Peppertree Apartments Owner Files $3 Million Loan

The owner of the 306-unit Peppertree Apartments at 4243 Graceland Drive in Whitehaven has filed a $3.2 million loan on the property.

Pepper Tree Memphis Ltd., an affiliate of Germantown-based Tesco Properties, filed the multifamily deed of trust, assignment of leases and rents and security agreement May 1 through Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC. Tesco Chief Operating Officer and President Larry Sisson signed the trust deed.

Built in 1972, the Class D apartment complex contains 271,314 square feet in multiple buildings that sit on 18.6 acres along the west side of Graceland Drive at its intersection with Finley Road.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $2.4 million.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Resource Entertainment Group Turns 10

Resource Entertainment Group is celebrating a birthday this year.

The business, which creates live music events around the Memphis area, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2014. Clients over the years have included the RiverArts Festival and the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, FedEx and both the Madison Hotel and Peabody hotel, with one of the latest additions being Thursdays Squared.

That’s the new music series on Thursdays at Overton Square. The inaugural event April 17 drew a crowd of more than 1,100 to the Tower Courtyard.

– Andy Meek

Senatobia Furniture Factory to Close

A furniture factory that was once had more than 1,000 employees in Senatobia is closing.

Chromcraft Revington laid off as many as 200 employees earlier this month, leaving the furniture maker and distributor with about 30 employees to wind down its operations.

E.E. Wang, a spokeswoman for the company, said that the company's primary lender demanded repayment of its loans, prompting the shutdown.

She says Chromcraft Revington plans to fulfill current orders and will provide an update on its future plans. When asked if Chromcraft Revington has filed for bankruptcy, Wang said "not to my knowledge." She says the company is examining all options, including a potential sale.

The company sold commercial and home furniture under the Chromcraft, Cochrane, Peters-Revington and CR Kids & Beyond brands.

The company was bought last year by Sport-Haley Holdings, which sells woman's golf clothing, for $3.45 million, after its own managers failed in a purchase attempt. Sport-Haley, in turn, is controlled by North & Webster LLC, a Massachusetts-based investment group.

Under new ownership, operations in West Lafayette, Ind., were closed. In April, Sport-Haley said it had moved headquarters and warehouse operations to Senatobia from Indiana, making "extensive headcount and expense reductions." The company said it was trying to sell its business furniture business, which accounted for more than $1 million in losses in 2013, with an eye to reaching profitability during the 2015 budget year.

Those plans were apparently disrupted when loans were called.

– The Associated Press

US Home Prices Rise at Slower Rate in March

U.S. home prices rose in March, but the gains are decelerating as fewer Americans can afford to buy.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 12.4 percent in March compared with 12 months earlier. While healthy, that rate of growth has slowed from both February and January.

Home prices rose in 19 of the 20 cities in March compared with the previous month, with only New York registering a slight decline, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday. Leading the gains was San Francisco with a 2.4 percent monthly increase, while prices in Seattle, another hub for technology firms, rose 1.9 percent.

The housing market has struggled in recent months, after notching strong growth in the first half of 2013.

Rising prices and higher interest rates beginning in the middle of last year made homes less affordable for would-be buyers.

Meanwhile, a limited supply of homes is available to buy. New construction has focused increasingly on rental apartments, instead of single-family homes. And 9.7 million Americans are stuck in homes worth less than their mortgage debts, making them reluctant to sell, according to the real estate data firm Zillow.

The price gains over the past 12 months were the "result of a witch's brew," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. It was made possible by the lows of the housing bust that began in 2007, the historically low mortgage rates and a limited supply of homes on the market.

– The Associated Press

Durable Goods Orders Up 0.8 Percent in April

Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods advanced for a third month in April, but much of the strength came from a big surge in demand for military aircraft. Orders in a category that signals business investment plans fell by the largest amount in three months.

Orders for durable manufactured goods rose 0.8 percent from the previous month after a 3.6 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The April strength stemmed from a big jump in demand for defense goods including airplanes. Excluding defense, orders would have fallen 0.8 percent in April.

The April result supports the view that the economy stands to benefit in the coming months from increased production at factories, which should bolster growth and spur further hiring.

Orders for core capital goods, a category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans, fell 1.2 percent in April. It was the weakest showing since a 1.9 percent January drop.

The harsh winter dragged overall economic growth to a barely discernible 0.1 percent in the January-March quarter. That figure will be updated on Thursday, and many economists believe it could slip into negative territory.

– The Associated Press