U of M's success spurs student housing project on Southern Ave.

3341 and 3427 Southern Ave. | JACOB STEIMER - MBJ

Penny Hardaway's successful recruiting efforts have also attracted a pair of investors to Memphis.

Coupled with the recent success of the University of Memphis football program and improving academics, Hardaway's top-ranked 2019 recruiting class gave Doug Banerjee and Ari Firoozabadi a reason to consider development near the school.

”I'm a big sports fan, as is Ari," Banerjee said. ”We feel when there's a lot of good press [around a university], we like the prospects of the deal."

Banerjee and Firoozabadi are partnering with local architect and developer Austin Magruder to renovate 78 vacant apartments at 3341 and 3427 Southern Ave., which are located two blocks from each other. The properties sit just south of the railroad tracks, less than a mile from the university.

The redevelopment is the third student housing project announced recently that will be south of the tracks, joining 38 apartments being developed at 3637 Park Ave. and 20 townhomes that are planned near South Highland Street's intersection with Spottswood Avenue.

The investors bought the Southern Avenue properties for $1.95 million earlier this month. Banerjee said he liked the "price per pound" and the momentum on South Highland Street.

The apartments will rent for less than $1.50 per square foot, as Banerjee said he and his partners want to present a more affordable alternative compared to some of the new apartments being erected near the university.

Banerjee's hope is that the redevelopment would be completed by May.

Credit: Jacob Steimer – Lead Reporter, Memphis Business Journal