Artspace Lofts Gets $25,000 State Boost

The Tennessee Arts Commission has donated $25,000 to support the South Main Artspace Lofts.

The $17 million project will convert a South Main warehouse into 58 affordable apartments for working artists. Rents will range from $450 to $770, and artists will have access to studios and shared gallery space.

The grant, which will be administered locally by ArtsMemphis, will go toward the public plaza space. ArtsMemphis will use the gathering area for performances and public art exhibits.

The commission’s grant joins contributions from the city of Memphis, Educational Foundation of America and the Assisi Foundation of Memphis.

“This project will engage arts and culture in continuing to brand this Memphis neighborhood, reach underserved populations, and cement a high value partnership for Tennessee with the national nonprofit Artspace,” said Anne Pope, executive director for the Tennessee Arts Commission.

– Madeline Faber

RedBall Project Bounces Into Memphis April 28

A 250-pound red inflated ball will mark the centennial celebration at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art starting April 28.

The RedBall Project by artist Kurt Perschke moves to a different site every day through May 7, when it returns to the Brooks entrance for the formal centennial celebration of the museum’s opening.

The ball is squeezed into spaces, and spectators are encouraged to participate in its journey from one site to another.

Here’s where the RedBall will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day:

• Thursday, April 28: Memphis Brooks Museum of Art plaza, 1934 Poplar Ave.
• April 29: New Daisy Theatre, 330 Beale St.
• April 30: Beale Street Landing, 251 Riverside Drive
• May 1: 409 S. Main St.
• May 2: UTHSC Randolph Student Alumni Center, 800 Madison Ave.
• May 3: Barboro Alley, Front Street between Union and Gayoso
• May 4: Memphis College of Art, 1930 Poplar Ave.
• May 5: Hattiloo Theatre, 37 S. Cooper
• May 6: Stax Museum of American Soul Music, 926 E. McLemore Ave.
• May 7: Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1916 entrance

– Bill Dries

West Cancer Teams Up With Ovarian Cancer Foundation

West Cancer Center and the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Foundation have announced a fundraising partnership to include the annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness 5K Teal Run and Walk with the West Fight On Cycle, Run, Walk event on Sept. 17 at Shelby Farms Park.

Fight On Cycle, Run, Walk will include a 5K run and a tribute walk in conjunction with the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Foundation; cycling events to include a 18-mile ride, a 32-mile ride, a 62-mile metric century ride, a Cyclocross event; and a health and wellness expo complete with entertainment, food and beverages.

Said Ovarian Cancer Awareness Foundation president Judy Childress in a statement, “We are looking forward to joining forces with West Cancer Center and the West Fight On Cycle, Run, Walk event this year to raise much-needed funds to help with the mission to saves lives by reaching out to encourage awareness, to provide support programs for patients, survivors and caregivers; and to promote education in the fight against cancer.”

– Andy Meek

University of Memphis Adds ALSAC Call Center

The University of Memphis is building a satellite donor center to support ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The donor contact center, located in the Billy Mac Jones building at 633 Normal St., will be staffed by U of M student interns tasked with calling current and potential ALSAC donors. Twenty to 30 student internships are expected to be created as a result of the partnership.

– Madeline Faber

Faropoint Purchases Cordova Retail Center

Israel-based Faropoint Investments has made its second Memphis purchase this year. The real estate investment firm, acting as Germantown Square Retail Co., bought a Cordova shopping center from NPK Cordova LLC for $9.7 million, according to an April 15 warranty deed.

The shopping center, bearing a 1245 N. Germantown Parkway address, is anchored by L’Ecole Culinaire and Incredible Pizza Co. The 137,355-square-foot Class A facility, built in 2000, is situated on about 17 acres. The Shelby County Assessor most recently appraised it at $11.5 million.

In conjunction with the April 15 sale, Faropoint took out a $5.8 million mortgage with First Capital Bank.

– Madeline Faber

ABB Begins Shipping From Senatobia Facility

Less than four months after ABB Electrification Products announced plans for an 85,000-square-foot production facility in Senatobia, Miss., the company has shipped its first products from the new plant.

ABB, the parent company of Memphis-based electrical components maker Thomas & Betts, sent the first shipment of ProLine Panelboard products in mid-March, the company said in a statement Tuesday, April 19. In the company’s words, it was “part of a project schedule with extremely tight deadlines required by one of ABB’s customers.”

ProLine Panelboard products previously were assembled at a Wisconsin facility.

In March 2015, ABB announced it was shopping the Memphis area to build a $30 million manufacturing site. When the Senatobia facility was announced in December, ABB said the project will create 200 new jobs within three years and add 100 more within five years.

The Mississippi Development Authority granted incentives to support infrastructure needs and workforce training.

In addition to the ProLine products, the Senatobia facility will assemble a range of ABB’s other low-voltage items, including enclosed starters, solar rapid-shutdown systems, switches and disconnects, push-buttons and breaker assemblies.

Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB paid $3.9 billion for Thomas & Betts in 2012, a move that greatly expanded the conglomerate’s North American market presence for low-voltage products.

– Kate Simone

UT-Campbell Clinic Taps Department Chair

Campbell Clinic pediatric orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Beaty has been named the chair of the UT-Campbell Clinic Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

He also has been awarded the Harold B. Boyd Professorship in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Beaty, a UTHSC alumnus, is the ninth department chair since its founding in 1911. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of the department and as chairman will report directly to Dr. David Stern, the Robert Kaplan Executive Dean for the College of Medicine at UTHSC.

– Andy Meek

U of M Alumni Association To Present Awards May 21

The University of Memphis Alumni Association will present its 2016 Distinguished Alumni Awards on Saturday, May 21, beginning at 6 p.m. The event will be held at the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality & Resort Management, 3700 Central Ave.

Four individuals will be honored as Distinguished Alumni: Judge Tim J. Dwyer (BA ’76, JD ’80), General Sessions Criminal Court judge, Shelby County Drug Court; Barbara U. Prescott (BSEd ’71, MEd ’73), chair of PeopleFirst Partnership and vice president of Allie Prescott & Partners; Freddie A. Towler (BBA ’84), International Paper’s vice president of supply chain, pulp, paper and coated paperboard; and Anita Vaughn (BA ’77, MPA ’82), consultant for Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and former CEO of Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women.

DeAngelo Williams, running back for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and founder of the DeAngelo Williams Foundation, will be recognized as Honorary Outstanding Young Alumnus.

Mike and Marian Burns, community advocates and founders of Comtrak Logistics, and Willie Gregory, director of Global Community Impact for Nike Inc., will be honored as Honorary Alumni.

Visit memphis.edu/alumni/daa2016 for more information and to purchase tables and individual tickets.

– Don Wade