Two local real estate veterans are teaming up to
develop a new hotel on Poplar Avenue, just west of I-240.
Anwar Aman & Yogesh Purohit recentlypurchased 5625 and 5635 Poplar Ave. for $2.4 million, and they have a nearbyCrossFit Triad property under contract. They plan to spend more than $14 millionat the site, developing a high-end hotel with at least 120 rooms, ground-floorretail and, potentially, a rooftop bar.
“I-240/Poplar is the best business center in
Memphis,” Purohit said. “You mix corporate on weekdays and travel on the
weekends.”
Aman is a Collierville-based real estate veteran
who said he owns 85 Memphis properties — including convenience stores, Subway
restaurants, Checkers restaurants, and retail centers — and more than 200
nationwide, including 13 hotels. Purohit has developed, operated and sold 15
hotels over the last 34 years, he said, including the Hilton Garden Inn in
Wolfchase and a couple in DeSoto County.
The two friends have, for a while, been looking up
and down Poplar between Kirby Road and Mendenhall Road for a spot to place their
first joint venture.
(L to R) Loeb Realty Group broker Barry Maynard,
Anwar Aman and Yogesh Purohit stand in front of 5625 Poplar Ave., which Aman and
Purohit recently purchased for $2.4 million. They are planning to develop a
hotel on the site.
JACOB STEIMER
Purohit said the site they purchased is one of the
best in the county for hospitality. Along with a Poplar address and I-240
visibility, many of the nearby hotels are older and still garnering high
occupancy rates.
It’s such a good site that the two are hoping to
build a larger, dual-branded hotel there — if they can acquire more adjacent
land. They are currently in negotiations for a few of the adjoining properties.
“We might double the size,” Purohit said. “We’re
trying to make the site bigger and better.”
To help accommodate a bigger hotel, Aman and
Purohit are hoping for a hand from
the Poplar Corridor TIF (tax increment financing) district,which their hotel would sit within. The TIF is set to generate $42 million forimprovements to the area’s walkability and infrastructure over 20 years. The TIFdollars are set to be allocated by an association directed by seven PoplarCorridor stakeholders.
Franklin Revocable Living Trust sold the Poplar
property to Purohit and Aman. Loeb Realty Group’s
Barry Maynard, who has represented Aman for years, was the only broker involved in the sale.
Aman is also in the midst of redeveloping the gas
station at the southwest corner of Poplar Avenue and Perkins Extd. into “the
best gas station in Memphis.” He said it will serve organic, fresh food along
with quality coffee — a model he’s seen work on the West Coast.
Maynard said Aman is constantly looking for new
real estate investments between $500,000 and $50 million.