State regulators have given Regional One Health the green light to build a new hospital at the former Commercial Appeal campus at 495 Union Ave., clearing a major hurdle in the long-running effort to replace the system’s aging Jefferson Avenue facility. Hospital and county leaders say the move sets the stage for a modern academic medical center that could reshape the Medical District and the downtown edge of Memphis.
The approval came from state health regulators, according to the Daily Memphian, which reported that the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission signed off on Regional One’s relocation exemption for the 495 Union site. Shelby County had already bought the old Commercial Appeal parcels in a $23.9 million deal, a land purchase detailed in earlier local coverage under the headline Commission Approves $24M Purchase.
What regulators signed off on
A staff review by the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission describes the proposal as a relocation exemption and notes that the new campus would sit less than a mile west of the existing hospital. The review outlines plans for roughly 750,000 square feet of new construction, smaller than the current 1.2 million-square-foot campus, and estimates that the move could be complete by mid-2030 if the schedule stays on track.
Jobs and dollars
Regional One and county officials have framed the project as a major economic engine for Memphis. The system’s own projections estimate between $693.6 million and $892.3 million in economic activity from 2023 through 2027, along with about 3,600 construction jobs and another 2,300 secondary positions. Those figures, and other project details, are laid out on Regional One Health, which also notes that county investment will be paired with philanthropy and other funding sources to pay for the campus.
Why 495 Union
Hospital leaders say the Union Avenue site allows them to design a purpose-built facility without disrupting care at the busy Jefferson Avenue campus, a logistical advantage they have repeatedly highlighted. Regional One CEO Dr. Reginald Coopwood and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris stressed those benefits when they announced the project’s design and construction partners, according to Action News 5.
Timeline and next steps
Regional One and its partners have chosen an architecture and construction team and are planning an 18 to 24 month design phase followed by roughly four years of construction. That schedule points to practical completion in the 2030 to 2031 window. The health system has also said the former Commercial Appeal building will be demolished this spring to clear the site, and local coverage has put the campus price tag in the roughly $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion range, according to the Memphis Business Journal.
What to watch next
With state approval now secured, the next key checkpoints will be permitting, financing milestones and community engagement as Regional One shifts from planning to execution. Some city leaders are already pushing for broader stakeholder involvement on traffic, workforce pipelines and neighborhood impacts as the project advances, according to reporting from Action News 5.
