Oak Court Mall as East Memphis knows it is officially on the clock. Developers plan to clear much of the aging shopping center to make way for a new mixed-use district on the Poplar Avenue site. The project is expected to unfold in phases so existing tenants can finish out their leases, with demolition and entitlement work following in stages. For shoppers and nearby businesses, it signals a long transition from an enclosed mall to housing, parks and street-front retail.
Who owns the site
Oak Court Partners, a local investor group that includes Poag Development Group, bought the roughly 31-acre property at 4465 Poplar Ave. in December 2023, according to the Daily Memphian, which reports the sale price at $18.3 million. In its own announcement, the team at Poag Development Group described the acquisition as about $14 million and framed the deal as a local effort to stabilize and reimagine the East Memphis property.
Plans and renderings show a main-street layout
Preliminary renderings and a planned-development filing sketch out a street-oriented district with storefronts, small parks, and rows of townhouses, while keeping some existing structures like the Dillard’s building and an adjacent office tower in place, as reported by Action News 5. Developers have emphasized that the images are conceptual, serving mainly as placeholders to secure entitlements rather than final architectural designs, according to The Commercial Appeal.
What will be demolished — and what might remain
The ownership team says the former Macy’s portion of the campus is likely to be one of the first areas targeted for demolition, and the parcel was acquired separately by the investor group as part of the broader strategy, according to a separate Macy’s parcel purchase. Local reporting indicates the current proposal would leave Dillard’s and the on-site office building standing while much of the mall’s interior footprint is reshaped.
Timeline and approvals
Developers say demolition will be phased so tenant leases can expire and construction can be coordinated with entitlement approvals, Action News 5 reports. Any formal Planned Development application will move through the Memphis and Shelby County planning review process and public hearings before final permitting and heavier demolition work begins.
Why this matters for East Memphis
Remaking Oak Court would rank among the largest projects on Poplar Avenue in years and could bring new housing, storefronts, and public green space to a corridor where old-school mall traffic has been sliding. The investor group is pitching the effort as a locally led reinvention of a familiar commercial site, according to a release from Poag Development Group.
Neighbors and business owners will be able to weigh in as planning and permitting move forward, with city and county staff posting public-hearing dates and permit filings. Hoodline, local TV stations, and daily outlets are expected to keep tracking applications, demolition permits, and developer updates as the project advances.
