Berclair Dollar General Sells for Almost $1 Million

The 9,160-square-foot Dollar General store at 3433 Jackson Ave. in Berclair has sold for $971,000.

VM Property Investments LLC of Sandy, Utah, bought the 2-year-old retail store from Ware Properties LLC, the Coldwater, Miss.-based company that developed the property.

Built in 2011, the Class B retail building sits on 0.8 acres along the east side of Jackson Avenue south of its intersection with Chelsea Avenue. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2012 appraisal was $709,100.

VM Property Investments filed a $679,700 deed of trust through US Bank NA in conjunction with the purchase.

Ware Properties – which develops Dollar General stores in the area – bought the vacant land at the site in May 2011 from Hector Tejeda for $140,000. The general contractor assigned to the project was Barry Holbrook, founder of MTE LLC Contracting, formerly known as Midtown Electric.

Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General operates 10,000 stores in 40 states, and saw $14.8 billion in sales in fiscal 2011.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Small Business Administration Recruiting for Training Initiative

The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched recruitment for its 2013 Emerging Leaders executive-level training initiative in the Memphis area.

There are 15 slots available this year for the initiative, formerly known as e200. Local small-business owners can get about 100 hours of free training and the opportunity to work with experienced mentors, attend workshops, and develop connections with their peers, city leaders and financial communities.

Recruitment is now under way with the deadline for applying continuing through March 29. Classes will begin in April and will be held Wednesday evenings.

Eligibility requirements include having annual revenues of at least $300,000, being in business for at least three years and having at least one employee, other than the business owner. As a part of the program, each participant will develop a three-year strategic growth action plan with benchmarks and performance targets.

Seventy-four business owners in Memphis have graduated from the program, and there is no charge to participants if selected for the Class of 2013. To apply, go to www.sba.gov/emergingleaders and complete the application.

– Andy Meek

United Housing Launches Home Matters Movement

United Housing has helped launch a new national movement called Home Matters, aiming to build public support for the role that a home plays in thriving lives, families and a stronger economy.

Home Matters is spearheaded by National NeighborWorks Association – of which Memphis-based United Housing is a member – along with a coalition of housing and community development organizations and nonprofits.

As it expands, Home Matters will go beyond housing and illuminate the connections between stable housing and other important facets of American life, such as individual success, education, health and public safety. The Home Matters website is www.HomeMattersAmerica.com.

Now in its 18th year, United Housing offers homebuyer education, credit counseling and affordable lending practices to low to moderate first-time homebuyers. The nonprofit earlier this year moved from its long-time Midtown offices to 2750 Colony Park Drive, near the old Mall of Memphis site in the Oakhaven/Parkway Village area.

– Sarah Baker

Wine Bill Delayed Over Cigarette Sales

Sen. Bill Ketron has delayed a final committee vote on supermarket wine so he can rewrite the bill to keep cigarettes from being sold in liquor stores.

The Murfreesboro Republican said Tuesday that he still intends to move the bill to hold local referendums on whether to allow wine sales in grocery and convenience stores through the Senate Finance Committee as early as next week, but that he would then put the measure on hold before receiving a full floor vote.

The House version of the bill surprisingly failed in the Local Government Committee last week. Proponents hope the measure could be revived this year or next.

Under current law, supermarkets can’t sell any alcohol stronger than beer, while package stores can’t sell anything other than wine, liquor and lottery tickets.

– The Associated Press

TDOT Creates New Office to Work With Cities

Tennessee Transportation Commissioner John Schroer says his agency’s new office is aimed at better coordinating transportation planning statewide.

Schroer announced formation of the Office of Community Transportation Monday.

He said the state wants to increase collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Transportation and cities across Tennessee.

The office will have regional staff in Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis who will be committed to working specifically with the communities within their region. They will also work closely with Tennessee’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations to coordinate regional transportation priorities.

– The Associated Press

US Housing Starts Rise, Permits at 4.5-Year High

U.S. builders started more homes in February and permits for future construction rose at the fastest pace in 4.5 years. The increases point to a housing recovery that is gaining strength.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on houses and apartments last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000. That’s up from 910,000 in January. And it’s the second-fastest pace since June 2008, behind December’s rate of 982,000.

Single-family home construction increased to an annual rate of 618,000, the most in 4 1/2 years. Apartment construction also ticked up, to 285,000.

The gains are likely to grow even faster in the coming months. Building permits, a sign of future construction, increased 4.6 percent to 946,000. That was also the most since June 2008, just a few months into the Great Recession.

Separately, a private report showed the number of Americans with equity in their homes increased last year. That suggests one of the biggest drags from the housing crisis is easing and could clear the way for more people to put homes on the market.

Housing starts jumped in the Northeast and Midwest, while they fell in the South and West. Permits rose in the South, West and Midwest, falling only in the Northeast.

The U.S. housing market is recovering after stagnating for roughly five years. Steady job gains and near-record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy.

In addition, more people are seeking their own homes after doubling up with friends and relatives in the recession. That’s leading to greater demand for apartments and single-family homes to rent.

– The Associated Press

DCS: More Children Died than it Said Earlier

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Service now says more children it had contact with died in both 2012 and 2011 than the agency earlier reported.

DCS officials said in January that 73 children who were brought to the department’s attention died in 2012. The agency has corrected the figure to 105 children.

Likewise, DCS said earlier that 47 children it had contact with died in 2011, but revised that figure to 91 children.

State Sen. Jim Summerville, R-Dickson, told The Tennessean counting children shouldn’t be that hard, but he hopes the latest numbers are reliable.

State Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, initially asked for the child death figures in July 2012. On Monday, Jones said she had not yet received an accurate accounting by DCS and asked that the figures be read to her over the telephone.

Newly appointed DCS Deputy Director Scott Modell said the data have been cross-checked and are now accurate.

The deaths fall into three categories. One includes children who were in the department’s custody when they died. Another group was under an active investigation by DCS. The third category includes children who had been investigated by DCS sometime during the three years prior to the deaths.

The final category now includes previously unreported death of children in the department’s juvenile justice system who were on probation with DCS or were referred by courts.

– The Associated Press