About
A family firm building in neighborhoods we know.
Jones Urban Development is a Memphis-based, family-owned infill developer and builder. For more than a decade we have been proving that gentle-density, missing middle housing works: on real blocks, under real codes, with real financing.
How we work
Time-tested methods, innovative systems, quality materials, dedicated trades.
We build the way a good small builder always has, with a crew and subcontractors we have worked beside for years, and we are not shy about adopting a better system when one exists. Raised floor foundations, sealed crawlspaces, all-electric homes, and ductless heat pumps were all new to Shelby County when we started using them. Now they are how we build.
Our designs are space-efficient on purpose. We trade formal rooms nobody uses for living space people actually live in, outdoor rooms like porches and courts, and a front door that connects to the street.
Where we started
Cottages, small homes, and backyard cottages.
Jones Urban's early focus was cottages, small single-family homes, and accessory dwelling units, built one lot at a time in Memphis neighborhoods with good bones. When the Unified Development Code legalized ADUs in 2011, we were among the first to build them. That work taught us the codes, the utilities, the incentive programs, and the trades, and it led directly to Malone Park Commons and Uptown Cottages.
We are developer and builder in one, which means the person who designs the block is the same person who answers for the foundation.
Leadership
Andre D. Jones
Andre D. Jones runs Jones Urban Development with his brother Curtis. He is a developer, general contractor, and urbanist who builds walkable, human-scaled neighborhoods in Memphis and works to change the rules that shape them.
Malone Park Commons is the case study in John Zeanah’s white paper Beyond Zoning. Andre has joined city staff and fellow builders in supporting building code reform, including testimony before Tennessee legislative committees.
Service
- Memphis and Shelby County Building Code Advisory Board
- Chair, ULI Memphis Real Estate Diversity Initiative
- Unified Development Code Steering Committee
- Board, United Housing Inc.
- Board, Crosstown High School
- Former member, Memphis and Shelby County Board of Adjustment
- Former member, Downtown Memphis Commission
Who we work with
Partners, funders, and fellow builders.
Our projects have come together with city agencies, community development organizations, lenders, foundations, and neighbors. We are members of the small-developer community that shares what it learns, and we are glad to compare notes with anyone trying to build gentle density in their own city.