Victorian Village Inc. Community Development Corporation (VVI) was incorporated by a group of concerned citizens in the summer of 2006. We had been gathering informally for three years to address problems dealing with community development, historical preservation, neighborhood master planning, and safety. VVI is a nonprofit with a 501(c)(3) status.

Our premise is simple:  If we can create an active neighborhood with families out walking the dog, playing in the parks, supporting the medical district, and creating a strong economy, we can save the historic properties by making them the center of activity.

While we are a development corporation working toward new, architectural sympathetic housing to create the neighborhood, we know that the preservation of the historic houses on Adams is crucial to the plan. These homes are important examples of Victorian architecture that have national significance, which include the Mallory Neely House museum, the Woodruff-Fountaine House, the Massey House, and the James Lee home. The unrestored Lee house is one of only 400 structures nationwide that is listed in the Library of Congress Record.

Our physical boundaries are Poplar Ave. to the north, Danny Thomas to the west, Madison Avenue to the south, and Manassas to the east.

Apart from a few Memphis Housing Authority high rises, there are only a handful of homeowner/residents in the area. The Victorian Village master plan, produced by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects in association with VVI and the Center City Commission, envisions a neighborhood of single family residences in the core with low rise condominiums and apartments on the major thoroughfares.  We intend for the homes to range the full spectrum of cost to insure that we keep an ethnically and vertically integrated neighborhood.

Member Oganizations

National Trust Forum

Memphis CVB

MMAA

APTA