Metova names lead developer
Mobile application development firm Metova has promoted Beverly Massengill to lead developer. Massengill joined Metova in January of last year as a developer. She will continue that work but also assist and mentor other developers. Before coming to Franklin-based Metova, Massengill assisted in research on graph-based anomaly detection as a computer science graduate student at Tennessee Technological University.
Energy-efficiency rebate for Bridgestone La Vergne plant
The Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service have cut a $350,000 check to Bridgestone Americas as a reward for the energy efficiency improvements the tire maker has made in recent years at its La Vergne plant. An improved lighting system installed in 2010 has cut power consumption by 3.8 million kilowatt-hours. The cash will go into the Bridgestone Americas Environmental and Energy Strategic Fund to be applied to other conservation projects.
We crack the Top 5 once again
Forbes ranks Nashville No. 2 on its just-released The Best Cities for Jobs 2013 list. Read here.
Bond Coffee opens in Gulch
Bond Coffee Co. has opened in The Gulch. Our SouthComm Inc. colleague Dana Kopp Franklin has the details here at the Nashville Scene.
Boyle, Northwestern officials to discuss North Gulch site
Officials with Boyle Nashville LLC and Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Investments will meet next week to discuss master planning for the latter’s North Gulch site.
"We will discuss land plans to see if they are financially feasible," said Jeff Haynes, co-founder of Boyle Investment Co. and managing partner of Boyle Nashville LLC, which is working with Northwestern Mutual on the effort.
The approximately 35-acre site is now home to only one building, which houses a Porter Paints store. That building is slated for demolition this fall.
Haynes (pictured) said he fields inquiries “all the time” regarding the site.
“Some of those are not necessarily uses we think will fit into an urban project,” he said.
Read more here.
Marmon/Keystone opens Nashville-area service center
Pennsylvania-based Marmon/Keystone has opened a metals service center in Mount Juliet, near Interstate 40 and 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. This is the first Tennessee-based facility for the division of Berkshire Hathaway, which was founded in Butler, Pa., in 1907 and works with a range of local companies as well as machine and fabrication shops.
Product offerings include aluminum and stainless pipe and tubing, along with cold drawn seamless, cold rolled electric weld, drawn over mandrel and hot rolled seamless steel tubing. The 43,000 square-foot facility houses a team of four employees who operate two 10-ton overhead cranes and two fully-automated Amada band saws with a 21" OD capacity.
Late CCA guard's family sues company
Corrections Corp. of America has been sued by the family of a security guard who was killed last year during an inmate riot at the company's Natchez, Miss., facility. Relatives of Catlin Carithers say CCA's policies endangered guards by "depriving inmates of basic needs and treating them inhumanely." The company says it has worked with law enforcement officials investigating the riot and supports the prosecution of those deemed responsible.
Curtis named Nashville editor for All Access
All Access Nashville Editor Jim Asker has resigned, with Country Aircheck Vice President/Country R.J. Curtis (pictured) to fill the vacated position, effective Monday, May 20. Jessica Nicholson and MusicRow.com have the full story here.
Hill Center Acklen set for groundbreaking
The demolition is complete at 21st and Acklen avenues in Hillsboro Village, with H.G. Hill Realty Co. set to hold on Thursday, May 16, its formal groundbreaking on the Hill Center Acklen.
Construction of the residential-retail development is set to begin in eight weeks, and the company anticipates a build-out of 15 to 18 months. A delivery is expected in late 2014. In the image below, the building home to Bosco's can be seen on the far right. See more images here.
Hill Center Acklen is the first major development to be built under the Hillsboro Village urban design overlay adopted in 1999.
“We look forward to offering a quality development that complements Hillsboro Village’s eclectic feel,” said Jimmy Granbery, CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Co. “The mixed-use design provides retail options while also expanding the residential base and available parking.”
The development team partnering with H.G. Hill Realty on the project includes Manuel Zeitlin Architects, Hawkins Partners, Phipps Construction Company, Barge Cauthen & Associates, and RPM Transportation Consultants.
Equity and liquidity upgrades for LP
Analyst Steve Chercover at D.A. Davidson has hiked his rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific to 'neutral' from 'underperform' and lifted his price target to $19 from $18. The move comes after LP reported its Q1 numbers and as its shares (Ticker: LPX) have been recovering from their April swoon. At about 11 a.m. Wednesday, they were up another 3 percent to about $19.50.
Separately, Ed Sustar at Moody's Investors Service has tipped his cap to the balance sheet management of LP CEO Curt Stevens and his team. Sustar has lifted his liquidity rating for LP by a notch, citing the company's strong cash position. The company has in the past year built up its cash holdings to $561 million from $340 million at the end of 2011.
