VOL. 127 | NO. 220 | Friday, November 9, 2012
Inked
Sarah Baker
Highpoint Church Buys Briarcrest’s East Memphis Campus
SARAH BAKER
After seven years of leasing space for its worship services, Highpoint Church has acquired Briarcrest Christian School Systems Inc.’s property at 6000 Briarcrest Ave. for $7.25 million.
The purchase allows 10-year-old Highpoint to finally own the facility where it meets, while Briarcrest will benefit from a long-term leaseback for its preschool and elementary students. The East Memphis campus spans 170,000 square feet and sits on 16 acres.
The lease on Highpoint’s offices and mailing address at 6740 Reese Road runs out in January, and the church will start gradually transitioning into its owner-occupied space as soon as possible, said lead pastor Chris Conlee.
“We’ve got a full plan to comprehensively renovate the facility over the next five years,” Conlee said. “With it being an elementary school, probably the first thing we want to renovate is the restrooms, but we will be renovating the auditorium, the exterior and interior. Hopefully, five years from now, instead of it being a 40-year-old school, it’ll be a state-of-the-art facility that really complements our vision well.”
Briarcrest will use the proceeds of the sale for partial construction costs of its new 35,000-square-foot Dr. Willard R. Sparks Chapel and Performing Arts Center at the Houston Levee campus, 76 S. Houston Levee Road, north of Collierville. Briarcrest opened its high school there in 2003 and added middle school facilities in 2009, said Briarcrest director of communications Beth Rooks.
The 1,000-seat facility will feature a full theatrical stage, back-stage holding areas, full dressing rooms, set workshop, orchestra pit, an informal art gallery, and additional classrooms and practice rooms for the performing arts.
The addition will also be the new home of Briarcrest’s administrative offices – including the admissions, business affairs, communications, development and information technology departments – as well as the headmaster’s and president’s offices.
Fleming and Associates Architects PC is the architect and Linkous Construction Co. is the contactor. Construction should begin in the next few weeks.
“With the construction of the Sparks Chapel, we will see the fulfillment of a vision held by previous boards of trustees for the past 15 years,” said Mark Merrill, Briarcrest president.
• In other commercial real estate news, a Southaven medical office building has traded hands.
DeSoto Surgical Affiliates LLC purchased the former DeSoto Surgery Clinic at 7580 Clarington Cove in Southaven from BancorpSouth for $1.4 million.
The 13,137-square-foot building was built in 2005 and includes two separate waiting areas, office space for up to four physicians, a backup generator and an X-ray room.
The Class A facility sits on 1.46 acres and is off of Airways Boulevard, across from the entrance to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto.
Henry Stratton, vice president of brokerage services with Colliers International Memphis, represented the seller. Kelly Truitt, president of CB Richard Ellis Memphis, represented the buyer, an orthopedic group that plans to use the space as a surgery center.
• In other deals, an East Memphis office condominium at 6254 Poplar Ave. has changed ownership.
Dr. Alan Levy of Mars Enterprises LLC bought the 4,897-square-foot space from James Gates for $485,000.
Brian Califf, broker associate with NAI Saig Co., represented the buyer. Eric Fuhrman, president of Crye-Leike Commercial, represented the seller.
Built in 1981, the property’s 2012 appraisal from the Shelby County Assessor of Property is $572,800.
• Also recently sold was 12.4 acres at 5515 Hayes Road in Arlington, just off of Airline Road.
Regency Homebuilders LLC, which was unrepresented, acquired it for $250,000 from Diane Johnson, who was represented by Bill Caller, broker with Crye-Leike Commercial. Caller said Regency plans to develop and market Hayes Place Planned Development, which was approved by Arlington in September.
“This is the first land acquisition for residential development in the town of Arlington in over five years,” Caller said. “This property had 120 days of due diligence from contract to closing.”
• Meanwhile, Jason’s Deli has renewed at Park Place Centre, and will move into a new and larger 7,155-square-foot space at 1215 Ridgeway Road.
The Beaumont, Texas-based fast casual deli restaurant chain has leased 4,832 square feet in the shopping center at Ridgeway and Park Avenue since 1997.
Carey White, senior vice president of asset management with Loeb Properties Inc., represented the landlord and was the only broker involved in the deal.
• And FedEx Employees Credit Union has inked a 2,700-square-foot end-cap in Dexter Center, 8195 Dexter Road, for its Cordova retail branch.
Dan Walker Associates Inc. recently filed a $212,000 building permit for tenant space alterations.
Jill Schmitt, senior adviser with Cresa Nashville, represented the tenant, which will relocate from 8115 Country Village Drive.
Colliers’ Ed Thomas and Andrew Phillips represented the landlord.
“It’s going to be a good tenant for that center,” Thomas said.
“We’re repositioning the property. We’re going to try to bring some more quality tenants to the neighborhood. The landlord’s getting ready to put some improvements into the property, updating the center.”