VOL. 133 | NO. 147 | Thursday, July 26, 2018

U of M Begins $10.6M Upgrade to Athletic Facility

Turner Construction Co. is beginning the first phase of a $10.6 million expansion and renovation of the University of Memphis’ athletic training facility on its Park Avenue campus. The project is the first segment of the Indoor Football Practice Facility, which will expand the Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex by 25,000 square feet and includes the renovation of adjacent areas within the complex.

The football team and other Tigers squads use the facility for training. The project is expected to be complete in a year.

The new space will include a multipurpose room, team training room, rehab and recovery stations, hot and cold therapy pools, coaches’ locker room and equipment storage on the first floor, along with coaches’ offices, recruiting and support spaces on the second floor. Also working on the project: Fleming Architects, Burr & Cole Consulting Engineers Inc. (civil/structural) and HNA Engineering PLLC (mechanical/plumbing/electrical).

The Tigers ranked in the top 25 for the final nine weeks of the 2017 season. The team is coming off a West Division title in the American Athletic Conference and has appeared in four consecutive bowl games heading into the 2018 season.

“As Memphis Athletics continues to grow into a top-tier national sports program, we knew that we needed a facility that will enable our student-athletes to train to their highest potential,” said Tony Poteet, assistant vice president of campus planning and design for the University of Memphis.

– Don Wade

American Snuff Gives to Agape’s Homeless Ministry

The Memphis-based maker of Grizzly dipping tobacco is supporting nonprofit efforts to help families fleeing domestic violence.

American Snuff Co., a Memphis-based manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products, recently donated $10,000 to local nonprofit Agape Child & Family Services’ Families in Transition (FIT) program, which serves homeless and imminently homeless families, particularly those fleeing domestic violence.

The funds will support Agape in providing homeless families with transitional housing, counseling, life skills, parenting skills, job readiness training, education support and budgeting guidance.

“This generous support will help homeless families in Memphis on their path to self-sufficiency,” said David Jordan, president and CEO of Agape Child & Family Services. “We are honored that gifts from community partners like American Snuff Co. allow us to expand and deepen our services so that we can reach even more local families.”

In the past year, Agape has served 156 homeless and imminently homeless individuals. The FIT program is intentionally housed in apartment communities in under-resourced areas including Frayser, Hickory Hill and Whitehaven. Of the families served by Agape’s FIT program in the past year, none of the families returned to homelessness and 100 percent of the children served by the program were promoted to the next grade level.

– Daily News staff

ServiceMaster Names American Home Shield CFO

Memphis-based ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. has named Brian K. Turcotte as chief financial officer of American Home Shield ahead of the spinoff of AHS.

Turcotte comes to the post from being vice president of investor relations and treasurer for ServiceMaster. He has also served as business unit chief financial officer for American Home Shield and the Franchise Services Group. Turcotte was also heavily involved in ServiceMaster’s initial public offering in 2014.

ServiceMaster is preparing to spinoff the home warranty business .

– Bill Dries

Downtown Slider Inn Location Moves Forward

A building permit application was filed July 24 for renovations to an existing building at 363 Mulberry St. for tenant Slider Inn.

Last September, the Memphis Landmarks Commission approved plans for the restaurant in the South Main Historic Arts District.

The July 24 permit was valued at $800,000. Archimania was listed as the architect, Ybos & Sons Construction Inc. was listed as the general contractor.

The single-story building was once home to a vintage automobile storage and service garage.

– Daily News staff

$3.5M Building Permit for Former Toof Building

The Toof American Digital building on Cooper Street could be the latest vacant Midtown property to be revitalized.

Grinder Taber & Grinder Inc. has filed a $3.5 million permit to renovate the former Toof building at 670 S. Cooper St. for a new tenant.

In January, Lehman-Roberts Co., a Memphis-based highway paving company that has served the Mid-South for nearly 80 years, bought the 3.3-acre light manufacturing site for $2.3 million.

Earlier this year, Toof moved from its namesake building in Midtown to a 24,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility off of Lamar Avenue, as reported by The Memphis Daily News in April.

Toof’s five-year lease negotiation involved NAI Saig Co. vice president and business manager Hank Martin on behalf of landlord Net Magan, and Henry Stratton of Colliers International representing Toof.

Steve Landwehr, a principal at Fleming Architects, is listed as the architect for the renovation of the Toof building. Lehman-Roberts is listed as a client on Fleming’s website.

Across the street, Memphis-based architecture firm Archimania is renovating the former home of the Sheet Metal Workers Union’s office into a mixed-use office development.

Local creative firm Loaded For Bear has signed a long-term lease to occupy 3,500 square feet of an adjoining former insurance office.

Lehman-Roberts Co. employs about 350 people between its two asphalt manufacturing plants in Shelby County and six in Mississippi, and its sister company Memphis Stone & Gravel Co.’s six local sand and gravel mines.

– Daily News staff

City Council Holds Off on Sale of Lamar Fire Station

The Memphis City Council delayed a vote Tuesday, July 24, on the sale of a city fire station at the intersection of Lamar Avenue, Kimball and Pendleton for $307,000 to a developer who wants to build a convenience store-gas station at the site.

Council member Jamita Swearengen, whose district includes the area, said she was concerned about another convenience store with gas pumps at the intersection.

The council approved the sale of two other pieces of surplus city property including a former police horse stable on Barksdale Street near Union Avenue for $406,000 to Lexington Asset Management. The Memphis company plans to renovate the circa 1910 two-story building and use it as the company’s executive officers. The second property is the former offices of the city’s Division of Housing and Community Development at 701 N. Main St. bought by Wolf River Harbor Holdings LLC for $452,500 as part of a larger multi-family development along the eastern side of the harbor.

In other planning and development items, the council approved an 11-lot single family residential development at the northwest corner of Kirby Parkway and Sulgrave Drive, a parking area on two vacant lots on the southwest corner of Valleybrook Drive and Alladin Avenue and a six-lot single-family residential development at 5499 Park Ave.

– Bill Dries

Local Sushi Chain Renovating Old TGI Fridays

A plumbing permit has been filed to begin remodeling the closed TGI Fridays on Winchester Avenue.

The permit was filed by North Eastern Plumbing Co. LLC and did not provide additional details other than a description of “remodel restaurant.”

The property is owned by Redfish & Co. Inc., a chain of Asian and sushi restaurants owned by Shon and Dana Lin.

The Lins bought the vacated restaurant under the name Lin’s Investments LLC for $1.5 million in February. They then sold it to Redfish & Co. in May for the same price.

The Lins own Redfish Sushi & Asian Bistro locations in Memphis, Lakeland and Olive Branch, Mississippi.

The Memphis location, in the former 19th Century Club building on Union Avenue, was previously Izakaya, an upscale French-Asian concept that has since been rebranded as a Redfish.

– Daily News staff