Cypress Realty Holdings Buys 114 Acres for $2.5 Million

An affiliate of Memphis-based real estate company Cypress Realty Holdings Co. has paid $2.5 million for 114 acres of land at the southwest corner of Walnut Grove and Houston Levee roads in unincorporated eastern Shelby County.

Cypress Realty Holdings Co. – Walnut Grove LLC bought the land in three parcels (0 Walnut Grove Road, 0 Raleigh LaGrange Road and 0 Houston Levee Road) Sept. 20 from BancorpSouth Bank.

The land is across from Briarcrest Christian School. Its largest parcel is 109.2 acres at 0 Walnut Grove Road, which has a 2013 appraised value of $1.1 million, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property.

Next is an adjacent 3.1-acre parcel at 0 Raleigh LaGrange with a $2,500 appraised value and a 1.8-acre parcel at 0 Houston Levee Road with a $100 appraised value.

In conjunction with the purchase, Cypress Realty Holdings Co. – Walnut Grove LLC, whose principals are Price Ford and Joe Jarratt, filed a $1.8 million loan through BancorpSouth Bank. Jarratt signed the trust deed as chief manager of the borrower.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports
– Daily News staff

EdR Reports Increased Occupancy at School Start

Memphis-based EdR experienced an increase in occupancy to begin the academic year.

EdR, one of the nation's largest developers, owners and managers of collegiate housing, announced Monday, Sept. 30, it opened the 2013-2014 lease term with 94.1 percent occupancy, up from 91.1 percent occupancy a year ago. The company also said same-community net rental rates increased 2 percent over last year.

"We are excited about the strong results we achieved this leasing season," said Christine Richards, senior vice president and chief operating officer. "With our high-quality portfolio and the focus of our strong management team, we were able to deliver industry-leading leasing results.”

EdR will release property-specific leasing data in the company's third-quarter earnings release, scheduled for Oct. 28.

– Amos Maki

Terminix Joins Forces With Home Goods Maker

Memphis-based Terminix has announced a strategic initiative with London Luxury, a leading manufacturer of innovative and premium home goods.

The purpose of the arrangement between London Luxury and Terminix, the world’s largest pest-control provider, is to develop a line of products to protect consumers against pests. Initial offerings include bedding and travel products to protect consumers and their possessions from insects such as bedbugs and fleas.

Terminix also recently expanded its services to include a variety of retail offerings such as the Terminix ALLCLEAR line of mosquito solutions, and London Luxury will start to partner with national retail chains to launch the new Terminix products.

– Andy Meek

Four West Tennessee Sites Declared Shovel-Ready

Four industrial sites in West Tennessee have been certified by the state as shovel-ready “Select Tennessee Certified Sites.”

The designation by the state Department of Economic and Community Development means the sites have met standards that site consultants consider essential when advising companies looking for a new location.

The sites in West Tennessee that made the list released Monday, Sept. 30, are Dyersburg Rail Site at 4500 Tenn. 211, the Interstate 40 Advantage Industrial Park Site in Brownsville, Milan Commercial Complex Garball Site in Milan and the Sandstone Village Site in Jackson.

The designations are awarded after site selection experts at Austin Consulting and Foote Consulting Group review applications to see that they meet international standards that minimize risk to developers and ensure the sites can be developed in the shortest timeframe possible.

– Bill Dries

Group Wants to Oust Tennessee GOP Head

A group seeking to deny incumbent U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander another term in office is pushing to oust the head of Tennessee's Republican Party.

The tea party group Beat Lamar demanded last week that Chairman Chris Devaney resign. Beat Lamar says Devaney violated party bylaws by signing a fundraising letter that appeared to assume Alexander would be the GOP nominee in the 2014 general election

Staffers at GOP headquarters told The Tennessean the letter was drafted before state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, announced in August that he'd take on Alexander.

Beat Lamar is now pledging to hold a series of public "conversations" in each of the 33 executive committee districts.

The group says it will start on Oct. 5 and plans to finish by the end of the year.

– The Associated Press

Mississippi Personal Income Grows Slowly in Second Quarter

Personal income growth in Mississippi trailed the nation in the second quarter, dragged down by a drop in farm income and slow growth in the service sector.

The economic measure expanded 0.5 percent, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis said Monday, ranking 44th among states. Personal income in the United States as a whole grew 1 percent from April to June.

Farm income, which can be among the most volatile parts of the measure, fell more in Mississippi than nationwide. A decrease in government transfer payments also hurt the state's performance

Personal income is all of income received from every source, including wages, business owner profits, interest, dividends, rent and government transfers. It's not the same as a measure of the overall economy, but can be a rough proxy.

– The Associated Press

Tennessee Company to Fund Housing for Mentally Ill

The UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Tennessee is providing $1 million in grants to increase housing options for Tennesseans with mental illness.

Officials say the funding will help support development of appropriate housing for people who need a place to live after being discharged from a mental health facility.

UnitedHealthcare will give $400,000 this year and $600,000 in 2014.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 245,000 adults and 65,000 children in Tennessee live with serious mental health conditions.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse's Creating Homes Initiative estimates nearly 190,000 Tennesseans with mental illness are in need of some sort of housing assistance.

– The Associated Press

Haslam: Medicaid Talks Don't Hinge on Exchange

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he sees no link between the state's approach toward the new health insurance exchange that goes live Tuesday and his ongoing efforts to negotiate a special deal for Tennessee for Medicaid expansion.

The governor told The Associated Press after a factory tour in Ashland City last week that the state isn't trying to establish any roadblocks to the exchange after having deferred to the federal government to run the insurance marketplace.

Health care advocates disagree, arguing in a lawsuit filed Friday that emergency rules enacted through the state Department of Commerce and Insurance to require background checks for people giving advice on the exchanges are too broad and have a chilling effect on people trying to help others obtain health insurance.

The lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of the League of Women Voters and several individuals by the Tennessee Justice Center.

A Haslam spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation. But the governor said before the lawsuit was filed that the background checks are a way to prevent scams and identity theft in a process that involves divulging personal information. The administration isn't trying to hinder people signing up for insurance through the exchange, he said.

"We're 100 percent not," Haslam said. "There's no way at all that Commerce and Insurance is attempting to obstruct enrollment – that's one of the things they want to make certain happens.

"But they also feel there has to be a need to make certain that citizens aren't taken advantage of in the process," he said.

The governor said he has noticed no increased federal scrutiny of the way the exchanges play out in Tennessee as the state tries to hammer out a special deal on obtaining $1.4 billion in Medicaid funding available to the state under the health care overhaul.

– The Associated Press