Council to consider plan to turn the historic Central Police Station into a boutique hotel

A resolution to sell the vacant Central Police Station, located at 128 Adams Ave., for $1.1 million is to be considered by the Memphis City Council on Tuesday.

The City Council will consider a resolution on Tuesday to sell the historic, long-vacant Central Police Station for $1.1 million to a real estate investment and development firm that would renovate it for a boutique hotel.

California-based NCE Realty & Capital Group has retained LRK Architects, hotel consultant Pinkowsky and Co., and others for its project team, according to a written proposal NCE submitted to the city.

"This is to outline the opportunity to re-imagine and preserve the historic Memphis Police Department headquarters at 128 Adams, transforming the derelict property into a viable, contributing place in the Downtown civic district," the proposal states.

The company compared its planned hotel to downtown Tampa’s Le Meridien boutique hotel, converted from an old courthouse.

NCE Realty & Capital is the same real estate firm that in 2013 bought the old French Quarter Inn property in Overton Square, with plans to build a modern hotel there.

However, last year the firm sold the old hotel to Ballet Memphis instead.

NCE signed a purchase agreement with the city on Dec. 18, documents on the city’s website show.

NCE fully intended to build the new Overton Square hotel when Ballet Memphis asked to buy the site, NCE’s proposal recounts. "It was a very difficult decision for us to make," company officials stated.

"Now we found this ideal property, old police station in need of (renovation) and development into an upscale hotel in downtown Memphis, which will fulfill our unrealized business goal in (the) French Quarter (Inn) and offer another much needed upscale hotel in Downtown Memphis."

NCE is partnering with MG Capital in the project.

The six-story building with a marble exterior housed police, courts and a jail from 1911 to 1982, when the functions were moved to the Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar. Some parts of the structure were built in 1954 and 1961.

But much of the grandeur has long faded.

The resolution states that the sale "will increase the City’s General Fund, generate tax revenue, and eliminate blight and maintenance cost for the City of Memphis."

The council’s Public Works, Transportation & General Services Committee is to discuss the resolution at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in City Hall.

A sale would require two separate readings, or votes, by the council. But at the second reading, other bidders would have a chance to offer more money for the property.

Architects for the city had submitted renovation designs to create workspace for 500 employees. But a cost estimate, at least four years old now, to improve the 100,000-square-foot building was $40 million. The city has placed the proposed renovation on hold indefinitely.

NCE’s proposal shows funding for the renovation would be split among a 33 percent cash investment from NCE, 33 percent from a bank loan, and 33 percent through EB-5 investors.

The federal EB-5 program is designed to boost the U.S. economy by allowing foreigners a way to obtain a green card if they invest a minimum amount of money and create at least 10 permanent jobs in the U.S.

Shili Fan is the owner of NCE and is also the general manager of CE-Bio, which manufactures dietary supplements at an Olive Branch facility.

“Since we built this company, many of my partners, customers and distributors visited Memphis and they all have (a) good impression of Memphis after (visiting) here," the proposal states.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/business/real-estate/Council-to-consider-resolution-selling-historic-vacant-Central-Police-Station--371782612.html

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