CVS Affiliate Buys Properties at Park and South Highland

CVS 4990 TN LLC has bought four parcels in the Park Avenue and South Highland Street area in two transactions totaling $1.7 million. In the first transaction, Terrie Lynn Johnson Bonds and Larry Gene Johnson, heirs at law of Lou Alice Brattan Johnson, deceased, sold 3500 Park Ave., 3516 Park Ave. and 850 S. Highland St. for $1.1 million. In the second transaction, Marilyn L. Benfield sold 840 S. Highland St. for $635,000.

No financing documents were filed with the Shelby County Register of Deeds at the time of sale.

The 3500 Park Ave. parcel is at the northeast corner of Park Avenue and South Highland Street. It is 0.2 acres and houses a 2,845-square-foot franchise food restaurant built in 1946, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property, whose 2011 appraisal is $193,800.

The 3516 Park Ave. parcel is adjacent to the right of 3500 Park. It is 0.5 acres and contains an 11,600-square-foot single-occupancy retail building built in 1946, according to the assessor, whose 2011 appraisal is $546,000.

The 850 S. Highland St. parcel is adjacent to the north of 3500 Park. It is 0.1 acres and contains a 1,716-square-foot single-occupancy retail building built in 1954, according to the assessor, whose 2011 appraisal is $73,000.

The 840 S. Highland St. parcel is adjacent to the north of 850 S. Highland. It is 1.1 acres and contains a 3,919-square-foot low-rise office building built in 1967, according to the assessor, whose 2011 appraisal is $138,000.

CVS Caremark Corp. is based in Woonsocket, R.I. Sale deeds state this will be store #4990.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

Education Realty Trust Begins Work At Syracuse University

Education Realty Trust Inc. – a Memphis-based developer, owner and manager of collegiate housing – has completed closing on the ground lease and the commencement of construction for its second company-owned apartment community on the Syracuse University campus.

Scheduled to open in August 2012, the $29.8 million apartment community is being developed through Education Realty Trust’s On-Campus Equity plan, or The ONE Plan. With The ONE Plan, EDR uses its equity and financial stability to fund projects on university land, which gives the university access to a single trusted partner, avoids the need for the university to incur long-term debt and makes possible the construction of modern, amenity-filled on-campus housing for university students.

EDR’s first property on the SU campus – University Village Apartments on Colvin – was completed in 2009. Located on the southern end of the SU campus, University Village Apartments on Colvin is 100 percent leased for fall 2011.

“Syracuse University has had a positive and rewarding relationship with Education Realty Trust since we began planning their first development on our campus,” Louis G. Marcoccia, SU’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement. “They understood our goal was to provide additional on-campus housing options for our students, and worked with us to make that happen.”

Named Campus West Apartments because of its location on the west end of the main campus, the new community will be two blocks from the university’s College of Law and one block from the site of the planned new College of Law building.

The contemporary, stainless steel-clad building will rise four residential floors above the ground level, which will include about 5,000 square feet of university-leased retail space that is expected to include a combination coffee café and convenience store. In addition, Campus West is targeted to meet Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification requirements.

Campus West will provide 312 beds within a mix of 191 studios, and one-, two- and four-bedroom units. Each apartment will have private bathrooms and bedrooms and a full kitchen with washer and dryer. Utilities will be included in the rent.

The new apartments also will feature a clubhouse with fitness center, computer lab and business center. The university’s Department of Public Safety will maintain an office in the complex, as well.

– Sarah Baker

FedEx Plane Fire at MEM Causes No Injuries

Officials say no injuries were reported when a small fire broke out on a FedEx plane at Memphis International Airport.

FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey says smoke was seen coming from the plane’s landing gear when it landed Tuesday morning.

McCluskey says the airport’s fire department responded quickly. Memphis fire department spokesman Wayne Cooke says a small fire near the plane’s brakes was extinguished.

McCluskey called it a low-level maintenance issue.

– The Associated Press

Southwest Nursing Names Danish Partnership

Southwest Tennessee Community College has announced a new partnership program with the Department of Nursing at University College Lillebaelt in Denmark.

The two colleges have formalized a Memorandum of Understanding – an agreement that encourages and develops cooperation and exchange in all faculty areas of mutual academic interest. The memorandum will also include exchange of staff and students for educational activities, exchange of materials and publications, and the organization of joint activities, including courses, conferences, seminars and lectures.

The collaboration will allow two Danish nursing students the opportunity to attend three- and five-week exchange programs at Southwest that will include classroom and clinical coursework. The students will participate in study visits to local health care facilities, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, the Memphis VA Medical Center and The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, where they will explore nursing at the Trauma Center and ICU.

Two Southwest nursing students will be offered participation in a three-week program in Denmark, where they’ll learn about the impact of health, lifestyle and environment in Nordic countries.

“This is a unique opportunity for our Southwest nursing students to experience a more global nursing education,” said Southwest Nursing Department chair Mary Vines in a statement. “It’s also an honor for our college and the Nursing Department to be associated with the University College Lillebaelt. We look forward to a long and successful collaboration.”

– Aisling Maki

First Horizon Pays Cash Dividend

The board of of First Tennessee Bank’s parent company has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 1 cent per share of common stock. Memphis-based First Horizon National Corp.’s board approved the dividend, which is payable Oct. 1 to common shareholders of record Sept. 16.

First Horizon operates 180 First Tennessee Bank locations in and around Tennessee, as well as 18 FTN Financial Group offices in the U.S. and abroad. The company employs 5,000.

– Daily News staff

Faith-Based Orgs Revitalize Binghampton

Operation: Safe Community, launched by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, began in 2006 with a goal to decrease blight and increase neighborhood restoration. That goal is now being reached after replacing dilapidated buildings and opening a farmers market in an abandoned gas station. Organizations such as First Baptist Church – Broad, led by Pastor Keith Norman, have also played an important role in Binghampton’s transformation.

First Baptist Church has been a fixture in Binghampton for more than 100 years, and has invested millions of dollars in the community. Unlike churches that have grown and moved from the area, First Baptist chose to stay in the neighborhood where they were planted.

Along with remaining in the area, First Baptist is training its staff to listen to what the community needs and find creative ways to meet those needs. First Baptist also collaborates with SOS, Binghampton Development Corp., Lester Community Center, Urban Farms Market and other community-based churches to facilitate services and engage residents.

To learn more about the initiatives First Baptist Church – Broad is using to redevelop the Binghampton community, contact Pastor Keith Norman, senior pastor, at 323.2429

– Houston Cofield

BofA Reports $9.1B Loss In Q2 on Settlement

Things keep getting worse for Bank of America.

The nation’s largest bank reported a loss of $9.1 billion during the second quarter, partly due to an $8.5 billion settlement with investors. That agreement, reached in June, settled claims that the bank had sold the investors poor-quality mortgage bonds.

The Charlotte, N.C., bank has been hamstrung by litigation and demands from investors who want Bank of America to buy back the bonds that it sold years ago. In the quarter, the bank set aside an additional $1.9 billion to fight litigation bringing the total mortgage-related charges in the second quarter to $20.7 billion. The bank does not disclose the total amount reserved for litigation costs.

The reported loss available to common shareholders was 90 cents per share, wider than the 85 cents a share loss expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Excluding charges related to investor settlements, Bank of America Corp. earned $3.7 billion, or 33 cents per share. That compares with net income of $3.1 billion, or 27 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. The bank’s revenue declined 54 percent to $13.2 billion from $29.1 billion in the same period last year.

While several of the bank’s businesses reported positive earnings, almost all of them saw declines in revenue. Loan losses in its consumer businesses dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter. More of the bank’s customers paid on time, which led to a 60 percent decline in the amount the bank puts aside for credit losses from last year.

Bank of America’s credit card division reported income of $2 billion, up $1.2 billion from the year-ago quarter, as customers paid on time. However, revenue declined by $1.4 billion.

Commercial banking was another bright spot, reporting net income of $1.4 billion, up $566 million from a year ago. But revenue in the division decreased $73 million from a year ago.

Its Merrill Lynch investment banking unit reported fees of $1.6 billion, a 28 percent increase from a year ago.

– The Associated Press