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Case Study: West Brooks Road
Partial Abatement Receivership
Just down the block from the former home of Civil Rights photographer Ernest C. Withers in Memphis is this property on Brooks Road. As the home of the pioneering photojournalist was being turned into a museum, the house five doors down was falling apart.
The City of Memphis first brought suit against the property on West Brooks Road under the Neighborhood Preservation Act in September 2019, alleging that the property was a public nuisance and seeking abatement. After publication and notice of the City’s request for an Order of Compliance, the Court declared the property a public nuisance and issued an Order of Compliance in February 2020. This Order obligated the owner to clean and secure the property, and to provide the Court with a full abatement plan. By April 2022, no owner or interested party had come forward, and the Court entered an Order Establishing Non-Compliance and Authorizing Appointment of Receiver. By this time, the property had unpaid property taxes of more than $18,000. The Court’s order cleared the way for the property to be abated and for the taxes to be paid through receivership.
On July 14, 2022, Tennessee Receivership Group (TRG) was appointed as receiver for the property on West Brooks Road . By that time, the kitchen appliances had been stripped, and holes in several walls indicated possible wiring theft. On the exterior, the yard was overgrown, and vines had started to enclose the house. Large portions of siding were missing. TRG applied for a partial abatement receivership, a process which allows a receiver to secure, stabilize, and address the health and safety risks posed by a receivership property. The stabilized property will then attract potential developers to perform full remediation while being monitored by the receivership.
From dilapidated eyesore to turnkey in less than a year, with no cost to the community.
TRG completed a full cleanout and removal of all trash and personal property from the interior and exterior, as well as removal and disposal of asbestos from the structure’s interior. On the exterior, the receivership’s vendors completed landscape and lawn maintenance to trim overgrown trees, bushes, and vines; and then boarded and secured all access to the property.
Once the property was secure and stabilized, the receivership set a lien to cover expenses, and the Court provided any owner or interested party with a month to redeem the property. When no one came forward, the Court authorized sale of the property at auction to a Qualified Buyer able to demonstrate the knowledge and financial ability to fully abate the property within nine months. (Prospective auction buyers are vetted and qualified by Shelby County in a process that does not involve the receivership.) The auction took place in December 2022, with an experienced Qualified Buyer purchasing the property. Escrow closed in January 2023.
Renovations began immediately after close of escrow. The experienced buyer completed all work ahead of schedule. By August 2023, the house was fully remediated, and the receivership was terminated and dismissed.
The receivership process paid outstanding property taxes, adding funds to City and County coffers. And the newly renovated property adds value to the community and to the tax base. The renaissance of the property was completed without taxpayer funds, but the result is to the taxpayers’ benefit.
The house on West Brooks Road is now a showplace. It’s a beautiful part of the neighborhood, ready for a new family to call it home.
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