Posted on March - 28 - 2010
Downtown Memphis in market for families; area grows with singles, retirees
Downtown’s fastest-growing demographics are older residents and people with household incomes more than $75,000 a year, according to a new Center City Commission housing report.
The area has gained 2,366 residents since 2000, reaching 22,578 last year, on the strength of $600 million in new apartments, condominiums and single-family homes from Mud Island to South Bluffs.
Search our databases
The report found “lots of singles Downtown. Lots of aging residents and retirees. We need to retain the young professionals and families Downtown,” said Lori Chapman, CCC’s urban planner.
“We need to attract more families,” said vice president of planning and development Andy Kitsinger. “That’s one of our Achilles’ heels.”
The 12 percent population gain came as Shelby County increased 0.6 percent and Memphis declined an estimated 7.3 percent. Officials said 4,000 residents moved into Downtown, but others moved out because of density reductions in public housing.
While the report projects more growth, to nearly 25,000 by 2014, it said sustaining the momentum will take adjustments.
Challenges include redeveloping blighted areas on Downtown’s fringes, attracting retailers, reinvesting in neglected infrastructure and touting the quality of area schools.
The data suggests a need for smaller housing units to accommodate downsizing older residents and a large singles population, estimated at 80 percent of the total over age 15.
More affordable housing options are needed, because many of Downtown’s residents can’t afford the newer units. Despite growing affluence — average household income increased 35 percent in nine years — the study reported 55 percent of area household incomes lower than $35,000 a year.
Kitsinger said the report is “a tool that developers can use to determine what the market-place needs.”
He added, “The economic downturn has given us some pause, but it also has given us an opportunity to focus on long-term sustainable approaches.”
Center City Commission president Jeff Sanford said the report was the “most comprehensive, most analytical” look at Downtown housing and demographics in more than a decade.
— Wayne Risher: 529-2874
Similar Posts:
- CCC weighs new master plan for Downtown
- Center City Commission wants to spend $120,000 to promote Downtown parking
- Center City Commission names Paul Morris as its next president, CEO
- Memphis Center City Commission narrows presidential candidates to eight
- Net in-migration to Colorado from other states growing
