Commercial Architecture April 2018 - 17

adaptive reuse

FEATURE

Located in the heart of Memphis, TN,
the Sears facility was built in 1927 as a
mail-order processing warehouse and retail store. It has been reborn as Crosstown
Concourse, a mixed-use development.
All photos: Jamie Harmon, v2com

former Sears distribution center that sat

included a soda fountain, luncheonette, employee

derelict for three decades has been resur-

cafeteria, and in-house hospital. The store that occu-

rected as a "vertical village" by DIALOG,

pied the lower floors closed in 1983, and the catalog

an architecture and design firm with offices in San

distribution center closed in 1993. As time passed,

Francisco and Canada (dialogdesign.ca), and Looney,

the 1.5-million-sq.-ft. building fell into disrepair. The

Ricks, Kiss, an architecture, planning, and interior

building was placed on the National Register of His-

design firm located in Memphis, TN (LRK, lrk.com).

toric Places in 2013.

Located in the heart of Memphis, in the commu-

For a building of this size, its resurrection seemed

nity of Crosstown, the facility was built in 1927 and

impossible. In spite of how far-fetched the idea,

was originally a Sears mail-order processing ware-

Crosstown Concourse is the result of the collective

house and retail store. At its height, the art-deco

spirit of Memphians who forged on to revive the his-

building housed 1,500 employees.

toric Sears Building. The specifics of the design con-

Known as the Sears Crosstown Building, it was

cepts were determined through collaborative conver-

one of the first Sears stores designed to attract cus-

sations between the engaged community, city

tomers by being situated in a relatively open area of

officials, and designers. It was through these collabo-

the city and providing a large amount of free parking.

rations that the "vertical urban village" concept was

Sears & Roebuck's eighth regional distribution center

born. This concept goes beyond mixed use, because

Quick Facts
* The Sears Crosstown Building is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one
of the largest historic adaptive-reuse projects in Tennessee's history.

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The building was originally 1.5 million sq. ft. The size was reduced to 1.1 million sq. ft.
Funding: $200 million from 30 different sources, including philanthropic, private, and public funding.
An estimated 3,000 people will pass through the building on a daily basis.
Private residences: 270 loft-style apartments on floors 7 through 10, including studios and one-, two-,
and three-bedroom units.

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The redesign included a 1,150-car parking garage.
Window glass comprises more than 65% of the building's exterior.
More than 10-million lb. of metal was removed from the building and recycled.
More than 1,500 new doors were installed in the building.
The Concourse contains 7 mi. of HVAC piping, which hold about 35,000 gal. of water.

Current Tenants
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ALSAC/St. Jude
Church Health Center
Crosstown High School
Crosstown Arts
Gestalt Community Schools
Memphis Teacher Residency
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
A Step Ahead Foundation

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Christian Brother's University
City Leadership
The Excel Centre
The Poplar Foundation
The Pyramid Peak Foundation
Southern College of Optometry
Crosstown Back Institute
Teacher Town, USA
Parcels Private Residences

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

APRIL 2018

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

http://www.dialogdesign.ca http://www.lrk.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture April 2018