Birmingham’s retail market continued to see positive growth in 2018, and it’s safe to argue this is largely due to a significant amount of retail space being backfilled with entertainment, discount, medical and first-to-market tenants that otherwise may not have been able to enter the market. Dave & Buster’s backfilling a Forever 21 space at the Riverchase Galleria, Urban Air leasing a former hhgregg box in Trussville, Ollie’s acquiring the former Toys ‘R’ Us box in Hoover and Floor & Décor backfilling the former Kmart in Homewood are just a few recent examples of this in Birmingham. Two additional noteworthy deals that have been recently announced include REI opening its first Birmingham location in a portion of the former Toys ‘R’ Us box at The Summit and the Dick’s Sporting Goods/Golf Galaxy combo store moving into the soon-to-be former Academy Sports + Outdoors space at Lee Branch. The new combo store will be Golf Galaxy’s first location in Alabama. These two deals alone all but confirm this backfilling trend is going to continue for some time. More often than not, you will find these new tenants are paying higher rents, driving larger traffic volumes and generating more sales tax income …
NEW BROCKTON, ALA. — Ben E. Keith Foods will develop a new 425,000-square-foot distribution center in New Brockton. The facility will be designed to accommodate future expansion up to 1 million square feet. The project will create 80 jobs for the next five years in addition to the more than 230 individuals the company already employs through its distribution center and manufacturing facility in neighboring Elba, Ala. Construction for the project is expected to begin by December 2019 with a completion date by December 2021.
Birmingham is a unique market for Class A office space. Last year had its fair share of notable transactions (both sales and leases), but overall a few key transactions from previous years pushed absorption in the negative figures. The most significant deal that is still impacting our market was a tenant relocation into the Red Roofs Colonnade (Colonnade North and South) located at the interchange of Highway 280 and Interstate 459, the heart of the 280/459 office submarket. Southern Co. Services signed a 700,000-square-foot, long-term lease at the project, and as of Jan. 1, the Red Roofs are now fully occupied. This transaction left a sizable block of Class A office space along the 280/459 corridor. Soon after announcing the relocation, FIS backfilled about 112,500 square feet within Inverness Center North. The CBD is still recovering from Regions Financial giving back about 160,000 square feet at Regions/Harbert Plaza, but this building has seen a large amount of activity since this announcement. Our market is in the midst of absorbing these previous deals now and moving in the right direction. This year has gotten off to a quick start with two encouraging announcements. Shortly after Wells Fargo announced it will be …
Contrary to some Southeast markets’ recent shift in focus to the suburbs, construction in Central Birmingham continues to boom with activity. The Central Birmingham cluster — encompassing the CBD, Southside, Parkside District, University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) and Lakeview neighborhoods — has established itself as a strong-performing submarket with 3,800 multifamily units total, according to CoStar. The growing number of desirable amenities such as parks, restaurants, museums and trails has helped foster rent growth and additional projects. Birmingham’s overall multifamily construction activity has been consistent with 12,000 units added from 2009 to 2018 (approximately 1,300 units per year). Within the Birmingham metro itself, multifamily construction is highly concentrated in Central Birmingham, which experienced a 225 percent hike in multifamily construction from a low in second-quarter 2017 to 850 units currently under construction and 1,400 units planned or proposed. Suburban supply has been tempered compared to similar metros given the lack of zoned land available. There are a number of planned suburban projects, including projects by Dobbins Group and Davis Development, but none under construction. Drivers of this trend Rents achieved in Central Birmingham enable multifamily development to ensue despite higher construction costs. The Pizitz and Thomas Jefferson Tower (TJ) are …
Birmingham’s investor-controlled, multi-tenant warehouse market remains at or near record occupancy levels — 95 percent for bulk warehouse and 90.4 percent for office/warehouse. The 32-foot clear heights, Class A bulk market is even tighter at nearly 100 percent. Landlords are well into a cycle of market catch-up, rent growth and capital reinvestment. A growing list of tenants, reading the tea leaves, have gone long when appropriate. But what about new construction? A local developer finally put a shovel in the ground in 2018, delivering a 30 percent preleased, 112,500-square-foot front load project on a well-located infill site. The timing was perfect and captured some pent-up demand with two leases promptly signed for the balance of the building. Rents for this development were quoted at $5.95 per-square-foot, while the submarket average trailed at $4.87 for tenant sizes under 40,000 square feet. The gap is narrowing. Two build-to-suits were also delivered in early 2018: Gardner Denver Nash’s 52,000-square-foot facility and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International supplier Truck & Wheel Group’s 127,000-square-foot assembly plant, the latter purchased by Gladstone Commercial Corp. Along with absorption rates, site scarcity is a limiting factor for Birmingham’s development pipeline. That said, there are a few developer-controlled sites suitable for …
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — A joint venture between Novare Group, Prestwick Cos. and Batson-Cook Development Co. (BCDC) has broken ground on Foundry Yards, a 268-unit multifamily project in Birmingham’s Parkside District. Foundry Yards will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans across two buildings. Community amenities will include an outdoor kitchen, grilling areas, bocce ball court, dog park, swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, club room and coworking space. The two buildings will be separated by a landscaped green space. Birmingham-based Doster Construction Co. is the general contractor. ELV Associates Inc., BBVA Compass and Cadence Bank provided construction financing. A timeline for completion was not released.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — A joint venture between MGold Properties and Mishorim Real Estate Investments has sold University Place, a 169,585-square-foot retail center in Huntsville, for $27 million. University Place was fully leased at the time of the sale to tenants including Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Armed Forces Career Center, Zaxby’s, Panda Express, Red Wing Shoes, Republic Finance, T-Mobile and Subway. The property sits on 17.2 acres at 6125 University Drive along U.S. Highway 72, about six miles west of downtown Huntsville. Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS’ Investment Properties Group represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, Colterra Capital Corp., was self-represented.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $93.5 million sale of a three-property, 1,816-unit apartment portfolio in Birmingham. The three properties included in the sale are The Park at Buckingham, The Park at Callington and Carlyle. The Park at Buckingham was built in 1972 and offers 583 units. Amenities include tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, two swimming pools with sun decks and a theater room. The Park at Callington and Carlyle were built in 1978 and 1973, respectively, and total 1,233 units. Amenities include tennis courts, three pools with sun decks, volleyball court and a fitness center. Josh Jacobs and Jimmy Adams of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, a Texas-based real estate firm, in the transaction. Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Contour Development Group acquired the portfolio.
HOOVER, ALA. — Intercapital Group has sold three multifamily properties totaling 825 units in Hoover. The portfolio includes the 431-unit The Park at Galleria, the 150-unit The Place at Galleria and the 244-unit The Renaissance at Galleria. The properties are situated within 3.5 miles of each other. Sunbelt Residential acquired Park at Galleria, BAF Associates bought Place at Galleria and Myers Apartment Group purchased The Renaissance at Galleria. According to Jimmy Adams of Cushman & Wakefield, each property will undergo renovations in the near future. Adams and colleague Josh Jacobs represented the seller in the transaction. Sales prices for the properties were not disclosed.
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — GBT Realty has signed HomeGoods and Shoe Station to lease space at McFarland Plaza, a 234,000-square-foot retail power center located at 2600 McFarland Blvd. in Tuscaloosa, about one mile south of the University of Alabama. HomeGoods will backfill a former Toys ‘R’ Us store spanning 23,000 square feet, and Shoe Station will lease 11,900 square feet. The center was 97 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, Stein Mart, Cato Fashions, Michaels and Pet Supplies Plus. GBT Realty’s leasing team is currently seeking quick-service restaurants, financial services, medical/dental chains and other service providers to fill McFarland Plaza’s remaining small shop space.