The news: If you’ve noticed trees coming down at the northeast corner of Highway 70 and Highway 64, that’s Union Depot 1st Addition getting started. Bartlett Alderman Kevin Quinn (Position 6) said in a public Facebook post on Monday, Nov. 2, that residents had reached out over the weekend, surprised by the clearing, and that the project is “cranking up.”

What’s being built first: Phase 1 is the road. The Planning Commission’s May 4 minutes describe it as Union Depot Drive plus the utilities along it. In July, developer Keith Grant of Grant & Co. told the Commercial Appeal that the road will connect Highway 70 to Highway 64 and that Phase 1 would start “probably around November.”

The full plan: The 34.2-acre site has a master plan for 387 homes, built in five phases:

  • Phase 2: 200 lofts over commercial space (the Planning Commission approved Phase 2 plans on Oct. 5, according to the Daily Memphian)
  • Phase 3: 160 apartments
  • Phase 4: 27 townhomes
  • Phase 5: 10.8 acres of commercial space

How it got here: In June 2025, the Planning Commission voted against recommending the project. Then, on July 22, 2025, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved its special use permit 4-2. In August 2025, aldermen voted 3-2 against a tax increment financing (TIF) request, and the developer put the project on hold. It came back after the board approved a broader Public Safety and Greenspace Preservation TIF 5-1 that November. That TIF also helped fund the city’s purchase of Quail Ridge Golf Course. Quinn voted against both TIF measures and, by his account, against the permit.

What about a grocery store? The grocer once planned for the site pulled out, a developer representative told the Planning Commission in May. In his post, Quinn shared a Sept. 3 sales flyer from the developer’s broker, Jones Aur, that labels that spot a “hotel pad.” Quinn noted that no hotel has been approved for the site.

What’s next: Roadwork comes first. Grant told the Commercial Appeal he hopes to start building the lofts toward the end of 2027.

Sources: City of Bartlett Planning Commission minutes, May 4, 2026; Planning Commission minutes, June 2025; Commercial Appeal, July 16, 2026; Commercial Appeal, Dec. 8, 2025; Daily Memphian (Phase 2 approval, Oct. 2026); public Facebook post by Alderman Kevin Quinn, Nov. 2, 2026.

Photo: Bartlett/Memphis city limit sign by Thomas R. Machnitzki, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped.