Pinnacle Apartments Sell for $3.8 Million

An affiliate of Woodbury, N.Y.-based CLK Properties has paid $3.8 million for the 118-unit Pinnacle Apartments at 305 S. Bellevue Blvd. in Midtown.

Pinnacle Apartments Property Owner LLC bought the Class C, 18-story multifamily tower in an April 8 warranty deed from Bellevue Tower II LLC. That company bought the property in 2004 from Bellevue Tower LLC for $2.3 million.

Built in 1970 and formerly known as the Bellevue Tower Apartments, the 177,698-square-foot high-rise complex features 84 one-bedroom units and 34 two-bedroom units and includes an adjacent parking garage. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $2.1 million.

Pinnacle Apartments Property Owner filed a $3.4 million deed of trust, assignment of leases and rents and security agreement through JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. Craig Koenigsberg, CEO of CLK Properties, signed the trust deed on behalf of the borrower.

This marks another recent addition to CLK’s Memphis portfolio. The company in March bought the 100-unit Georgian Woods Apartments at 118 St. Agnes Drive in Midtown for $3.9 million. And last year it paid $49.2 million for the 972-unit Country Squire Apartments in Cordova.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Neely’s Eyeing Memphis Comeback

After leaving the local restaurant scene nearly two years ago, Neely’s Bar-B-Que could be making a comeback to Memphis.

Tony Neely has applied for a development loan to help revive the original Neely’s restaurant at 670 Jefferson Ave. in the Victorian Village area just west of the Medical Center.

Tony Neely has applied for a $67,500 development loan from the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Center City Development Corp. to help facilitate the estimated $325,000 redevelopment of the building. DMC staff has recommended a $49,000 loan, which carries a discounted interest rate.

Tony Neely, who operated the Neely’s location in Nashville, is the brother of Patrick Neely, who stars with his wife, Gina, in the Food Network’s “Down Home with the Neelys.”

The Neelys closed the Jefferson Avenue store, which opened in 1988, and the restaurant at 5700 Mt. Moriah Road in October 2012.

Tony Neely would be taking over the Jefferson Avenue space from Monsieur Demarcus French Creperie, which is moving to 1329 Madison Ave. in Midtown.

The CCDC meets Wednesday, April 16, at 9 a.m.

– Amos Maki

Artist Chosen for Broad Avenue Water Tower

The Broad Avenue water tower artist has been chosen.

Suikang Zhao was announced as the winner of the Broad Avenue Water Tower Public Art Project at the recent MemFeast event, securing a $70,000 grant to produce his vision.

His proposal called for a combination of 2-D and 3-D artwork with colored LED lights, and the goal is for installation to be completed by the Broad Avenue Art Walk in October.

– Andy Meek

Lakeland Annexation Opponents Present Petition

Opponents of an annexation of parts of northeast Shelby County by the city of Lakeland were to take a petition Tuesday, April 15, to the Lakeland mayor and board of commissioners.

The petition, signed by hundreds of landowners in the area that includes Bolton High School, is a response to a petition by 52 citizens in January requesting the annexation.

The petition prompted the commissioners to approve funding for an annexation feasibility study.

The area under discussion is 35 square miles and comes as Lakeland and the county’s five other suburbs prepare to start their own school systems in August.

Shelby County Schools will take in the city of Memphis and all unincorporated areas of Shelby County with the demerger.

Lakeland’s school system is the smallest among the six suburbs, with its only school being Lakeland Elementary.

If the annexation goes through, Bolton High – which is crucial to Shelby County Schools’ plans for that part of the county – would not automatically become part of the Lakeland Schools district. Instead, the two school systems would begin negotiations.

In negotiations that produced settlements on school buildings last year, Shelby County Schools retained four schools – three within Germantown’s borders and one in Millington.

– Bill Dries

Tennessee Revenues Improve but Still Fall Short

Tennessee revenue collections are showing signs of improvement, but are still well below expectations.

The state's general fund collections came in $4 million short of projections in March, which reflects economic activity in the previous month.

Corporate franchise and excise taxes were $12 million below the budgeted estimate for the month, though sales taxes exceeded expectations by $9 million.

Through the first eight months of the budget year, general fund collections have come up $264 million short of projections. The poor revenue collections led the Republican-controlled Legislature to cancel planned raises for teachers and state employees in the state's $32.4 billion annual budget plan passed last week.

– The Associated Press

Strong Beer Sales Bill Headed to Governor

A bill to allow stronger beer to be sold in Tennessee supermarkets and convenience stores is headed for Gov. Bill Haslam's desk.

The House voted 72-12 on Monday to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Ryan Haynes of Knoxville. The Senate last week passed its version sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro on a 22-7 vote.

Current law allows any beer stronger than 5 percent by weight – or about 6.3 percent by the more common measure of alcohol by volume – to only to be sold in liquor stores. The bill would raise that limit to 8 percent by weight, or about 10 percent by volume.

The change would take effect in 2017.

– The Associated Press

Override of Local Bans of Guns in Parks Fails

A bill seeking to do away with city and county governments' power to ban firearms in parks, playgrounds and ball fields has failed for the year.

The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Tilman Goins of Morristown did not emerge from the House Finance Subcommittee before the panel closed for the year on Monday night.

The Legislature in 2009 gave city and county governments the ability to opt out of a new law that allowed people with state-issued handgun carry permits to bring their firearms into state and local parks.

The Senate passed its version of the bill to eliminate that local control on 26-7 vote in February. But the House version got caught up on the bill's estimated $38,000 price tag.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam was among the bill's opponents.

– The Associated Press