Crosstown Concourse is at the intersection of Watkins and North Parkway[1] in Midtown, Memphis,[2] a few miles northeast of Downtown.

[5] In 1925, with the rate of automobile registrations outpacing available retail parking, Sears' vice-president of factories and retail—Robert E. Wood—decided that the company's new big stores would be built away from city centres, and instead in low-density areas where costs were cheaper yet car-owning customers could still reach.

[7] Sears scouted the site in secret to prevent price gouging by locals if it was learned in advance that the retail giant was interested in property.

[8] The original groundbreaking took place on February 21, 1927,[4] and after only 180 days of construction, Mayor Rowlett Paine[6]—who had allocated US$100,000 (equivalent to about $1.8 million in 2023)[4] to build streetcar tracks specially for servicing[8] the 640,000-square-foot (59,000 m2) building—cut the ribbon on August 27, 1927.

In August 1983, employees were first informed about the impending closure of the retail store,[2] though the surplus-goods outlet in the basement stayed open.

Sears closed the distribution center completely in 1993, selling the building in 2000 to Memtech LLC for $1.25 million (equivalent to about $2.21M in 2023).

[1] That same year, a group of anonymous Memphis investors doing business as Crosstown LLC bought the building for $3.5 million (equivalent to about $5.1M in 2023).

Dr. Todd Richardson was an assistant professor of art history at the University of Memphis, brought in as team lead.

Bologna Consultants determined that though the building was structurally sound, and asbestos wasn't a large concern, earthquake-girding and restoring the hundreds of windows would need addressing.

Church Health Center was biggest among these, planning to move its entire operation into the 14-story tower, though they would be joined at North Watkins by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, and The West Clinic.