The plans for the decaying Marina Cove Apartments in Hickory Hill would be ambitious even in better economic times.

Power Center Community Development Corp. and Askew Hargraves Harcourt & Associates Inc. (A2H) took the multi-phased, multi-year plans to the public last week with a bold – albeit tentative – site plan for the later phases of the project.

What comes beyond the first phase is built around a charter middle and high school that already has a waiting list in its present incarnation as the Power Center Academy middle school.

Any discussion about Hickory Hill and its comeback will inevitably include two things – the use of the phrase “Hickory Hood” to describe the area’s recent history and cherished stories of the area’s boom years in the 1980s and into the 1990s.

Like so many other parts of our city, there is now a very vocal pushback in Hickory Hill against a longtime prevailing mindset that has written off not just Hickory Hill but the entire city of Memphis.

The Power Center Academy Towne Center is the next step beyond just talking a good game. The city is an essential partner in walking the walk after too much talk about doing something about the Marina Cove Apartments.

The Atlanta-area absentee owners of the property played a game for years that remains entirely legal and spread the blight to the surrounding area. It was far from the only factor in Hickory Hill’s lost years, but there is nothing like a vacant apartment complex to add to the problems of an already overwhelmed part of any city.

The Shelby County legislative delegation to Nashville should step up as part of the comeback of Hickory Hill to change state laws in a way that will respect property rights but also end the abuse of those rights when neglect becomes obvious and harmful.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s administration has more than a clue of what to do. It has draft legislation ready for the hopper as soon as the gavel falls in Nashville early next year.

In the case of Marina Cove, the city of Memphis had to dip into its demolition fund to pay a set of fees owed by the old owners through the Power Center CDC, the new owner.

Some might call it extortion. We’ll avoid that for now to point out that a division of city government, Housing and Community Development, got a job done that another division of city government, Community Enhancement, talked about for its entire two-year-and-counting existence but couldn’t get done.

The plan for Marina Cove after demolition faces a reality check that all involved know is coming when developers work to secure private financial backing. They seem to welcome the challenge knowing it will be rigorous. With that knowledge, it is becoming easier for the rest of us to hope for the end of Hickory Hood and the return of Hickory Hill.