The adaptive reuse of Crosstown Concourse

A virtual look at the mixed-use adaptive reuse of a former Sears, Roebuck & Company store and warehouse in Memphis, TN.

(Crosstown Concourse Facebook Page)

In 1927, the Sears, Roebuck & Company opened this distribution center and retail store on a 12-acre site on the outskirts of Memphis. On opening day, 35,000 people flooded the main entrance. Once the city’s top employer, the 1.5 million square foot operation closed its doors for good in 1993 as a casualty of changing consumer habits and the decline of the retail chain.

Abandoned for two decades, the former retail distribution hub became the largest adaptive reuse initiative in Tennessee and the largest LEED Platinum Certified historic adaptive reuse project in the world in 2017. Reopening as the Crosstown Concourse in 2017, the $210 million complex includes 630,000 square feet of commercial space, 265 apartments and 65,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space and tenants such as the Memphis Teacher Residency, Church Health and Crosstown High School.