A little over a year ago, we wrote this post:
“We’re thinking that Family Dollar Store may have gotten its name because that’s how much it spends to erect its flimsy buildings. At a time when city and county officials talk about the positive impact of the Unified Development Code, it takes some of the luster off of it when these low quality buildings are allowed to sprout up all over Memphis. Eight new stores are planned by the end of summer, and one will be a blotch on the Poplar corridor near the main library.”
We had hoped that we were overreacting but it turns out that we understated it. The Family Dollar Stores are testament to our lack of self-worth and lack of emphasis on urban design and sound planning.
We had hoped that the Unified Development Code would have made this kind of urban indifference ancient history, but it seems more and more that it is a toothless tiger.
Here’s the Family Dollar Store at 1688 Jackson (corner of Evergreen and Jackson, near VECA headquarters and Little Flower church) but you can take a photo of any Family Dollar Store in Memphis because they are all examples of what we didn’t want Memphis to become.
Side View Facing Evergreen
Frontage on Jackxon
We received this email about the one scarring historic Poplar Plaza neighborhood: “I thought this Family Dollar was an abomination in my old neighborhood when it was built. Now, it looks like the Taj Mahal compared to the one they’re building in my current neighborhood. They even had really nice garbage storage areas behind the building. Much bigger lot! Check out the windows on the side view facing Spottswood.
“Poplar Plaza is a historic site in planning circles. It is considered one of the first “suburban” shopping centers in the country. It’s featured in Mel Scott’s History of Planning with an early 1950s aerial view. Now we are returning to open air shopping malls for which this was a model.”
Parking Lot at Highland and Spottswood
- Side View: Corner of Spottswood and Highland
It matters not what the UDC says. City Council will waive any requirement anyway.
They actually did an alright job with the landscaping at Evergreen and Jackson, unlike Chelsea and Hollywood where they refused to bring the store to the corner and haven’t been cutting their grass. Hopefully they do before the official unveiling of the “gateway” Dogwood sculpture next week.
The lack of windows for inside-outside (2-way) viewing around the Family Dollar stores (even windows at Highland/Spottswood building are not see through) produces a “no man’s land” effect, and human activity on street and parking lot is reduced; we become less sociable and more suspicious of people in the public space.
Think about this when you walk next to business buildings with windows that produce eyes on the street and you feel connected. Then think of experience when the windows are so cluttered that you can’t see in and sense that no one can see out or worse no windows at all. The feeling is disconnect and alienation.
Why do we give in the the Family Dollar stores or the CVS drug stores? They are going to come here anyway because they see a market. We should make them conform to a better design. Walgreens and many others are not any better.
Anonymous loves Memphis. 3 comments spew volumes.
Memphis is an extremely historical city, and is mentioned more times in music than any other city in the world. We have produced more top selling musicians than any city in the world, and with a much smaller population.
Though a troll is gonna troll I guess and just bash on the city for no other reason but to get a response. If you can provide any actual facts, and want to debate about the historical significance of the city I’m all ears, otherwise STFU and sit down.
Anonymous is now history. We’re just tired of the ranting that some people thinks is cute.
At least the new Family Dollar on Quince & Perkins used an existing building, but they did block out all the windows with yellow and red covering.
I was the first anonymous and I do love Memphis. I am not all that happy with what City Council is doing on this issue. They are getting a little better though.
I have tried to get a copy of the approved site plan for 2974 Poplar which is the old Stringer Nursery site across from Chickasaw Gardens. Shelby County Code Enforcement told me that the are not capable of emailing a copy of the plan to me. This is apparently because they do not accept digital copies of plans only hard copies on paper. I also asked for a landscape plan and was informed that one has not been submitted. This is while site development is already underway! I don’t have words to describe how wrong this is. We citizens are entitled to information and an opportunity to participate in the land use approval process.
Re: limited windows, lots of windows look pretty but drive up utility bills.
Kb-In the age of high R-values, the costs are not what one would imagine. A method of further reducing any substantial utility cost is to include awnings over windows which is another aspect of good urban design.
Farmer Mary: Amen! The minute they send you those plans or acknowledge the landscape design it will significantly reduce the ability of the planning director to use the discretionary wiggle room he has helped build for himself in the UDC.
Unfortunately, it appears that the planning directors wiggle room is what the entire UDC debate was about. And, it has only increased.
Many of us have a different point of view regarding the path to quality development with lasting value. We believe that the path you are touting is the one we have been on for the past 20 years. That is the philosophy that lowering the quality that is expected of development in our City will lead to more development and prosperity. We are observing that this approach has given us suburban sprawl on the edge of the City, abandoned commercial strips left behind as new development leaps further out and throw away residential subdivisions.
As evidence that our way will lead to more rather than less development, I must point out that most commercial development in the City is now taking place within the areas of the City protected by special regulations in our overlays. It is taking place here because of the expectation that the regulations will preserve a unique character rather than converting all neighborhoods to the same bland, one size fits all appearance. It is taking place here because of the expectation that low quality development that is developed against the character of the neighborhood will not be tolerated.