Yesterday I had the privilege to attend a Memphis Heritage Meeting in regards to the development proposed at Overton Square which includes a new grocery store and other retail development. The meeting room was filled with local residents, architects, planners, and general people who were just interested in voicing their concerns about the potential plan.
The meeting started off with a slide show that showed the history of Overton square the past stores that had previously occupied the space. It was exciting as well as refreshing to see the excitement and reaction of the residents when past stores were flashed across the screen that brought back memories of the neighborhood. It occurred to me right then that the residents who have been living around Overton square had sentimental feelings and attachments to this community and had a very big stake in its development.
Overton Square had originally been part of the trolley car system and therefore had a very unique character. It wasn't some typical community without any unique value but rather a historic district with interesting building characters and an interesting value on community.
I also realized as the slide show progressed that it wasn’t an issue of keeping development out of Overton Park, but more an issue of retaining the character and essence of Overton Square that made it what it was, a community oriented, walkable community. When the facilitator doing the slide show mentioned certain buildings that used to be in the neighborhood, you heard some residents state that they had personally worked on that building, or “they remember the snow cones and parades that took place in the street". It was very obvious that these people cared a great deal about the historic preservation of their community.
It seemed that this euphoria completely turned to disgust when the facilitator flipped to a slide showing the development that was being proposed for the corner of Overton Square. You instantly heard small chatter and people discussing amongst themselves the flaws of design.
It was only a matter of minutes before questions and comments filled the room. “This plan is not for Overton park", stated one resident. Their instant anguish was very noticable as the facilitator continued to talk about the plan.
The plan calls for demolishing everything that remains at Overton Square and replacing it with a grocery store, retail, and restaurants. The original character of Overton Square would be completely lost. We are making midtown look more and more like the suburbs”, stated one resident. There was obviously some disagreement about what goes there, but there was a consensus that some type of makeover needed to be done at the site. “It’s not the development I’d like to see in Midtown,” explained June West, of the Memphis Heritage Society. “I would love to see something much more dense, much more pedestrian-friendly, and bring people to the area.
Overton square had always been a location that locals could walk to and socialize. It was a very walkable, pedestrian friendly establishment that integrated with the character of the neighborhood. The new development is suburban like with street front parking lots that push the building back from the street. Also with only a site plan to look at, many residents were concerned with what the character of the facades would do to the historic district.
People compared this development to the PigglyWiggly development down the street which they feel completely destroyed the character of the Urban area. One architect in the audience went so far as to state, “This is the worst design for an urban area that he had ever seen. And if we don’t stop it now we would risk the chance of losing all the urban character of midtown forever”.
The group that is responsible for this potential development is Oklahoma bases firm Sooner Investment. This group has traditionally been known to do work only in suburban areas, which led local residents to question if this was the best solution for their community. Also as an outside developer, they have very little stake in retaining the character of this community.
It isn’t clear how long this debate over what is best for Overton Square will go on. What is clear though, is that local residents and stake holders won’t go down quietly without a fight. They will continue to voice their concerns to their local government and see what steps can be taken to avoiding losing the character of Overton Square.
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