Hillview Village Apartments Sell for $5.9 Million

The 265-unit Hillview Village Apartments at 2051 E. Alcy Road in the Defense Depot neighborhood have sold for $5.9 million.

An entity called 2013 Hillview LP, which is affiliated with Dallas-based Eureka Multifamily Group, bought the apartment complex in a March 27 special warranty deed from Alcy Partners LP.

Built in 1969, the Class D multifamily property contains 223,719 square feet in multiple buildings on 19.5 acres along the south side of Alcy Road west of Airways Boulevard and Interstate 240. The special warranty deed also lists an address of 2119 E. Alcy Road.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $3.3 million.

No financing was associated with the purchase.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

First Tennessee Bank Expands to Houston

Memphis-based First Tennessee Bank has expanded to Houston.

The company has tapped longtime Houston banker Gary Olander to be its Houston market president. He joined First Tennessee March 25 and is building a team of top Houston bankers for First Tennessee.

Already, First Tennessee bankers have built strong relationships with several large Houston businesses, the company said.

Olander said he liked First Tennessee’s model of hiring experienced local bankers rather than buying banks to fuel an expansion.

– Andy Meek

Tate Uncontested in Tennessee Senate Race

The day after the filing deadline for the August state and federal primaries, Democratic state Sen. Reginald Tate became an uncontested incumbent, winning another four-year term representing District 33.

Possible primary challenger E. Jefferson Jones disappeared from the Shelby County Election Commission’s listing of contenders Friday, April 4, the day after the filing deadline. Jones’ bid to run for a County Commission seat was derailed last month when the election commission ruled that she didn’t live in the district.

Meanwhile, former Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn’s petition to run in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate was reviewed and certified in Nashville the day after the filing deadline. He is one of eight challengers in the August GOP primary to incumbent U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.

In other post-filing deadline action, Cookie Drake’s petition to run for District 6 on the Shelby County Schools board was disqualified after election commission staffers examined the signatures on her petition. And David Winston’s petition was accepted in the District 5 school board race that matches Winston against former Memphis City Council member Scott McCormick.

– Bill Dries

Haslam Unveils $1.5 Billion Transportation Plan

Gov. Bill Haslam and Transportation Commissioner John Schroer have released the state's three-year, $1.5 billion transportation program.

The Haslam administration said the plan unveiled Thursday takes a conservative approach because of uncertainty over future federal transit funding. It contains no money to pay for early engineering work on new projects.

The spending plan includes $600 million to maintain, replace or repair roads and bridges around the state. It also envisions interstate projects, including truck climbing lanes, interchanges and capacity expansion on major routes.

The three-year program runs from 2015 to 2017.

About half of the state's transportation budget comes from the federal government, while most of the rest is generated from the state's tax on gasoline.

– The Associated Press

Alexander has $3.1 Million for Senate Campaign

Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander raised $614,000 in the first quarter, leaving him with $3.1 million on hand for his bid for a third term.

Alexander said he received formal notification on Thursday that he has qualified for the Aug. 7 primary. His eight opponents in the GOP nomination contest include state Rep. Joe Carr of Murfreesboro and former Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn.

Four candidates have filed to run for the Democratic nomination, including Knoxville attorneys Gordon Ball and Terry Adams, and Gary Davis and Larry Crim of Nashville.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has three challengers, including perennial candidate Basil Marceaux and Mark "Coonrippy" Brown, who is angry at the state for confiscating his pet raccoon.

– The Associated Press

Health Care Bill Helps Add 3 Million to Medicaid

Three million Americans signed up for Medicaid under President Barack Obama's new health care law as of the end of February, the administration said Friday, offering its first full accounting of how much the safety-net health program has grown since implementation of the law.

Many were newly eligible because of the law's Medicaid expansion, while others already eligible but not yet enrolled came forward due to publicity around the law and its requirement for individuals to carry insurance or risk paying a fine, analysts said. It brings to around 62 million the total number of people covered under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The 3 million figure is incomplete because a handful of states didn't report their numbers, and it doesn't include sign-ups in March.

But together with the administration's announcement earlier this week that more than 7 million Americans had signed up for private insurance through the law's new online marketplaces, it allows administration officials to boast that the nation's new health care program has already covered 10 million uninsured Americans even in the face of unflagging Republican opposition.

"The increase in Medicaid enrollments across the country is encouraging, but more work is left to do to ensure that the millions of uninsured Americans eligible for these programs gain coverage," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a blog post.

About half the states have accepted a Medicaid expansion in the health law, and Sebelius said the administration would continue to work to get more states on board. And although open enrollment just ended for the private health plans offered through the health law's online exchanges, people can sign up for Medicaid anytime.

Three million is significantly lower than the number of people the administration previously said were "determined eligible" for Medicaid under the law. But the new number sifts out duplicate applications and renewals to arrive at a solid figure.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 8 million Americans will sign up for Medicaid under the law by the end of this year, leaving the administration work to do to capture 5 million more people to reach that goal.

– The Associated Press