Driver Center Site Sells for $1.6M

Omaha, Neb.-based CIRCO Enterprises has bought a single-tenant building that houses a county Driver Services Center at 3040 Walnut Grove Road from RNB Interests LLC, BRB Interests LLC and BAK Interests LLC for $1.6 million.

Built in 1997, the 10,180-square-foot building sits on 1.3 acres on the north side of Walnut Grove Road west of Hayden Place. It is one of three Shelby County Driver Services Centers, where citizens can go to take their driving tests, renew their licenses, apply for handgun permits and more.

The sellers bought the property for $1.1 million in 1997, with RNB Interests buying a 10 percent interest and BRB Interests and BAK Interests each buying a 45 percent interest.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2010 appraisal was $1.1 million.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Kate Simone

Printing Co. Mimeo Seeks 8-Year PILOT

Online, on-demand printing company Mimeo.com is seeking an eight-year tax break from the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board.

Mimeo is planning an expansion of its Memphis facility that will include 190 new jobs and a $11.3 million capital investment. The company will appear before the IDB Wednesday in support of its request for an eight-year tax freeze.

Projections from the IDB show the project as having a eight-year economic impact of nearly $20 million.

Mimeo calls its Memphis print manufacturing center “one of the largest and most advanced overnight digital print facilities in the world.”

The facility houses an advanced data center and also performs other functions. It was originally designed for Mimeo’s document printing business, but the company has entered into a variety of new business partnerships to print photos and products such as holiday cards.

The expansion of the Memphis business is to accommodate those changes.

– Andy Meek

Dalphis Holdings Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Memphis window covering company Dalphis Holdings LLC has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization petition.

The company, which lists a street address of 3980 Premier Ave., lists assets of between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities in the same range.

Attorney Melanie Vardaman filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for West Tennessee saying the company entered into a revolving line of credit with Trust One Bank prior to filing the bankruptcy petition to provide the company with operating capital.

Her motion asks that the company be allowed to use cash collateral on an emergency basis to keep the company’s operations going.

The Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board in December approved a three-year, $2.4 million payment in lieu of taxes agreement for Dalphis to move from the Sycamore View Road-Interstate 40 area to the Airport Industrial Park area.

– Andy Meek

Shopping Center Group Launches App

The Shopping Center Group LLC has announced the launch of its app, compatible with all the newest Apple device software, including the iPhone, iTouch and iPad.

The app provides real-time mobile access to all of TSCG’s listings using multiple filters.

The only way for a user to download the app at this point is via the following link: http://tscg.loopnet.com. While it’s is not yet available in the Apple store, the link outlines the steps for installation based on the user’s device.

– Sarah Baker

Norris Named to Nuclear Energy Council

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, who’s also a Memphis attorney with Adams and Reese LLP, has been named to serve as one of 12 members on the Communications, Policy and Economic Development Council of a U.S. Department of Energy Program focused on nuclear energy.

Known as CASL (for Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors), the program has received a five-year federal grant to design computer models simulating virtual reactors to improve safety and reliability, reduce waste and extend the life of the existing U.S. reactor fleet.

Norris called it “the Manhattan Project of the new millennium.”

Norris is special counsel with Adams and Reese’s Memphis and Nashville offices.

– Andy Meek

Haslam, Alexander to Attend Obama Visit to Memphis

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander are planning to attend President Barack Obama’s graduation speech to a Memphis high school Monday.

Obama is delivering the commencement address to Booker T. Washington High School, the winner of a national competition for the Democratic president to speak at the graduation ceremony.

The school is in a South Memphis community where crime rate is the 14th highest in the nation. The White House said the school’s improved graduation rate of more than 80 percent – up from 55 percent in 2007 – was key to winning the competition.

Haslam and Alexander are also expected to join Obama in a tour of areas of Memphis that have endured the second-worst flooding in the city’s history.

– The Associated Press

MAAR Commercial Council Golf Tourney Makes Dreams Come True

The First Annual Memphis Area Association of Realtors Commercial Council Charity Golf Tournament raised enough money to grant three wishes for Make-A-Wish children Thursday at Windyke Country Club.

Presented by Acre Restaurant, more than 130 golfers participated in the four-man scramble, many of them local commercial real estate agents.

“The passion and unity in our local commercial real estate community is what makes this kind of event possible,” said Commercial Council president Ron Riley, who also served as co-chair of the tournament. “People stepped up so a child’s wish could become a family’s memories.”

At a dinner after the tournament, 5-year-old Elijah of Brighton, Tenn. learned his big wish would be coming true – Elijah and his family are going to Walt Disney World Resort. It is an ideal destination for a boy who loves Woody and Buzz Lightyear of “Toy Story” fame and counts other Disney films, such as “Shrek” and “Cars,” among his favorite movies.

Brooke Ehrhart, special events coordinator for Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South, is thrilled about the organization’s partnership with the MAAR Commercial Council.

“Not only are they granting wishes, they are helping to create awareness and to carry out our mission to grant the wish of every eligible child in our community,” Ehrhart said.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. If you know of a child who is critically ill, contact the foundation at 680-9474.

- Sarah Baker

LP Breakfast Club Reschedules Forum

The Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club has rescheduled its Deckplate Leadership Forum with the U.S. Navy, “Developing Young Talent: Expertise from Three Force Master Chiefs,” to May 27 as a result of flooding.

The forum will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Naval Support Activity Mid-South Helmsman Complex, 5722 Integrity Drive in Millington.

The leadership forum will feature three senior enlisted leaders in the U.S. Navy who will share their techniques for developing young civilians into leaders and world-class sailors, and how to apply those fundamentals.

The event is free and open to all business leaders, owners and human resources professionals. Space is limited on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch will be served at the event. To R.S.V.P., email rsvp.lpbc@lpinsurance.com.

– Taylor Shoptaw

AOL Offers Video Chat with No Log-In, Download

In a move to become more competitive in the fast-growing field of video chat, the team behind AOL Inc.’s AIM instant messenger rolled out the first version of a free video chat service on Thursday that doesn’t require users to log in or download any software.

Called AV, the service was created as a way to have quick, easy video chats, Jason Shellen, a leader of the AIM team, said. Though there are plenty of other voice and video chat offerings available for computers and smartphones, AV is unlike many with its decision to eschew both logins and software downloads.

In order to start a chat, a user gets a unique link from AV and sends it to friends. Once a friend with a webcam clicks on the link, a chat window will pop up on the screen and show live video of the user who started the chat session and any other participants. Up to four people can be involved in a chat at once, Shellen said.

The service has several features, such as the ability to type messages to individual users while video chatting – to send a link to a webpage, for example. The originator of the chat session also has the ability to remove others from that chat. Other features will arrive in the next few weeks, Shellen said, including one called “Group Shot” that allows you to take a photo of everyone participating in the chat at once.

AV, which is located at www.aim.com/av, uses Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash software. This means it will not work on an iPad or iPhone, but it will work on a PC and may work on some Flash-running smartphones. Shellen said his team is starting to explore making it available for other platforms and as a mobile app.

Initially, there is no plan for AOL make money from AV, Shellen said.

AV’s release comes two days after Microsoft Corp. said it would pay $8.5 billion for popular Internet phone service Skype, which allows people to make free and cheap voice and video calls.

– The Associated Press