Northside Square debuts in North Memphis after years of development

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An $81 million redevelopment project, years in the making, officially opened its doors Friday, Jan. 16, in North Memphis, marking a major milestone for a historically underinvested community.

Northside Square is transforming the long-vacant former Northside High School into a mixed-use development designed to bring housing, health care, education and jobs to the Klondike neighborhood. Community leaders, developers and residents gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the project’s first phase.

Lead developer Archie Willis III of ComCap Partners said the project was never built to follow traditional commercial real estate models and that was intentional.

“Given the magnitude and the scale, it just wasn’t going to generate the typical return on investment that most financial institutions want. It took a significant civic investment to make it possible,” Willis said.

Located in a low-income, predominantly Black neighborhood, Willis told ABC24 that Northside Square faced challenges from the start. He said typical market forces used in real estate development did not apply in North Memphis, but he and his team remained committed.

“We were swimming upstream the entire time,” Willis said. “But we were determined to make it happen and we made it happen.”

The idea for Northside Square began in the spring of 2020. Groundbreaking followed two years later, and Friday’s ribbon-cutting marked the opening of the first phase of the project.

Developers gutted the former school building, preserving only its structural columns, to redesign the space for future tenants. Once complete, Northside Square will include affordable housing, workforce training, education programs, health care services, arts programming, retail and office space and community gathering areas.

“In this building itself, we’re going to have a number of organizations that will provide workforce training. We’re going to have healthcare, we’re going to have a gymnasium that will be programmed for youth sports and after-school programs,” Willis said. “The entire project will just bring a lot of resources into this neighborhood.”

One of those organizations that will become a tenant at Northside Square is Code Crew, a Memphis-based nonprofit focused on computer science education. CEO and Co-Founder Meka Egwuekwe told ABC24 that after operating for 10 years, Code Crew will make Northside Square its new national headquarters. He called the move a dream come true.

“From this space in Northside Square, we are going to take computer science and AI education to the next level,” Egwuekwe said. “We want to make sure young people have a driver’s seat in shaping technology, especially when it comes to AI and education.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the city invested $2 million in the project and called it a model for future redevelopment efforts across the city.

“When you’re able to take a property that is dormant and execute something like this, you start to see new life around it,” Young said. “These types of investments have a significant spillover effect.”

Young also acknowledged the emotional weight the project carries for the community, noting that many residents were heartbroken when Northside High School closed more than a decade ago.

Developers told ABC24 they hope Northside Square will serve as a long-term community anchor, similar to Crosstown Concourse’s role in Midtown, and help spark additional investment throughout the Klondike neighborhood.

The ribbon-cutting event was open to the public, with additional phases of the development still planned.