Demolition work on the former Holiday Inn building at 969 Madison Ave. has begun as part of more than $100 million in capital projects and improvements underway or planned over the next few years for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Memphis campus.
After months of remediation work to prepare the building for demolition, contractor Flintco recently began the $12 million process of taking down the abandoned 12-story tower, purchased by the university in 2015, along with two smaller adjacent buildings at 955 and 959 Madison Ave. The smaller buildings were the first to be taken down. The tower demolition project is expected to be substantially complete by February 2026.
“That facility is one that is a risk and needs to be demolished and brought down, and we have been working toward that for many years now,” said Raaj Kurapati, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UT Health Science Center. “Finally, we’re now at a place where we feel that we’ve addressed the major environmental and hazardous material issues, given the age of the building, and can safely bring it down. This will allow us to also think about better utilization of that space at the corner, right at the entry to our campus.”
Kurapati explained the tower won’t come down all at once. “We have to be very thoughtful about how we go about it, because there are still concerns about hazardous materials that may be still present and we need to make sure that we’re being environmentally conscientious about that, and also being diligent about ensuring that the folks that are in the neighborhood are not impacted, because there’s a thoroughfare as well.”
Kurapati said immediate plans call for the open space to be used to supplement surface parking. However, long-range plans could involve using the space to complement a proposed College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building, which could be situated across from that area on the same side of Madison.
“We’re investing back into our facilities to improve the overall learning experience of our deserving students and to provide better facilities for the excellent research and service that our faculty and staff provide to our community,” Kurapati said. “This was possible because of the continued support of our state and their recognition of the good work we do and the need for us to continue to invest in our facilities.”