FedEx HQ Sold for $22M; New Walgreens Coming to East Memphis

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Escondido, Calif.-based Realty Income Corp. has purchased the FedEx corporate headquarters, paying $22.6 million. According to a report by The Memphis Daily News, Realty Income acquired the Class A office asset through affiliate Terraza 9 LLC. The 942 S. Shady Grove Road asset was purchased from Poway, Calif.-based Norman FX World LLC, through a special warranty deed.

Realty entered the Memphis market in December 2012 with two purchases. It picked up the Herbalife International of America Inc. distribution center at 5025 Crumpler Road in Hickory Hill, paying $16.6 million for the 131,672-square-foot facility. Realty acquired the asset through affiliate Terazza 2 LLC also through a special warranty deed, from Memphis Herb GP, an affiliate of Cardinal Industries. Realty Income also acquired the Arlington Advance Auto Parts store in early December 2012. Operating as Realty Income Properties 18 LLC, it paid $1.1 million to a Roanoke, Va.-based company for the 6,708-square-foot asset.

In other news, Walgreen Co. announced it plans to open a location in early 2015. According to the Memphis Business Journal, the Deerfiel, Ill.-based chain will be replacing its current Ike’s location at 5040 Park Ave. with a newly constructed drug store at Poplar and White Station.

Walgreens reportedly inked a 25-year lease for 1.6-acre, two-parcel site with an option to increase the lease to up to 75 years. The property, owned by the Erb family currently holds a Bank of America building and an Exxon gas station. The new 14,500-square-foot Walgreens will feature a drive-thru pharmacy and will be built by Priester & Associates, Inc. Groundbreaking is set for April 2013 with a completion date of January 2014.

In further retail news, Agree Realty Corporation purchased three single-tenant assets leased to leading retailers. The purchase included a 6,000-square-foot AutoZone in North Las Vegas, a 20,707-square-foot Dollar General Market in Statham, Georgia and an 8,320-square-foot Family Dollar in Memphis. Agree paid $6.4 million for the portfolio, which has a remaining average lease term of 13 years.

Agree Realty’s acquisition and development focus is primarily on single-tenant properties net leased to industry-leading retail tenants. It owns and operates a 113-asset portfolio of over 3.3 million square feet of gross leasable space.

Image credit: Google Maps

Total vacancy rate hart on office assets courtesy of CBRE Memphis