Sycamore View Office Sells for $1.2 Million

Pensacola, Fla.-based DNBC Holdings LLC has bought parcels at 1341 Sycamore View Road and 6075 Executive Center Drive in the 38134 ZIP code from Calvin Howell for $1.2 million.

The purchase was financed with a $1.8 million loan through Regions Bank.

The 1341 Sycamore View parcel contains a 37,094-square-foot, four-story office building built in 1983. It sits on 1.2 acres on the west side of Sycamore View Road north of Executive Center Drive. The 6075 Executive Center Drive parcel is a half-acre paved lot adjacent to the office building on the west. The properties are in the Shady Grove Commercial & Industrial Subdivision.

The seller, Calvin Howell, bought the office building parcel in 1992 for $1.2 million. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2010 appraisal was $1 million. He bought the adjacent lot in 2000 for $110,000. The Assessor’s 2010 appraisal was $117,800.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

Memphis Heritage to Host Coliseum Meeting Thursday

Memphis Heritage Inc. is hosting an open forum Thursday to discuss and organize a plan for how to save the Mid-South Coliseum.

The meeting will allow members of the community to express their concerns about the future of the abandoned Memphis landmark.

The forum is slated for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at MHI’s Howard Hall, 2282 Madison Ave., at the northeast corner of Madison and Edgewood Street.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early for a seat. Questions can be directed to Donna McCraw at 272-2727 or dmcraw@memphisheritage.org.

– Sarah Baker

Memphis and Shelby County Getting an EDGE

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell told a gathering of area business leaders Tuesday night at the office of Glankler Brown PLLC that he hopes the new joint city-county economic development program gets rolling by this summer.

If government leaders keep to that schedule in building the new entity they’re calling the EDGE (Economic Development Growth Engine), it would be a major step forward for the city and county.

Both governments have borne much criticism in recent years that they’re not business-friendly enough. A former Memphis chamber official said at Tuesday night’s event that a lot of the corporate relocations Memphis has recently landed took some hard work that sometimes went down to the wire, but that something like EDGE would make the area more competitive.

The presence of the new economic development entity – with a staff and president that can run point between companies and the myriad government agencies and officials in the city and county – would presumably do the heavy lifting in the future on projects like the Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. development of a new electric power transformer factory in the city.

As detailed in an article from the March issue of Site Selection Magazine, Memphis had to overcome a big hurdle to MEPPI completing its plant in Memphis – specifically, it was the bad taste in MEPPI’s mouth left by an early 2010 Forbes article slamming Memphis.

The Greater Memphis Chamber went to great lengths to push back against the Forbes article – at MEPPI’s request.

Chamber Senior Vice President Mark Herbison told The Daily News the project consultant called the chamber and said unless the chamber could refute the article in a specific and detailed way, it was probably the end of the line.

So the chamber prepared a splashy booklet refuting the Forbes article.

“In five days, they provided a document that I consider one of the best-focused project impact pieces of information that I’ve gotten from an economic development agency,” Mark Sweeney, principal at site selection consulting firm McCallum Sweeney, told Site Selection Magazine.

– Andy Meek

Data Facts VP to Discuss Social Networks, Screening

Lisa May, vice president of Resource and Development at Memphis-based Data Facts, will discuss “Social Networks and Employment Screening – Treasure or Trouble,” at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Doubletree Hotel, 185 Union Ave.

The discussion is part of a two-day conference of the Tennessee Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration.

May will provide information on a broad variety of business needs, such as background screening for employment, tenant screening for residential firms and up-to-date financial background data for mortgage companies.

The conference welcomes human resources professionals involved in health care. Other speakers include Mike Cassity, vice president of human resources at HCA TriStar Health Systems; Brad Pope, vice president of HR at Memorial Health Care System in Chattanooga; and Jane Van Deren, corporate director at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

HR certification credits will be offered, as well as a mock trial involving harassment.

More information can be found at www.tshhra.org.

– Allison Buckley

FM100 Receives New Afternoon Host

Entercom Memphis has appointed Chris Michaels as program director and afternoon drive host for WMC-FM FM100.

Michaels makes the move from WABB in Mobile (Ala.)/Pensacola (Fla.) where he was program director and afternoon drive host. He formerly worked at Jacksonville’s WAPE and WERO, as well as WDCG-FM in North Carolina. He has also worked with some premier broadcasters and consultants over the course of his career, including Randy Lane (former FM100 program director), Zapoleon Media Strategies and more.

Michaels’ first day is May 2.

– Sarah Baker

AutoZone Recognizes Top Suppliers

AutoZone Inc. recognized Great Neck Saw as Extra Miler: Supplier of the Year during the annual AutoZone Vendor Summit held in Memphis.

“Great Neck has been an AutoZone supplier for 32 years and supports both our do-it-yourself and commercial customers,” said Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of AutoZone.

AutoZone also recognized a special group of suppliers with the company’s prestigious Extra Miler Award. Extra Miler suppliers are Cardone Industries, Valvoline, Spectra Premium Industries, Dorman, 4 Seasons, Dayco and Automotive Innovations.

“The Extra Miler award recognizes those suppliers who have demonstrated above and beyond efforts for AutoZone and our customers,” said Mark Finestone, senior vice president of merchandising, in a statement. “These Extra Miler suppliers set the standard for their innovative thinking, category management skills, quality merchandise and commitment with AutoZone to grow the business together.”

The WITTDTJR (What It Takes To Do The Job Right) Award is given to suppliers as recognition for taking initiative to make sure AutoZone employees and customers have what it takes to complete the job. WITTDTJR suppliers are Plews & Edelmann, Neotek Corporation Inc., FDP Brake Products, Airtex Products LP and American Covers Inc. dba Handstands.

The ShrinkBuster Award is given to a supplier as recognition for focusing on reducing AutoZone’s shrink, or loss prevention. This year’s winner is Osram Sylvania.

– Allison Buckley

Evolve Announces New Hires

Dick Wittenberg has been hired as a senior vice president and private banking officer in the private banking division of Evolve Bank & Trust.

“We are extremely pleased that Dick has joined the Evolve team,” said Evolve Bank & Trust President and CEO W. Scott Stafford about Wittenberg, who comes to Evolve from First Tennessee. “His broad experience and extensive relationships will prove to be invaluable as Evolve expands its presence in the Memphis market.”

In other Evolve news, the company also recently brought on Howard Lasley – who has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry at places like Duncan-Williams Inc. – to be Evolve Financial Group’s new chief financial officer.

– Andy Meek