VOL. 130 | NO. 30 | Friday, February 13, 2015
Inked
Amos Maki
Planned Downtown Hotel Features Urban Design
By Amos Maki
A new rendering of a proposed LaQuinta Inn & Suites hotel at Union Avenue and Danny Thomas Boulevard Downtown shows a more urban design than a previous stock rendering sent to city and county planners.
Gopal Govan is proposing a four-story, 104-room LaQuinta Inn & Suites hotel on the site of the former New York Suit Exchange at 310 Union Ave., located at Union and Danny Thomas.
A new rendering of a proposed LaQuinta Inn & Suites hotel at Union Avenue and Danny Thomas Boulevard Downtown shows a more urban design than a previous stock rendering sent to city and county planners.
(Submitted Rendering)
A previous rendering sent to city and county planners reflected a suburban-style design with the building set back from Union and surrounded by surface parking, which lead, in part, to Office of Planning and Development staff to tag the building’s design as “suburban.”
But the original rendering used a stock image and Govan later submitted a design that showed the hotel brought up to the sidewalk, a much more urban design.
In January, The Daily News reported Gopal’s GCG Hospitality LLC had bought the 1.7-acre site for $1.2 million. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2014 appraisal is $775,300.
Govan, who public records list as the owner of the Quality Inn Hotel at 42 S. Camila St., also bought the vacant Hostess Bakery building at 341 Monroe Ave. and that building is currently slated to remain “for future use.”
• You could say The Scholl Law Firm is returning to its roots.
Memphis defense attorney Michael Scholl and The Scholl Law Firm will occupy 5,700 square feet in Suite 1500 in the Downtown building located at 200 Jefferson Ave. under a new, long-term lease.
Founded in 1995, The Scholl Law Firm, which concentrates on criminal defense, personal injury and civil litigation, was a tenant in One Memphis Place from 1997-2001.
“The Scholl Law Firm is proud of its downtown heritage and is excited about returning to One Memphis Place,” Scholl said.
Scholl is relocating from another Downtown office and his decision to remain Downtown comes as law firms are increasingly moving to East Memphis.
“Memphis is at its best with a thriving Central Business District, and it is imperative to focus on the retention of our Downtown tenants,” said Phil Dagastino, Jr., senior vice president of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors. “It is encouraging to see one of our city’s premier law firms recommit long term to Downtown.”
Dagastino and Brand Cook of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors represented landlord Government Properties Income Trust, a Massachusetts-based real estate investment trust.
• In other news, an accounting firm is expanding its East Memphis footprint.
Dixon Hughes Goodman is expanding by 4,500 square feet at 999 S. Shady Grove Road, giving the firm the ability to hire more employees and expand its business in the Memphis area.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., Dixon Hughes Goodman counts more than 1,800 professionals in 12 states, making it one of the top 20 public accounting firms in the country.