Temporarily at Crosstown Concourse

While we undertake a renovation of our building that will take between 18 months and two years, we will temporarily relocate to Crosstown Concourse during construction.

Community Spotlight

Published: September 5, 2024

Temporary relocation to Crosstown Concourse

We are excited to announce that this fall, the Community Foundation will begin a complete renovation of our home for the past 27 years, 1900 Union Avenue. We estimate that the renovation will be complete in July 2026. Due to the complexity of the work, we will temporarily relocate to Crosstown Concourse during construction.

We are happy to welcome you into our new physical space at:

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis
1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 458
Memphis, TN 38104

1900 Union Avenue

The façade and historical, architectural integrity of our building at the northeast corner of Union and Barksdale will remain the same, while its interior will be reimagined to better serve donors, staff, our nonprofit sector, and the community.

A stone building with columns and a sign in front that reads Community Foundation of Greater Memphis; trees and shrubs surround the entrance at 1900 Union, temporarily relocated from Crosstown Concourse.

The Community Foundation acquired the property, formerly the site of the Hinds-Smythe Cosmopolitan Funeral Home, in 1997. The move to the Midtown landmark was made possible through a bargain sale by Katherine Hinds Smythe, then-president of Memorial Park Cemetery and Funeral Home. In a bargain sale, a donor sells an asset to a charity for less than its fair market value. The owner may then take a tax deduction for the donation portion. The sale not only demonstrated Smythe’s commitment to seeing the Midtown landmark properly stewarded for the future; it also saved the building from being razed by potential developers.

The stone building was originally a two-story clapboard house built in the early 1900s. H.W. Durham and his brother, Thomas H. Durham, president and vice president of Cosmopolitan Life Insurance Company, purchased it in 1938 from David Harsh, a local lawyer. The property was immediately enlarged by architect George Awsumb, who had also designed Idlewild Presbyterian Church. Among his enhancements to the building, he encased the wood exterior in fieldstone and added imposing columns across the front of the building—creating the distinctive façade that remains today.

The building was renovated in 1962 when purchased by the Smythe family, and again in 1982.

Elegant living room with chandeliers, ornate wall moldings, a fireplace with a large mirror above, upholstered chairs, a sofa, lamps, and small tables arranged on a carpeted floor—perfect for relaxing after exploring Crosstown Concourse. — *interior of the Cosmopolitan Funeral Home, as it looked when the Community Foundation acquired it*

In the time that the Community Foundation has occupied the building, our charitable assets have grown from $80 million to $1.1 billion. Grantmaking has increased from $13 million to more than $120 million in fiscal year 2024. Before the COVID-era shutdown of our free community meeting space, the Gid H. Smith Community Room hosted 120+ nonprofit meetings a year. Our growth in operations and the need for an adequately sized staff contributed to the recognition that our space must undergo a substantial reconfiguring to enable us to adequately serve our community.

This renovation will allow us to upgrade and expand both our office and community spaces. We have been working with archimania and Grinder Taber Grinder for the past two years to make sure that the renovation best serves our mission to strengthen our community through philanthropy, and we are excited about how we will be able to use this future space to best serve our donors and neighbors.