MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - According to the U.S. Census Bureau more than 20,000 people live in downtown Memphis, which is a seven percent increase in the last decade. Another 73,000 work downtown.
"It's an exciting time to live downtown," stated Paul Morris, President of the Downtown Memphis Commission. "It's becoming a new, vibrant downtown."
According to Morris, that vibrancy can be attributed to so many things going on downtown just about every day of the week.
While the City of Memphis has lost residents over the past decade, for downtown it's been just the opposite.
"We've got about 23,000 people that live downtown; over the last 10 years the population downtown has been increasing," said Morris. "One out of three people that live downtown move to Memphis from out of state."
As more people move downtown, the city's coffers move up. That's because, Morris says, "Downtown on a per square mile basis contributes more than twice as much property tax revenue to the city than Memphis overall and actually four times as much as Shelby County."
He adds downtown businesses generate more than $70 million in state and local sales tax, and living costs are less per capita than other parts of the city.
"When you have a lot of people living and working close together it's cheaper to serve them."
Morris expects the growth of downtown to continue to explode.
