The ground has been broken at Schilling Farms in Collierville for a 45,000-square-foot office building, which will house MCR Safety’s corporate headquarters.  The $8 million project will provide the Memphis-based company room to grow with expanded facilities for training, product showrooms, and a conference center.  The two-story brick and cast stone veneer building with 176 parking spaces should be completed by summer 2013.

Boyle is proud to announce that Steve Peay of Boyle Insurance Agency was recently sworn in for a one-year term as President of the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) for the state of Tennessee.

Phase I of Berry Farms, Boyle’s new 604-acre mixed-use community in Franklin, Tennessee, is well underway and includes 70,000 square feet of retail space, 11 commercial lots, and Hughes Mill at Berry Farms, the community’s first residential neighborhood.

Hughes Mill includes 53 residential lots and offers a broad range of opportunities. There is truly something for everyone at Berry Farms. Home options include townhomes, cottage homes (perfect for first time home buyers and empty nesters), village homes (larger, more traditional 1 and 2 story homes), and custom homes on the largest lots available. Amenities include parks and community green space with walking trails, a community garden, and a neighborhood pool and pool house called The Plunge.

We are proud to include the following residential builders to the Berry Farms team:

Regent Homes – townhomes, 615-333-9000

Celebration Homes – cottage and village homes, 615-533-3213

Ford Custom Classic Homes – cottage and village homes, 615-503-9727

Gregg & Rains Building Group – custom homes, 615-807-1012

All are local Middle Tennessee builders who are producing high-quality homes for Berry Farms in keeping with our historical Franklin look and feel, but with modern amenities. The builders are also selling the homes themselves, so please contact them with any questions, or to see floorplans.

Construction on the homes is starting within the next few weeks, and they are scheduled for completion in January 2013. We are also excited to announce that 5 homes have already been sold!

The commercial portion of Phase I will include retail shops, restaurants, banks, and services to meet the needs of the community in a vibrant, unique setting. Commercial lots are now available for sale or lease. Completed commercial space will be delivered in January 2013 so that new residents will have plenty of amenities upon moving into Berry Farms!

Berry Farms resources: Vision Book and Website

For more information, please contact Shelby Larkin with Boyle Investment Company at 615-550-5577 or slarkin@boyle.com.

Rusty Bloodworth, Executive Vice President of Boyle, serves on the Advisory Committee of the Office of Sustainability for Memphis and Shelby County.  This new entity, led by Paul Young and Christine Donhardt, met at Rhodes College on July 26 and viewed a presentation by Jon Ruch of Ruch Builders entitled Sustainability in New Construction.  Jon is a local Memphis area builder who has an engineering degree in energy systems and is dedicated to environmentally sensitive design and construction.  Jon emphasizes that using green elements, such as a good window, isn’t enough to assure better performance.  Jon either has Keith Culow, who heads the Ecobuild Division of MLG&W, test his homes when complete or if the home is located outside of Shelby County, he hires someone to test to check how “tight” the home is.  A tight home is Jon’s goal, but this is tempered by having to bring in fresh air so that air quality is maintained.  Jon controls the fresh air quantity and its source.  Energy Star requires no more than 6 percent leakage in the duct system.  Jon tests out his installations at around 3 percent.  Sealing things well is where Jon places most of his attention including:  using R3 insulation on all hot water lines; using R8 insulation on all ducts (never uses flexible pipe); places 1/2-inch blue board rigid insulation between header material (area normally uninsulated); uses Walter Nelms to design the HVAC systems; seals all penetrations; uses a radiant barrier in attics, which can block up to 97 percent of radiant heat entering the attic; uses California framing (allows insulation to be at the corner); uses proper flashing at the windows and particularly at the butt joints of Hardie lap siding, which is not flashed, voids the warranty.  He is doing a lot of geothermal installations.