Crosstown Concourse
{{short description|Mixed-use development in Memphis, Tennessee}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Crosstown Concourse
| logo = Crosstown Concourse wordmark.png
| logo_alt = A stylized beige-on-orange all-caps typeface saying, one word atop the other, "CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE"
| image = Crosstown Concourse east façade.jpg
| image_caption = East façade and 14-story tower (2018)
| former_names = Sears Crosstown
| etymology = Streetcar intersection
| building_type = Mixed-use high-rise
| architectural_style = Art Deco & Art Moderne
| address = 495 North Watkins Street
| location_city = Memphis, Tennessee
| location_country = United States
| current_tenants = #Tenants
| groundbreaking_date = February 21, 1927
| opened_date = August 27, 1927
| renovation_date = February 21, 2015{{spaced en dash}}2017
| ren_cost = {{US$|200 million|long=no}}
(approx. ${{inflation|US|200|2017}}M in {{inflation/year|US}})
| height = {{convert|188.00|ft}}
| floor_count = 14
| floor_area = {{convert|1|e6ft2|abbr=unit}}
| grounds_area = {{convert|16|acre|abbr=on}}
| architecture_firm = Nimmons & Co.
| ren_firm = {{unbulleted list|DIALOG|Looney Ricks Kiss}}
| parking = 1526 spaces
| website = {{URL|crosstownconcourse.com}}
| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP |embed=yes
| name = Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog Distribution Center and Retail Store
| added = December 28, 2013
| refnum = 13000954 }}
}}
Crosstown Concourse is a mixed-use development and historic high-rise building in Memphis, Tennessee. Originally built in 1927 as a Sears retail store and catalog order plant, the building was closed in 1993. A 2015–2017 renovation brought in retail, restaurants, office spaces, and apartments.
Building
Crosstown Concourse is at the intersection of Watkins and North Parkway in Midtown, Memphis, a few miles northeast of Downtown. The address is 495 North Watkins Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38104.
Designed by Nimmons & Co. in Art Deco and Art Moderne styles, the building is constructed of steel-reinforced concrete with a brick veneer. The main building is ten stories tall with a 14-story tower, considered a high-rise even by the standards of 1981.
Originally on {{convert|16|acre}} of land, the building was expanded in 1937, 1941, and 1965, ending up with an area of {{convert|1.5|e6ft2}} on {{convert|19|acre}}. The basement covered {{convert|75000|ft2}} and had {{convert|14|ft|adj=on}} ceilings. Floors one and two had {{convert|17|ft|adj=on}} ceilings with {{convert|227500|and|190100|ft2}}, respectively. Floors three through ten each had {{convert|139100|ft2}} of area and {{convert|11|ft|adj=on}} ceilings (excepting the tenth floor with {{convert|14|ft|adj=on}} ceilings).
The building has a maximum height of {{convert|188.00|ft}}, and was certified LEED Platinum in 2017. Of 1526 parking spaces, 1130 ({{percentage|1130|1526}}) were in the parking garage, while 396 ({{percentage|396|1526}}) were surface spots.
History
=Sears=
In 1925, with the rate of automobile registrations outpacing available retail parking, Sears' vice-president of factories and retail—Robert E. Wood—decided that the company's new big stores would be built away from city centres, and instead in low-density areas where costs were cheaper yet car-owning customers could still reach. Sears Crosstown and Sears-Pico were among the first new constructions beholden to this edict. Sears scouted the site in secret to prevent price gouging by locals if it was learned in advance that the retail giant was interested in property. In the late 1920s, the chosen location was in a suburban neighborhood {{convert|2|mi|spell=in}} from Downtown.
File:Sears in Memphis, Tennessee (1927).jpg
The building was originally dual-purposed as both the city's first Sears retail store and a catalog order plant. The original groundbreaking took place on February 21, 1927, and after only 180 days of construction, Mayor Rowlett Paine—who had allocated {{US$|100000}} (equivalent to about ${{inflation|US|.1|r=1|1927}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}) to build streetcar tracks specially for servicing the {{convert|640000|ft2|adj=on}} building—cut the ribbon on August 27, 1927. The very first day of business saw almost 30,000 shoppers.
At the building's busiest, as many as 45,000 catalog orders left each day. By 1981, the building was called Sears Crosstown, named for the intersecting streetcar lines. The first two floors were Sears retail, while the third was an outlet store; higher floors were concerned with the business of fulfilling catalog orders. In August 1983, employees were first informed about the impending closure of the retail store, though the surplus-goods outlet in the basement stayed open. Sears closed the distribution center completely in 1993, selling the building in 2000 to Memtech LLC for {{US$|1.25 million|long=no}} (equivalent to about ${{inflation|US|1.25|2000|r=2}}M in {{inflation/year|US}}).
=Renovation=
Around 2007, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler listed the vacant building for sale, hoping to capitalize on the trend of renovating former Sears buildings into mixed-use development (as successfully done in Boston, Dallas, and Seattle). That same year, a group of anonymous Memphis investors doing business as Crosstown LLC bought the building for {{US$|3.5 million|long=no}} (equivalent to about ${{inflation|US|3.5|2007|r=1}}M in {{inflation/year|US}}). Crosstown LLC have been described as "local investors who bought the property for civic reasons [and] are not involved for the publicity."
File:Sears Building Memphis TN 04 (cropped).jpg
Crosstown LLC brought in a team of developers (the Sears Crosstown Development Team) to redesign and renovate the building. Dr. Todd Richardson was an assistant professor of art history at the University of Memphis, brought in as team lead. He was joined by McLean Wilson, vice president of Kemmons Wilson Inc.; Bologna Consultants; Carkuff Interiors; architectural firms of Looney Ricks Kiss and DIALOG; construction firm Grinder Taber & Grinder; and the marketing firm of Doug Carpenter & Associates. Richardson later admitted that the team originally gave the project a five percent chance of success.
==Structural==
File:Crosstown Concourse center atrium, looking north.jpg
Approximately {{convert|500000|ft2}} of space was earmarked for excision to provide the building with lightwells and atriums, and the remaining one million to be divided into {{convert|600000|ft2}} for commercial use and {{convert|400000|ft2}} for residential. Bologna Consultants determined that though the building was structurally sound, and asbestos wasn't a large concern, earthquake-girding and restoring the hundreds of windows would need addressing.
In 2015, Richardson enumerated some of the work performed. Already, {{convert|17200|ST}} of concrete, and {{convert|9|e6lbs|spell=in}} of metal had been removed from the site. 3,200 windowpanes; 400,000 bricks; and {{convert|2000|ft}} of suspended scaffolding were earmarked for removal, while {{convert|360|mi}} of brick joints were planned for restoration. The renovation of the building occurred from 2015–2017. The brick façade was left in-place.
==Realization==
Groundbreaking for the renovation was on February 21, 2015. Metal from the Sears heating system was melted to form the new cornerstone.
After two years of construction costing {{US$|200 million|long=no}}, Crosstown Concourse had its grand opening on August 19, 2017—almost 90 years after the building's original debut. The mayors of Memphis (Jim Strickland) and of Shelby County (Mark Luttrell) were in attendance. At 96% capacity, Crosstown Concourse had over 200 residents, 41 tenant businesses, and 700+ new jobs for Memphis.
=Crosstown Concourse=
File:Pizzeria Trasimeno at Crosstown Concourse (25 Feb 2022, after fire).tif
At 11:55{{spaces}}a.m. on February 25, 2022, an accidental fire broke out at Pizzeria Trasimeno on the east side of the building. Memphis Fire Services extinguished the fire in 16 minutes, which caused no structural damage and an estimated {{US$|20000|2022|long=no|round=-3}} of damage to building contents. The building was evacuated for 50 minutes, and there were no injuries reported.
Tenants
By August 2012, the first nine committed tenants for post-renovation had been secured. Church Health Center was biggest among these, planning to move its entire operation into the 14-story tower, though they would be joined at North Watkins by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, and The West Clinic. The other four tenants were to be Gestalt Community Schools, committing to opening a 500-student charter high school; Memphis Teacher Residency, training and housing 100 of their teacher-trainees; Crosstown Arts' artist-residency program, art-making labs, and performance/exhibition spaces; and Rhodes College {{nowrap|"send[ing]}} a flow of students to Sears Crosstown, integrating the health care, arts and grade school into its academic and community outreach programs."
Upon the grand-opening, much of the building's space had been leased: 60% of the retail space, 80% of apartments, and 98% of the office space. Tenants have included:
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
- Area 51 Ice Cream
- Church Health
- Crosstown High School
- Curb Market
- Farm Burger
- FedEx Office
- Global Café
- Lucy J's Bakery
- Madison Pharmacy
- Mama Gaia's
- nexAir
- The Parcels at Concourse
- Pizzeria Trasimeno
- YMCA
{{div col end}}
References
{{reflist |refs=
{{cite news |date=1971-05-20 |title=Opening Ceremonies of Sears First Store in Memphis |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en |issn=0745-4856 |oclc=9227552}}
{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Kenneth T. |author-link1=Kenneth T. Jackson |year=1985 |chapter=The Drive-in Culture of Contemporary America |title=Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States |language=en |location=Madison Avenue |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=241–271 |isbn=0-19-503610-7}}
{{cite news |last1=Scruggs |first1=John |date=2007-02-22 |title=Will Sears Crosstown rise again? |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2007/02/26/story1.html |url-status=live |work=Memphis Business Journal |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323142527/http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2007/02/26/story1.html |archive-date=2017-03-23 |access-date=2021-07-17 |quote=Other markets find beauty in the beasts}}
{{cite news |last1=Wolff |first1=Cindy |date=2011-02-27 |title=Abandoned Memphis: Sears Crosstown, before the doors closed |url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/feb/27/death-of-a-sales-job-before-the-retail-store-in/ |url-status=dead |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en |issn=0745-4856 |oclc=9227552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228223322/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/feb/27/death-of-a-sales-job-before-the-retail-store-in/ |archive-date=2011-02-28 |access-date=2021-07-17}}
{{cite news |last1=Bailey Jr. |first1=Thomas |date=2012-08-19 |title='Founding partners' commit to lease most of Memphis' Sears Crosstown Building |url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/19/founding-partners-commit-to-lease-most-of-sears/ |url-status=dead |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en |issn=0745-4856 |oclc=9227552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823162523/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/19/founding-partners-commit-to-lease-most-of-sears/ |archive-date=2012-08-23 |access-date=2021-07-17}}
{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Maya |last2=Sells |first2=Toby |date=2017-08-17 |title=Crosstown Concourse: The Vertical Village Comes to Life |url=https://www.memphisflyer.com/crosstown-concourse-the-vertical-village-comes-to-life |url-status=live |work=Memphis Flyer |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414052151/https://www.memphisflyer.com/crosstown-concourse-the-vertical-village-comes-to-life |archive-date=2021-04-14 |access-date=2021-10-07}}
{{cite news |last1=Pignolet |first1=Jennifer |date=2017-08-19 |title='Big building, big party'—Crosstown Concourse celebrates official grand opening |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2017/08/19/big-building-big-party-crosstown-concourse-celebrates-official-grand-opening/581017001/ |url-status=live |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en |issn=0745-4856 |oclc=9227552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717005319/https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2017/08/19/big-building-big-party-crosstown-concourse-celebrates-official-grand-opening/581017001/ |archive-date=2021-07-17 |access-date=2021-07-27}}
{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Bianca |date=2021-07-26 |title=Healthy building, healthy people |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2021/07/26/healthy-building-crosstown-concourse.html |url-status=live |work=Memphis Business Journal |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727153842/https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2021/07/26/healthy-building-crosstown-concourse.html |archive-date=2021-07-27 |access-date=2021-10-09 |quote=Crosstown Concourse serves up a healthy dose of a building with its sustainable design, wellness facilities, and social/arts programming}}
{{cite news |last1=Padilla |first1=Ray |last2=Hardiman |first2=Samuel |last3=Burgess |first3=Katherine |last4=Testino |first4=Laura |date=2022-02-25 |title=Fire at Crosstown Concourse caused by wood chips from pizza oven, fire department says |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2022/02/25/memphis-fire-department-fire-crosstown-concourse-midtown/6940833001/ |url-status=live |work=The Commercial Appeal |language=en |issn=0745-4856 |oclc=9227552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225212318/https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2022/02/25/memphis-fire-department-fire-crosstown-concourse-midtown/6940833001/ |archive-date=2022-02-25 |access-date=2022-02-25}}
{{cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/192413/crosstown-concourse-building-memphis-tn-usa |title=Crosstown Concourse Building |publisher=Emporis |language=en |access-date=2021-07-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717221931/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/192413/crosstown-concourse-building-memphis-tn-usa |archive-date=2021-07-17}}
}}
External links
- {{official website|1=https://crosstownconcourse.com}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Sears Building (Memphis, Tennessee)}}
Category:Art Deco architecture in Tennessee
Category:buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee
Category:concrete buildings and structures
Category:Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certified buildings
Category:mixed-use developments in the United States
Category:residential buildings in Memphis, Tennessee