[Johnny Ryall]

NYK Logistics heads to Goodlett Farms35,000-square-foot office lease consolidates Memphis divisions
Memphis Business Journal - by Andy Ashby

NYK Logistics Americas, Inc., is consolidating office operations into the wide open spaces of one floor in the Northeast Memphis submarket. The supply chain management company has signed a lease for 35,000 square feet at 1900 Charles Bryan Road in Goodlett Farms. It now occupies the building’s entire second floor, where it recently started leasing 30,000 square feet for its service division’s back office functions. NYK Logistics Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK Group, will now have about 250 employees at Goodlett Farms.

The second lease accommodates employees who are moving from the Southwind office campus in Southeast Memphis. These employees are involved in tracking shipments and customers for NYK Logistics. Wyatt Aiken, senior vice president for Commercial Advisors LLC, represented NYK Logistics while Commercial Alliance Management LLC senior leasing associate Bentley Pembroke represented the landlord, JP Realty Partners Ltd. “They are contiguous on one full floor and there are some efficiencies which come with that,” Pembroke says. “To my knowledge there isn’t another 65,000-square-foot floor plate available in a multi-tenant building in the market.” There could be some cost savings as well. NYK’s former office space at Southwind Building D rents for $21 a square foot while the Goodlett Farms building rents for $18.50 per square foot.

Regions Bank formerly occupied the entire 368,967-square-foot Goodlett Farms Business Campus, which includes the 1900 Charles Bryan building and the 7130 Goodlett Farms Parkway building. Regions still leases 200,000 square feet in both buildings for check processing, a call center and administrative mortgage functions. The latest NYK lease brings the entire complex to 79% occupancy. JP Realty purchased the 52-acre property in July 2008 as part of a 13-property portfolio from Regions Bank for $32 million. Grinder Taber & Grinder, Inc., filed an $800,000 building permit for commercial alterations at 1900 Charles Bryan Road. In addition to work on the second floor, the general contractor is updating common areas. The ground floor lobby is being renovated to better accommodate multiple tenants. “One of our main focuses has been working on a repeat basis with companies, so working with Commercial Alliance and NYK Logistics again fits into our strategy,” says Brett Grinder, vice president of the general contracting firm.

Grinder, Taber & Grinder has been working on renovations at the University Club and at the Racquet Club of Memphis. It’s also involved in the Visible School’s planned renovation of the former C&I Bank building at 200 Madison into a Downtown music college. “There are private organizations out there still taking advantage of the lower material and labor costs we have right now,” Grinder says. “We’ve been lucky to have a stable group of clients who give us business and while we’re nowhere near 100% capacity, we’ve been stable enough to avoid major layoffs.”

Hunter Fan Co., State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and Stratas Foods LLC also lease space at Goodlett Farms. Pembroke says executives like the business campus feel of the development, which has a lake, walking trails and a gated entrance. The property also has a backup generator, on-site food services and a fitness center. “Basically, you get abundant amenities at a great value,” he says. Once NYK Logistics’ lease at Southwind expires in November, there will be 32,000 square feet available spread across three floors, including a contiguous 20,000-square-foot space on the second floor. Highwoods Properties, Inc., which owns, manages and leases seven buildings in Southwind, is currently courting larger customers to fill the NYK Logistics space.