The neighborhoods of Cherokee, Bethel Grove, and Orange Mound in the Lamar Avenue corridor will enjoy better healthcare coverage over the next several years thanks to the upcoming expansion and rebranding of Neighborhood Docs, which has operated in the area for the past 15 years as Good Health Institute.
The organization recently received a 15-year Community Builder Payment-In-Lieu-of-Tax incentive from the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis & Shelby County.
“The project will take a dentist office that has been a longtime anchor in the neighborhood and expanding into a full one-stop shop with a wealth of medical services,” said John Lawrence, EDGE Senior Economic Development Specialist.
“The partners who are involved with this are really interested in providing service to people within the I-240 loop. Their service area includes about 26,000 people, and they were having to go outside of the I-240 loop or long distances for medical services.”
Neighborhood Docs, which was founded by Dr. Joseph C. Greer, D.D.S.; William Terrell, Jr., MD; and Rodney S. Meyers, currently consists of a dental practice and nutrition center along with an endocrinologist. Plans are to add an OB/GYN and family primary care including pediatrics as well as radiology physicians.
The ultimate goal is to impact emergency room misuse by promoting proactive healthcare through access to primary care doctors for both medical and dental treatment.
The practice will keep its six existing Good Health Institute jobs and then create 36 new jobs with an average base salary of more than $52,000. A capital investment of nearly $3.75 million will include $1,455,000 for the purchase of the property; $1,436,000 for new construction and site improvements; $528,919 to renovate existing space; $75,000 in existing personal property and $250,000 for new personal property.
“Two underutilized buildings (totaling 26,000 square feet) will be completely renovated and connected to create this medical facility,” said Lawrence. “It is quite a neighborhood improvement.”
Self + Tucker Architects created the initial designs for the project, and the property owners will have five years under the terms of the Community Builder PILOT to complete the renovations and improvements.
The project represents the third EDGE Community Builder PILOT, and EDGE hopes the work on the facility will spark future redevelopment in the neighborhood. The Community Builder PILOT program provides the same incentives that EDGE typically provides to industrial projects, but it is targeted to nonprofit and for-profit entities investing in urban revitalization.
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