HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — AlbaneseCormier (AC) has acquired Valley Bend at Jones Farm, a 430,792-square-foot shopping center located in Huntsville. Tenants at the property include HomeGoods, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby, Marshalls and PetSmart. A separately owned SuperTarget and 10 outparcels are also located at the center, which spans 57.8 acres and attracts 6 million annual visitors. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
JACKSONVILLE, ALA. — public-private partnership between RISE: A Real Estate Co. and Jacksonville State University has broken ground on North Village Residence Hall. Located on the university’s campus in Alabama, the 513-bed community will offer suites that include two double-occupancy bedrooms and two bathrooms. The development team for the project includes architect Niles Bolton & Associates and general contractor Choate Construction. Jacksonville State is also currently developing a new dining hall, which will replace the current main cafeteria on campus, and the Loring and Debbie White Football Complex. The Jax State Dining Hall will be operated by Sodexo and will feature a traditional food line with several concept stations and seating. The dining hall’s development team includes general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie, Williams Blackstock Architects and Kemp Management Services. The football complex will replace the existing field house at the university’s stadium and will offer modern art training facilities for student athletes; coaching offices and meeting rooms; a hall of fame honoring the history of the university’s football program; and new suites to enhance the game day experience for fans. The general contractor for that project is also Brasfield & Gorrie, the architect is Goodwyn Mills Cawood and the program manager …
ELBERTA, ALA. — Argus Self Storage Advisors has brokered the $1.9 million sale of a self-storage facility located on a 16.1-acre site in Elberta. The facility comprises 98 climate-controlled units totaling 11,250 rentable square feet and 37 boat and RV parking spaces spanning 19,800 rentable square feet. Texas-based A-Affordable Boat & RV Storage purchased the property from undisclosed sellers. Stuart LaGroue Sr. and Bill Barnhill of Argus represented the sellers in the transaction.
When we wrote about the Birmingham multifamily market last year, the main trends were job growth and in-migration to not only the Birmingham market, but the Sun Belt as a whole. The growth was described as “unprecedented,” which it certainly was, and investor optimism could not have been higher as cap rates plummeted and property performance continued to thrive. Since then, the 10-year Treasury yield has risen nearly 200 basis points, inflation experienced nearly 6.5 percent growth last year and there was a more cautious optimism going into the fourth quarter of 2022. But what if we are not hitting a stopping point, rather moving back into a cycle of normalcy? Amongst the many major indicators for 2023, the common theme appears to be uncertainty. Many notable factors such as debt and rising insurance costs have been a sounding board for this skepticism in the market. 2021 and 2022 proved to be nothing short of record-breaking in the multifamily sector. For Birmingham, our outlook is that the solid foundation it has built over the past few years, and the post-pandemic recovery boom it experienced, will show that the city is still poised for growth and has been fortunate to not …
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Berkadia has arranged $37 million in refinancing for Ascent at Jones Valley, a 431-unit multifamily community located at 1225 Willowbrook Drive SE in Huntsville. Built in 1978, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes ranging in size from 705 to 1,470 square feet. Amenities at the community include two swimming pools, a fitness center, coffee and tea bar, pet park and play area, playground, business center, tennis/pickleball court and grilling and picnic areas. Charles Foschini, Christopher Apone and Lourdes Carranza-Alvarez of Berkadia South Florida arranged the Fannie Mae financing on behalf of the borrower, Savannah, Ga.-based Wicker Park Capital Management. The loan carries a fixed interest rate, a five-year term and partial interest-only payments.
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — SRS Real Estate Partners’ Investment Properties Group has brokered the sale of Five Points Shopping Center, a 57,850-square-foot retail center located at 4205 University Blvd. E in Tuscaloosa. The Winn-Dixie-anchored center is situated about three miles from the University of Alabama. Other tenants include new junior anchor Dollar Tree, as well as AT&T, State Farm Insurance and H&R Block. Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS’ Atlanta office represented the seller, an entity doing business as H&R Tuscaloosa LLC, in the transaction. The buyer, an entity doing business as Five Points SC LLC, purchased Five Points for an undisclosed price.
Before we look at the current happenings in the Birmingham industrial market, it is worth glancing into the rearview mirror of the last 24 months or so. 2021 and 2022 saw the delivery of 10 notable industrial build-to-suit projects. Some were announced in 2020 before pricing surges. The last delivery of these projects was completed in fourth-quarter 2022, an automotive project on the west side for Lear Automotive Seating oriented toward Mercedes-Benz. This unprecedented streak of projects totaled 3.3 million square feet. In addition to Lear, tenants included: Lowes, Mercedes-Benz, Motion Industries, TSF Sportswear, Samuel, Son & Co., Amazon (two) and FedEx Ground. Interestingly, two of these facilities are now available for sublease and were never occupied by the tenant. And as of this writing, there is not a single industrial build-to-suit announced or under construction. What did follow the noted build-to-suit wave were six speculative (or partial speculative) projects. The first one delivered — the first phase of Crossroads Commerce Center in the Central submarket — spanned 186,000 square feet, and the twin second phase was recently completed. The two phases are now 75 percent occupied, demonstrating market demand shown in other Southeastern markets in mid-2022 and prior. In …
Birmingham’s office market is facing many of the same challenges our peer markets are encountering. Lingering economic uncertainties have created a very cautious environment. Most tenants and business owners I speak with are either cautiously pessimistic or cautiously optimistic about the economy. Regardless of which side is right, economic projections for 2023 have caused a general slowdown in deal flow as decision makers have become more guarded with business decisions and commitment levels. Is there cause for concern in Birmingham? Historically, Birmingham’s office market has remained stable during challenging times, dodging the extreme highs and lows as markets ebb and flow nationwide. Birmingham’s office market consists of approximately 19 million square feet of multi-tenant inventory across five submarkets, four of which have Class A inventory. Fundamentals, subleases As of fourth-quarter 2022, the occupancy rate for Birmingham’s office market sits at 83.8 percent. For the same period over the last five years, the occupancy rate has only slightly fluctuated year-over-year, ranging from 86.1 percent in fourth-quarter 2018 to 83.8 percent in fourth-quarter 2020. The current rate is at 83.8 percent, illustrating consistency throughout a very problematic time for the office sector. Birmingham’s office sublease inventory is rising, but again, not to …
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Northmarq has secured a $14 million loan for Madison Plaza, a 153,739-square-foot shopping center located at 930 Old Monrovia Road in Huntsville. Randy Wolfe of Northmarq arranged the 10-year financing through a regional credit union on behalf of RCP Cos., the developer of the adjacent MidCity district. The loan features one year of interest-only payments and a 25-year amortization schedule. Built in 1984 and renovated in 2016, Madison Plaza was leased at the time of financing to tenants including Havertys, Stars and Strikes, State Farm, Dragon Alley and Viet Huong.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Northmarq has arranged a $52.8 million construction loan for Anthem House Apartments, a 304-unit multifamily project that is part of the MidCity District master-planned development in Huntsville. In addition to apartments, Anthem House will include 32,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and 35,000 square feet of collaborative office space, as well as an amenity package comprising a coffee bar, coworking lounge, fitness center, yoga studios, community gardens, resort-style pool and a courtyard. Randy Wolfe and Drew Markley of Northmarq arranged the five-year loan through a major regional bank on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
