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Council approves Cleveland Street Corridor TIF to fund redevelopment and community priorities
Summary
The council approved a joint ordinance establishing the Cleveland Street Corridor Redevelopment Trust Fund (ordinance 5935), a tax increment financing district meant to support redevelopment in the Crosstown‑Cleveland corridor; community leaders and institutional partners spoke in support during public comment.
The Memphis City Council voted to approve a joint city‑county ordinance creating the Cleveland Street Corridor Redevelopment Trust Fund under the Community Redevelopment Act of 1998 and the Uniformity in Tax Increment Financing Act of 2012 (Ordinance 5935).
Sponsor and supporters said the TIF will help channel tax‑increment financing to redevelopment projects spanning multiple council districts along the Cleveland corridor and provide local oversight of investment decisions. Councilmember Easter Thomas, sponsor of the ordinance, said the TIF will support homes and neighborhood improvements across multiple super districts and urged colleagues to approve the measure.
Public comment included clergy and nonprofit leaders who described the TIF as community‑driven and urged passage. Reverend J. Lawrence Turner of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, which the transcript records as a co‑applicant, said the congregation supports collaborative redevelopment that provides worship, educational, residential, retail and culinary space and emphasized local participation in decision‑making.
Council discussion included recounting years of neighborhood planning and landmark redevelopment in the corridor; several council members praised Crosstown Concourse and neighborhood momentum and said the TIF is a next step to sustain growth.
Vote: the ordinance passed on third and final reading. The recorded roll call included Carlisle — yes; Cooper‑Sutton — yes; Easter Thomas — yes; Ford — yes; Logan — yes; Smiley — yes; Spinoza — yes; Warren — yes; Swearington Washington — yes; White — recused; Walker — yes; Chairman Canali — yes.
Ending: the ordinance will establish the Cleveland Street Corridor Redevelopment Trust Fund and allow tax increment financing proceeds to be captured for redevelopment projects and community priorities in the Cleveland corridor per the approved plan and statutory framework.
