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Roto Rooter has leased office and warehouse space located at 822 Enterprise in Cape, according to Lorimont broker Tom Kelsey.  The full-service plumbing repair and maintenance company moved into the 3,688 square foot building in February.  

The local employs six people full time, according to manager and licensed plumber Will Grubs.

Cape Girardeau-based Frame a Memory Photography, LLC will open a photography studio at 109 William St. in the new River & Rails retail conversion/redevelopment in downtown Cape.  Chris Cole, broker with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate, who handled the recent lease transaction, confirmed that this is the company's first brick-and-mortar studio.  It will feature whitewashed and German schmear brick walls, exposed beams and ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, concrete floors, and modern LED lighting.  

Carvana, based in Tempe, Arizona, is a leading e-commerce company that sells used cars through an easy-to-use technology internet platform.Tom Kelsey, broker with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate, who handled the recent transaction confirmed the company will establish a location at 700 E. Jackson Blvd in Jackson, Missouri. Kelsey said the 16,540 square-foot facility was for many years a Chevrolet dealership and is still owned by the Brennecke family. More details are forthcoming regarding exactly how Carvana will utilize the former traditional dealership property, but speculation is it will be an auto hub for the unique car dealership for the entire region between St. Louis and Memphis.

The Houston Chronicle dubbed the company the "Amazon of Auto". The company is the fastest growing online used car dealer in the United States and is known for its multi-story car vending machines. Carvana is currently in hypergrowth mode and was recently added to the 2021 Fortune 500 List, one of the youngest companies to be added to the list.The Lorimont broker said he anticipates the company will begin occupying the property in the next few weeks and providing additional details on their operations along with job opening opportunities.

In addition to the new car wash, I also learned last week from Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate that Kingshighway will soon have another drive-through coffee business.

Tom said it's his understanding a Ziggi's Coffee franchise is planned on a vacant lot Lorimont recently sold in the 1400 block of North Kingshighway near Cape County Private Ambulance's home base. Kelsey said his brokerage represented the sellers, Rhodes Real Estate Partners.  No sales price was disclosed in the recent sale.

Founded in 2004 in Longmont, Colorado, Ziggi's began franchising in 2017. In April of this year the company signed its 100th franchise agreement and is ranked among the nation's fastest-growing franchises. Ziggi's Coffee proudly partners with Coda Coffee, a local coffee roaster and supplier based out of Denver, Colorado, to supply quality, small-batch coffee roasts. 

One of Scott City's newest businesses is Patriot Rentals located at 2620 E. Outer Road, across I-55 from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Tom Kelsey, broker with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate confirmed the St. Louis based company had purchased the 11,612 square-foot industrial office building with 4 acres of property next to Pavestone and has recently opened an equipment rental company there.

The property was formerly built and occupied by Electrical Contractors, Inc. Kelsey said ECI had relocated and moved into a building at 2180 Rust Avenue, that sale also handled by Lorimont.

Patriot handles all types of industrial rental equipment with a full line of lifts including scissor, boom, material and fork lifts. Their rental inventory also includes earth moving equipment, portable power, utility vehicle and trailers. The company is open with a full staff of rental professionals to assist their Southeast Missouri customers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chris Cole Awarded CCIM Designation May 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Cole among 103 individuals who earned commercial real estate's global standard for professional achievement.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, May 14, 2021 - Chris Cole, JD, CCIM, Principal Broker of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, recently attained the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation from the CCIM Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of REALTORS.  The designation was awarded during this year's spring CCIM Comprehensive Exam testing session, which was held across eight locations in the United States and Canada.

Cole was among 103 commercial real estate professionals who earned the designation this spring by passing the CCIM Institute's comprehensive examination, the capstone element in the designation process.  This new group of CCIM designees hails from 31 U.S. states and Canada.

"These latest designees join an exclusive global commercial real estate community, one that represents the highest level of expertise, experience, and ethics in the industry," says Timothy S. Blair, CCIM, 2021 global president of CCIM Institute. "That is why people look to the CCIM pin - each of us brings sophisticated analysis and evaluation skills to the table to make the most of every deal while never losing sight of the human factor - our clients and those we work with on a deal."

"The CCIM curriculum has completely changed the way I think about commercial real estate transactions,” Cole said. "As an attorney who drafted commercial real estate contracts and leases in private law practice, I have always felt that I have a different perspective from other commercial real estate brokers because I have put so many deals together from blank sheet of paper to term sheet, letter of intent to full contract, due diligence and contingency resolutions to closing.  Now I know that there is so much more to be done before a buyer/tenant or landlord/seller even begins thinking about terms.  Each commercial real estate decision – such as, whether to lease or purchase, which property to lease or purchase, whether to hold or sell/dispose, whether to sell and leaseback, and so on – can be compared and analyzed from a financial perspective in a uniform, methodical way so that my clients can maximize their return on their business or investment dollar.”

To earn the CCIM designation, commercial real estate professionals must complete more than 200 hours of case-study-driven education covering topics such as interest-based negotiations, financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, investment analysis, cash flow modeling with financing and tax, and ethics in commercial investment real estate.  Candidates must also compile a portfolio demonstrating the depth of their commercial real estate experience and pass a six-hour comprehensive examination.

Learn more about CCIM Institute’s education and designation program at www.ccim.com.

About Lorimont Commercial Real Estate

Lorimont was established in 1993 as one of the first exclusive commercial real estate brokerages in the Southeast Missouri region.  Seasoned broker Tom Kelsey, with over 34 years of real estate experience, built the company from the start.  In 2018, Chris Cole and Bill Cole acquired the company.  Chris, a licensed attorney and broker, and Bill, a former CPA and broker, bring a wealth of real estate experience to Lorimont, while Kelsey remains a very active broker with the firm.  Today, this Cape Girardeau based company is the leading commercial real estate brokerage in the region, specializing in all asset types and transactions -- office, retail, industrial, specialty and development land sales and leases.

About CCIM Institute

CCIM Institute created the language of global real estate investment. The Institute's courses and worldwide community deploy commercial real estate investment methodologies and tools that speed the pathway between opportunity, a go/no-go decision, and success for an asset, taught by instructors who are themselves industry leaders.  Today, the organization, through its 50-plus chapters, continues to innovate best practices and elevate the commercial real estate professional through its core designation program to earn the CCIM pin — commercial real estate’s most coveted credential — and its topical education courses offered through the Ward Center for Real Estate Studies.  In addition, membership in CCIM includes the industry’s best technology and operational platform, allowing entrepreneurial and mid-sized businesses to compete with the largest multinational providers.  Today, almost 70 percent of designees hold the title of owner, partner, principal, or president, representing an exclusive worldwide referral network of approximately 13,000 members in 30 countries.  Ultimately, CCIM represents a larger vision of the commercial real estate provider, leveraging investment analysis, opinions of value, and underwriting to become a leader in sourcing capital, building a cash-flow vehicle, and ultimately creating value.  For more information, visit www.ccim.com.

Summit Truck Group, which purchased Wiethop Truck Sales in Cape Girardeau two years ago, has announced plans to relocate the dealership from Independence Street to Rambler Drive, just off Nash Road south of the city. Summit reportedly plans to occupy a 19-acre tract and remodel an existing 25,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by SEMO Ready Mix, converting the property into a paved truck sales lot, a parts store and a driver lounge. The newly acquired site will enable the dealership to expand its operation and provide for easier access to Interstate 55. No sales price was disclosed, but the Lorimont website showed an asking price of $1.3 million.

Tom Kelsey and Chris Cole, both licensed brokers with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate handled the transaction. Cole said Summit's current location at 2350 Independence St. is still owned by Wiethop. "I have been told they will try to sell it," he said.

Summit, based in Lewisville, Texas, they operate 26 commercial truck and bus dealerships in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Summit Truck Group is the largest International Truck dealer in North America and also represents and services Volvo, Mack, Isuzu commercial trucks, and Crane Carrier specialty vehicles at select locations. With a 72-year combined history, their team of sales professionals assures that you have the right specifications for their customers.  OEM trained and ASE-certified service technicians take pride in delivering efficient and professional customer service..

A Cape Girardeau rice producer has acquired 12 acres of industrial property along Nash Road with the intent of building a rice processing plant for his crop, as well as the crops of other rice farmers in the region.

Sam Schneider, founder and owner of Inland Cape Rice Co., said he hopes to break ground for the rice mill by late summer and be operational in early 2022.

Schneider is a second-generation farmer whose father, Joe Schneider, began growing corn and soybeans 35 years ago. Starting about five years ago, the father-and-son team began planting rice on several hundred acres near McClure, Illinois, that is well suited for rice cultivation because of its susceptibility to flooding and high moisture content.

"Since I started farming, all I've ever known is floodwater, and rice does really well in aquatic environments," Sam Schneider said, explaining how he and his father converted their farming operation to rice.

In 2019, the Schneiders started Inland Cape Rice, a rice brand available at more than 100 grocery stores, including several Dierbergs locations in the St. Louis area, as well as on Amazon.com and on the company's website, www.inlandcaperice.com. The Schneiders are also in conversations with Schnuck Markets about adding Inland Cape Rice to shelves in the Schnucks grocery chain.

According to Sam Schneider, there are only a couple of rice processing facilities in Southeast Missouri, both located in the Bootheel area. Inland Cape Rice's processing plant would not only be able to handle the Schneider rice production, but also rice grown elsewhere in the region, which could then be shipped on I- 55 or through the nearby Southeast Missouri Regional Port.

"It will depend on how much we decide to automate the facility," he said.

"The project, in a nutshell is we want to add value to our acres and add value for the other farmers in the area, as well," the younger Schneider said, and acknowledged the guidance and assistance he has received from others.

"I'm somewhat of a new guy on the block," he said. "As a 29-year-old, there are a lot of guys that are twice my age that have helped me a lot and I definitely couldn't do this without some of the people who have helped us learn how to grow rice."

A commercial building located at 818 Broadway in Cape Girardeau has been sold according to Chris Cole with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate who handled the recent transaction.  The building was formerly occupied by Broadway Biergarten.  Chaffee, Missouri-based D Duncan Floristry & Boutique has purchased the ornate brick structure with plans for an additional location. The boutique's co-owners, Dustin Duncan and Justin Scheper, plan to remodel the building this spring and open a floral and gift shop there in time for Mother's Day.

Duncan and Scheper opened D Duncan Floristry & Boutique in Chaffee in January 2020 featuring unique floral designs, seasonal apparel, home and seasonal decor, custom gifts, beauty products, gourmet snacks and a signature line of 100% soy candles. Similar products and services will be offered at the Cape Girardeau location. Pending city approval, they also plan to have an interactive floral "bar" design studio, where clients can watch their floral gifts being created while enjoying a glass of wine, beer or a cocktail. DS Land LLC, co-owned by Duncan and Scheper, purchased the building from GGI Resiliency LLC. The transaction was finalized last week according to the Lorimont broker.