Tennessee Grants Preserve History, Secure Bright Futures
For Rory Thomas, the renovation project underway at the former Greyhound Bus Lines building in downtown Memphis is about more than safeguarding a historic site.
Thomas, president of the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, wrote a letter in 2024 to the Tennessee Main Street Program, which was due to announce a round of Historic Development Grants at the end of that year. Thomas said that the planned inclusion of a neighborhood clinic at the former bus station would mark a significant milestone.
“We are not just preserving a piece of Memphis history,” he wrote, “but also investing in the future growth and health of our community.”
In December 2024, that Memphis project was one of 15 that won a total of more than $6 million in Historic Development Grants. Tennessee Main Street Program Director Kim Parks says the state’s General Assembly developed the grant program in 2021, setting aside money for renovation and preservation of historic buildings across the state.
“The legislators recognized that historic buildings and their preservation expand the state’s economy, create new employment opportunities, revitalize and renew communities, create an environment for investment, and promote tourism and rural economic development,” she says, adding that her agency had contracted with about 100 grantees through 2024.
Next Stop, Revitalization
The former Greyhound building in Memphis was built in the late 1930s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
State documents indicate that the developer, N6GH Investments LLC, has an overall budget of $42 million and anticipates completion of the project in early 2028.
Plans for the bus station’s overhaul, which got a $500,000 Historic Development Grant, include residential apartments and art studios alongside the clinic that Thomas referenced in his letter.
“This development not only revitalizes a historically significant structure,” he wrote, “but also activates an underutilized space in a critical area. We believe that the redevelopment of the Greyhound Station will be a catalyst for further investment and revitalization in the area, contributing to the economic and social vitality of Memphis.”
Cleveland’s New City Hall
The City of Cleveland also won a $500,000 grant in 2024. That $15 million project involves turning the former Cherokee Hotel, in which acclaimed actors Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick once stayed while shooting a movie, into Cleveland’s new city hall.
This significant structure has a history dating back to the 20th century. According to documents filed with Tennessee Main Street by the City of Cleveland, the Cherokee Hotel was built in the late 1920s, and it was converted into residential units in the early 1970s.
Plans call for the ground-floor commercial space to be converted into meeting/office space. The onetime lobby, dining room and mezzanine will be public event space, while the hotel rooms/ residences on the upper five floors are set to become offices and meeting space.
“The space within the building will be used as a civic center that will serve the citizens through providing a one-stop shop for serving all governmental needs of its citizens, but will also be income-generating in that it restores the original commercial component the historic hotel also provided in its public spaces,” Bryan Turner, the City of Cleveland’s director of building and project development, wrote in documents filed with Tennessee Main Street in 2024.
“This mix of activities, all within one flagship building downtown, will jumpstart redevelopment in the area and provide a new reason for citizens to travel downtown,” Turner added.
Stephanie Linkous has had an up-close perspective on the Cherokee Hotel makeover, given that the United Way of the Ocoee Region, in which she serves as president and CEO, is just next door. Linkous wrote in a 2024 letter of support for the project that it has “immense potential to positively impact our downtown area economically and culturally.”
Economically, she wrote that the building’s transformation “will bring more people to its portion of downtown.” Cultural considerations, she continued, will be just as significant as the economic ones.
“Culturally, the Cherokee Hotel project has the potential to become a beacon of community pride and heritage. Cleveland’s rich history deserves to be celebrated and preserved … By preserving historical architecture and incorporating cultural elements into the design, the project will enhance the community’s sense of identity and pride,” Linkous noted.
Another Noteworthy Grant
Starting in 2026 and running through 2028, the Levitt AMP Music Series is set to transform public spaces across Tennessee with approximately 180 free outdoor concerts.
Communities wanting to stage a live outdoor concert applied for matching grants from the California-based Levitt Foundation in partnership with the Tennessee Entertainment Commission.
The organizations are putting up $40,000 in matching grants per year for a total of $120,000 over the next three years. The Levitt Foundation is a private family fund that champions free outdoor concerts in underused public spaces nationwide.
“We have seen the positive impact of Levitt AMP concerts in building more vibrant, healthy and thriving communities by bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together through the power of free live music,” says Levitt Foundation President and CEO Sharon Yazowski in a press release.
In November 2025, Levitt AMP matching grants were awarded to six communities in Tennessee: Dyersburg, Lawrenceburg, Loudon, Maryville, McMinnville and Shelbyville. The series will feature diverse local and national talent, activating underused public spaces and aiming to drive local economic growth and tourism by celebrating Tennessee’s vibrant music heritage.
“By working with the Levitt Foundation, we can further our efforts to make Tennessee a leading hub for music and entertainment across our state, while also enriching the fabric of our communities,” says Tennessee Entertainment Commission Executive Director Bob Raines.
– Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.
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