Shelby Grove Apartment Complex Sells for $4.7M

The 98-unit Shelby Grove Apartments at 6320 Gillespie Road near Bartlett has sold for $4.7 million to an entity called Flynn Realty & Development Shelby Grove LLC, whose address is listed in Syosset, N.Y. The seller was MAC LP, and the sale closed Nov. 11.

Built in 1999, the Class B complex sits on 6.53 acres on the north side of Gillespie Road, just east of its intersection with Summer Avenue. The 86,494-square-foot property, comprised of all two-bedroom units, contains 13 buildings and is 92 percent occupied, according to data from Woodyard Realty Corp., the company that represented the seller. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2009 appraisal is $3.4 million.

David Williams signed the warranty deed as general partner of MAC LP and also as president of Stage Road Corp. Attempts to reach the buyer were unsuccessful.

The transaction also included a loan assumption and substitution agreement among the buyer, seller and Bank of America NA. MAC LP had filed a $4.4 million loan through Bank of America Dec. 28, 2004.

Woodyard Realty president Steve Woodyard said Shelby Grove is in good condition and doesn’t need many improvements, although the new owner plans to upgrade the complex’s parking lot and enhance its curb appeal. Woodyard also said Flynn Realty plans to keep the same management team, an in-house operation run by the seller.

The transaction, the third-biggest apartment sale in town this year, shows that out-of-town investors are still bullish on the Memphis multifamily market while other cities struggle to attract capital.

“When you read about the Memphis market from a national standpoint, you can see that it’s what they call in the apartment world an ‘emerging market,’” Woodyard said. “They see our values as being somewhat lower than the norm with the opportunity to grow. Obviously when you’re looking in the New York market, you don’t find anything for $46,000 per unit at all, particularly an A-minus, B-plus type property. So the values are here, the rent levels are good, rent collections are good, as a market overall.”

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Eric Smith

Smith & Nephew Lands Defense Contract

The Memphis-based orthopedics division of Smith & Nephew reported Friday that it has signed a technology development contract with the U.S. Department of Defense that may lead to the creation of a fracture fixation system intended to revolutionize the treatment of soldiers who sustain battle injuries.

Smith & Nephew will work on a “fracture putty” to treat limbs, particularly the injuries sustained from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These injuries are difficult to treat because of a significant loss of bone and soft tissue.

The fracture putty system is intended to provide substantial support to the injured limb early in the body’s natural healing process so soldiers can more quickly participate in physical therapy. The putty will then dissolve over time, leaving natural healthy bone in its place.

Smith & Nephew is the only medical device company chosen to work on this material.

– Tom Wilemon

Proposed Fees Reduced For Medical Device Industry

The U.S. Senate’s decision to revise proposed fees on the medical device industry to help fund expanded health care coverage for Americans is welcome news for Medtronic Inc.

Chief Executive Officer Bill Hawkins last week issued a statement praising U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for being instrumental in reducing the size of the proposal.

The new proposal amends the Senate Finance Committee’s earlier plans for a $40 billion fee on the medical device industry. The fees would have made the U.S. the most expensive country in the world to develop and produce medical technology, Hawkins said.

The new proposal calls for medical device taxes or fees totaling approximately $20 billion over 10 years, which is half the original Senate proposal. However, he said any new taxes would impact the company’s investment decisions on new therapy development, jobs and global competitiveness.

New taxes could have an adverse impact on the Memphis economy because several other companies, including Wright Medical Group Inc. and Smith & Nephew, make medical devices here.

– Tom Wilemon

Buffett’s Berkshire Secures $8B Loan for BNSF Deal

Warren Buffett’s company has lined up an $8 billion loan to help pay for its $26.3 billion acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said in documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday that it signed the financing deal with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo on Wednesday.

Buffett has said Berkshire, which is based in Omaha, Neb., plans to borrow half of the $16 billion needed for the deal, and pay back the loan over three years.

Berkshire has agreed to pay $100 a share in cash and stock for all the Burlington Northern shares it doesn’t own. Berkshire holds a 23 percent stake in the railroad, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

BNSF has a significant presence in Memphis, which is home to the railroad’s largest intermodal facility in the Southeast. The company employs 110 workers here and is finishing a $200 million renovation and expansion of its intermodal yard at Lamar Avenue and Shelby Drive in Southeast Shelby County.

 The deal is expected to be completed early next year if shareholders and regulators approve.

– The Associated Press

State Finds 10K Dead Voters Remain on Registration Rolls

Almost 10,000 dead voters are still on the state’s registration rolls, the Tennessee Division of Elections has found.

Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins’ staff found what appeared to be at least 9,800 dead voters still on the rolls after comparing the state voter registration database to a national master list of deaths provided by the Social Security Administration.

What they found were instances of where a name, Social Security number and date of birth matched both lists. That information has been sent along to county election administrators to look over before the voters are purged from the rolls, according to information from the state division of elections.

– Andy Meek

Johnson Big Winner at MBA YLD Elections

Shon Johnson, an associate at Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee PC, was elected vice president/president-elect at the Memphis Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division’s annual meeting and elections Thursday night.

The YLD 2010 board members, also elected last week, are Megan Arthur, Annie Christoff, Jake Dickerson, Nicole Grida, Dennis Hawkins, David McKinney, Keisha Moses, Erika Roberts and Abby Webb.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Lorrie Ridder won the Charles A. Rond Memorial Award for Outstanding Judge of the Year.

Kyle M. Wiggins, an associate at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC also was passed the gavel from 2009 president Freeman Foster.

(See the Nov. 19 edition of The Daily News for more on Wiggins’ presidency.)

– Rebekah Hearn

3 Daily Flights Could Return to Tupelo

Mesaba Airlines is asking for a federal subsidy to offer three daily flights from Tupelo Regional Airport.

Mesaba said in July it could no longer provide service in Tupelo and seven other cities across the country unless it received a federal subsidy through the Essential Air Service program.

That move set off a series of events, including the U.S. Department of Transportation requiring Mesaba to continue flying and to ask for bids from airlines wishing to provide service through a subsidy.

Mesaba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

In one proposal in its bid, Mesaba wants $1.9 million to have two daily departures from Tupelo to Memphis and one departure to Atlanta. The company also proposed to offer fewer flights for a smaller subsidy.

Another proposed schedule would cut one Memphis flight on Saturdays, bringing the subsidy requirement to a little more than $1.8 million.

In another schedule, an additional flight on Wednesday would be cut, bringing the subsidy to more than $1.6 million.

Maintaining the current schedule – one daily flight to Memphis and one daily flight to Atlanta – would cost a little more than $1 million.

– The Associated Press

Junior Cotillions to Open Shelby County Chapter

The National League of Junior Cotillions has announced it will open a chapter in Shelby County.

The NLJC is a program of etiquette, character education and social dance training for middle and junior high school students.

The cotillion includes monthly classes that give students instruction and practice in courtesies through role playing, skits and games. Standard ballroom and line dancing are taught as well as instructional three-, five- and seven-course dinners.

The cotillion also holds a Holly Ball and Spring Ball.

The organization was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

For more information, visit www.nljc.com.  

– Taylor Shoptaw