Fast-growing residential real estate agency Benchmark Realty has opened an office in Murfreesboro to go with its Brentwood home office. Principal Broker Mickie Howell (pictured here) is leading the location, which also is home to agents John Smith, Leslie Wright, Cindy and Matt Moore, Shauna Mason, Bobbie Jo Brewster, Tim Boyce, Brenda Walsh, Emily Flanders and Sherri Wellborn. CEO Phillip Cantrell, who launched Benchmark in the spring of 2006, says he's looking to open other offices in the Nashville area.

“We are blessed with absolutely amazing growth. Even in the down market we have continued to add nearly 15 agents each month, largely because we offer 100% commission for a fixed monthly fee. Our model allows agents to exert firm control over their expenses – something no other company offers to the extent we do. Agents tell me they come for the savings, but they stay because of the nurturing environment,” says Cantrell.

Community First Bank & Trust has struck a deal to sell its only Murfreesboro office to six-year-old Southern Community Bank for an undisclosed amount. The deal, which officials expect to close this quarter, will bring some much-needed cash into Community First. Regulators last fall told bank executives they needed to raise almost $18 million by year's end.

Melinda Hudgins reports that Murfreesboro officials have made recent progress in their talks with a big-box retailer about coming to the city. The spot in question is south of Interstate 24.

Marcus & Millichap moved a Smyrna strip center this week.

A release:

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has closed the sale of Shoppes at Movie Row, a 16,275-square-foot retail property located in Smyrna, within the Nashville MSA, according to Gary R. Lucas, managing director and regional manager of the firm’s Nashville office. The asset commanded a sales price of $3,325,000.

Joseph Massa, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Nashville office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, Investment Partners, which is managed by Bobby Kirby and Jewell Hale. The private buyer was also secured and represented by Massa.

Located at 900 Grammer Lane, Shoppes at Movie Row is adjacent to Colonial Town Park Smyrna, which is anchored by Target and Kohl’s. The strip center was built in 2008 and sold for $204 per square foot.

Charlotte-based retail holding company Cato Corp. has picked Stones River Mall to be one of the first locations for its new Versona Accessories chain, which sells women's jewelry and accessories. Cato officials recently told South Charlotte Weekly they plan to open up to 50 stores targeting higher-income women in the next year and a half.

National Health Investors has agreed to fund up to $21.5 million of the costs of a 60-bed rehabilitation and psychiatric hospital in Murfreesboro that is expected to open late next year. The facility, which will rise next to the new Middle Tennessee Medical Center, is being built by Brentwood-based Polaris Hospital and earlier this year also received some funding from local investment firm H.B. Sconyers. Polaris is run by Kevin Lee, who previously headed up SeniorHealth.