MLGW and New Ballet Ensemble both propose uses for historic Humes Middle; board hears competing offers

The Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education on Tuesday heard competing proposals for the former Humes Middle School at 659 North Manassas, where Memphis Light, Gas and Water and New Ballet Ensemble have submitted different offers for the historic property.

MLGW Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Alonzo Weaver told the board his utility seeks authorization to purchase the site to construct a dual-voltage electric substation that would support growing distribution needs in the area. “This location is strategically important because it can support both a 12 kV and 23 kV dual voltage station, giving us flexibility for distribution load transfers,” Weaver said, adding the substation would provide capacity and lower outage risk for nearby facilities.

New Ballet Ensemble’s representative presented an alternative plan to rehabilitate the building as a K–12 performing-arts school focused on intensive arts training and college and career preparation. The ensemble said the school would combine arts instruction with academics and pursue multiple funding paths, including tax-credit financing, capital gifts and partnerships with arts schools elsewhere. “This school will be a lifeline for those children who dream of dancing on the Great Wall of China,” the presenter said, listing prior partnerships and student outcomes New Ballet has produced.

Board packet materials provided by district staff showed an appraisal of roughly $1.42 million for the Humes property and a 10‑year estimated maintenance cost of about $4.7 million. The two offers the board heard at the meeting were $1.4 million from MLGW and $257,000 from New Ballet Ensemble. Staff informed the board that the property is on the historic register and that the district had previously received multiple inquiries.

Board members asked technical and policy questions of both presenters. Several members pressed MLGW on community outreach: Weaver said MLGW typically does not hold preconstruction community meetings for substations but said the utility would be willing to do so. Members asked MLGW whether a substation could be sited elsewhere and whether visual screening or other mitigation could be included. MLGW said the site’s acreage and the mix of 12 kV and 23 kV circuits in the area made the parcel attractive for a flexible substation design; Weaver estimated the utility would need at minimum 3–4 acres and optimally the entire property.

Several board members expressed strong support for the arts‑education proposal or for preserving the building for an educational use. Others emphasized the district’s responsibility to its students and asked New Ballet to clarify academic partners, operational model and fundraising timeline. New Ballet said it is pursuing a capital campaign with a lead gift target of $15 million and hopes to open a sixth‑grade cohort in 2027 even if the permanent campus work continues; the presenter said the organization had not yet finalized an academic partner but was open to being a contract school with Memphis‑Shelby County Schools.

No formal sale or contract vote occurred at the meeting. Several board members urged staff to bring the item back for a decision at the September 30 meeting so the board could act while funding windows remain open; one board member asked that outside experts on arts‑school models be made available to the board as part of that follow up. Staff confirmed the board retains discretion to accept or reject any offer and that any sale would be subject to the district’s real‑estate policies and any reversion conditions the board sets.

The board asked staff to return with additional details, including community engagement plans, technical studies for a potential substation and clarifications on New Ballet’s academic and financing plans. The board did not take a vote on disposition of Humes during the session.

Less critical details: staff noted the property’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places and included the district’s 10‑year maintenance estimate and appraisal figures in the packet; presenters offered to provide additional documentation and to meet with neighborhoods before the next board action.