The buildings which once housed NV, The Bowery, Blue Cats and other bars in the 1990s and early 2000s have been torn down. Further back the buildings or part of them had served as a strip club and, originally, as a button manufacturing site. Tim Hill purchased the buildings around September 2019. That article includes more detail on the history and the interior, along with photographs.
After developing plans and beginning work, Hill discovered the rebuild would be more extensive than anticipated (and a pandemic happened), so he sold the property to Manki 3 Investments LLC in March 2022. The group, which includes Boghani Properties, Will Sims, and other investors announced at the time they intended to largely follow Hill’s plan to develop the property, though with apartments rather than offices in addition to the commercial space.
Subsequently, Boghani Properties (sometimes with other investors) purchased the building at 9 Market Square and the commercial spaces at 408 – 414 South Gay Street (August 2022), purchased the Emporium and nearby parking garage (December 2022), and purchased three buildings across the street (108-120 East Jackson) from the current site in June 2023.
The demolition represents the second building to be torn down in recent memory on the northern side of East Jackson, following the demolition of 115 East Jackson in early 2023. It might be hard to picture, but prior to the two demolitions, there were only five buildings on that side of the street. Now there are three. Fortunately, those three have been refurbished and renovated in the recent past (one is still underway or just finished), so the likelihood of further demolition seems extremely small.
Additionally, further construction seems likely at some point for both sides of East Jackson, west of the James White Parkway. Nick Patel claimed in September 2021 that he would build a Springhill Suites if the stadium was approved. The stadium is moving rapidly toward completion, though there is no evidence of a hotel. Similarly, at the 115 East Jackson Avenue location, Jim Klonaris stated intentions to build The Excelsior, a mixed use development. It’s hard to imagine the parking lot across from Barley’s (and adjacent to the just-cleared site) will remain a parking lot within sight of the new stadium.
As for the current site, Will Sims said the group realized that renovating or rebuilding the building would cost as much as building a new structure. Further, there has been interest in purchasing the site from this group by another group which did not want the building on the property. Additionally, the building was being used as a homeless camp which raised concerns regarding fires and, if the building was not likely to be redeveloped, it needed to not present a hazard to its neighboring buildings.
Whether the group decides to develop the site themselves or to sell it to another group for development, the nature of the process — drawing plans, getting approvals, securing financing, and construction itself — means we could easily see this spot remain empty (or under construction) for the next two years or more. Will stated that he feels a direction will be chosen in the upcoming months and the process will begin.