The vision for South City is to create a community that is vibrant and sustainable with neighborhood amenities including quality housing, good schools, health resources, healthy food options and economic development opportunities.
South City is located directly southeast of the city’s Central Business District. The general boundaries of the neighborhood are Front Street on the west, Crump Blvd. and the Railroad ROW on the south, Walnut on the east and Union Avenue on the north. South City is best known for its significant African American culture and history and is also the location of the former Foote Homes public housing development.
Once a thriving mixed-income community, long-term disinvestment has resulted in an abundance of blighted properties and vacant land. Characterized by substandard housing, high unemployment and limited access to neighborhood amenities, South City is one of the poorest areas in the City. However, South City has several strengths, including its rich history and culture, recent housing and commercial developments, the availability of land and its proximity to the South Main Historic District, downtown and the Medical District.
In an effort to rebuild this community, the Memphis Housing Authority and the City of Memphis have partnered with McCormack Baron Salazar, ComCap Partners and Urban Strategies to implement the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) funded and administered by HUD. The vision for South City is to create a community that is vibrant and sustainable with neighborhood amenities including good schools, health resources, healthy food options, quality housing and economic development opportunities.
The cornerstone of the CNI is the redevelopment of the Foote Homes public housing site. As the last of the city’s large public housing developments, Foote Homes is a vestige of an era of public housing in Memphis and around the country that has evolved greatly in recent years. The redevelopment initiative consists of developing up to 712 units of new mix-income rental housing to replace 420 units of distressed public housing. The site will be transformed into a high quality, safe, green and well managed mixed-income community. The construction of phases I and II are underway. Units are currently available for lease and will continue to come online until Phase I is completed later this year. The total development will consist of five phases. The development team is working on the final development plan for Phase III, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The additional phases (Phase IV and V) will be completed by 2022