Morgan Keegan Could Get Ridgeway Neighbor

By Christopher Barton
– The Commercial Appeal –

Boyle Investment Co. is close to signing a second major tenant for its 150,000 square-foot Morgan Keegan & Co. building in East Memphis.

Boyle, which owns the six-story building, earlier leased 50,000 square feet to primary tenant Morgan Keegan & Co., which plans to occupy the fifth and sixth floors.

The building, on Ridgeway Loop Road, will be called Morgan Keegan at Ridgeway Center. Tenants will have access to more than 500 parking spaces, including about 100 spaces underground.

Morgan Keegan will use the space to consolidate its East Memphis branch offices and for a new headquarters for Morgan Keegan Trust Co., said company spokesman Kathy Ridley.

Halperin said he could not name the second key tenant, but he did say that a deal could be signed as early as this week.

That tenant would take space on the second and third floors.

The first and fourth floors will be open to other tenants, with no more than 15,000 square feet available for any one entity, such as an attorney or accounting office, Halperin said.

"The exterior of the building is almost done, and 80 percent of the windows are in now," he said, adding that Morgan Keegan will move in within six months.

After the two key tenants are in place, Halperin said, Boyle will focus on filling the rest of the space.

"We’re talking to two or three law firms and an accounting firm and an insurance company," he said.

"I expect to be at a stable occupancy of 80 to 90 percent by the second quarter of next year."

Since 1971, Boyle has developed more than 1.5 million square feet of space in the Ridgeway Center in 14 buildings.

The company still owns 12 of those buildings – Morgan Keegan being the latest – which total about 1.25 million square feet.