It's a bit of an oddity to say a $6 billion investment came out of nowhere, yet given how fast the xAI deal came together here in Memphis Three months is a short timeframe for any development deal let alone one that primed the stage for the "world's largest supercomputer." Since the xAI announcement in June there have been several updates and questions regarding the project including environmental concerns and energy consumption — notably just how exactly Shelby County's will infrastructure manage to hold up to this new facility and its demand Here is a look at where the xAI project stands at the start of the new year how far it has matured since June 2024 and what's (potentially) next Where is xAI located and what does the facility do?The company was founded in August 2023. Its Memphis supercomputer is located at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road in South Memphis, at the former Electrolux site The xAI supercomputer, named Colossus, came online in September 2024 The computer is powered by 100,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) mostly Nvidia H1000 processing chips (which are the most powerful on the market currently) in December 2024, during the Chamber's annual Chairmen's Luncheon event, xAI announced it had doubled the supercomputer's size to 200,000 GPUs since Colossus came online during the December luncheon plans were announced to continue expanding the hardware to 1 million GPUs During the luncheon, Townsend said the next phase of the project will help add 320 new jobs. Additionally, the project's rapid growth has piqued the interest of other tech companies such as Nvidia, Dell and Super Micro potentially investing within Memphis. No specifics on what those potential 320 jobs have been announced nor have xAI representatives responded to inquiries regarding future phases of the project xAI was hiring for 20 Memphis-based positions; 11 of those positions are for data center operations (The remaining nine jobs are split between engineering xAI's supercomputer is being used largely for its artificial intelligence Grok was introduced on the social media platform The app was formerly known as Twitter and was rebranded after Musk purchased the company in 2022 In July 2024, X began using user posts without asking for consent to train the Grok software (X users can opt out of the service by deactivating it in the settings tab.) The Musk-owned company has continued to use the social media app and its sister company The generative artificial intelligence can assist users with web searches The Memphis xAI facility is expected to act as a data hub for Musk-owned companies including X and SpaceX MEMPHIS BUSINESS NEWS: How Hyosung HICO is helping to keep the US powered: A look inside its Memphis facility The xAI facility has been privately funded The planned expansions of the xAI supercomputer are also expected to be privately funded In October 2024, the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County (EDGE) approved a 21-year lease for 522 acres in Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park for Nashville-based CTC Property LLC, an affiliate company of xAI The 522 acres are owned by EDGE and located southeast of the xAI facility on Paul R CTC Property can opt to purchase the 522 acres for $23,642,293 The company will pay $1,654,961 annually in rent for the property with 2.5% yearly increases in that base rent no specific details were provided on what the land would be used for despite the loan approval Gas & Water (MLGW) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) regarding its energy demands which were expected to peak at 150 megawatts (that was under the 100,000 graphic processing unit capacity) On Nov. 7, the TVA board approved a power agreement for the xAI facility with CTC Property LLC. The agreement would allow for power uses greater than 100 megawatts The xAI facility is expected to use up to 150 megawatts at peak any company using more than 100 megawatts requires TVA approval Additionally, the facility is expected to continue pulling from the Memphis Aquifer for cooling purposes (approximately 1.3 million gallons needed daily), however, plans are in place for a proposed $78 million wastewater treatment plant xAI representatives filed plans with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for a wastewater facility called "Colossus Water Recycle Facility." The project is a joint partnership between xAI according to documents filed with the TDEC The Colossus wastewater facility is expected to average 7 million gallons of water daily MEMPHIS DEVELOPMENT: Downtown Memphis' notable vacancies: Here are 5 spots we'd like to see filled this year While the Chamber has touted the second phase of the project's notable expansion including 300-plus jobs and the tentative interest of three notable tech companies there's been little information made available directly from company representatives on what that will mean for Memphis The tangible next moves in 2025 will be how the wastewater treatment plant and potential substation are built to sustain xAI's power usage During a community Q&A session in August 2024 MLGW confirmed designs of a new substation north of the xAI facility along with $1.7 million worth of improvements to nearby transmission lines MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen said a new substation is expected to be completed by February or March of this year That substation is for the first phase of the project During the Jan. 7 meeting, McGowen said MLGW has conducted one study based on xAI's energy requirements and is working to finalize a second study for the company's proposed second phase, which would require an additional 150 megawatts MLGW is still finalizing the impact study for the second phase and its potential impacts on the grid That study should be completed by February McGowen also said MLGW was not made aware of planned expansions aside from the two studies they are conducting based on the first and second phase of xAI (each requiring 150 megawatts worth of power) McGowen did acknowledge that an additional substation would likely be needed to meet the additional energy demand xAI is being powered largely by dozens of gas turbines and Tesla megapacks With the project's expansion (doubled in scope between September 2024 to December 2024) additional temporary power sources are expected to be added until permanent resources are built (i.e substation and wastewater treatment facility) TVA CEO and President Jeff Lyash said companies are allowed to add temporary power sources behind the meter TVA has no oversight on these temporary energy sources In October 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed it was working with Shelby County officials into potential health hazards the temporary gas turbines cause The Shelby County Department of Health is the local regulatory body that oversees the regulation of stationary gas-burning turbines within the county. The health department regulates such turbines if they operate within the same location for more than 364 days. The EPA has cited stationary gas and combustion turbines as a major source of hazardous air pollutants With President Trump's return to the White House, expectations are the EPA will be one of several government organizations susceptible to staff and budget reductions once the new administration takes over. Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. 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The Compass Circle developers aim to create affordable housing for first-time homebuyers. Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Bill Dries' stories as they’re published. Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler. 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It's named "Colossus," sharing the title with both a mutant Russian comic book character and a sci-fi movie about a supercomputer that becomes sentient and goes rogue The name originally comes from the Greek statue "Colossus of Rhodes." which is the primary driver of climate change xAI launched in July 2023 with the stated mission to "understand the universe" and a plan to "accelerate human scientific discovery." It says it raised $6 billion in funding in May flight logs show that Musk's private jet has flown back and forth to the city twice a month When the supercomputer gets to full capacity, the local utility says it's going to need a million gallons of water per day and 150 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 100,000 homes per year. Last week, Musk posted on X the social platform formerly known as Twitter that Colossus was brought online over Labor Day weekend such as Mickey Mouse as a Nazi and Kamala Harris in lingerie The primary purpose of the Memphis supercomputer is to provide compute power for Grok The project has moved at breakneck speed and has been cloaked in mystery and secrecy. Musk has yet to make a public appearance, and officials from the local utility who were briefed on the project signed nondisclosure agreements, according to the utility's spokeswoman. The NDAs were first reported by Forbes The news dropped on Memphis in a press conference in June that was announced with little notice and caught members of the City Council environmental agencies and the community off guard "We have been deemed by xAI not even valuable enough to have a conversation with," says KeShaun Pearson who grew up a few miles from the facility and is president of the local nonprofit Memphis Community Against Pollution "To not even be included in conversations about what is transpiring in our own backyards." Musk and xAI did not return requests for comment The limited oversight and rushed nature of this project have allowed xAI to skirt environmental rules which could impact the surrounding communities the company's on-site methane gas generators currently don't have permits "Artificial intelligence may be a cutting-edge technology," says Amanda Garcia a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center "But it's imposing the same kinds of pollution burdens on communities that industrial sources have been for the past 100 years." Memphis Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton was in her living room watching the evening news on June 5 when a report came on that made her sit up in her chair The city's local chamber of commerce was announcing that xAI was moving to Memphis to build its "Gigafactory of Compute." "I'll give you a perspective," Ted Townsend "If you take the two largest supercomputers in the world and you combine them and you multiply that by four — that's what we're building here in Memphis." Cooper-Sutton says she couldn't believe her ears This was the first time she'd heard anything about the project Cooper-Sutton wasn't the only one who'd been kept in the dark Community leaders and other City Council members told NPR they also didn't find out until the night before or day of Those who were in the loop include the chamber Memphis Mayor Paul Young and representatives from the local and state utilities when a reporter asked where the supercomputer would be located Townsend said that "due to global security concerns we are not at liberty to identify the location." He said the project was a "multibillion-dollar investment" in Memphis and the number of jobs generated and investment specifics were still being calculated by xAI A spokeswoman for the chamber declined to answer NPR's questions Mayor Young told NPR in an email that xAI has "chosen to go the no-incentive route which means that they will pay the full amount for property taxes." He said he sees Musk choosing Memphis as an endorsement of its "get-it-done attitude." When NPR asked for more information on the project plans "it is probably best to leave any forward planning discussions related to the overarching vision to Elon and his team." how june started & how it’s going come 🧑‍🍳 with us at xAI & 𝕏 if you like building & running the biggest computers in the world!https://t.co/E9BY2xFmcLhttps://t.co/NU05SX5tVb pic.twitter.com/qFMpJcizw2 After community outcry, the local utility (Memphis Light, Gas and Water, or MLGW) issued fact sheets and participated in a community forum It laid out how much electricity and water xAI will use and says residents won't be impacted It added that the increase in electricity sales means $500,000 more for Memphis annually NPR requested these contracts and a spokesperson said to file a public records request NPR's subsequent public records request was denied on account of not being a citizen of Tennessee Cooper-Sutton says she eventually met with representatives from xAI and the chamber but still doesn't have concrete answers around how this project came about the timeline of events and why the city of Memphis wasn't made aware of the deal before it was set "I have an old saying from my grandparents: What it won't get in the wash it'll take care of in the rinse," she says if there's any secrets and if there's a dead cat on the line — it'll soon show up." One mile from xAI, across a stretch of the Mississippi floodplain and a thicket of towering hardwood forest, is one of Memphis' oldest neighborhoods. It's called Boxtown. The southwest Memphis community was first started in the aftermath of the Civil War by formerly enslaved people They later built homes from leftover boxcars Boxtown still houses the oldest church in Memphis it's a leafy neighborhood that has the feel of a tight-knit community It's sprinkled with modest brick and wood-paneled homes that have tidy yards Some hang American flags out front; others have charcoal smokers KeShaun Pearson grew up nearby and has spent a lot of time here speaking to every stranger he comes across There's the community garden and a tiny white house that looks like it could almost be original architecture "My grandmother is buried down that road," he says "God rest her soul." Both of Pearson's grandmothers died of cancer in their 60s and he's convinced it had to do with living in South Memphis The cancer rate in South Memphis is four times higher than the national average, according to a ProPublica report. And a 2020 University of Memphis study found the life expectancy here is 10 years lower than other parts of the city South Memphis also has elevated asthma rates and the American Lung Association gave it a failing grade for air quality Experts say this is largely due to the neighborhood's proximity to Memphis' industrial zone there's a decommissioned coal plant where the city is still dealing with issues from coal ash a wastewater facility and the state's power plant It's common for the county health department to issue "code orange" ozone alerts here This means ozone levels exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's safety standards and sensitive groups like adults with respiratory issues and children "They have a very serious air pollution problem," says Garcia from the Southern Environmental Law Center Pearson and other environmental justice advocates fear that xAI will add to the pollution burden of this already overburdened community They say it's particularly concerning that the project has had little government oversight and the community has been left out of the process "It's frustrating because it could be better," Pearson says "The dissonance of having essentially the future of technology powered by fossil fuels is The factory that xAI now inhabits sits on 217 acres of land and has the possibility to add an additional 580 acres The main building is 785,000 square feet (roughly the size of 13 football fields) and comes with a cooling tower heavy electrical power feeds and is fully air-conditioned Alongside the factory are at least 18 portable methane gas generators which visibly emit a steady stream of hazy smoke into the air They started to appear in June and have multiplied over the last couple of months. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, it's estimated these generators can provide enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. And they have the capacity to emit 130 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides per year potentially making them a major source of the pollutant in Memphis xAI doesn't have air permits for these turbines according to the Shelby County Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency The county health department told NPR that it only regulates gas-burning generators if they're in the same location for more than 364 days "Given the mobile nature of the gas-turbines in question … [the health department] does not have current permitting authority," a spokeswoman wrote in an email She said this is the Environmental Protection Agency's jurisdiction The Environmental Protection Agency told NPR it hasn't issued air permits for these turbines but after getting inquiries from media outlets and citizen groups it's "looking into the matter." LaTricea Adams is from South Memphis and says she was shocked to hear about the generators She's a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and founder of the nonprofit Young in what universe is that acceptable?" she says This isn't the first time one of Musk's companies didn't have permits for high-emissions machinery "There's a way to do this right," says Adams but it's going to take all of the powers that be to be more transparent and make this mutually beneficial." KeShaun Pearson drives down the flat road to xAI he points across the street to a multibuilding power plant owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority This is the federal utility that ultimately has to approve xAI's power plan Typically, data centers the size of xAI have to wait years before they can get on the grid, according to a report by Bloomberg That's because utilities need to ensure that the facilities won't strain the grid for residents and other customers xAI has already gotten the go-ahead for 50 megawatts of electricity from MLGW But it's requesting 100 megawatts more — enough to power tens of thousands of homes — and for that xAI needs Tennessee Valley Authority's approval A spokesman for the utility says it's reviewing xAI's electricity demands and is waiting for more information from the company This weekend, the @xAI team brought our Colossus 100k H100 training cluster online Colossus is the most powerful AI training system in the world it will double in size to 200k (50k H200s) in a few months Musk says xAI has already dealt with "power fluctuation issues." During an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman last month he said that training his AI necessitates quick bursts of 10 and 20 megawatts of electricity and "the electrical system freaks out about that." Water is another issue for xAI. Data centers use massive amounts of water to cool their servers; xAI says it will need 1 million gallons of water a day, which is about 3% of the total capacity of the local wellfield, according to the nonprofit Protect Our Aquifer This is the same wellfield that provides drinking water to residents "It would put stress on the wellfield," says Scott Schoefernacker He adds that "a lot of the water is just being used as cooling and it evaporates." MLGW is adamant that xAI won't impact the grid or water availability It also says it's in talks with the company to build a gray water plant to use treated wastewater for cooling along with the installation of large-scale batteries for electricity storage have started using renewable energy sources at their data centers but still mostly rely on fossil fuels one of the reasons for that is because AI's demand for energy is so high that renewable energy suppliers can't keep up After watching xAI's buzzing construction activity for a while, Pearson starts up the car and drives back through the industrial zone. He points to a dense forest in the distance where 50-foot-tall trees, hanging with vines, tower over the landscape. He explains that this is T.O. Fuller State Park and that it was the first state park east of the Mississippi for Black people. Now, he says, it's impossible to enjoy because of all of the pollution from nearby factories. A previous version of this story wrongly stated that "Colossus of Rhodes" was a mythical statue. A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Tennessee Valley Authority as a state facility. It is a federal facility. would happen at a “massive new training center” in Memphis which he bragged had been built in 19 days But many residents of Memphis were taken by surprise, including city council members who said they were given no input about the project or its potential impacts on the city Data centers like this one use a vast amount of electricity and water an outcry has grown among community members and environmental groups who warn of the plant’s potential negative impact on air quality especially for nearby neighborhoods that have suffered from industrial pollution for decades These activists also contend that the company is illegally operating gas turbines “This continues a legacy of billion-dollar conglomerates who think that they can do whatever they want to do and the community is just not to be considered,” KeShaun Pearson executive director of the nonprofit Memphis Community Against Pollution “They treat southwest Memphis as just a corporate watering hole where they can get water at cheaper price and a place to dump all their residue without any real oversight or governance.”  Some local leaders and utility companies, conversely, contend that xAI will be a boon for local infrastructure xAI’s foray into Memphis will serve as a litmus test of whether the AI-fueled data center boom might actually improve American infrastructure—or harm the disadvantaged just like so many power-hungry industries of decades past Read More: How AI Is Fueling a Boom in Data Centers and Energy Demand Local leaders said the plant would offer “good-paying jobs” and “significant additional revenues” for the local utility company. Memphis Mayor Paul Young praised the project in a statement, saying that the new xAI training center would reside on an “ideal site “It's been pretty astounding the lack of transparency and the pace at which this project has proceeded,” Amanda Garcia a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center there’s a major divide between how much electricity xAI wants to use the utility company said that xAI would have access to 50 megawatts of power But xAI wants to use triple that amount—which is enough energy to power 80,000 households.  In response to complaints about the lack of communication with council members MLGW wrote: “xAI's request does not require approvals from the MLGW Board of Commissioners or City Council.”  But community members worry whether Memphis’s utilities can handle such a large consumer of energy. In the past, the city’s power grid has been forced into rolling blackouts by ice storms and other severe weather events says that while xAI waits for more power to become available they’ve turned to non-legal measures to sate their demand by installing gas combustion turbines on the site that they are operating without a permit Garcia says the SELC has observed the installation of 18 such turbines which have the capacity to emit 130 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides per year The SELC and community groups sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department demanding their removal—but the health department responded by claiming the turbines were out of their authority The EPA told NPR that it was “looking into the matter.” A representative for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment A representative for the Greater Memphis Chamber wrote to TIME in response to a request for comment: “We will not be participating in your narrative.” A cut lead pipe is shown after being dug from the ground in Memphis Kevin Wurm for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesPotential impact on waterEnvironmentalists are also concerned about the facility’s use of water “Industries are attracted to us because we have some of the purest water in the world and it is dirt cheap to access,” says Sarah Houston the executive director of the local environmental group of the nonprofit Protect Our Aquifer Data centers use water to cool their computers and stop them from overheating. So far xAI has drawn 30,000 gallons from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the region’s drinking water supply, every day since beginning its initial operations according to MLGW—who added that the company’s water usage would have “no impact on the availability of water to other customers.” But Houston and other environmentalists are concerned especially because Memphis’s aging water infrastructure is more than a century old and has failed several winters in a row leading to boil advisories and pleas to residents to conserve water usage during times of stress “xAI is just an additional industrial user pumping this 2,000 year old pure water for a non-drinking purpose,” Houston says it doesn’t seem to warrant this super pure ancient water that we will never see again.” Memphis’s drinking water has also been threatened by contamination. In 2022, the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice claimed that a now-defunct coal plant in Memphis was leaking arsenic and other dangerous chemicals into the groundwater supply, and ranked it as one of the 10 worst contaminated coal ash sites in the country And because xAI sits close to the contaminated well in question Houston warns that its heavy water usage could exacerbate the problem the faster contaminants get pulled down towards the water supply,” she says MLGW contends that xAI’s use of Memphis’s drinking water is temporary because xAI is assisting in the “ the design and proposed construction” of a graywater facility that will treat wastewater so that it can be used to cool data centers machines MLGW is also trying to get Musk to provide a Tesla Megapack Houston says that these solutions will be beneficial to the city—if they come to fruition “We fully support xAI coming to the table and being a part of this solution,” she says “We're not opposed to ethical economic development and business moving into town,” says Garcia “But we need some assurance that it's not going to make what is already an untenable situation worse.”  the arrival of xAI is concerning because as someone who grew up in Boxtown he says he’s seen how other major corporations have treated the area Memphis has dangled tax breaks and subsidies to persuade industrial companies to set up shop nearby But many of those projects have not led to lasting economic development and have seemingly contributed to an array of health problems of nearby residents in a move that blindsided even Mayor Jim Strickland “Companies choose Memphis because they believe it is the path of least resistance: They come here Pearson says that community organizations of southwest Memphis have had no contact or dialogue with xAI and its plans in the area whatsoever; that there’s been no recruiting in the community related to jobs or any training related to workplace development When presented with claims that xAI will economically benefit the local community and the same talking points passed down and passed around by these corporate colonialists,” Pearson says and it's just disingenuous to continue to regurgitate these things without actually having plans of implementation or inclusion.” Contact us at letters@time.com href="/section/metrocity-of-memphis" aria-current="page" href="/section/metroshelby-county" aria-current="page" href="/section/metrostate-government" aria-current="page" href="/section/metroeducation" aria-current="page" href="/section/metropublic-safety" aria-current="page" href="/section/metroelections" aria-current="page" href="/section/metrospirit-of-memphis" aria-current="page" href="/section/metrothe-early-word" aria-current="page" href="/section/metrobehind-the-headlines" aria-current="page" href="https://dailymemphian.com/article/50732/ask-the-memphian-your-questions-answered" aria-current="page" Taste of community: Memphis cookbook will connect recipes to history By , Daily Memphian Updated: December 30, 2024 7:28 PM CT | Published: December 05, 2024 12:29 PM CT JoElle Thompson, co-owner of The Four Way Soul Food Restaurant and connector for the Center for Transforming Communities, hosts a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 4, updating the public on a community cookbook project. Thompson is asking residents to submit their recipes. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian) An advocate wants to amplify the stories and “authentic voices” of South Memphis residents in a community cookbook she plans to publish next year Planning is underway for the South Memphis cookbook co-owner of The Four Way Soul Food Restaurant and connector for the Center for Transforming Communities the work is about bringing policy change in South Memphis Stitch by stitch, Memphis stroke survivor finds ‘new beginning’ in quilting Thompson’s goal is for the cookbook — a project that falls under her work at CTC and The Four Way — to keep legacies alive and connect silos which will be released along with a video series The goal is two-fold: provide delicious recipes intertwined with stories and histories of the South Memphis neighborhoods A lifelong Memphian, Julia Baker graduated from the University of Memphis in 2021. Other publications and organizations she has written for include Chalkbeat, Memphis Flyer, Memphis Parent magazine and Memphis magazine. Sign-up to receive monthly stories about the people who represent the spirit of our great city Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInMEMPHIS (WMC) - The Memphis Police Department is now investigating a homicide after the victim of a New Year’s Day hit-and-run succumbed to her injuries at the hospital Officers got the call about the hit-and-run at 9:27 p.m Wednesday and found the wounded pedestrian at the intersection of Lamar Avenue and Bellevue Boulevard The victim was rushed to Regional One Hospital in critical condition police confirmed that she succumbed to her injuries from the impact MPD says the woman was crossing Lamar when a Nissan Altima traveling east mowed her down without stopping No other information about the car has been released Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH Click here to sign up for our newsletter Click here to report a spelling or grammar error The Community Redevelopment Agency board on Friday moved forward with a South Memphis tax increment financing district focused on redeveloping Soulsville and nearby areas — a compromise between two plans it previously rejected The proposed TIF district is 2,848 parcels — much smaller than TIF proposals from Southeast Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) and Soulsville USA Neighborhoods Development District (SNDD) It includes the Soulsville and Bellevue areas and is expected to generate about $1.9 million over the TIF’s 30-year span according to the CRA’s current projections “You can see how important it is to the Soulsville community,” said Andrew Murray CRA director of planning and community development “The revenues aren’t really there right now but the desire and the passion and the organization to implement a community-driven effort is there This process really seems to have brought together a lot of folks in South Memphis and Soulsville around the request to get some investment.” The TIF is meant to stimulate growth by putting a portion of the future taxes collected in a geographic area into a fund used to support infrastructure improvements and other projects Both Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission must approve the South Memphis TIF proposal before it’s officially implemented The TIF's general boundaries include the rail line west of South Third Street to the west and Walker Avenue, East Georgia Avenue and East Caroline Avenue to the north South Memphis TIF proposal: Land in South Memphis donated to 2 nonprofits. What's planned for the properties? More: South Memphis TIFs: Why redevelopment agency is worried about projected revenue Former Shelby County Commissioner and developer J.W while current county commissioner Reginald Milton led the SNDD's proposal The CRA turned down both proposals because board members felt they encompassed too large of an area beyond South Memphis and would not generate the projected revenue to justify the staff required to administer the TIF SNDD members and supporters expressed their desires for the CRA TIF to move forward because they believe the additional revenue could help rejuvenate an area that’s long needed more investment “Whatever comes out of this meeting today we’ll take it and we’re gonna move forward with it because we have in the people in this room the residents that we can make this successful to improve South Memphis,” SNDD Treasurer Jeffrey Higgs said SNDD leaders held a press conference at one of its undeveloped lots on Mississippi Boulevard — across from The Four Way in South Memphis Milton said the two proposals helped put South Memphis on the CRA’s radar when the agency was deciding where to administer its next TIF He also credits the organization for ultimately passing a TIF proposal.  “If you’re looking at a change getting them (the CRA) to see the potential of this community and how we can make this work,” Milton said “If it wasn’t for them having the open mind to at least look at that and entertain that Omer Yusuf covers the Ford project in Haywood County, residential real estate and tourism for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached via email Omer.Yusuf@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @OmerAYusuf Betty Isom was fast asleep when the fire started Her grandson woke her up in the early hours of Jan Isom and her family were not able to douse the fire themselves; the pipes in her home had frozen It had barely gotten to 25 degrees on New Year’s Eve in Memphis The moments after Isom and her family left the house were chaotic who hadn’t even had time to grab shoes on her way out tried to run back inside to get her car keys so the family could sit in the car to escape the cold She eventually went to her neighbor’s home but her family feared she had gone back into the house and told firefighters she might be inside More: Collins Chapel reopens as recuperative care center, family inn for people who are homeless Related: Religious leaders ask Mayor Strickland: Where is the change you promised? Isom said she had no idea what to do — almost everything in the home was destroyed They went first to Isom’s daughter's home Her pastor and his wife helped them to get some necessary items thanked God for the help she received from family and friends Isom’s home has been rebuilt by friends and her spiritual family at Downtown Church they were really upset because we lost everything Material things you can always get that back,’” she said Money was donated by members of the church and a member who works in construction was able to call in favors to get the project over the finish line it wasn’t even a question if a new home would be constructed for Isom More: Clayborn Temple's new windows to feature sanitation workers strike, Martin Luther King Jr. Faith in Memphis: Family Bibles create spiritual time capsule “Because of Betty’s ministry here in the neighborhood because of what she means to South Memphis especially Tate Street and just this part of South Memphis we knew that we needed to get this house rebuilt,” he said.  but moved with her family to Memphis when she was a kid and she has lived in South Memphis ever since she became the first homeowner in her family when she bought a house on Tate with the assistance of a program administered by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America “Betty’s home became known as a haven for people in the community who were homeless and hopeless or those who were transitioning and needed an overnight stay and a hot meal,” a church member wrote in a letter honoring Isom at the dedication of her new home Described as a matriarch both of her church and her neighborhood Isom has spent her entire adult life working and volunteering for religious and social services organizations including Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association and Emmanuel Center She’s hosted an anti-violence block party each year in June — except 2020 due to the pandemic — for more than 20 years. The event draws hundreds from across South Memphis; Rieves helped cook 50 pounds of catfish for the party a few years ago Isom is something of a celebrity in her neighborhood People call out to her when she walks down the street Many refer to her simply as “momma.” When her new home was dedicated people from the neighborhood brought over food to help her celebrate she invited everyone from the neighborhood over to share She’s fed and housed so many people she’s lost track People text Isom and stop by her home constantly to reminisce and thank her for what she has done for them and their families helping others has been a source of blessings one-story house on Tate Street where she lives with extended family The house was constructed to include a ministry room where she’ll host her Wednesday Bible study and other gatherings.  She said she’s also concerned by an uptick of violence she’s seen in her neighborhood in recent years and hopes she can use the space to host peaceful community gatherings.  Isom credits the congregation at Downtown Church with helping her get through the past three years Church members helped support her and her family physically and financially “I love Downtown Church because we’re all different It’s amazing,” she said.  Uplifting news: Memphis Zoo welcomes baby from deer species extinct in the wild Subscribe to read: 'Take care of each other': 'Mother Wit' creates a ministry to give food, water to homeless Sunday is our most segregated hour,” referring to the lack of diversity within churches said he founded the church after returning from Colorado with the aim of changing that bringing together people of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds.  She welcomes everybody into her home and the church Rieves said Isom constantly put herself last She used to sleep in a chair so others would have a bed.  the Downtown Church family was able to serve Isom the way she had served so many others.  she just pours out to people in this community and she welcomes everybody She’s the epitome of what I think Jesus calls us to be and do,” Rieves said Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development soccer and COVID-19's impact on hospitals for The Commercial Appeal She can be reached via email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com or at 901-297-3245.  The Shelby County Land Bank recently donated 71 parcels of land in South Memphis to two nonprofits, The Works Inc. and the Southeast Regional Development Corporation in the hopes of seeing long-blighted plots revitalized.  While some of the parcels could soon host single-family homes the future of the other parcels is unclear as the new owner’s bid to create a tax increment finance district in the area has been put on ice by a local development agency.  was one of two organizations that had proposed creating a TIF district to help finance the revitalization of a large swath of South Memphis Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris had previously publicly endorsed the plan SOUTH MEMPHIS TIFS: Why redevelopment agency is worried about projected revenue the Community Redevelopment Agency board declined to endorse Gibson’s proposal and one put forward by the SoulsvilleUSA Neighborhoods Development District led by Shelby County Commissioner Reginald Milton The CRA did not respond to a request from The Commercial Appeal for a copy of the proposal. Any TIF application has to get approval from Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission Gibson said without the wider TIF district he wasn't sure what his group would do with the parcels “There was an overall plan that would incorporate the land into some other parcels that we were trying to develop on under the TIF offering," he said "We have no clue what's going to happen with the TIF.” His group’s TIF proposal included 8,321 parcels and encompassed areas beyond South Memphis including parts of the South Main Arts District Victorian Village and the Medical District Gibson said including those areas was essential for creating the tax increment to finance projects in South Memphis where blighted parcels and lower land values would not produce as much revenue.  CRA board members and staff said they thought the district was too large to administer and areas like Victorian Village or the Medical District should not be included in a TIF district meant to foster redevelopment of South Memphis The TIF district proposed by Milton's group included 5,690 parcels which CRA board members also said would be difficult to administer They also questioned whether either TIF would be able to produce enough revenue While exact plans are pending further research regarding the buildability of the land The Works intends to develop single-family housing on part of the 24 parcels equivalent to about 5 acres scattered throughout the neighborhood surrounding Lincoln Park On the remaining third of the parcels located near an existing pocket park The Works' first order of business is to clean the lots The lots are located near Lincoln Junior High School and the original Southside High School on South Orleans Street where The Works will break ground on a new subdivision in the spring of 2022 MORE: How South Memphis could be redeveloped: A look at two proposed plans said these housing developments are necessary for attracting retail and building a healthy neighborhood It's more than 38,000 units needed in quality affordable housing for the people that we have here today," Austin said In a press release announcing the land transfer, Harris said the community needed better housing stock and he believed transferring the 71 parcels to the nonprofits was a step toward seeing that materialize “All of these properties have been in the Land Bank for too long We are eager to get them out of the Land Bank and into the hands of proven agencies like The Works and SRDC Both of these organizations have a finger on the pulse of this community,” Harris said.  The organizations paid $1,500 to cover the transaction fees for each property The county made a similar donation from the land bank to a nonprofit in January 2020 About 150 properties were transferred from the land bank to the Klondike Smokey City Community Development Corporation and Neighborhood Preservation Inc Reach the authors at Astrid.Kayembe@CommercialAppeal.com and Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com  Pearl Walker lives right next to the Interstate 55 exit on the south side of Memphis Every day she watches over 100 rust-red trucks loaded with toxic coal ash from the nearby coal plant barrel past on their way to a local municipal landfill The landfill is the final resting place for 3.5 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash — enough to fill two and a half Empire State Buildings — from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Allen Fossil Plant For decades residents have dealt with air pollution from the plant When federal rules mandated the plant’s coal ash ponds had to close residents made clear they wanted the ash removed from their community But even as TVA held public meetings and told residents it was considering various options the federal agency was already moving forward with its plans to haul coal ash to the South Shelby Landfill in South Memphis documents obtained through a public records request showed Coal-ash-laden trucks will traverse local streets for at least 8 years continuing a legacy of environmental injustice and lack of accountability Walker is concerned about diesel emissions from the trucks and the potential for coal ash to spill out in a crash As an environmental justice advocate and long-time resident of the neighborhood known as Whitehaven Walker feels disrespected by the agencies and elected officials who approved this plan TVA ultimately narrowed its options to seven landfills: the North Shelby and South Shelby landfills in Tennessee the Taylor County Disposal Landfill in Georgia and the Laraway Recycling and Disposal Facility in Illinois The seven sites had one thing in common: all were located in low-income and predominantly minority communities Alabama — a highly impoverished Black community — had already received 4 million cubic yards of coal ash from the TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill in 2008 TVA said it might take coal ash to the Tennessee or Mississippi landfills by truck; it could use trains for the Alabama Georgia and South Carolina landfills; and the Illinois landfill could be reached by barge Memphis residents knew they didn’t want the trucks or the coal ash in their community but they felt they had little say in the process “[The process] lacks integrity and accountability it is taking place but we don’t know if and or how we’re being compromised,” Walker said founded under a New Deal plan to help supply cheap electricity and jobs in the rural South Allen was the only one located in a predominantly Black community Memphis is home to 66 facilities that release toxic pollution according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory Half of those facilities are located in South Memphis an oil refinery and the Memphis Defense Depot Many of the toxic facilities were located near Bradshaw’s childhood home and school “The refinery was spewing out stuff where you could see it actually on the leaves You [could] see the black dust on the leaves Bradshaw still remembers the smell: putrid Bradshaw has had reproductive abnormalities since she was 21 years old She said her 67-year-old mother has kidney failure and is waiting for a transplant her best friend since the seventh grade died from endocrine diseases and repeated problems with strokes and diabetes who serves as the environmental justice chair of the Sierra Club’s Chickasaw group and is the executive director of the environmental justice group Sowing Justice blames toxic industries and fossil fuels for these health issues “This type of thing affects all of us,” Bradshaw said if [the coal ash] fly off a truck when they are loading it up.” Residents of South Memphis are more likely than the national average to develop cancer, according to a report from ProPublica received an F grade for air quality on the American Lung Association’s ​“State of the Air” report in 2022 that’s what I am trying to tell folks,” said Justin J ​“The injustices our communities are experiencing is slow violence It’s slow lynching of Black folk and poor folk for the profit of the TVA and other corporations.” 10-wheeled trucks from V McGee Trucking Inc are loaded up with coal ash before they head to the landfill across town they take the Shelby Drive exit through the Capleville a predominantly Black community full of colorful bungalows and friendly neighbors one church and a couple industrial plants trucks will transport 120 loads of 17 cubic yards of coal ash to the landfill each day The trucks return to the Allen Plant after dropping off the waste totalling 240 trips per day through South Memphis another fleet of trucks transports fill dirt from the nearby Boxtown neighborhood to the Allen Plant to replace the coal ash in the impoundment TVA acknowledged their plan would have significant impacts on noise safety and community cohesion for the next eight to ten years TVA did not assess those effects specifically on the South Memphis community director of the Tennessee office of the Southern Environmental Law Center said is a critical step that is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “[TVA] kind of brushed that aside like this is a temporary impact But 10 years doesn’t feel very temporary to me,” Garcia said Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions like asthma respiratory illnesses and can worsen existing heart and lung diseases Memphis has been among the worst places to live if you have asthma according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America The trucks are equipped with a fitted tarp cover to prevent fugitive coal ash dust from flying out But Walker wonders what plans are in place if the trucks have an accident She wants to know who is responsible if the coal ash spills co-founder of Memphis Community Against Pollution ​“We have 240 plus trucks going every day in the neighborhood for the next 10 years or so – [what does that do] to the air people are breathing.” In July 2021, TVA announced to Memphis City Council that they would proceed with removing the coal ash from the Allen Fossil Plant. At that time, TVA said they were deciding between dumping the waste at South Shelby Landfill or the landfill in Tunica, Mississippi who serves as the Memphis coordinator for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Environmental Climate and Justice chair for the Memphis NAACP thought it was a ​“no brainer” that the ash would go to Tunica a more remote town with a total population of about 2,000 compared to South Memphis’s population of 70,000 TVA had already decided on the South Shelby Landfill According to emails between the TVA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation the plan for the Allen Plant cleanup project was decided in January 2021 six months before TVA notified Memphis City Council or the residents of their decision Emails were obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center through a public records request TVA misled city officials and the public by holding community input meetings as if a landfill decision was still being made the parent company of South Shelby Landfill had already been chosen by TVA for the excavation transportation and storage of the coal ash “They basically were already really committed to this plan,” said Garcia ​“And that’s an egregious harm under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and an egregious abuse of the trust and the responsibility of being a good neighbor in South Memphis.” Most concerned residents didn’t learn until a virtual community meeting on Sept 2021 that South Shelby Landfill would be the sole recipient of the Allen Plant’s coal ash – nine months after TVA had made the decision TVA hosted ​“40 public engagement events,” according to TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks the agency hosted two public meetings specifically about the plan for the Allen Plant coal ash removal Pearson said the virtual meeting was yet another instance of TVA moving forward without giving the community a say ​“Providing updates versus where you’re engaging directly meaningfully with the community to help create a plan are really different things,” he said along with local Memphis environmental groups have demanded that TVA produce a new environmental impact statement that evaluates the specific environmental risks from trucking the coal ash through South Memphis for the next eight years They say such a report is needed to comply with NEPA Garica said TVA could not adequately evaluate the impact of their decision without more input from residents “I’m a big believer in the idea that people who live most proximate to the problem are often the ones that have the best information and certainly the lived experience that should inform these big decisions that are going to affect their community for a decade,” Garcia said Documents obtained through the public comment period indicate that TVA could have chosen a plan proposed by a more experienced company that wouldn’t burden South Memphis residents with trucks The company Waste Connections had proposed a five-year plan to remove all the ash by rail Waste Connections has been handling coal ash for seven years which has managed coal ash only three times according to testimony at a 2021 community meeting “How can the equivalent of putting 647 trucks on the road be safer than moving 11,000 [coal ash] tons by one unit train?” asked Waste Connections’ letter to TVA TVA considered Waste Connections’ sites in the original 2020 landfill analysis but it was ​“eliminated because they did not meet the established criteria,” said Brooks in an email Pearson said the community would have liked to know more about the options and have a say “We want to understand what the other alternatives were for TVA or different locations for the coal ash to be dumped,” said Pearson who sees TVA as ​“operating in this very clandestine corporate way.” Pearson and Garcia believe that trucking the coal ash to South Shelby Landfill is the cheapest option for TVA. The federal agency refused to provide information about the total cost of trucking the coal ash to South Shelby Landfill. The entire Allen clean up project is budgeted to cost $500 million, according to the Associated Press. Since TVA’s plan is set to take place over the next decade activists think that alternatives to South Shelby Landfill can still be considered Pearson proposed looking at an equitable redistribution of the coal ash based on how the electricity from the Allen Plant was distributed to the city of Memphis “Now the people who are most vulnerable are the ones who are going to be suffering,” Pearson said Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Marquita Bradshaw’s medical history.  href="/section/arts-culturethe-arts-beat" aria-current="page" href="/section/arts-culturevisual-arts" aria-current="page" href="/section/arts-cultureperforming-arts" aria-current="page" href="/section/arts-culturemusic" aria-current="page" href="/section/arts-culturethe-to-do-list" aria-current="page" href="/section/arts-culturethe-sidebar" aria-current="page" href="//memphisevents.dailymemphian.com" aria-current="page" Arts & Culture the Hooks family and Aretha: New museum to showcase South Memphis By , Daily Memphian Updated: February 23, 2022 5:34 PM CT | Published: February 23, 2022 12:08 PM CT The former MLK Transition Academy/Porter Junior High School on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. The site is proposed to house the upcoming South City Museum and Culture Center. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian) The South City Museum and Culture Center is collaborating with the Memphis Museum of Science and History (MoSH) on the project. Jasmine McCraven considers herself to be a music enthusiast and believes that she makes the best playlists ever. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State, but couldn’t wait to move back home to Memphis for the best food and culture in Tennessee. Get our staff's recommendations on arts (Cathryn Stout / Chalkbeat) A shooting in the stairwell of a Memphis school Thursday morning left a 13-year-old boy hospitalized in critical condition and a community grasping to process a violent outburst in a school year already beset by challenges.  The scene that played out near Cummings Elementary School in South Memphis has become sadly familiar across the U.S.: sirens and flashing blue lights and parents rushing to meet their children and asking questions about what happened Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that the injured student is expected to make a full recovery The suspect is a 13-year-old male student at the school who was expected to be charged with attempted first-degree murder “My heart aches for our children,” said Ray who visited the injured boy and his family at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital “Gun violence has no place in our schools or communities The shooting took place at a difficult time, with educators and students back in school buildings trying to bounce back from a year-and-a-half of pandemic-disrupted learning, high pediatric COVID-19 rates in Shelby County and a recent uptick in gun violence.   It also took place in a school once called an academic “jewel” by the district for fostering community support in South Memphis The math-focused school boasts robotics and coding programs Cummings serves 395 students in kindergarten through eighth grade Police arrive within minutes; active shooter protocol used Police dispatchers received a call at 9:15 a.m from inside the school that a student had been shot A school resource officer at the school placed the call and administered aid to the injured boy as did a school nurse who calmed the victim and called his father Crowe said video evidence indicated the shooter was another student While a police tactical unit and federal agents conducted another sweep of the school after students had been moved to a nearby church the suspect turned himself in at a police precinct Crowe said police “have a real good idea” of a motive but declined to elaborate or provide additional details about the circumstances of the shooting.  a tense scene unfolded as the school’s active shooter protocol kicked in Both police and school officials emphasized that they were prepared for such a situation and said the emergency plan was executed well on Thursday the district had conducted active shooter training and all schools had turned in their own emergency response plans A school leader said at Thursday’s news conference that students and staff had been screened by metal detectors that morning Neither she nor police officials commented on how a gun could have made it inside the school.  The state also provided districts with $35 million in safety grants mostly to improve their aging school buildings with upgrades like modern security cameras Anxious students lined up as they would for a fire drill and were ushered outside and school officials dispatched buses to take the students to Metropolitan Baptist Church down the street anxious relatives huddled under umbrellas on a rainy who lives near the school and promptly picked up her son from the church She initially thought that they were headed to a nearby hospital because the school is near the city’s Medical District there was a sea of blue but nobody could tell me anything,” she said.  What’s going on now?’ That’s basically how I felt.”  Humphrey said she called the school and tried to get answers She said her son texted her to tell her that the school was on lockdown and that she didn’t receive a message from the district until more than an hour later.  “That’s not putting anybody at ease,” she said adding that some parents weren’t able to rush to the scene and were unsure if their child had been hurt.  Chantel Douglass waited across the street from the church as relatives retrieved her seven-year-old niece She said her mind went blank after she got the call that there had been a school shooting She hadn’t heard from her niece since news of the shooting broke and at the first sighting of the little girl walking down the sidewalk with her parents and grandmother all greeted and hugged the seven-year-old.  As students were dismissed from the church some parents complained about what they considered to be the slow process of reuniting children and families District spokesperson Jerica Phillips said that the district had to take precautions double-checking the information management software PowerSchool to ensure that students were released to the right people.  As parent and school board member I breathe a sigh of relief that our student is recovering @LeBonheurChild. Speaking and hugging the parents we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Praying for our Cummings K-8 and @SCSK12Unified family. #nomoregunviolence “A lot of parents are frustrated about us doing it one at a time but we’ve got to check PowerSchool because you have custody issues and you can’t just release students to anybody That becomes another story,” Phillips said District officials said classes will be back in session at Cummings on Friday and the superintendent emphasized the importance of supporting students emotionally as they heal and refocus on academics.  We should be talking about learning opportunities for students,” Ray said.  “This has to stop Students at North Star Academy are exploring career options by understanding how AI could shape the workforce The lessons provide students with hands-on exercises to learn about AI The seven new schools are part of a multiyear flurry of openings that city officials hope will reinvigorate the system at a time of faltering enrollment and New Jersey have in-state tuition programs for undocumented students the Trump administration plans to take action against those programs A funding shortfall in the state budget forced New York City to freeze enrollment for a popular child care voucher program for low-income families Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said that while she’s deeply concerned about the changes brought by a new property tax law the district will strive to engage the community Here’s what I wish I could say when someone asks Chalkbeat Tennessee will send you only the most important news about Memphis public schools and statewide education policy Get informed in 3 minutes or less with our free newsletter By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. You may also receive occasional messages from sponsors CHALKBEAT IS A CIVIC NEWS COMPANY NEWSROOM ©2025 As parent and school board member I breathe a sigh of relief that our student is recovering @LeBonheurChild. Speaking and hugging the parents we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Praying for our Cummings K-8 and @SCSK12Unified family. #nomoregunviolence Bump South Memphis, the latest cut from Young Dolph Young Dolph's horizons are broadening with each new release It's a worthy addition to a catalogue that has seen much growth since Young Dolph stepped foot in the rap game Amazon Plans Two Mid-South Facilities An Amazon fulfillment center, photo courtesy Amazon. 10:53 a.m Subscribe to our newsletter News Opinion Calendar Music Screens Arts+Culture Food+Drink Books Sports Fun Stuff