GSK-Leased Warehouse Financed for $10.2M

Bank of America NA has granted a $10.2 million loan to five affiliates of Exeter Property Group for a warehouse at 4480 Swinnea Road leased to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare LP.

Exeter 4480 Swinnea LLC – which bought the property in December for $10.15 million – requested the bank make the loan to it as the owner, as well as to Exeter 1320 Ridgeland, Exeter 1335 Ridgeland LLC, Exeter 1345 Ridgeland LLC and Exeter 519 Lincoln LLC, according to a trust deed. It’s part of a $33.7 million loan agreement with Bank of America.

The 336,000-square-foot warehouse was built in 1996 on 15.7 acres on the east side of Swinnea Road north of Shelby Drive. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2011 appraisal is $9.7 million. GlaxoSmithKline distributes pharmaceuticals from the site and employs 37 people there, according to information from the Greater Memphis Chamber.

Pennsylvania-based Exeter Property Group handles property acquisitions and asset management on behalf of institutional clients including U.S., European and Asian pension funds, endowments, fund of funds and insurance companies, according to Exeter’s website. The company has five regional offices, with the closest ones to Memphis being in Louisville, Ky., and Atlanta.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Dec. Home Sales Dip 6 Percent

Shelby County home sales for December fell 6 percent from a year ago, with 881 sales recorded compared with 938 in 2010, according to real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com.

This was the first month since July that didn’t have year-over-year growth. July through November all had better months in 2011 than their respective months in 2010.

Home sales last month averaged $122,161, a 12 percent decline from $129,765 in December 2010. Total sales volume also took a hit, falling to $108 million in December from $122 million during the same month a year ago.

Of Shelby County’s 34 ZIP codes, Raleigh’s 38128 sold the most homes – 54 averaging $41,167 and totaling $2.2 million. But 39 of those sales were bank, or foreclosure, sales averaging $35,302 and totaling $1.4 million.

Overall, bank sales increased 6 percent in December to 510, compared with 483 in 2010. Bank sales averaged $72,058 and totaled $36.7 million.

Also posting a monthly increase were nonbank, or traditional, sales. Sales in that category totaled 1,396, a 5 percent boost from 1,326 in December 2010. Nonbank sales averaged $136,854 and totaled $191 million.

Meanwhile, new home sales dipped 5 percent year over year, totaling 128 last month compared with 135 in December 2010. Declining even further was the average price of a new home within the county, which was $212,481 in December compared with $248,608 in December 2010.

On a more positive note, existing home sales increased 6 percent, totaling 1,778 in December compared to 1,674 in 2010. The average price of an existing home in the county was basically unchanged in December at $112,823.

For more information on home sales for all of 2011, see “More of the Same for Housing” on Page 1. For fourth-quarter sales, see “Q4 Sales See 4 Pct. Uptick” on Page 7. Both are also online at www.memphisdailynews.com.

– Sarah Baker

Jules Wade Receives Education Award

The Tennessee Real Estate Commission has presented former Memphis Area Association of Realtors Executive Vice President Jules Wade with the Tune Award in honor of his contributions to real estate education. The presentation to Wade was made Thursday, Jan. 12, at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn, 3700 Central Ave.

The award is named for Bill Tune, one of the founders of the Association of Tennessee Real Estate Educators and the award’s first recipient. He died in 1996. The commission established the Tune Award to recognize individuals who have dedicated themselves to increasing the level of professionalism in the real estate industry through real estate education.

MAAR has had a long-term commitment to real estate education and under Wade’s leadership established the Education Foundation. Wade retired from MAAR late last year after 30 years of service. He now works for Prudential Collins-Maury Inc. as the principal broker of its East Memphis office.

– Sarah Baker

Bluff City Coffee Brewing Up Change

Bluff City Coffee, the coffee and snack shop in Downtown’s South Main Historic Arts District, has unveiled some upcoming changes.

In a recent post for the eatery’s Facebook followers, Bluff City wrote it’s leased a 3,000-square-foot kitchen Downtown, allowing Bluff City to offer things such as expanded pastry choices, multiple soups daily, more fresh-baked breads, an upgraded lunch menu, more doughnut offerings, the return of cream cheese sugar cookies and more.

That “more” includes the desire to add retail locations late this year, Bluff City wrote.

– Andy Meek

State Education Commisioner to Get Consolidation Updates

Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman will probably be meeting with leaders of the schools consolidation planning commission on a monthly basis.

Planning commission chairwoman Barbara Prescott said Huffman has told her he would like to get regular updates on the commission’s work in building a consolidated school system.

The merger plan is due in August and then will go to the countywide school board and Huffman’s department for approval before the August 2013 start date for operation of the consolidated Shelby County Schools system.

Prescott told commission members last week that Huffman wants to be available to address concerns and answer questions the commission might have as it weighs what kind of structure the school system should have instead of a complete plan arriving all at once at his office in Nashville for approval.

The updates will probably involve a monthly meeting among Huffman, Prescott and countywide school board chairman Billy Orgel.

– Bill Dries

New Website Showcases Historic Memphis Photos

Memphis Heritage has launched a website called “Newman’s Memphis,” www.newmansmemphis.org, which features 135 digital images of Memphis from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s from the collection of Memphis photographer Don Newman. The images are indexed and are searchable by keyword, and more photos will be added in the coming months.

Newman worked as a commercial photographer throughout his life, and although many of his photographs were produced for assignments or jobs, others resulted from his personal curiosity and interests.

Prints of Newman’s images may be purchased through the website, with proceeds benefiting Memphis Heritage.

Memphis Heritage was founded in 1975 to educate and coordinate individuals and groups to save, improve, reuse and maintain architecturally and historically significant buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks and cultural artifacts of Shelby County.

– Aisling Maki

Orpheum Holds Ticket Giveaway

The Orpheum Theatre will host a giveaway for tickets to the Tony Award-winning production of “Million Dollar Quartet” in February at the theater, 203 S. Main St.

In conjunction with The Orpheum’s Memphis Music Passport, the ticket giveaway encourages patrons to experience Memphis music history.

To claim the prize, entrants must present their Memphis Music Passport with at least one stamp from any of the participating attractions, which include Graceland, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Beale Street, National Civil Rights Museum, Backbeat Tours and The Orpheum.

Winners will receive two tickets to the Feb. 14 opening night of “Million Dollar Quartet” and two tickets to the VIP cast party at Sun Studio following the show.

Entrants must submit a photo of themselves holding their stamped passport page to socialmedia@orpheum-memphis.com. The contest ends Jan. 30.

– Taylor Shoptaw