Helena Chemical’s Headquarters Expansion Brings Schilling Farms Office to Full Occupancy

By Andy Ashby 
– Memphis Business Journal –

Helena Chemical Co. is expanding its corporate headquarters in Collierville by 6,600 square feet, bringing the 104,000-square-foot office building to full occupancy.

Boyle Investment Co. developed the four-story Class A building in 2000. Blackbox Network Services also leases 3,300 square feet there.

The four-story, multi-tenant building is located in Schilling Farms, a 443-acre mixed-use development south of Poplar.

Helena employs 230 at its corporate headquarters.

“The business and residential concept of Schilling Farms in a park-like setting is unique and has been a positive environment in which to conduct business,” Helena president and CEO Mike McCarty says.

The 385 Corridor submarket, which includes Collierville, currently has 3.5 million square feet of Class A office space, according to CoStar Group, Inc.’s year-end report. This includes 238,166 square feet of office buildings completed in full-year 2008, second only to the East Memphis submarket’s 270,371 square feet.

“We think it’s going to be one of the strong markets of the future,” says Mark Halperin, executive vice president at Boyle. “Office use typically follows decision-maker housing. As the decision-making residential continues to grow in Collierville, we’re going to see more and more demand for multi-tenant, multi-floor quality office space.”

While there is no speculative office product currently under construction in the 385 Corridor submarket, Halperin says anchored speculative building could resume after the current recession.

Of the total 450 acres in Schilling Farms, Boyle had 213 acres set aside for office development. It has already developed 70 acres. One of its other major office developments, Ridgeway Center in East Memphis, is 170 total acres.

“I think we’ll build a lot of office space out there over the years,” Halperin says.

Boyle vice president Kathy Pampuro was the landlord representative in lease negotiations.