Record hotel boom in Downtown Memphis continues as new projects add 900 rooms

DESIREE STENNETT | THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL

Four new hotel projects have joined Downtown Memphis' largest developments, adding hundreds more rooms to an already long list of hotels that are in various stages of planning and construction or have recently opened.

In June, The Commercial Appeal found more than 2,000 rooms across 13 hotel projects in Downtown and Midtown. At the time, hotel industry expert Chuck Pinkowski said that was the largest number of rooms he had even seen in the pipeline for Downtown Memphis.

By July, New York development company Somera Road decided to scrap a 250-room project planned on a parking lot near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard.

The company, which also owns the former Gibson Guitar Factory building that will become the new home for FedEx Logistics, decided to focus on building more office space on the site instead.

That move signaled the possibility of a slowdown in Downtown hotel construction as developers evaluated how many hotels the area could sustain. But then, in November, the leaders of Union Row, One Beale and the newly announced Pinch District development added more than 900 rooms to the pipeline.

For Downtown, the projects that make it from planning to opening day will depend on developers' tolerance for risk, whether they can find committed hotel partners and whether the surge in Downtown development can continue, he added.

Here's what is known about the newest projects. 

Union Row adds 350 new rooms

When Union Row was announced in late 2018, it was a $950 million project. The first phase — $511 million — included one hotel with 200 rooms along with plans for office space, retail space, apartments and a grocery store.

Just before demolition began, developer Kevin Adams announced he and his team had revisited the project details and the first phase had grown to $750 million. 

New plans included a second hotel and 350 additional rooms as well as a possible second grocery store, hundreds more apartments and more office space.

No partners for either hotel have been revealed.

One Beale adds second hotel

One Beale developer Chance Carlisle of Carlisle Corp. announced plans just before Thanksgiving for a second hotel to be included in his project near the riverfront.

The new hotel will be built atop the historic William C. Ellis & Sons Ironworks and Machine Shop along Front Street. Carlisle said he expects to announce which hotel company will partner on the 150-room boutique hotel in early 2020. 

Construction of the other hotel, a Hyatt Centric, is already underway just north of where the new hotel is expected to rise.

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2 hotels planned in Pinch District

After spending the better part of a year buying up nearly three blocks of land between St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Pyramid, New York developer Tom Intrator, a newcomer to Downtown Memphis development, announced plans for a $1.1 billion redevelopment project in November.

Included in the first phase of the project are two hotels with a total of 406 rooms. With the project still in its infancy, Intrator has not said what company will operate the hotel, but he has repeatedly talked publicly about an interest in introducing national brands to the Memphis market.

Intrator has already partnered with the boutique Dream Hotels on a separate Downtown project that will redevelop what is now the Royal Furniture building at 122 S. Main St. It could be several months before his newest hotel partner is revealed.