Johnny Pitts here with cityCURRENT, powered by Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, a Higginbotham Company, to bring you the monthly Pitts 3-Peat.
I challenge you to take 3 minutes to tell 3 people 3 positives and then challenge them to do the same. YOU and the people around you will #powertheGOOD, spreading good news everywhere you go!
#1. Construction for Liberty Park is Underway
The new Liberty Park sports complex at the Memphis fairgrounds is still underway. It will include VIP suites and a café with indoor and outdoor seating. Its design and construction is poised to cost about $54 million.
The mixed-use portion is set to include 190,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space; 100,000 square feet of office; 150-200 apartments; and two hotels.
In total, the city intends to spend about $125 million on “Phase 2” of the Fairgrounds project, which includes the sports complex, mixed-use site, a new track and football field, a new playground, improvements to the Pipkin Building, and the $15 million it recently spent on improvements to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The sports and events complex that’s the development’s cornerstone should be completed in fall 2022, along with the first piece of the mixed-use development.
#2. Memphis restaurants help feed the need during winter storms
Volunteers with The Red Balloon Project worked with local restaurants like Babalu, Tsunami and Erling Jensen to provide hot meals at the city’s three warming centers, during the recent snow and ice event.
As one of the most giving cities in the nation, it comes as no surprise that Memphians showed up to support each other during this historically cold weather.
3. FedEx commits $5M to regional HBCUs, including LeMoyne-Owen
Four regional HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are about to get a boost from Memphis’ largest public company.
On Feb. 10, FedEx announced it had made a multiyear, $5 million commitment to several universities, including LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC).
As a collaborative effort between FedEx and each school, a goal of the initiative is to help prepare students for the workforce. A portion of the funds will also be used to offer relief to students, faculty, and staff who have suffered economically because of the coronavirus.
