Mud Island, Memphis' Premiere Community

On any given Sunday, if you take a thirty second drive pass downtown Memphis you will be introduced to the community that is Mud Island. Filled with husbands and wives, old and young, Mud Island has become the most significant residential development in the city. With its mixture of residential housing and apartment developments, retail and cultural amenities, Mud Island is the ideal place for those looking for suburban living with downtown in close proximity.

Filled with residents walking their dogs and riding their bikes, Mud Island is the antithesis of the norm for urban living. A few minutes walk from Beale Street and the remainder of Downtown Memphis, Mud Island has become the poster child for planner urban development for its unique attention to green space and flow. Connected to downtown by a bridge that spans a section of the river, Mud Island is a peninsula that was for many years only the home of a river park that never lived up to its expectations.

With over four miles of walking trails situated along the Mississippi River banks, Mud Island is perfect for people who yearn to get away from the city while still living in the city. With over one thousand single-family homes and several apartment communities, Mud Island has become the 'it' destination for downtown living. Built over the last fifteen years, Mud Island has evolved from a debunk tourist attraction to a viable living and social community nestled on the northern edge of Downtown Memphis.

Developed with views of the river and green space, Mud Island's most prominent community is Harbor Town. Developed in the early 90s, Harbor Town populous is affluent and trendy with riverside mansions and two marinas on the Mississippi River's edge. In addition to Harbor Town, developers built two apartment communities to compliment the Harbor Town housing development.

Nestled just south of Harbor Town is the Mud Island River Park. The only museum dedicated to a river in the country. It includes a miniature river fit to scale that encompasses the river park. There is also an amphitheatre that rests on the edge of the island that is home to many outdoor concerts during the summer season. The island, which is really a peninsula, includes a Montessori school, a bilingual daycare, a new grocery store, and a four mile greenbelt.

The newest developments on Mud Island have increased the scope of the island's residents. With Harbor Town more exclusive and upper middle class to affluent, the newer construction has allowed more younger, growing families to move to Mud Island in the last five years. Two residential developments, Island Crest and Waters Edge include homes whose median price is between $175,000 and $250,000. With over seven hundred homes together, the developments are still adding homes daily as more residents look to make Mud Island their home.

Whereas in some cities, apartments signify a lower home value, the complexes on Mud Island fit in perfectly with the ambiance of the residential community. Built with transient, upper middle class residents in mind, the apartments on Mud Island are a compliment to the rest of the island. With prices ranging from $750-$1,500, the apartments offer a nice mixture of options for people looking to make Mud Island home.

Formerly known as The Grove, Belle Harbour is without a doubt the most affluent apartment community on Mud Island. With multiple floor plans including twenty town homes, Belle Harbour's gated apartment community is a nice compliment to the other sections of Mud Island. The most expensive apartment community on the island, Belle Harbour is also its most secure and stable.

Jefferson River Estates and Island Park both offer a nice mix of floor plans and amenities for its residents. With tennis courts, swimming pools, and exercise centers, these apartment communities blend equally well with the island's development. Both complexes provide gated access and street light lamps in the interest of its resident's security. Island Park even has security cameras watching both entrances into the complex.

The only complex that seems to struggle with living up to the island standards if Riverset. The first apartment community past the Water's Edge residential area, Riverset is also the largest complex on the island. With size, you certainly expect it to have its problems. Also the least expensive of the four newer complexes, Riverset's gated access is nonexistent as management has chosen not to replace the last set of gates that were destroyed in the early part of 2007. It also appears to be the community with the greatest amount of fluctuation in residents. That prevents the apartment community from ever stabilizing.

The future looks bright for Mud Island. With a new high rise currently under construction near the Auction Street Bridge, those that choose to make Mud Island home experience the same pleasures. Tranquil and comfortable, Mud Island's developments have set the standard for quality apartment living in Downtown Memphis and look to continue to do so for the next twenty years.