Gun Shop, Shooting Range Aims for Cordova

Point Blank Range and Gunshop, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based shooting range and firearm retail store, soon will begin construction of a new location in Cordova.

A $1.5 million permit application for new construction has been filed with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement. The application lists Point Blank Range as the tenant and owner of the 1740 Century Center Cove location; Glen P. Oxford is listed as the architect.

Founded in 2012, Point Blank operates about a dozen locations, mostly in the Midwest.

– Patrick Lantrip

Richards Nominated For County Finance Director

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has nominated Wanda Richards as director of county government’s division of Finance and Administration.

The Shelby County Commission will vote on the appointment at its March 13 meeting.

Richards currently serves as budget director in the finance and administration division. She has been with county government since joining finance and administration as a senior budget analyst in 2006. She also worked as a budget analyst in city government in the 1980s.

If approved, she would succeed Mike Swift in the key post within county government. Swift recently announced his retirement.

– Bill Dries

Baker Donelson Expands Health Care Litigation Group

Baker Donelson has expanded its Health Care Litigation Group in Memphis, adding Kay Anderson, W. Bradley Gilmer and Hugh Francis to the team.

Anderson joins Baker Donelson as of counsel and has experience representing physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and certified registered nurse anesthetists in medical malpractice defense litigation. 

Gilmer, also of counsel, represents physicians, nurses and other health care providers in professional negligence lawsuits in federal and state court. 

Francis joins as a staff attorney, representing hospitals, physicians, nurses and other health care providers in professional negligence lawsuits in federal and state court. 

The three attorneys previously were with the Hardison Law Firm.

– Andy Meek 

Memphis in May Delegation Returns From Colombia

Some members of a delegation of 48 Memphians representing the Memphis In May International Festival returned to the city from Colombia Tuesday, March 7. And others remained in Cartagena through week's end.

Colombia is the honored country for this year’s Memphis in May series of events.

The festival and the Greater Memphis Chamber hosted two events on Bogota, including a business briefing made by chamber executive vice presidents Mark Herbison and Ernest Strickland. The delegation also hosted a reception at the home of Kevin Whitaker, U.S. ambassador to Colombia.

The Memphis delegation included Jim Holt, president and CEO of the Memphis in May International Festival; Memphis City Council chairman Berlin Boyd; Shelby County Commissioner Willie Brooks; Al Lyons, CEO of RHB Innovations; Stacey McCall, CEO of ServiceMaster by Stratos; Edith Kelly-Green, owner of KGR Group; Susan Arney, Metropolitan Bank board member; Charles Dickey, chief financial officer of Landmark Bank; and Bob Craddock, partner at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.

– Bill Dries

Hickory Hill Home Depot Site Sells for $15 Million

A Dallas, Texas-based real estate investment trust has purchased a large parcel of land where a Home Depot is located in Hickory Hill for $15.7 million.

Spirit Realty Capital, doing business as Spirit Master Funding X LLC, bought the property from Allied Development of Memphis, according to a March 3 warranty deed filed with the Shelby County Register of Deeds. Mehrdad Mottahedeh signed the deed on behalf of Allied Development.

The nearly 12.5-acre property, located at 3469 Riverdale Road, is home to a 101,800-square-foot shopping center that was built in 1996 and currently is occupied by Home Depot. Though the Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2017 reappraisal information is not yet available for the Class B center, its 2016 appraisal value was $5 million.

Spirit Realty Capital manages 2,705 properties with 452 tenants in 49 states, including a large presence in Tennessee.

– Patrick Lantrip

Dedric, KJ Lawson Make AAC All-Conference Teams 

University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson and freshman K.J. Lawson were each named to an American Athletic All-Conference team.

Dedric Lawson was named to the All-Conference First Team, and K.J. Lawson to the All-Rookie Team.

Dedric was the third Tiger player in as many seasons to be named to the First Team, joining Shaq Goodwin from last season and Austin Nichols from two seasons ago. K.J. follows in the footsteps of his brother (last season) and Nichols (2014) to be named to the All-Rookie Team.

Dedric leads the Tigers in scoring (19.4), rebounding (9.9), and blocked shots (66), and is second on the team with 102 assists. He is one of eight players in the NCAA since 1992-93 to have seasons with more than 600 points, more than 300 rebounds and more than 100 assists. His rebounding average leads the American Athletic Conference, while his scoring total is second-best in the league. He also leads the AAC in double-doubles with 19.

K.J. is second on the team and third in the American Athletic Conference in rebounding (8.3), and third on the team and 21st in the conference in scoring (12.4). He has made 141-of-353 shots this season during his redshirt freshman year, and has made 80-of-115 from the charity stripe. He is third on the team with 85 assists, and has 15 steals and 13 blocked shots.

Other conference awards were to be announced at a luncheon on Wednesday, March 8.

The Tigers open play in the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, March 10, when the team faces off against the University of Central Florida in a 1 p.m. tipoff at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

– Don Wade