William H. Foote Homes – Memphis TN

City:
Memphis, TN

Site Type:
Civic Facilities, Public Housing

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Completed:
1940

Description

Foote Homes public housing opened in 1940 with 900 units designated for African American families. Foote is the last remaining public housing facility in Memphis and occupies 46 acres near downtown Memphis. It was one of several public housing complexes in Memphis built with PWA funding. It is currently a 426 unit facility following a restoration/renovation in the mid-1990s. Located in a historically prominent African American neighborhood, the complex has been the target of differences between the city’s public housing authority, who seeks to demolish it and disperse the residents into the community, and the residents of the complex who oppose the plan and desire improvements to the facility and the surrounding community. Efforts have been made to secure historic recognition of the facility.

Source notes

Biles, R. (1986). Memphis in the Great Depression. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. Bray, K. (2014). HUD denies Memphis funding for Foote Homes project. WMCAction News. Retrieved from https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/25036053/hud-denies-foote-homes-project Reardon, K. M. (2013. Pushing back against the demolition juggernaut. Shelterforce: The Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Building. The National Housing Institute. Retrieved from https://www.shelterforce.org/article/3470/pushing_back_against_the_demolition_juggernaut/

Site originally submitted by Susan Allen on July 9, 2014.

Location Info


506 Vance Park Pl
Memphis, TN 38126-3240
Shelby County

Location notes: Bounded by South 4th, Vance Ave, S Lauderdale, and Mississippi Blvd

Coordinates: 35.1336229, -90.04529

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One comment on “William H. Foote Homes – Memphis TN

  1. Kenneth Reardon

    Local residents and leaders were pleased by HUD’s decision to deny funding for a Memphis Housing Authority’s Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant Application that would have demolished this historic complex where Benjamin Hooks, Rufus Thomas, and Mavis Staples. A resident-generated plan that would preserve this important social housing asset can be found under the Community Projects Section of the U of M’s Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning’s website: http://www.memphis.edu/planning

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One comment on “William H. Foote Homes – Memphis TN

  1. Kenneth Reardon

    Local residents and leaders were pleased by HUD’s decision to deny funding for a Memphis Housing Authority’s Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant Application that would have demolished this historic complex where Benjamin Hooks, Rufus Thomas, and Mavis Staples. A resident-generated plan that would preserve this important social housing asset can be found under the Community Projects Section of the U of M’s Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning’s website: http://www.memphis.edu/planning

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

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