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Vesta Home Show chooses Downtown for April event

By Amos Maki
February 9, 2006

As if Downtown needed any more confirmation of its energetic revitalization, the Vesta Home Show has tapped the South Main/South End area for its two-weeklong event in April.

An official announcement and groundbreaking ceremony for the event will be held Feb. 27 at 5050 Peabody Place, future site of the event's exclusive presenter, M&F Bank.

Organizers expect as many as 25,000 people to attend the event, scheduled for April 15- 30.

"What an honor this is," said Jeff Sanford, president of the Center City Commission. "To have the prestigious Vesta Home Show pick Downtown for one of its showcase events is proof positive that the Downtown housing market has come of age."

It is the first time Vesta has held its show Downtown since 1993, when Harbor Town hosted the event.

And it's the first time the 22-year-old show has been held within the Memphis city limits since 1997.

Downtown's sizzling residential growth compelled the Memphis Area Home Builders Association to hold the event there this year.

"The 38103 is one of the fastest growing Zip Codes in Shelby County and we wanted to make sure home builders have a presence in Downtown," said Dalene Wilson, director of special events for the Home Builders' Association. "There's a lot of buzz about it and we really want to reintroduce Memphians, many of them lifelong Memphians, to Downtown."

The demand for Downtown living is a bright spot in what are often dreary population and economic development numbers for the city.

According to a 2004 study commissioned by the CCC, the "high growth areas" of the Central Business Improvement District -- which includes Mud Island, Downtown Core and South Main District neighborhoods -- recorded a 10.3 percent average annual population growth 2000-2004, compared with the city's annual growth rate of 1 percent.

The entire CBID, which includes the Medical District, has a population of 25,142, and that number is projected to increase to 31,000 by 2009 and 38,000 by 2014.

The South End neighborhood covers a 30-acre area near the South Bluffs development and overlaps with portions of the South Main Historic District.

At least 13 developers are either building projects or have projects in the pipeline in the neighborhood.

Although $285 million in construction is planned or under way, that total is expected to reach $500 million during the next five to seven years.

The area is a blur of activity, with large earth movers, heavy construction vehicles, cranes and dozens of workers hammering, sawing and nailing away all day.

Some developers will be working overtime to get their products or models finished and ready for viewing.

"We're putting together our model very quickly for the show," said Scott Andrews of the Nashoba Group, which is partnering with AJW Partners to convert the former Piggly Wiggly headquarters on Front Street into the Nettleton, a 34-unit luxury condo development. "We're very excited and I think this says Downtown is a thriving market."

The Vesta event could also introduce many Mid-Southerners to "New Urbanism," the concept of integrating housing, offices, shops, entertainment, schools, parks and civic facilities in pedestrian-friendly developments.

Southland Development, which owns about 17 acres in the neighborhood, asked Looney Ricks Kiss to create a New Urbanism master plan for the area.

Jenny Wallace, marketing specialist for Beazer Homes, which is building a $49 million, 204-unit condo and townhome complex called State Place at South End, said the additional attention to the South End and South Main neighborhoods will ripple out to other parts of Downtown.

"Its a win-win for everybody," she said. "Everybody in the Downtown community will benefit from this."

More info:

Vesta Home Show

April's Vesta Home Show will take place in and around the South End neighborhood, where $285 million in projects are currently planned or under construction.

There are at least 13 developers with projects planned or under way in the general area.

For more information on the Vesta Home Show, please call 756-4500

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