New Sedgwick James Office Slated for October Opening

By Carol Penn
– The Daily News –

Construction is nearing completion on Sedgwick James Inc.’s new home at 1000 Ridgeway Loop, just off Poplar Avenue at I-240.

According to Mark Halperin, senior vice president of Boyle Investment Co., the building’s owner and leasing agent, the six-floor, 155,000-square-foot office building should be ready for occupancy by October.

Construction on the facility began in the summer of 1994.He said Monday that Sedgwick James will occupy approximately two-thirds of the building. The other one-third will be available to other tenants.

The lease rate on available space will be in the neighborhood of $19 to $20 per usable square foot."The building is in a great location," he said. "It is visible from Poplar Avenue and has unrestricted turns off of Poplar, the only place on Poplar that has that.

He described the building as first-class office space with a marble and mahogany lobby. Boyle will provide custom-designed spaces to suit tenants’ needs.

The eight-acre site will include surface parking for about 550 cars. Hnedak Bobo Group is the architect for the project. The general contractor is Mid-America Construction Co., a sister company of Boyle Investment.

"So far there are several tenant possibilities," Halperin said. "We have a verbal agreement with one of them that will take about a third of the remaining space, and there are good prospects for the rest of it."

However, he declined to mention any names, as nothing as yet on paper. According to Don Burkett, vice president of administration for Sedgwick James, the company will move all of its Memphis offices, involving approximately 350 employees, into the new location.

He said the move will allow the company additional square footage, but that it will not be moving in any outside staff. He described the move as being merely a reconfiguration of office space.

Sedgwick James’ Memphis office serves as the headquarters for the company’s North American operations.

The office provides insurance brokerage, risk services and employee benefits consulting.