Commercial Real Estate in Memphis and our Galaxy

From Fin 24 via The Drudge Report: Everyone’s favorite Billionaire is building in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem - Real estate tycoon Donald Trump said on Sunday he will build a “Trump Tower” in Tel Aviv, his first investment in Israel in what would be the largest building in the country.

Trump, along with US-based Crescent Heights Investments, will build the 70-storey tower of luxury apartments on the site of the current headquarters of food company Strauss-Elite, across from the Diamond Exchange, at a cost of about $300m, they said in a statement.

I haven’t watched more than one or two episodes of The Apprentice since its first season. From what I hear, all NBC has going on these days is My Name Is Earl and The Office, so I’m glad the whole “Real Estate Developer” thing is still working out for The Donald. There’s a lesson in that for all the John Stamos’s and Jason Priestlys of the world: If Hollywood dries up, there’s always a career in international real estate waiting for you.

This from the Chicago Tribune.

Many real estate brokerage firms band together to set prices, a consumer group said in a report released Monday.

The brokerage firms work together to maintain commissions charged home sellers at 6 percent to 7 percent and to maintain control of multiple listing services of homes for sale, according to the report by Consumer Federation of America.

"Many traditional real estate brokerage firms, and their organizations, function as a cartel that tries to set prices and restrict service options," said Stephen Brobeck, the federation's executive director.

Point number one: What are you talking about?

"Cartel"? You can't throw that word around. When you hear that word, it's usually right after "Drug". Trade associations are not "Cartels". Watch your mouth.

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There's a story on the front page of The Commercial Appeal about the FedEx Forum parking garage snafu. I wrote a short post about it a few days ago.

The Grizzlies say blame for the FedExForum garage controversy shouldn't be parked at their curb.

"We were not a party to defrauding anybody. In fact, we were told that this was OK," franchise attorney Stan Meadows said Monday about seemingly conflicting contracts signed by the city.

"There was a discussion of this when the garage was being built," Meadows said. "We had some meeting where I said, 'Are you guys sure this can be done?' I was assured it could be done."

Meadows didn't recall who gave the assurance, but said it might have been attorneys representing the city. Former City Atty. Robert Spence last week said he interpreted the federal regulation to mean that the city, county or New Memphis Arena Public Building Authority couldn't make a profit on the garage — but a third party, such as the Grizzlies, could.

I have never seen leadership like we have in Memphis. Never.

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I ran across this article in the New York Times archives, thanks to Google Alerts.

It is not uncommon for tourists to show up at Annette Neal's apartment at a public housing project here and ask to look inside. Dutifully, she walks them through her ant- and roach-infested kitchen, past an oven that does not work, and then down a dark, damp hallway to what remains of a bedroom.

"Elvis slept here," Ms. Neal said. "This was his bedroom when he was a teen-ager." Read more »

The latest on Libertyland from The Commercial Appeal:

Libertyland could reopen under new management on July 4 — the park's 30th anniversary — according to the grassroots group Save Libertyland.

Steven Mulroy said Tuesday it would take "just minimal cooperation by the city."

Specifically, Mulroy and Save Libertyland want the city to assert ownership rights on all the park's rides and stop the June 21 auction planned by Mid-South Fair officials.

There are indications, however, that the city may not press ownership claims on rides other than the Grand Carousel and the Zippin Pippin.

The short story is Read more »

There's a short story in The Commercial Appeal about a fire on Highway 64, East of I-40.

An early morning warehouse fire destroyed a four-wheel-drive and ATV business Tuesday in northeast Shelby County, causing nearly $1 million in damages, fire officials estimate.

The owner of the business, John Walls Jr., said he got a call from the alarm company, then watched as smoke, fire and explosions tore through his business near Eads.

That happened on Tuesday morning, June 13th. I drove by it this morning at about 6:00 and they still had fire fighters and police officers on scene, doing their post-fire investigation.

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There's a column in the L.A. Times about an "urban farm" in the middle of Los Angeles that former somebody Daryl Hannah has taken an interest in.

Former mermaid Daryl Hannah said recently she didn't know there was a farm in South-Central Los Angeles until she got a phone call from a woman named Butterfly. This was back when Joan Baez was living up a tree on the same farm and singing folk songs, and I'd like to thank all of them for their contribution to the first paragraph of this column.

Hannah was being plucked from what may have been that same tree Tuesday as I arrived on the scene. Helicopters hovered overhead and there were enough police on hand to invade Mexico.

The writer, Steve Lopez, mentions Hannah is a "former mermaid". If you were born before 1970, I would guess you think of Daryl Hannah as the mermaid from "Splash" with Tom Hanks and Eugene Levy. If you were born after 1970, you think of Hannah (if you think of her at all) as the one-eyed assassin Elle Driver from Quinten Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies.

C-List celebrities aside, the urban farm eviction story is pretty interesting. 40 People got arrested at the final showdown.

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Guess which leader of the free world is a fan of Elvis? Prime Minister Koizumi! He’s coming to the US in June to visit the King. From The Commercial Appeal:

President Bush may act as a Graceland guide to Japanese Prime Minister and self-described Elvis “maniac” Junichiro Koizumi later this month when the two jet in to Memphis on Air Force One, according to Japanese press accounts.

According to Graceland spokesman Kevin Kern, who could not confirm the plans, it would be the president’s first visit to pay tribute to Elvis Presley at the home where Presley died in 1977. The president’s last visit to Memphis was in March 2005 to talk about Social Security.

Before I lived in Memphis, I drove through town several times doing the tourist thing. My favorite part of the trip was schlupping around in the gift shops around Graceland. I hope President Bush takes Koizumi into one or two of them. Maybe while they’re in town they could swing by Beale Streets’ newest establishment.

In seperate instances, two neighborhood groups banded together and prevented development in their backyard. From The Commercial Appeal:

In separate victories for Memphis neighborhood groups, the Land Use Control Board on Thursday turned down proposals to subdivide a lot in Hein Park and rezone a tract on Lamar to accommodate a motel.

Both votes were unanimous, upholding planning-staff recommendations that the projects be rejected as potential threats to surrounding residential areas.

Check out the local "celebrity" that was on one of the committees:

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The Commercial Appeal had a short blurb on the Chicks:

The Dixie Chicks' Accidents & Accusations Tour apparently won't be stopping at FedExForum, after all.

That's according to a report by Billboard.com, which said ticket sales were lagging in several Southern markets. The band angered many of its country fans by criticizing President Bush three years ago.

The Sept. 27 Memphis show remained on the band's Web site. But Billboard reported, "The plug was pulled on public on-sales for shows in Oklahoma City (Sept. 26), Memphis (Sept. 27) and Houston (Sept. 30) because of tepid pre-sales in a national promotion with Target stores. The Memphis show has been pulled off the route and the status of the shows in Houston and Oklahoma City remains uncertain."

More from Billboard if you're a Dixie Chick hater:

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