By Neil Strebig, Daily Memphian
Buildings as tall as 100 North Main would be allowed in the Pinch District after a 5-1 vote by the Memphis and Shelby County Board of Adjustment on Wednesday, June 22.
The vote was on an application for a height variance for Tom Intrator’s proposed $604 million, six-building mixed-use development in the Pinch District at 400 N. Front St.
Board member John Jackson III voted against it, saying the proposed height for the project would take away from the nearby Pyramid.
The 300-foot height limit is on the areas labeled “C” and “F” of Tom Intrator’s Pinch District site plan. (Courtesy LRK Inc.)
“I have a real tough time with something competing with that iconic structure,” Jackson said.
There was also some opposition because the project would obstruct views of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and suggestions were made to limit the building heights to 300 feet.
Intrator, whose company 18 Main LLC is leading the development, said he needs the added height to ensure the project is feasible. Without the height, the development would be building out, not up.
He did suggest that he was willing to make sure the buildings closest to St. Jude were capped at 300 feet as a compromise.
“If we want to see progress — forget about the Pinch — for the city as a whole, we need density,” Intrator said.
Last month, the variance was on the Board of Adjustment’s agenda, however, the item was tabled following the recusal of two board members: J.T. Malasri and Mary Baker.
Malasri recused himself because his engineering firm, Malasri Engineering, has helped with the project’s infrastructure planning.
Tom Intrator’s site includes 21 parcels along Front and Main streets and extends to Shadyac Avenue on the northern end and Jackson Avenue on the southern end. (Courtesy designshop/LRK Inc.)
The variance would permit a building height greater than 75 feet at the development site located at 400 N. Front St.
The site includes 21 parcels along Front and Main streets and extends to Shadyac Avenue on the northern end and Jackson Avenue on the southern end.
Initially, Intrator requested a height limit of 420 feet for the six buildings. In comparison, Memphis’ tallest building, 100 North Main, is 37 stories and 430 feet tall.
The approved conditions would allow for two buildings to be at the 420-foot height limit; two proposed buildings on the eastern side of the site adjacent to St. Jude Children’s Hospital along North Main Street and Shadyac Avenue would have a 300-foot height limit; and the remaining buildings must be no taller than 360 feet.
“I do feel the pyramid is a little lonely,” board chair Tim Rainey said.
Memphis-based Kimley-Horn & Associates and LRK Inc. are helping with the planning and design for the project.
“This is the first step to ensure the development is economically viable,” Mike Hammond of Kimley-Horn said.