Deal Closes on $2.6M Sale of Highland Row Property

Worthington Hyde Partners, working under the name Highland Row Land Partners LLC, has bought the 13 acres of vacant land slated to become Highland Row from Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers – Memphis LLC for $2.6 million. The deal closed Thursday, Nov. 17.

Near the University of Memphis, the land for the planned Highland Row “town and gown” development encompasses the site of the now-demolished Highland Street Church of Christ at the northwest corner of Highland Street and Midland Avenue.

Plans for Highland Row include residential and retail space.

The partners in Norcross, Ga.-based Worthington Hyde Partners are Joseph R. “Pitt” Hyde III, founder of Memphis-based AutoZone Inc. and chairman of GTx Inc.; John H. Pontius, city of Memphis director of finance and administration from 1986 to 1991; and Robert W. Worthington of Atlanta, who served as chairman and CEO of the partnership’s previous incarnation, Schaedle Worthington Hyde Properties, according to the real estate investment company’s website.

The vacant parcels formerly used the addresses 443 S. Highland St., 366 Ellsworth St., 374 Ellsworth St. and 380 Ellsworth St.

The $70 million Highland Row project stalled last year amid the recession. In August 2010, Josh Poag, president and CEO of Memphis-based Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers, said the company was still getting financing in place but anticipated starting construction around the end of 2010 or early 2011, with a grand opening in 2012.

A call to Worthington Hyde Partners’ office was not immediately returned.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Impact Innovations Plans Gift-Wrap Facility

Minnesota-based Impact Innovations Inc. has applied for a tax break to help it set up a major gift-wrap production facility in Memphis.

Impact sells seasonal and all-occasion décor and gift packaging like gift wrap and gift bags to the mass market.

The company’s plans call for creating 25 new jobs here and making a total capital investment of $950,000. Impact’s application for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) of six years is on the agenda for Monday’s Economic Development Growth Engine – or EDGE – board meeting, which starts at 3 p.m. at Boyle Investment Co., 5900 Poplar Ave.

Impact is looking at multiples sites in the area.

In the company’s PILOT application, Impact acknowledged it’s also interested in a site in Southaven. But, “from a distribution cost perspective, tax incentives offered under the Memphis and Shelby County PILOT program offer a competitive advantage to locating in Shelby County when compared to sites and similar incentives in DeSoto County.”

The PILOT Impact is seeking would mean the city and county forgo almost $990,000 in tax revenue during the period of the tax freeze. But the city and county would in return get more than $1 million in revenue generated by the company’s operations, construction and fees, according to PILOT documentation.

“Impact’s plan is to take printed jumbo rolls of gift wrap from an outside vendor, ship them to the Memphis facility and convert them to individual gift wrap rolls for distribution to retailers,” the company wrote. “As Impact’s only gift wrap production facility in the United States, the Memphis facility would be the distributional hub to retailers in the United States and Canada.”

The company also said its Memphis facility would employ a mix of seasonal employees and full-time production, maintenance, sales, product design and development workers. The company’s senior director of marketing, national sales manager and the director for the company’s gift-wrap business would all be based here, too.

In September, Impact acquired the gift-wrap portion of Cleo Inc.’s business. Cleo’s Memphis gift-wrap plant was closed recently by CSS Industries, eliminating 588 jobs.

– Andy Meek

Glankler Brown Attorneys Named SuperLawyers

Fourteen attorneys from Glankler Brown PLLC have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine.

The attorneys and their practice areas are Louis F. Allen, personal injury defense, general; Saul C. Belz, business litigation, securities litigation, employment litigation; J. David Blaylock, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law; Oscar C. Carr III, business litigation, personal injury, construction litigation; Lee J. Chase, personal injury, business/corporate; B. Douglas Earthman, bonds/government finance, real estate; Charles W. Hill, employment and labor, securities litigation, business litigation; John I. Houseal Jr., health care, insurance coverage, construction litigation; R. Hunter Humphreys, real estate, business/corporate; Christopher C. Lamberson, real estate, business/corporate, mergers and acquisitions; William T. Mays Jr., tax, business/corporate, estate planning and probate; George J. Nassar Jr., estate planning and probate, tax, business/corporate; Arnold E. Perl, employment and labor, alternative dispute resolution; and J. William Pierce Jr., real estate, banking.

– Taylor Shoptaw

'Breaking the Cycle' Report Shows Abuse-Crime Link

A report called “Breaking the Cycle,” released by a group called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, shows a clear correlation between child abuse and neglect and increased crime in the future.

Memphis and Shelby County law enforcement leaders say voluntary home visits for at-risk families could prevent many cases of abuse and neglect from occurring. These programs pair nurses or trained paraprofessionals with pregnant women and new parents to teach them how to meet their child’s health and developmental needs.

Leaders are urging Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and the Legislature to maintain the state’s investment in home-visiting services and pursue new federal funding available to increase access to home-visiting services for more families.

A study shows nearly 9,200 Tennessee children were victims of abuse or neglect in 2009, with 46 cases resulting in fatalities.

While most survivors of childhood abuse and neglect never become violent criminals, research has shown that about 29 percent do become violent criminals when compared with a control group with no history of abuse. Survivors are more likely to abuse their own children, creating a cycle of violence that can span generations.

– Aisling Maki

FedEx Announces 13-Cent Dividend

FedEx Corp. said on Friday, Nov. 18, that it will pay a dividend of 13 cents per share on Jan. 3 to shareholders of record on Dec. 13.

– The Associated Press

Destination King Partners With Graceful Tables

Destination King – a Memphis-based event-management company – has partnered with Nashville-based specialty linen rental company Graceful Tables.

As a mini-showroom partner, Destination King will carry one sample of each linen and chair cover in Graceful Tables’ inventory in a specialized display in its Memphis office. An additional showroom is expected to open in early 2012 in Destination King’s Myrtle Beach, S.C., office.

Destination King’s primary service is total event management, from start to finish. The firm recently was awarded the “Best Event Produced for a Non-Profit” by Special Events magazine for its work on the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital grand opening events. Destination King produces more than 250 events a year, including corporate functions, festivals and concerts, nonprofit galas and social celebrations.

Destination King’s Memphis mini-showroom is by appointment only. Current inventory is 125 linen selections but this number is expected to grow as Graceful Tables grows its inventory.

– Sarah Baker

Lifeblood Offers Movie Passes to Platelet Donors

Lifeblood is giving each of its platelet donors a Malco movie pass for donating through Monday, Nov. 28.

The promotion hopes to increase Lifeblood’s platelet supply, which is decreasing while the need is increasing.

For a complete list of donor centers and hours of operation, call 888-LIFEBLOOD or visit www.lifeblood.org.

– Taylor Shoptaw