LKQ Corp. is planning to break ground in the next 30 to 45 days on an approximately $3 million self-serve facility in Nashville.

Construction will require at least four months, according to a LKQ spokeswoman. The company, which is based in Chicago and has its main local operations in La Vergne, is in the process of selecting a general contractor for the project, the spokeswoman said.

LKQ provides aftermarket, recycled and refurbished collision replacement and mechanical replacement parts, including remanufactured engines, for vehicles. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Central America, and operates more than 480 facilities, including 10 in Tennessee.

Relatedly, LKQ will hold a dedication ceremony for the Leonard “Lenny” A. Damron LKQ Leadership Institute on Thursday, May 9, at 11 a.m. at Shwab Elementary School, located at 1500 Dickerson Road. On Saturday, May 11, LKQ will participate with Shwab Elementary in a half-day Leadership Academy for the students.

Medicare Advantage specialist HealthSpring has been picked by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to manage a program that will treat dual-eligible seniors in six Chicago-area counties. HealthSpring's contract under the Illinois Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative is for three years and will coordinate care between physicians, pharmacists and behavioral and long-term care providers.

The Megabus route from Nashville to Chicago (via Indianapolis) and from Chicago to Nashville attracted about 75,000 passengers during its first six months of operations.

Dale Moser, president and chief operations officer of megabus.com parent company Coach USA, said company officials are “delighted with the passenger response.”

The Nashville/Chicago route started March 14 and represents one of four Megabus routes servicing Nashville (each no more than one year in operation). The others are Nashville/Memphis, Nashville/Knoxville and Nashville/Chattanooga/Atlanta.

Moser said the company is pleased with the four but noted the Atlanta route could use some growth. He declined to note what number Megabus officials had as a goal for the Nashville/Indianapolis/Chicago route at the six-month mark.

“We look at it on a quarterly basis,” he said. “As long as we continue to see progress each quarter, we are pleased.”

Franklin-based Acadia Healthcare is stepping into the Land of Lincoln for the first by paying $90 million in cash for Timberline Knolls, a 122-bed inpatient behavioral facility in the city of Lemont, near Chicago.

Timberline had recorded revenues approximating $33 million for the 12 months ended June 30. The facility, which Acadia execs expect will add to earnings right away, also will wrap up an 18-bed expansion late this year.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of Timberline Knolls, a growing, profitable and well-run facility to Acadia’s expanding base of inpatient psychiatric facilities,” said Joey Jacobs, Acadia’s chairman and CEO, in a release linked here.

Chicago-based Walton Street Capital has purchased Velocity in the Gulch for $37.5 million. As yet, we don't know what WSC has in store for the residential building, which is home to both owner-occupied and renter-occupied units and which opened as a condo building with retail on the ground-level floor. In fact, we don't know much about Walton Street Capital's property holdings, as the private real estate investment company's website offers no portfolio section.

But here is what we do know based on Google searches: Walton Street — with a home office on Michigan Avenue along the swanky Magnificent Mile — has deep pockets. Of note, and in addition to its impressive portfolio in Chicago, the company has owned, or owns, high-profile real estate in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Palm Beach, Fla., Scottsdale, Ariz., Seattle, Tampa and Mexico (in which it operates an office). The company has teamed with Tampa-based Landeavor LLC on various property purchases.

Not surprisingly given its status, WSC has made headlines. In 2007, WSC created a eye-popping $2.5 billion investment fund. And in 2011, the company was hit with a class-action lawsuit (read here) regarding daily fees at its exclusive PGA National Resort & Spa in South Florida.

Walton Street is led, in part, by Managing Partner Neil Bluhm, who, according to Forbes.com, hosted President Barack Obama's 49th birthday bash and is estimated to be worth more than $2 billion.

In short, a major player has entered the Nashville real estate market.

Burton Hills-based AmSurg has signed a deal to acquire a majority stake in a surgery center on the north side of Chicago for almost $8 million. Illinois regulators still need to approve the acquisition, news of which is coming to light a month after AmSurg paid $6.2 million for a majority stake in an undisclosed center. (Search the company's recent 10-Q for "July 2012.")

The doctors have agreed not to work for a competing surgical center for five years after the transaction closes, or two years after they sell their remaining ownership interests, according to the letter of intent.

Heartland Food Corp. has acquired 121 Burger King restaurant from that company's corporate arm, with 27 located in the Nashville market.

The acquisition represents Illinois-based Heartland's first foray into Tennessee. The company is the second-largest Burger King franchise owner in the world with 415 restaurants. Of the 121 Burger Kings now under its wings, 51 are located in Omaha, Neb., and 43 are in Chicago.