Vacant lots and empty structures currently dot the Highland Strip. Buildings sit uninhabited and sidewalks have fallen into disrepair.
“They could put more stores aimed at college students and clean it up,” Katheryne Wilkerson, sophomore pre-nursing major, said.
The University of Memphis recently supported an application by the University Neighborhoods Development Corporation to utilize tax revenue for improvements to the Highland Strip.
Some of the vacant lots will soon be filled with new restaurants including a fast-casual burger joint, a bakery that delivers cookies until 3 a.m. and a new music venue.