July 6, 2026—The City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has been selected to receive a $765,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a site located at 645 Jackson Avenue across from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I’m pleased to see the Community Redevelopment Agency receive funds from EPA to help clean up the former Chism Trail Supermarket site,” Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) said. “Having sat vacant for around 20 years, I appreciate CRA’s efforts to revitalize this block and look forward to visiting when it is complete.”

The 3.3-acre site formerly included residential property, a grocery store, a dry cleaner, and a gasoline station. The site has been vacant since the 1990s and is contaminated due to its former uses. In addition to cleaning up contamination from former uses, the grant funds will be used to support community engagement activities like public meetings about the site’s remediation status.

In 2026, the CRA Board, working with the Uptown TIF Advisory Committee, selected JEL Developments  as the developer with whom the CRA is partnering for redevelopment. JEL has proposed a mixed-use project with a grocery store, other commercial and retail uses, and residential. The project is a key component of the Manassas Market community anchor as envisioned in the Uptown Community Plan.

Mayor Paul Young stated, “This investment helps transform a long-vacant site into a catalyst for new investment. Cleaning up contaminated properties removes barriers to redevelopment and creates opportunities for new investment, jobs, and long-term growth that benefits the entire community.”

For more information about Manassas Market, visit https://cramemphis.org/projects/.

About the CRA
The CRA was established as a catalyst for the restoration of communities by removing blight and providing affordable housing. The CRA serves as a joint agency of Shelby County and the City of Memphis, established in 2017. Our community-based approach to neighborhood redevelopment through reinvestment leverages Tax Increment Financing (TIF), grants, and partnerships as important and strategic tools for implementing the agency’s goals. We envision every neighborhood in the City of Memphis and Shelby County providing its residents with a healthy, safe environment, economic opportunity, affordable housing, and an excellent quality of life.

About the EPA 
EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, Tribal Nations, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.