Overton Square plans remain cloudy; developers sidestep response to concerns
By Don Wade (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, May 29, 2009
Two developers linked to a contract for purchase of the southern part of Overton Square met this week with Memphis Heritage and other Midtown stakeholders
Those developers were Scott Wilmoski, senior vice president for real estate development at Kansas City, Kan.-based Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., and Leland Clark of Sooner Investment, a commercial and investment real estate company out of Oklahoma City.
Not that any of these details were clear from the meeting's outset.
"At first, they didn't want to give their name or who they worked for," said Jackie Nichols, executive producer for Playhouse on the Square. "And then they opened up a little bit.
"I've always been a person who takes people at their word until there's a reason to think any different. And sometimes, that's probably hurt me. They kept saying, 'We have (no development plans) to show you. We're here to listen.'"
Several weeks ago, word of a possible deal became public. Overton Square Investors LLC, the owner of the nearly five-acre Midtown site and an affiliate of Fisher Capital Partners LTD in Colorado, reportedly had a contract to sell the land to AWG.
As Memphis Heritage and others expressed concern over the direction of possible redevelopment -- especially the prospect of a low-end big-box grocery store and a strip mall -- AWG did not respond to calls and e-mail messages from the preservation group and other community members.
Now, Memphis Heritage executive director June Waddell West believes a stepped-up e-mail campaign "absolutely" inspired Tuesday's meeting here.
Calls on Thursday to Wilmoski and Clark seeking comment were not immediately returned.
"Our position is we're for development as long as the development is appropriate for the neighborhood," said Sam Goff, who heads Midtown Development Corp. "At least the lines of communication are open."
Nichols, too, said he left the meeting feeling "a little more positive," but he and West remain puzzled by some of the developers' tactics.
For example, Nichols said they initially indicated there was no contract on the property, but "toward the end (of the meeting) there was an admission there was some kind of contract."
West, herself a former developer, said: "We don't want to run off development. But I think transparency is better. That's just my style."
Friday, May 29, 2009
Two developers linked to a contract for purchase of the southern part of Overton Square met this week with Memphis Heritage and other Midtown stakeholders
Those developers were Scott Wilmoski, senior vice president for real estate development at Kansas City, Kan.-based Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., and Leland Clark of Sooner Investment, a commercial and investment real estate company out of Oklahoma City.
Not that any of these details were clear from the meeting's outset.
"At first, they didn't want to give their name or who they worked for," said Jackie Nichols, executive producer for Playhouse on the Square. "And then they opened up a little bit.
"I've always been a person who takes people at their word until there's a reason to think any different. And sometimes, that's probably hurt me. They kept saying, 'We have (no development plans) to show you. We're here to listen.'"
Several weeks ago, word of a possible deal became public. Overton Square Investors LLC, the owner of the nearly five-acre Midtown site and an affiliate of Fisher Capital Partners LTD in Colorado, reportedly had a contract to sell the land to AWG.
As Memphis Heritage and others expressed concern over the direction of possible redevelopment -- especially the prospect of a low-end big-box grocery store and a strip mall -- AWG did not respond to calls and e-mail messages from the preservation group and other community members.
Now, Memphis Heritage executive director June Waddell West believes a stepped-up e-mail campaign "absolutely" inspired Tuesday's meeting here.
Calls on Thursday to Wilmoski and Clark seeking comment were not immediately returned.
"Our position is we're for development as long as the development is appropriate for the neighborhood," said Sam Goff, who heads Midtown Development Corp. "At least the lines of communication are open."
Nichols, too, said he left the meeting feeling "a little more positive," but he and West remain puzzled by some of the developers' tactics.
For example, Nichols said they initially indicated there was no contract on the property, but "toward the end (of the meeting) there was an admission there was some kind of contract."
West, herself a former developer, said: "We don't want to run off development. But I think transparency is better. That's just my style."
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