Hickman purchase signals downtown transformation

A long-vacant Downtown building could see new life.
 
Walk-Off Properties LLC has acquired the Downtown Hickman Building at 240 Madison Ave. from Hickman Properties LLC. The eight-story Hickman Building and an accompanying two-story parking garage were bought for $1 million on Sept. 30.
 
Walk-Off Properties has engaged a team that includes Looney Ricks Kiss, project consultant Scott Bojko and doug carpenter & associates to determine the right use for the property.
 
The neo-gothic building was completed in 1926. It sits on the Downtown Memphis Commission’s “Dirty Dozen” list of top properties it would like to see operational again. The building, formerly the Medical Arts Building, has 100,000 square feet of space that has sat vacant since tenants last occupied it in 1971.
 
The blighted block sits near plenty of activity. Across Madison from the Fogelman Downtown YMCA and AutoZone Park, the building sits just to the east of Visible Music College where construction will begin soon on a new residence building. And just to the east across Fourth Street is the Downtown Elementary School.
 
Activity at the Hickman could help transform the block and bring better connectivity toward the Edge District and the Memphis Medical District to the east.
 
“The ability to get the entire block on Fourth Street creates a lot of opportunities with parking that didn’t exist before,” said Doug Carpenter, principal of doug carpenter & associates. “With the school and BlueCross BlueShield (to the east) this piece seems like a black hole and to be able to tie the community together and bring connectivity with different assets is important. It’s a really nice piece that will connect people.”
 
Carpenter said it’s too early in the process to know what the project will entail, but it’s likely to include the “big buckets” of multifamily and mixed-use commercial.
 
The purchase of the 14,000-square-foot building at 251 Court Ave. will serve as an amenity to the Hickman.
 
“The adjacent property creates an opportunity to address blight on that entire block between Madison and Court, which is especially nice for Downtown Elementary School,” said Rob Norcross of Looney Ricks Kiss, in a statement. “With both properties on the drawing board, we will explore mixed use, commercial, residential and other uses to find the right combination that creates a thriving asset.”