Contact:
Melinda Medlin or Amy Koppel
Thompson & Baker
901/527-8000

or

Andrew J. Groveman
Belz Enterprises
901-767-4780

Peabody Place Continues to Fuel Growth of Downtown-Based Businesses

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, February 2, 2000 - McCarty Travel is the latest company to expand their operation in the Peabody Place Development.

McCarty Travel has experienced rapid growth since moving to Peabody Place last year. Originally leasing 1,200 square feet at Peabody Place, the agency recently expanded to include an additional 1,100 square feet allowing it to launch a department specializing in incentive and group travel.

“I think a large portion of our success is based on our location,” said Beth McCarty, president, McCarty Travel. “By being downtown, we’ve been able to attract both corporate customers and walk-in vacation customers. With so many wonderful restaurants in the area and with the redevelopment of the Main Street Mall, our walk-in traffic has steadily increased. Corporate traffic is good because there is a willingness in downtown to support your business neighbors. The attitude here is that we all want the redevelopment to succeed.”

McCarty also said her booming business has enabled her to attract better, more experienced employees. In more than two years her, agency has grown from three employees to nine.

Among other business to complete office expansions at Peabody Place within the past year are Lifestyle Ventures and Thompson & Company.

Lifestyle Ventures, a rapidly growing Memphis-based entertainment development company, launched a new division specializing in group sales, catering and special events that occupies 500 square feet near Lifestyle Ventures’ headquarters in Pembroke Square. Named
Memphis Event Design, the division assists Lifestyle Ventures by booking and hosting special events at company venues, including B.B. King’s Blues Club, The Italian Fisherman, The World’s Fare, Saddles Steakhouse, Java Blues coffee house and several private company-owned locations. Events also can be booked at other locations within Peabody Place, including the Peabody Place Museum and Gallery, and Pembroke Square.    

Thompson & Company, one of Memphis’ largest advertising, public relations and dialogue marketing agencies, completed its second expansion at 50 Peabody Place last spring. Adding 5,500 square feet, Thompson & Company expanded to occupy half of the third floor, in addition to its existing office space on the entire fourth and fifth floors.
“In large part, a company’s growth is attributable to its employees,” said Michael Thompson, president, Thompson & Company. “By offering an attractive workplace in a location that sparks creativity, we can recruit the employees needed to sustain our growth. In our case, downtown stimulates creativity, thereby stimulating growth.”

Developed by Memphis-based Belz Enterprises, Peabody Place is an urban mixed-use development located in downtown Memphis. When completed, the project will contain approximately two million square feet of space with 762 hotel rooms, 201 apartments, 565,000 square feet of office space, 420,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,600 parking spaces. Peabody Place consists of new construction as well as the reconstruction of structures listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, Belz is a national leader in real estate development. The company owns and manages more than 25 million square feet of industrial warehouse and distribution centers, shopping centers, office buildings, mixed-use centers, and corporate campuses. Belz also owns a group of premier hotels including the Peabody Hotels in Memphis and Orlando, Florida.

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