A once popular drive-in theater is now considered an eyesore.

Residents in the Westwood community are now working to revamp the abandoned Southwest Twin Drive-in on South 3rd Street.

"Everything we can get to improve our neighborhood, that's what we want," said Reverend Melvin Watkins, Senior Pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

Watkins also serves as Founding Board Chair of Uplift Westwood CDC, an organization committed to creating and supporting Westwood revitalization efforts. The former drive-in is now an empty 20-acre land bank that has sat vacant over 20 years.

Now thanks to a $1 million match from both the City of Memphis and Shelby County, plans are moving forward to bring the space back to life. "We have been overlooked and I think we deserve the same type of investment and attention that the rest of the community and parts of the city receives," said Watkins.

The drive-in made its first debut back in 1956 and closed its doors almost 50 years later in 2001.

Many residents recall fond memories they shared at the complex.

"Instead of us all sitting in the car we'd have blankets and sheets and laid on top of the car, looking at the movie, me and my cousin," said Westwood resident LaTonya Vaughn. "The drive-in was probably some of the best memories I had as a child," said Paula Brantley-Jackson, also of Westwood.

Community partners have expressed plans to turn the area into a one-stop shop for local residents, composed of retail options and even a library.

"That's the hope. It's going to be a plaza with different stores and different venues."

FOX13 also spoke with District 9 Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. who told us the project is at beginning phases; community feedback has been garnered. Ford also explained they've narrowed down what started as 100 ideas from the community on what could be done with the site, to now less than 10 ideas.

According to the commissioner, adding a library and police station garnered the most support and positive attention, while residents were split on a community center.

There's also talk of a mixed-use development on or near the property.

We also learned that plans for more acquisitions could be brewing.

Meanwhile, another community meeting is forthcoming; a date has yet to be set for beginning the demolition process.