City could close on Sheraton by end of September, attorneys say
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis City Council on Tuesday questioned why the city had yet to purchase the Sheraton Hotel, nearly a year after committing to the project.
“I’ve had questions from my constituents since budget about how we can’t afford to raise union wages or get people up to $40,000 a year, but we can afford to buy a hotel for $30 million,” explained Councilmember Jerri Green. “Have we even bought it? I can’t answer those questions.”
Attorneys said the deal is a very complex transaction that involves twelve different entities.
“It’s not just a purchase of real estate. It’s not just a purchase of the hotel,” said attorney Andy Jones with Burch, Porter, and Johnson. “You are purchasing an ongoing business.”
As FOX13 had reported, the city voted to purchase the property in October of last year for $22 million, funded by $30 million in bonds. Last year, Mayor Paul Young said the city wanted to preserve and protect the city’s largest hotel.
“What we cannot afford as a community is to have another tower in downtown Memphis go dark or (for it) to be auctioned off to the highest bidder and it becomes a one-star or two-star hotel attached to our $200 million investment at our convention center,” Mayor Young said in October 2024.
“We’re moving forward, but we’re moving forward in a very thorough manner,” Jones explained. “It takes a little bit of time.”
Jones said the city plans to close on the project by September 15th.
In the meantime, leaders with the Renasant Convention Center told city leaders they have lost multiple events, which they estimate would have had a $6,500,000 economic impact.
“We currently have to sell so hard in the year, for the year, to make up those deficits,” explained Camille Wellington, director of convention center sales. “(It’s) kind of hard to do because most groups are booking a year or two, three, or four. So we never want to be behind.”
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