Construction has officially started on Union Station, a three-phase mixed-use development taking shape at 1925 Union Avenue in Midtown Memphis on the site of a former police precinct. The project's first phase calls for 20 luxury townhomes on the 3.6-acre property, marking the first visible progress after years of planning for the long-vacant parcel.
Patton & Taylor Enterprises has started site work at the property, according to the Daily Memphian. The firm is developing the project alongside G2 Venture Group, with the two companies estimating total costs between $25 million and $30 million. G2 Venture Group is led by Sam Patel and Dipesh Patel, while Patton & Taylor Enterprises is led by Lee Patton and Cameron Taylor.
Beyond the townhomes, the finished development is planned to include a mixed-use hotel building and a separate retail building, rounding out the three-phase vision for the site. The scope marks a shift from some of what was originally floated for the property years earlier.
How the Plans Have Shifted Over Time
When the Memphis City Council approved the sale of the old Memphis Police Department Traffic Division building in 2021, the project was described differently. At that time, Union Station was characterized as a $22 million multi-use development with 140 apartments, a hotel, and retail space, according to a report from Action News 5. The current phase-one plan centers instead on 20 townhomes rather than a large apartment complex, and the dossier does not resolve why the unit count or cost estimate changed between the two accounts.
Acreage figures have also varied across coverage of the project. An earlier account described the development as spanning 4.5 acres, extending from Union Avenue on the north to Linden on the south, while the most recent reporting on groundbreaking puts the site at 3.6 acres. Neither figure has been confirmed as superseding the other.
The Path From City Approval to Construction
The site's path to redevelopment began when city administrators recommended the council approve a $3.5 million bid from the developers for the then-closed precinct at 1925 Union Avenue, a proposal detailed in earlier Daily Memphian coverage. The police station itself had closed in 2020, according to WREG. The council later approved the sale, and in 2022 it unanimously approved a special use permit for the project, per Action News 5's reporting at the time.
Final site plans for Union Station were filed with the Shelby County Office of Planning and Development on Feb. 9, WREG reported, setting the stage for the construction now underway. That same report noted a Whataburger restaurant is planned along Union Avenue on the east side of the site, though the chain has not confirmed the location. The outlet's report also pointed to the potential job impact, noting the development could bring hundreds of jobs, including roughly 150 employees Whataburger typically staffs per location.
Specifics such as the hotel's eventual operator, room count, retail tenants and townhome pricing have not been made public as construction gets underway on the first phase.
