Redevelopment: Beale Street and the Northside Square Project
Amidst the twisting roller coaster of major news surrounding the Grizzlies, you may have missed an even more consequential announcement affecting the future of the team. Last week, the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) announced that it had been awarded $74 million from the state of Tennessee for the purposes of improving the Beale Street corridor. According to the Daily Memphian, the money will be used to improve public safety and generally uplift the perception of downtown for residents and businesses alike.
It got us thinking: What does good development look like? How does it help the people who live in the areas where it is happening? How do we ensure that residents are not displaced by development or revitalization efforts? Where should we be targeting investments in Memphis?
Shelby County’s New Year’s Resolutions
If you’re anything like us, you’re struggling to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, and it’s hardly been a week. That’s because it’s way easier to carry on the status quo than to make important, difficult changes to your life. Memphis is the same way—our local governments, education systems, nonprofits, and budgets can easily fall into the same playbook year-in and year-out.
Just like our personal resolutions, we won’t achieve our community resolutions without a plan. While we still face low educational outcomes, entrenched poverty, and a myriad of other challenges, a set of shared resolutions and commitments across our efforts can begin to change how we support our children and families in 2026.
A Critical Budget Hearing | Weekly Policy Update
On May 13, 2025, Memphis City Council convened during a critical budget hearing to discuss the launch of a new Community Enhancement Division.
This division aims to improve environmental and neighborhood conditions by addressing “blight” or problem property-related issues. Ultimately, these efforts will work toward bettering the quality of life, public health, and safety for Memphians.
Good News for Hospitality Hub!
A couple of weeks ago, Hospitality Hub, a local nonprofit organization that aids Memphians experiencing homelessness, recently broke ground on a new project on the site of the old Manassas High School building in North Memphis. The organization plans to build 20 “cottages” for use in housing those who need it, with a goal of 60 such structures by the end of 2025. After the groundbreaking, Kelcey Johnson, Executive Director of Hospitality Hub, said that the organization will next set its sights on helping those in need in Southeast Memphis.
While the new Hospitality Hub location is welcome news in addressing a critical issue facing too many Memphians, the necessity of this kind of intervention follows a truth that we can all see throughout the city: Quality, affordable housing is becoming so scarce that it has turned into a full-blown crisis.