Group Fights to Preserve Overton Square

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - It is a structure that's been standing at the corner of Madison and Cooper since the 1930's. Once a vibrant booming section of Midtown, Overton Square was home to countless businesses, but today many of them have moved on.

David Boone says, "All these places are leaving and it's just pretty much the whole south side of Madison is abandoned."

Inside the Memphis Pizza Café, Shelby and her partners in pizza cutting crime serve what's been voted the best pizza in Memphis, but store manager David Boone says the future of their current location is up in the air.

Boone says, "We haven't heard anything."

The signs next door are plain to see and tell this story. Look inside many of the businesses and you'll see a foundation of times gone by.

June West Executive Director of Memphis Heritage says Sooner Investment has positioned themselves to take control of this corner and start from scratch.

West says, "The plan of the existing developer that has the contract on the property is to demolish all existing buildings on the south side of Madison and west of Cooper."

West says with a solid foundation that is also a piece of Memphis history that the move would not help but hurt this section of Midtown.

West says, "Leaving a huge parking lot with a huge box store is not what Midtown wants."

According to West the Oklahoma based investment group whose style has a strong suburban vibe is looking to level the existing structure, erect a grocery store and several mixed use buildings.

West says, "I don't see anything on their site that lets me feel that they would be able to build an urban development here that would fit in with Midtown."

Owners of the Memphis Pizza Cafe have a lease holding them in their current location until 2011, but Boone says to take away this piece of history is to take away a small slice of Memphis.

Boone says, "We'll defiantly stay somewhere in Midtown once we find out well move somewhere we wont leave Midtown."