Memphis, TN, January 19, 2007--ServiceMaster Co. officials have confirmed the company is planning to build a $122 million office campus for its new headquarters in Memphis. The move comes less than three months after the company announced that it was relocating its headquarters to Memphis from the Chicago area, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
"While we are continuing to consider all options at this time, and we haven't made a final decision, the site is at Forest Hill- Irene and 385," said Bridget Glavaz, vice president of corporate communications for ServiceMaster.
When the company announced in October that it was relocating its headquarters to Memphis, officials said a new headquarters would require 600,000 square feet of office space -- about the size of the landmark Clark Tower on Poplar.
The project will stoke the office real estate industry -- analysts say it's twice the amount of office space that has been built in East Memphis (the prime market for office real estate) in the past five years.
Building a new headquarters was not a foregone conclusion as ServiceMaster had also been considering expanding its office campus at Boyle Investment Co.'s Ridgeway Center office park in East Memphis. That location is the primary site for the company's Memphis business operations and would require $10.5 million to $12 million to expand.
The Forest Hill-Irene site is just a couple of miles from the FedEx World Headquarters and a couple of miles from Chicago-based Landmark Properties' Forest Hill Plaza, a $100 million retail and entertainment development featuring more than 600,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
Also nearby is a $22 million, 127-room Hyatt Place Hotel being developed by the Silver Cos., which has offices in Washington, D.C., and Boca Raton, Fla. That project is being built on a 10-acre site at the southeast corner of Winchester and Forest Hill-Irene.
Glavaz said the company will begin contacting residents and other area neighbors to share information on the campus project.
"ServiceMaster would be a great addition to that area," said Mark Herbison, senior vice president for economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber. "Knowing ServiceMaster, it would be of the highest quality. I'm excited about it."
The housecleaning, pest control and landscaping services giant is proposing to create 500 jobs -- including 165 executive positions -- in Memphis through the end of 2011.
With benefits, the annual median wage would be $67,300, far above Shelby County's per-capita income of $35,237, including benefits.
The Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board granted the company a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-tax freeze that would save the company $18 million for the campus project.
The IDB also awarded the company a 12-year PILOT that would save it $8 million for the Ridgeway Center option.
Memphis-based Commercial Advisors LLC has been advising ServiceMaster on its real estate needs.
As ServiceMaster continues to move forward with its relocation plans, its board is also mulling the sale of the company.
In November, ServiceMaster's board said it was considering selling the company. If the company is sold, officials say it will not affect its relocation plans or its new headquarters project.
The board hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to explore the possible sale. The company also hired the law firm Sidley Austin as its legal adviser.
