Investor Buys Medical Center Apartments for $6.4 Million

A Memphis investor has acquired a Memphis Medical Center apartment building for $6.4 million.

Thunderbird Towers LLC bought the 201-unit, Class C apartment building at 141 N. Manassas St., known as the Adams Place Apartments, from 750 Adams Place LLC, according to an April 13 warranty deed.

Doug Wright is the registered agent for Thunderbird Towers, and Mary Le Friant of California is the manager of 750 Adams Place LLC, according to public records.

In conjunction with the purchase, Thunderbird Towers LLC filed a $4.8 million loan with American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co., according to an April 15 deed of trust.

The 148,840-square-foot high-rise apartment building was built in 1962. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2014 appraisal is $2.1 million.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Amos Maki

Memphis Health Company Expands and Rebrands

Memphis-based Adventia LLC announced this week that it’s expanded its staff, extended its reach into Middle Tennessee, and rebranded to help employers more effectively confront chronic disease risks and health care costs.

As part of those moves, the company also has a new website, www.adventiaforlife.com, corresponding to its sharpened focus on workforce health transformation.

Kent Cooper, a veteran of companies like IBM and Burson-Marsteller, has joined the company as executive vice president of sales, and Adventia is currently looking for office and lab space in the Brentwood area of Nashville.

“The best way to treat the human and financial costs of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes is to avoid them,” said Adventia medical director Dr. David Wright. “Adventia was created to act on that prescription. Our strategic relationships with Cleveland HeartLab, Provant Health, Diagnostic Partners and PCS Medical Solutions enable us to deliver customized solutions for corporate clients of any size, anywhere in the country.”

– Andy Meek

Memphis Drug Device Company Raises $4.6M

Memphis-based drug device company Ariste Medical has raised $4.6 million, the company announced Tuesday.

The funding will go toward continued development of a drug-eluting hernia mesh intended to reduce the risk of an intra-abdominal infection.

The funding also will support product testing and regulatory filings, as well as preparation for commercialization in the U.S. and Europe upon regulatory clearance.

Dr. Timothy Fabian and Dr. Lisa Jennings, two faculty members at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and Brian Best formed Ariste Medical in 2007. In 2012, the company got initial seed funding of almost $1.3 million.

It’s been located at the Memphis Bioworks Foundation since 2012.

– Andy Meek

Chick-fil-A Offering Free Breakfast This Week

Chick-fil-A is treating Memphis to breakfast this week.

Customers of the chicken-based fast food chain can use the Chick-fil-A mobile app to reserve free breakfast entrees – their choice of a free chicken biscuit, chick-n-minis or the egg white chicken grill, a new breakfast offering the chain has been testing in Memphis for the past several months.

Customers can redeem their entrée on a chosen day through April 25 during breakfast hours, 6:30-10:30 a.m., at the participating restaurant chosen by the guest.

The offer is limited to one free entrée per customer.

– Andy Meek

Neighborhood Protection Act Headed to Gov. Haslam

A proposal that would help homeowner associations or neighborhood watch groups keep repeat offenders out of their communities is headed to the governor for his consideration.

The measure, called the “Neighborhood Protection Act,” was approved 75-16 in the House on Monday. The Senate passed the proposal 31-1 last week.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam will review the legislation when it reaches his desk.

Under the proposal, a formally recognized residential entity would be able to petition a judge for a restraining order against repeat criminals that target the inside of its boundaries.

The offender must have been convicted of three or more offenses that occurred inside the residential area.

Democratic House sponsor Antonio Parkinson of Memphis says the legislation is a tool to fight back and help maintain property values.

– The Associated Press

Nissan Launches Production of Redesigned Maxima

Nissan on Tuesday launched the production of a redesigned version of its flagship Maxima sedan that the Japanese automaker hopes will revive flagging sales.

Nissan stresses a sportier approach taken for the eighth generation of the Maxima as the company seeks to reverse a trend of struggling sales for large sedans in in recent years.

While large cars made up 5 percent of the U.S. new car market in 2000, they dropped to just 2 percent of the market last year, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank.

They have been squeezed at one end by midsize cars that have become larger and more luxurious and on the other end by the increasing popularity of small SUVs.

Between 1994 and 2000, Nissan regularly sold more than 120,000 Maximas a year, peaking at 131,182 sold in 1999. But fewer than 60,000 Maximas have been sold annually since the year after the last redesign in 2009.

By contrast, Nissan sold more than 335,000 midsize Altimas and nearly 200,000 Rogue SUVs last year, according to Autodata Corp.

More than 8,400 people work at the Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., plant that built 648,000 vehicles last year, making it the highest-producing plant in North America. The plant, which opened in 1983, makes the Altima, Maxima, Leaf, Rogue, Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60.

Nissan last month announced plans to build a new 1.5 million-square-foot logistics center next to the Tennessee plant by the end of 2017.

Nissan North America Chairman Jose Munoz has called the supplier park a key component in the company’s drive toward capturing 10 percent of the U.S. market share.

Nissan also operates a Canton, Miss., plant, which employs more than 6,000.

– The Associated Press

Egypt Central Road to Close Temporarily

Egypt Central Road will be closed Tuesday, April 28, for road construction from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The closing for road construction is 500 feet west of Singleton Parkway. Traffic will detour approximately four miles on each side of the road closure using Bolen Huse and Coleman Roads.

– Bill Dries

CDC: 10 Listeria Illnesses Now Linked to Blue Bell Foods

Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries has recalled all of its products after two samples of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream tested positive for listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria.

Federal health officials say they’re now aware of 10 listeria illnesses linked to ice cream and other products made by the company over the last five years, including three deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously reported eight illnesses from Kansas and Texas, including the three deaths in Kansas. The agency said Tuesday that two more illnesses have been confirmed in Oklahoma and Arizona.

Those sickened fell ill between January 2010 and January 2015.

The recall includes ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks distributed in 23 states, including Tennessee, and abroad because the products “have the potential to be contaminated,” according to the statement.

Listeria primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults and people with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions.

– The Associated Press