VOL. 126 | NO. 128 | Friday, July 1, 2011
Inked
Sarah Baker
Driver Services Center Site Sells for $1.6M
By Sarah Baker
An Omaha, Neb.-based real estate investment firm has acquired a single-tenant office building near Poplar Avenue and the Union Avenue crossover.
Circo Enterprises LLC purchased the 10,180-square-foot Department of Safety & Homeland Security building at 3040 Walnut Grove Road for $1.6 million.
The sellers were comprised of a partnership between RNB Interests LLC, BRB Interests LLC and BAK Interests LLC, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds.
Built in 1997, the property and is one of three Shelby County Driver Service Centers. The Class A investment grade property’s 2011 appraisal from the Shelby County Assessor of Property is $1.1 million.
Circo Enterprises’ senior property manager Michele Yanovich acted on behalf of the firm in-house.
Dennis Circo, owner of Circo Enterprises, said the acquisition contributes to the family-held firm’s bottom line.
“We felt that Memphis was a good city to own real estate in and that the state of Tennessee fit the strict criteria we look for when acquiring buildings and tenants,” he said. “It fit well into our portfolio because of the strength of the tenant in what we believe to be a pretty good economy.”
The sellers were represented by Kase Abusharkh, managing director of Sperry Van Ness¦The Kase Group, a Danville, Calif.-based investment real estate brokerage. Other Memphis-area closings with which The Kase Group has been involved are the Mrs. Winner’s Chicken portfolio, KFC/Taco Bell in Oakland, Tenn.; and Scotts Miracle-Gro in Arlington.
• In other commercial leasing news, Fusion Tire Distribution has signed a 6,345-square-foot lease in Nonconnah Corporate Center, 2912 Barris Drive.
Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors Asset Services LLC vice president Phil Dagastino Jr. represented the landlord, New York-based Hampshire Properties. The tenant was unrepresented.
Also in Nonconnah Corporate Center, Tripp Logistics LLC has signed a 4,842-square-foot lease at 2892 Barris Drive.
Shawn Glemser, owner of Tripp Logistics, said the location was ideal for his first storefront property, after working out of his home for more than 15 years.
“The reason I picked the area is because I like the location – it’s close, it’s easy to get to as far as trucks are concerned for commercial vehicles to come in and out of the facility,” Glemser said.
The freight broker’s new space will allow him to expand his business to incorporate transloading and cross-docking of freight for customers and vendors.
“I act as a liaison, so to speak, for their carriers through my facility,” Glemser said. “I can offer more to my customers with a having a dock and then also on top of that, expand and increase revenue with having a warehouse to store temporary or long-term storage, maybe even labeling.”
• Mehdi Abesi has purchased a 6,000-square-foot shopping center at 5520 Summer Ave. for $308,200.
The center was 80 percent occupied at the time of sale, with one bay available for lease. Tenants in the center include Cash Spot, Champeon Beauty Supplies, Akademos Learning Center and Farmers Insurance.
Crye-Leike Realtors Inc. vice president Saeed Nia and Investec Realty Services LLC broker Eric Fuhrman represented the buyer. Colliers International’s Andrew Phillips and Andy Cates represented Bank Tennessee.
The bank-owned strip center was priced right and appealing to both parties, Fuhrman said.
“It was a good value and this same buyer is looking for more of these similar types of properties just because when there’s that great bargain to be had, we got buyers for that,” he said.
Fuhrman also brokered Ridge Valley Exteriors Inc.’s 1,500-square-foot lease at 746 Walnut Knoll Lane, suite 201.
The Atlanta-based tenant will use the space as a back-office operation for its national roofing contractor services, said Fuhrman, who was the only agent involved in the deal.
“With the tornadoes and storms that we’ve had come through here, they found a niche here in the Memphis area because there’s so much roof work to be done,” he said.
“Not only that, but they were able to redo the roof on our building as an added bonus because it just so happened that we had storm damage come through in April and they leased it in May and it was a total fit.”