Shelby County says it has closed on several parcels for Regional 1 campus; lease terms, oversight and $30 million escrow discussed

At a meeting of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners Black Caucus Regional 1 Black Economic Inclusion Task Force, county and Regional 1 representatives said Shelby County has completed purchases of several parcels intended for the Regional 1 hospital campus and will transfer lease-management responsibilities for some properties to the Shelby County Health Corporation.

Steve Collins, the attorney who represented Regional 1 and Shelby County in the acquisitions, said the county "has initiated the purchase and close on, I think, about 3 of these properties," identifying the former Commercial Appeal office building and a storage-warehouse parcel among those closed. Collins told the task force the Meineke property also has been purchased but carries an existing tenant lease.

The procurement team represented by Darryl Cobins and Brandon Ingram of Universal Commercial Real Estate said the work over the past five months has assembled roughly 16 acres of parcels for the Regional 1 campus. Cobins said most parcels were not publicly for sale and required direct negotiation with owners; he noted the parcel at 492 Union was scheduled for auction in December before the county intervened.

Darryl Carpens of Universal Commercial Real Estate told the committee the Meineke property has roughly seven to eight years remaining on its lease, and that Regional 1 will collect rent under that existing agreement until the lease expires. "Once the lease is terminated, once it ends for the current tenant, that's when Regional 1 will have full free access to demolish it and do whatever it wants to do with it," Carpens said.

Committee members pressed for clarity about who is consulted before funds from the $30 million escrow are spent. Commissioner J.W. Gibson asked that the process for spending the escrow be codified so later review cannot claim procedures were not followed. Collins said Dr. Brown — named in the meeting as the county-hired overseer of expenditures — was consulted and that Brown's county contract requires him to be involved and to provide summaries of transactions. "Doctor Brown's contract with Shelby County government ... spells out that he is to be consulted with Regional 1 and Shelby County government and provide Shelby County government with a summary of every transaction that takes place," Collins said.

Task force members also asked about state funding prospects. Collins said the county pursued a state partnership for an academic medical facility but that, at present, the state and the University of Tennessee are prioritizing other projects. "We are moving forward with Regional 1 to begin the process of building a hospital with the funds that's been approved by the county commission," Collins said. He added the project is expected to be long-term: "this particular process is gonna take at a minimum, 5 to 7 years."

No formal votes or committee decisions were recorded on the property acquisitions at the meeting. Committee members requested documentation and ongoing transparency about transaction summaries and the timeline for expenditures from the escrow fund.

Less-critical details discussed near the end of the presentation included a reminder from Cobins and Ingram that several parcels closed in March and that other closings remain pending, and that some parcels (such as the Monacan building mentioned during the meeting) are not needed for the hospital's construction footprint.

Members said they want future reports to include transaction summaries and confirmation that Dr. Brown has been engaged as required by his contract. The task force did not set a new deadline for follow-up reporting during the discussion.