Tennessee Board of Regents Approves Tuition Hike

The Tennessee Board of Regents has approved a 2.6 percent increase for in-state tuition rates at the community colleges and Tennessee Applied Colleges of Technology it governs.

The Regents approved the tuition hikes, which take effect with the 2017-2018 academic year, during a Friday, June 23, quarterly meeting in Harriman, Tennessee.

The increase brings the annual tuition for a student at Southwest Tennessee Community College taking 30 credit hours – 15 per semester – to $4,347. It brings the tuition at Dyersburg State Community College to $4,331 per year.

Tuition at the city’s two TCATs goes to $3,737 for an academic year.

For community college students taking 15 credit hours per semester, the percentage increase translates to a $51 increase per semester. Full-time students at the TCATs will pay $90 more for three trimesters, which are a full academic year in the technical colleges.

Columbia State Community College is the only Regents campus to raise its non-tuition mandatory fees for full-time students.

The tuition hike is the lowest for community colleges and technical schools in 25 years and the third consecutive year that tuition hikes at the schools have been at 4 percent or lower.

– Bill Dries

$18.5 Million Permit Filed For Central Station Project

The developers of the Central Station, located at 545 S. Main St., filed an $18.5 million building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to convert the existing building from residential apartments to a hotel.

The Robins & Morton Group was listed as the contractor on the permit, while Kemmons Wilson Cos. was listed as the tenant and Central Station Collaborative as the owner.

The permit is the latest step in the $55 million redevelopment project, which includes a boutique hotel, apartments, restaurants, retail and significant infrastructure and landscaping improvements to the surrounding South Main area spearheaded by Henry Turley Co. and Community Capital.

Most recently, a $5 million building permit application for the foundation of a new seven-screen movie theater at 45 E. G.E. Patterson St. was filed in March.

– Patrick Lantrip

Developers Pull $6M Permit For New Downtown Hotel

A long-awaited Downtown hotel project finally takes a step forward.

The Beale Street Hotel Group has filed a $6 million building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to build a new 115-room hotel across from AutoZone Park, home of the Memphis Redbirds.

Hospitality Builders of America was listed as the contractor and tenant.

Located at 235 Union Ave., the 1.2-acre site is currently a parking lot. It was appraised for $1.4 million this year.

In September 2013, Nitinkumar Patel purchased the property for $1.4 million, according to Shelby County property records. And in December of that same year, Turkey Creek Hospitality signed a licensing agreement with Hilton Worldwide to develop a 140-room Hilton Garden Inn at 235 Union Ave., the site of a former structured parking facility at the corner of Union and Fourth Street. Knoxville-based Turkey Creek Hospitality would own and operate the new hotel, records showed.

– Patrick Lantrip

Cordova Shopping Center Inks Tenant Wing King

The Wolf River Commons Shopping Center, located at 420 S. Germantown Parkway, is now fully leased as a three-year, $69,459 deal will bring a Wing King into the last 1,335-square-foot bay.

Daniel McPhail with NAI Saig Co. negotiated the lease on behalf of the tenant, Yuanos Lewis, while Brian Califf, also with NAI Saig, represented the landlord, Wolf River Commons 8, LLC.

Built in 2003, the Wolf River Commons Shopping Center is located near Germantown Parkway’s intersection with South Walnut Bend Road in Cordova. It is anchored by a Lowe’s and is also home to Wolf River Popcorn.

– Patrick Lantrip

Restaurant Chosen for New Laurelwood Bookstore

The soon-to-open bookstore in Laurelwood Shopping Center is getting a restaurant called Libro, an Italian word for “book.”

Sabine Bachmann, who owns the restaurants Ecco in Overton Park and Fratelli’s at Memphis Botanic Garden, is bringing the restaurant to the East Memphis bookstore.

Thanks to the new bookstore and Libro, as well as new retailers J. McLaughlin and Babcock Gifts, Laurelwood is now almost filled to capacity. The shopping center also just finished a large renovation project, doing away with the tan and green colors for a sleeker new look.

The center now features gray tones with clean awnings and European stone that adorns the columns. The shopping center is also peppered with new planters to beautify the outdoor walkways.

– Andy Meek