Recent Events
In 2008, a controversial proposal to build a multistory 117-unit apartment development on 2.81 acres (11,400 m2) of land behind the former synagogue site was rejected by the Memphis City Council. Fearing that the project would “affect the integrity of the Vollintine Hills” historic district and “destabilize the neighborhood,” residents of the Vollintine Hills neighborhood had vigorously opposed the development, which was part of a proposal by the Gethsemane Garden Church of God in Christ, which purchased the former synagogue in 1992. The Memphis City Council sided with Vollintine Hills residents, ultimately upholding a 1947 covenant covering the kind of housing allowed in the neighborhood, restricting it specifically to single-family houses on individual lots. Parts of the covenant read, “All lots in the subdivision shall be described as residential” and “No construction other than single-family dwellings shall be built and none over two stories.”
Residents of the area had united for several months, voicing their concerns that the development would affect the integrity of the historic district by introducing a high occupancy structure into the district of single-family homes which mark its character and for which it was cited for inclusion in the NRHP. Increased traffic, parking, and environmental impact were also issues of concern.
Residents intensified their efforts after an initial approval of the project by the Memphis Land Use Control Board despite their opposition.
Project developers had altered their plans repeatedly in response to the concerns by neighbors about the size and design of the proposed development, scaling back the original proposal.
Local news coverage took note of the Vollintine Hills community’s highly organized opposition and efforts to preserve the character of their historic neighborhood, characterizing the district as “a middle-income area of 50- to 80-year-old homes on the National Register of Historic Places that is vigorously maintained by some of the most diligent neighborhood activists in town.”
Read more about this topic: Vollintine Hills Historic District
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