Former Commercial Appeal building set for demolition
by: David Royer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A demolition permit has been filed to tear down the former home of The Commercial Appeal newspaper at 495 Union Ave.
The 95,000-square-foot building near downtown will be torn down to the slab at a cost estimated at half a million dollars, according to the permit.
Plans are in the works to build a new Regional One hospital on the property, replacing the current hospital on Jefferson Avenue.
In January 2025, Shelby County Commissioners approved a request from the hospital to purchase parcels around 495 Union Avenue for about $24 million in total.
“We feel this is an optimal site for a new hospital, and it gives us more flexibility to program the facility,” Dr. Reginald Coopwood, president and CEO of Regional One Health, said at the time.
The Commercial Appeal building, which once housed both offices and a printing facility, was built in the 1970s but has been vacant since 2019, after the newspaper shuttered the printers and moved its operations to a new address.
In 2020, the building was retrofitted by the state as an emergency hospital for COVID-19 patients, but was never used.
About Post Author
