Memphis Can Tear Down One Downtown Building for $870,000 or Renovate It for Up to $10 Million. It Has No Demolition Estimate at All for the Coliseum.

MEMPHIS, August 4, 2026 - The City of Memphis has an $870,000 estimate to demolish and pave over a downtown office building it owns at 247 Washington Avenue, and an estimate of somewhere between $6 million and $10 million to renovate the same building instead.

For the Mid-South Coliseum, which the city also owns, it has no demolition estimate at all.

Both figures came out at the Public Works, Solid Waste and General Services Committee on August 4, during an update on city-owned properties requested by Councilman JB Smiley Jr. The director of general services and the city's manager of real estate presented a status report on seven vacant properties the city is holding, following up on a list they had brought to a previous meeting.

The seven properties

1079 North Second Street. The adjacent property owner is a willing buyer and wants to use the site for his operations. Part of the property is occupied by public works and its infrastructure, so the parcel has to be subdivided and appraised before a sale. A proposal has been submitted and is being evaluated. Staff expect to return for final approval of the sale within 90 days.

Former Fire Station 43, 1253 Holmes. Two concepts are being evaluated, both for internal city uses. An initial rendering has been received for a community gathering hall. Renderings are still pending for an animal shelter substation. The administration will decide which, and the timeline depends on the budget and the option chosen.

Former Frayser Library, 3712 Argonne. Two proposals from nonprofit organizations are under consideration. Required documentation is still outstanding from both parties. Staff anticipate about 45 days before the options go to the administration and then to the council.

2608 Avery. In use by Memphis Parks for equipment storage. Staff said there is no other operational use for the site at this time.

3628 Summer Avenue. A former clinic that Alliance Healthcare held under lease from the city for approximately ten years. A qualified nonprofit toured the site on July 30 and has submitted a proposal. Staff expect to return for council approval in about 30 days to transfer the property for community use.

247 Washington Avenue. A downtown office building. The demolition and paving estimate is $870,000. The renovation cost was previously stated and restated at this meeting as somewhere between $6 million and $10 million. Staff said they are running a cost-benefit and highest-and-best-use analysis to produce a recommendation for the administration.

Mid-South Coliseum, 996 Early Maxwell. Undetermined. Councilwoman Janika White asked whether the city has demolition costs for it. Staff said no, not at this time.

The buyer the city would not name

Councilman Dr. Jeff Warren asked who the adjacent property owner buying into 1079 North Second Street is.

The city's real estate manager said he would rather discuss it offline because the city is still in negotiations, adding that it is the only adjacent owner to that parcel.

Warren pushed back on the principle. He said he understood not wanting to undo a deal in progress, but that if staff bring items to the council so members know what is going on and members cannot then talk about it, that is difficult. He said he would take it offline.

Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker returned to it and asked whether staff could share the identity of the buyer in an attorney-client session rather than in open committee. The record does not show a clear commitment either way.

The Coliseum

After Councilwoman White established that no demolition estimate exists, Councilwoman Walker said she had toured the building before the pandemic and that the only real issue at that time was compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite a range of rumors circulating about what the building needed. She said organizations had been interested in it but did not want to assume demolition costs, and neither did the city at that time. She asked staff to pull the reports they have and bring back any demolition figure they contain.

Councilman Edmund H. Ford Sr. said the city owns the building and that maintaining it may run roughly $500,000 a year. He and other members returned to the ADA question as the obstacle that has stalled every prior plan.

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton asked whether the Coliseum is a historic property the city is holding for that reason. Members said it is, that it was built in 1964, and described it as the first integrated public venue in the Mid-South.

The committee did not vote on anything. All three items on its agenda that morning were update and discussion items, and one of them was held.

What happens next

Staff committed to specific return windows: about 30 days on 3628 Summer Avenue, about 45 days on the former Frayser Library, and within 90 days on 1079 North Second Street. Each of those returns would come to the council for approval of a transfer or sale. The decision on the former Fire Station 43 rests with the administration and has no stated timeline. The 247 Washington Avenue analysis will produce a staff recommendation to the administration. Staff agreed to look for any existing Coliseum demolition figure and bring it back to the committee.

Your city. Your money. Your receipts.