment in August 2023.

For Roler, the ability to lean into historic preservation and maintain the character of these buildings can be a difference maker for the city. A key anchor strategy for the organization, he said, is adding 10,000 residents over the next 10 years. Currently, according to DMC data, the difference in Downtown Memphis' daytime population compared to permanent Downtown residents is more than 46,000 persons. Walkability plays a paramount role in changing that.

"The more walkable a neighborhood, the safer it is," he said.

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Green spaces and block activation between these reactivated buildings are a cog in that. Even smaller infill, such as dog parks, help provide a resource for residents and a destination point for visitors. It creates a scenario where residents need to walk, get out and, in doing so, they end up populating the street and creating a community spot where neighbors can connect, Roler said.

"I do think that having density and walkability with this character — all three things combined — collectively, would definitely be more appealing for young professionals looking for a place to live close to amenities and entertainment," Winter said.

How do conversion and historic preservation fit in nationally?

Adaptive reuse is nothing new, but since 2020 — and downtown population migration caused by the pandemic — the development trend has accelerated nationally. In 2022, adaptive reuse outpaced new construction for the first time in 20 years, according to reports from the American Institute of Architects. This change has resulted in a push toward converting hotels and office buildings into apartments. Since 2020, more than 35,000 apartments nationwide have been the result of hotel or office conversions, including a 17.6% increase last year compared to 2022, according to RentCafe data.

Additionally, renovation and preservation are significantly better for the environment compared to demolition and new construction. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, even if a new building using 40% of recycled materials replaces a previous building of comparable size, it would take approximately 65 years to recover the energy lost from demolishing that original structure. In other words, renovating existing buildings reduces carbon emissions and is better for the environment.

For Winter, that trend has been around for awhile in Memphis given its inventory of historic buildings. He did cite the Tennessee Brewery redevelopment as a notable project that reignited interest in adaptive reuse and historic preservation around the city.

"It's been a bigger trend nationally because of sustainability," he said.

Now, it is still to be determined how preservation and former office-to-residential conversion will impact Memphis, but for several developers and stakeholders, the ability to convert notable historic properties is a selling point for the city.

"You can’t recreate the character those properties provide," Adam Slovis of 100 N. Main LLC said. "Memphis is unique and has something to provide... you can't lose that."

Slovis said the 100 N. Main building and the Sterick are a bit different than traditional conversion given the age of both buildings (the iconic buildings date back to 1965 and 1929, respectively) and the mixed-use tower designs, but the likes of a Raymond James building being converted into luxury apartments is an additional asset and provides some level of self-marketing.

While discussion regarding the Raymond James building has been ongoing, the nearby historic Falls Building is undergoing an office-to-apartment conversion. New York-based Left Lane Development is planning to convert the 10-story tower, which was built in 1910, to 170 residential units. The $80 million project extended its PILOT closing date in March 2024.

For Slovis, the likes of 100 N. Main and the Sterick are catalysts for Downtown. The city's inventory of historic properties provides an advantage other cities don't have. They provide a reference point and feeling of nostalgia, that feeling of comfort can create a tent pole effect in a way. However, reactivation is only a portion of the battle, density remains a key component.

"(Still) need things to do to bring people back around," Slovis said.

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The Edge District leading way in modernizing vacant buildings

Those infill projects may not steal the same headlines as reimagining a near-century-old skyscraper, but they are just as valuable.

Memphis-based cnct design recently opened a mixed-use property in the heart of the city's Edge District at 635 Madison Ave. The 30,000-square-foot building is home to the Ugly Art Co., cnct headquarters and will include additional retail and restaurant tenants in the future.

“We need to take time to understand the building, the history and how to bring it back to the current market," John Halford of cnct design said.

Halford's firm has had its hand in several adaptive reuse projects through the Edge District. The Madison Avenue project is a fulcrum in its own right, helping to provide a hub connecting the nearby Inkwell, Rootstock and recently opened JEM restaurant at 644 Madison Ave. (All projects cnct design helped design.)

Even though it's a combination of a half dozen buildings, Halford envisions that Madison Avenue stretch as its own unique district providing culture, entertainment and dining options. That hub works in harmony with the nearby, and recently opened, Orleans Station and Rock'n Dough Pizza and Brewery.

But that curation of amenities began from a plan to reclaim the former 616 Nightclub building at 616 Marshall Ave. in 2020. Halford said the first phase was Inkwell. The cocktail bar opened in May 2022. That second phase has already begun with the additions of Ugly Art Co., the new cnct offices and a new activation point along Madison Avenue. The next phase is reactivating the former nightclub and gentleman's club at 598-616 Marshall Ave. (The former club is located on the upper floors above 635 Madison Ave., the entire property is connected.)

Halford acknowledged that not every adaptive reuse project needs to be apartments. For him, understanding the role a building plays or how it can fit in a neighborhood is just as important as wanting to add fixed density. For him, finding ways to ensure this block in the Edge District remained activated for 16 hours was key.

A large part of that understanding, he said, comes from transitioning from an architect to a developer and learning how to not "fight" with a building. For him, it presents a puzzle with understanding the history of the site and how to modernize it effectively. That means a new life, or new chapter for the building but without an identical use as before, he said.

Ultimately, while the buildings change in characteristics and use, the soul — elements that make them unique — remain in tact.

So for Memphis, that might mean creating its future by reclaiming its past.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X:@neilStrebig.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis development: How historic preservation is reinventing Downtown