What's Going to Happen to Peabody Place?

Memphis’ experiment in urban shopping and entertainment appears to be headed for difficult times. Within the last few weeks, two of Peabody Place’s most prominent tenants have announced plans to leave or downsize. First came the worst-kept secret in retail: Tower Records was bankrupt and would be closing its stores. Nationally, sales of compact discs have been lagging for years. The advent of the digital download has made the compact disc something of a relic, seemingly headed in the same direction as the eight-track.

Then, last week came an announcement from Muvico: It would close eight of its 22 Peabody Place theatre screens. Muvico’s struggles have been obvious, though the company has not acknowledged them previously. Earlier this year, Muvico announced that it was lowering ticket prices to $6.50, nearly $2.00 less than what its competitors charge for admission. Muvico blamed its screen closures on national trends, saying that movie receipts are down this year and have been trending downward for the better part of a decade. Yet, Muvico’s closure of 36 percent of its screens dwarfs the 14 percent decrease in film revenues during Muvico’s short existence in downtown Memphis.

Peabody Place began for a noble enough reason: to attract tourists. It was designed to compliment Beale Street and AutoZone Park and offer downtown visitors a chance to come inside from the heat, see a movie, have a drink, and spend some money in national chain stores. Yet, that very intention may have undermined the development. While downtown’s residential population continues to grow quickly, few necessary services can be found downtown. Residents complain of having to drive across a bridge to another state to shop for groceries and other necessities; Peabody Place offered no relief to those residents. Undoubtedly, many Memphians who live outside of downtown saw Peabody Place as just another tourist attraction and avoided it.

An additional concern is crime or the perception of crime. As early as 2002, a consultant hired by the Center City Commission indicated that the area surrounding Peabody Place, as well as Peabody Place itself, seemed engulfed in crime. The Thayer Report noted that gang activity was present at Jillian’s and that Muvico acted irresponsibly in selling tickets to late-night shows to minors in spite of a citywide curfew. While those problems may have been corrected, the loitering that began within and around Peabody Place shortly after its construction has continued. The community’s growing perception of Peabody Place as unsafe has certainly contributed to its decline.

The future of Peabody Place is up in the air. Issac Hayes’ bar and restaurant has already closed and reopened once. The parent company of Jillian’s filed bankruptcy two years ago. Tower Records is bankrupt and closing. Muvico is cutting back. Will Peabody Place turn into a shell of a mall like Raleigh Springs? Finding ways to fight crime and reaching out to downtown residents would be the first steps I would take in improving Peabody Place.