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Administration: Sheridan (Sheraton) property conveyed; A&E to start, developer to assume renovation risk
Summary
City attorneys told the Economic Development committee the administration closed on the Sheridan (Nov. 5) and immediately conveyed it to 250 North Main LLC as a holding entity; A&E work will begin and is expected to take about a year, with a developer to undertake renovations and incur that risk.
City legal staff updated the Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee on the Sheridan (the downtown hotel property long discussed by council) and described the plan to move the property into predevelopment and convey it to a third party for renovation.
Chief Legal Officer Mary Gibson said the city closed on the Sheridan on Nov. 5 and conveyed the property to "250 North Main LLC, an entity under the DMCs umbrella to hold it for us, pending A and Es." She emphasized the citys intent is to transfer the hotel to a private third party who will incur the renovation risk, not for the city to fund a multi-hundred-million-dollar rebuild. "We are not, the city of Memphis as an entity, going to be the entity spending a quarter of $1,000,000,000 to renovate the hotel," Gibson said.
Committee members sought details about timing, financing and who would bear maintenance during predevelopment. Gibson said A&E design work will begin shortly, led operationally by a named operations lead and a consultant; she estimated A&E could take about a year (with conservative estimates indicating about two years of renovation after A&E to reach Marriott flag status), but she cautioned against promising a faster timeline. She also said the city will work with the state and with the identified third party as the process continues.
Why it matters: The Sheridan/Sheraton site has been a long-standing redevelopment priority; committee members pressed concerns that taxpayers should not bear renovation costs and asked the administration to return regularly with progress updates. Council members also asked for information about bond-grade implications and the plan for conveying the site.
Representative quote: "That we are not, the city of Memphis as an entity, will not be the entity spending a quarter of $1,000,000,000 to renovate the hotel," Mary Gibson said, repeating the administrations emphasis that a private developer would take on the renovation costs.
Ending: The committee requested periodic check-ins as A&E proceeds, and the administration committed to returning with updates and coordination with state authorities as needed.
