MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Orange Mound has a rich history, though it’s better known for blight and crime in 2019.
Because of the problems, county leaders said home values have fallen significantly. Now, officials are working to restore the neighborhood and its property values.
“Orange Mound is the heart of Memphis,” said Charles Evans, who has lived in Orange Mound his whole life.
Evans said his parents saved every penny to buy their home on Supreme Avenue.
“My father was in the military, worked, put in a lot of hours,” he said.
Lately, Evans and his neighbors have seen an alarming trend.
“They seem to want to give you small peanuts, and my mother and father, they worked so hard to obtain this place,” Evans said. “It’s just such a waste to accept it.”
In fact, Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess said home values in Orange Mound fell by 30 percent during the last decade, while home values in surrounding neighborhoods have increased.
“You have crime, blight, people don’t want food deserts,” Burgess said. “They want access to Krogers. They just don’t have that in their community.”
Burgess brought together homeowners like Evans with real estate agents, developers and lawmakers Tuesday. He’s kicking off a new initiative: a task force focused on reinvesting in Orange Mound and bringing businesses and people back.
“People are talking about, it’s hard to go to the bank to get money,” Burgess said. “So that’s why I have bankers here to see if we can come up with a good, clean portfolio. Hopefully, we can get that and attract young people back to our community and say it’s still Orange Mound, but it’s the new Orange Mound.”
One of the key messages from the conference was advice for families to put all house deeds in writing.
Realtors said a big issue they have with selling homes in the Orange Mound area is that often they have been passed down to relatives who no longer live in the area, and the homes fall into disrepair, owe money and then even interested buyers can’t take action.
