Lamar Avenue Motel Sells for $825,000

NPV LLC has bought a motel at 4000 Lamar Ave. from Alayna Corp. for $825,000. The purchase was financed with an $800,000 loan, with Alayna as the lender. The loan is due April 14, 2026.

The property is a 33-unit, 15,236-square-foot, low-rise motel built in 2002. It sits on 3 acres on the east side of Lamar Avenue between the two entrances to Clearpool Circle Road in Desloge Subdivision.

The buyer, NPV, lists its address at the motel.

Alayna received the property via quitclaim in May 2010 for $400,000. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2010 appraisal was $846,100.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

Northrup Grumman Corp. Lays Off 33 Local Workers

Northrup Grumman Corp. is laying off 33 people in its Primacy Parkway Memphis office according to a notice filed Monday with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The layoffs at the Memphis office of the defense contractor are to take place on April 30, according to the notice.

Northrup Grumman is a global maker of military aircraft and technology. The East Memphis office works in computer software development and applications.

A program manager at the local office declined comment and referred all questions to the corporation’s media relations department. No one from that part of the company had commented by press time.

– Bill Dries

March Construction Materials Prices Jump 2 Percent

Construction materials prices increased 2 percent in March – the largest monthly increase since July 2008 – according to the April 14 Department of Labor Producer Price Index. Over the past three months, construction materials prices rose 4 percent and are 6.9 percent above March 2010 levels.

Steel mill product prices also saw their largest monthly increase since July 2008, climbing 5.3 percent in March. For the quarter, steel mill product prices are up 12.4 percent, and year over year, they are 15.3 percent higher.

The prices of iron and steel increased 2.8 percent in March and 10.6 percent for the quarter, to reach levels 14.7 percent higher compared to last year.

Prices for fabricated structural metal products saw a more modest increase of 0.8 percent in March and 2.9 percent for the quarter, and are 5.1 percent higher than March 2010. Prices for plumbing fixtures and fittings increased by 0.4 percent in March, 0.4 percent for the quarter, and 1.8 percent year over year.

In contrast, prices for prepared asphalt, tar roofing and siding slipped 0.4 percent for the month, but were 0.3 percent higher for the quarter and 0.6 percent higher than the same time last year.

Softwood lumber prices increased 0.5 percent in March and 1.4 percent for the first quarter, but are still 0.8 percent lower compared to March 2010.

Concrete product prices stayed level for the month and fell 1 percent for the quarter, making them 0.7 percent lower than one year ago.

Crude energy prices fell 0.4 percent in March, but were up 2.4 percent for the quarter and 6.6 percent year over year. The 11.7 percent monthly decline in natural gas prices helped counter the 5.7 percent monthly increase in crude petroleum prices.

“Many economists continue to believe that oil prices will eventually settle into a more comfortable range of $85 to $95 per barrel, although that may not happen until after the summer,” said Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu in a statement. “Prices of other commodities are likely to follow suit, which would help support the eventual recovery in the U.S. private nonresidential construction industry.”

– Sarah Baker

Grizzlies Sued Over Stanford Funds

The court-appointed receiver for disgraced financier R. Allen Stanford’s empire, along with an official group of Stanford investors, has added another Memphis name to the group of entities they’re suing.

They also want more money from two Memphis entities they’ve already sued.

Stanford receiver Ralph Janvey has filed a joint suit against the owners of pro basketball teams the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies.

That suit seeks the recovery of almost $1.6 million in allegedly sham CD proceeds from Stanford, though it says the investigation is continuing and that the final amount might be higher. It does not break the amount down between the two NBA teams.

Meanwhile, the Stanford Investors Committee filed suit in February against St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; its fundraising arm, ALSAC; and the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Foundation.

That suit sought to recover at least $7.3 million in Stanford funds.

The same day the Grizzlies were sued last week, an amended complaint was filed against the hospital entities asking for more money.

The “official Stanford Investors Committee” in the amended complaint says it has now identified almost $12 million in Stanford funds paid to the ALSAC-related defendants and at least $1.5 million to Le Bonheur.

All the sides in the ALSAC-related case have met for at least one mediation session. A court form shows the April 7 session was unsuccessful.

– Andy Meek

Destination King Expands to Myrtle Beach

Memphis-based destination management company Destination King is branching out.

The company has expanded its offerings into Myrtle Beach, S.C., which recently was named by TripAdvisor.com as the top vacation destination in the U.S. The city attracts more than 14 million visitors annually.

Theresa Krieg will be heading the Myrtle Beach expansion for Destination King. Her first day with the company will be May 1, and she will be based in Myrtle Beach.

In a statement, Destination King Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Kevin Brewer said the company has been planning an expansion into the Myrtle Beach market for a while and is thrilled to welcome Theresa to the team.

“I started my career in the Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand market, and, like Memphis, it’s one that continues to do well in an uncertain economy,” he said.

“We look forward to bringing our unparalleled destination management service to corporate clients looking for a premier golf- and beach-destination for their conventions, conferences and meetings. In addition, we also will offer event management and production services for local events and festivals.”

– Andy Meek

Youth Villages Announces ChristieCare Merger

Youth Villages has announced a merger, expected to be finalized June 1, with ChristieCare, an Oregon-based provider of residential and educational services to children and families coping with significant mental-health challenges.

Memphis-based Youth Villages is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families through a variety of programs, including foster care and adoption, intensive in-home services, mentoring and crises services, residential treatment and transitional living.

Youth Villages is Tennessee’s largest provider of services to children, and one of the state’s largest providers of foster services.

The merger will allow for the expansion of residential programs and for the introduction of intensive in-home services to help children and families throughout Oregon in an effort to decrease the number of children in foster care in that state.

“Oregon has nearly twice the average number of children per population in foster care when compared with other states,” said ChristieCare CEO Lynne Saxton, who will now serve as executive director of Youth Villages-ChristieCare of Oregon. “Our goal is to change that through our merger with Youth Villages, one of the country’s leading providers of and advocates for intensive in-home services for prevention and family restoration.”

Named one of the Top 50 Nonprofits to Work For by Nonprofit Times and Best Companies Group in 2010 and 2011, Youth Villages has been recognized by Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations.

– Aisling Maki