Cordova Storage Facility Sells for $1.2 Million

Sale and loan documents related to the recent sale of a Memphis storage facility have been filed with the Shelby County Register’s Office. Grand Central Storage, 7384 Raleigh Lagrange Road, is one of two properties bought by out-of-town entity Orchid Hill Investments for a total $4.5 million.

The seller is Gulfport, Miss.-based Tellus Grand Central LLC.

Built in 1998, the 63,710-square-foot Grand Central facility makes up $1.2 million of the purchase price. The building, which includes 376 units within 48,590 square feet of rentable space, is situated on 2.4 acres on the east side of Raleigh Lagrange near the street’s intersection with Mullins Station Road.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2012 appraisal is $1.1 million.

The second property included in Orchid Hill’s purchase is Mid South Storage in Southaven.

Orchid Hill financed the purchases with a $3.1 million loan through UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. Grand Central serves as collateral for $1.5 million of the loan.

For details, see the Inked column in The Daily News’ Friday, July 20, edition.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

MED Board Approves $34.4M For Capital Improvements

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis’ board of directors Tuesday, July 24, approved $34.4 million in spending for two significant capital improvement projects: the expansions of the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center and the Turner Tower Complex.

Facility improvements to the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center include the renovation of its outdated Critical Care Assessment area. Square footage will be added, modernizing and increasing the amount of assessment space.

Renovation work is scheduled to begin soon and projected to be completed in December 2012.

The Turner Tower project will include the expansion of the Firefighters Regional Burn Center and the build-out of three vacant floors to relocate the inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Ambulatory Surgery unit and acute care patient rooms.

The Turner Tower project includes more than 88,000 square feet and will be completed in stages over the next 18 months. The estimated completion date for the entire Turner Tower project is December 2013.

MED officials said the public hospital will file a Certificate of Need for the Turner Tower with the state within the next month, and approval is anticipated within four months.

–Aisling Maki

Trustmark Corp. Reports Solid Q2 Profit

Jackson, Miss.-based Trustmark Corp. reported net income this week of $29.3 million for the second quarter, representing earnings of $0.45.

Total revenue for the quarter exceeded $130 million due in part to solid performance in the company’s banking, mortgage banking, wealth management and insurance businesses, according to president and CEO Gerard Host.

Mortgage activity was one highlight for the quarter. During Q2, many of the bank’s customers took advantage of the opportunity to refinance existing mortgages at more attractive rates. Trustmark’s Q2 mortgage production totaled $465.1 million, and mortgage banking income during the second quarter totaled $11.2 million.

– Andy Meek

Mud Island River Museum Hosts Civil War Art

A 100-foot long painting of 19 Civil War battle and other scenes from Tennessee history is on display through Sept. 2 at the Mud Island Mississippi River Museum.

The Tennessee Civil War Diorama was planned and painted by Fred “Buster” Scott, a retired Tennessee Highway Patrol officer and World War II veteran who researched the historic scenes in the painting on a set of 19 panels.

The work took more than 10 years for Scott to complete. He died in 1994.

– Bill Dries

Mendenhall Career Center Gets New Home

Employers and job seekers who use the services of the Tennessee Career Center at Memphis Mendenhall, 5368 S. Mendenhall Mall, will soon be going to a new location.

Beginning on Monday, July 30, that locale will be at 4240 Hickory Hill Road, near the intersection of Hickory Hill and Raines Road. The new location is closer to residential areas and is along a bus route.

The new center includes more than 14,000 square feet, 12 computers and a fax machine in the resource area, a separate kiosk to assist veterans, and the regular Career Center services including filing of UI claims, job placement, training opportunities, workforce information, employer services, job-seeking skills enhancement, and onsite job fairs. The building is handicap accessible with two ramps and parking in front of the entrance.

The Career Center will be closed on Thursday, July 26, through Friday, July 27. The new location will open at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 30. The phone number will remain the same, 365-3205.

– Sarah Baker

Grants Available to Preserve Historical Records

The Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board is now accepting applications for State and National Archival Partnership grants.

The awards are a program for improving the preservation of and access to Tennessee’s historical records. Since 2009, the advisory board has awarded $148,000 in such grants to archives and historical records repositories across the state.

Eligible institutions include government organizations, small and medium-sized historical repositories and nonprofit professional organizations.

Details are at http://tn.gov.tsla/aps/grants/index.htm.

– The Associated Press

Oil Prices Decline as US Supplies Rise

The price of oil dropped Wednesday, July 25, after the U.S. reported a surprise increase in supplies.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell by 98 cents to $87.52 per barrel in New York while Brent crude lost 67 cents to $102.75 per barrel in London.

Prices fell after the Energy Information Administration reported that the nation’s crude supply grew by 2.7 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting supplies to fall by 250,000 barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy-information arm of McGraw Hill.

U.S. crude supplies have grown this year to the highest levels since 1990.

Gasoline supplies also rose more than expected. The EIA said that gasoline supplies increased by 4.1 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting supplies to grow by only 750,000 barrels.

Meanwhile retail gasoline increased by nearly a penny to a national average of $3.485 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular unleaded has increased by 15.5 cents this month, though it’s still cheaper than at the same time last year.

In other futures trading, heating oil lost 1.37 cents to $2.8107 per gallon while gasoline lost 7.23 cents to $2.7525 per gallon. Natural gas fell by 11 cents to $3.077 per 1,000 cubic feet.

– The Associated Press

Sales Tax Holiday Upcoming in Miss.

Mississippi’s annual sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 27, and ends at midnight Saturday.

Mississippi retailers are gearing up for one of their busiest times of the year.

Department of Revenue spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury says nothing has changed from previous years in which shoppers can save 7 percent on certain clothes and shoes that cost $100 or less per item.

“The sales tax holiday is like the day after Thanksgiving,” said Ron Aldridge, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Again, as in the past, school supplies and computers are not on the list of sales tax-free items.

The state’s first sales tax holiday was in 2009.

The Revenue Department rules show clothing and footwear items, meant to be worn next to the body and cost less than $100 per item, are exempt from sales tax.

Accessories such as jewelry, handbags, wallets, watches, backpacks, and similar items do not qualify for the Sales Tax Holiday.

– The Associated Press