TUSCALOOSA, FLA. — Castle Lanterra Properties has sold Heights at Skyland, a 304-unit apartment property in Tuscaloosa, for $20.7 million to an undisclosed buyer. The property was developed in two phases in 1975 and 1991. The asset offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans and amenities such as a dog park, breakfast bar, coffee bar, picnic area, fitness center, swimming pool, playground, clubhouse, tennis court and a volleyball court. Heights at Skyland is situated about four miles south of the University of Alabama and about six miles south of downtown Tuscaloosa.
Alabama
PHENIX CITY, ALA. — Halpern Enterprises has signed Culver’s and Aldi to join the tenant lineup at Phenix City Marketplace in Phenix City. Smyrna, Ga.-based Halpern Enterprises is designing the 18-acre site that sits adjacent to Chick-fil-A, Verizon Wireless, McDonald’s, Precision Auto Tune and Waffle House. The site is also across from a Walmart Supercenter and next to Encompass Health’s Regional Rehabilitation Hospital. Phenix City Marketplace is located along U.S. Highway 280 about four miles from downtown Columbus, Ga.
Opus Group, McKinney Fund Break Ground on 17-Story Student Housing Community Near University of Alabama at Birmingham
by Alex Tostado
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — The Opus Group, in partnership with The McKinney Fund & Co., has broken ground on a 522-bed student housing community near the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The 17-story mixed-use development will offer floor plans ranging from studios to four-bedroom units. Shared amenities will include a fitness center, spa, study rooms and lounges, an outdoor amenity deck with fitness areas, fire pits, a coffee bar, club room, rooftop pool and grilling stations. Myefski Architects designed the community. Auburn, Ala.-based Rabren General Contractors will serve as general contractor, and Creative License International will design the interiors for the project. The community is scheduled to open in fall 2020.
Barings Provides $10.9M Fannie Mae Refinance Loan for New Apartment Complex in Downtown Birmingham
by Alex Tostado
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Barings Multifamily Capital has provided a $10.9 million Fannie Mae refinancing loan for Flats on 4th, an 86-unit mid-rise apartment complex in downtown Birmingham that was built in 2017. The 10-year term loan comes with a 30-year amortization schedule and three years of interest-only payments. The complex is 97.7 percent occupied. The borrower was not disclosed.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Shipt, a same-day delivery marketplace based in Birmingham that was purchased by Target Corp. in December 2017, will become the anchor tenant of Shipt Tower, currently known as Wells Fargo Tower. The 30-story, 514,893-square-foot building is located at 420 20th St. North in Birmingham’s central business district. According to local media outlets, Shipt signed a 60,000-square-foot lease with building owner Hertz Investment Group, and Philip Currie of J.H. Berry Commercial Real Estate represented Shipt in the lease negotiations. The tallest skyscraper in Birmingham will undergo renovations in Shipt’s space, the lobby and common areas, and will bear the Shipt logo in 2020. Bill Smith launched Shipt in 2014 in his hometown of Birmingham and has expanded its service to cover 250 markets across the country. Last summer, Shipt announced its intentions to keep its headquarters in Birmingham and create an additional 881 jobs. The company will maintain its headquarters in the nearby John Hand Building.
MOUTAIN BROOK AND VESTAVIA HILLS, ALA. — Publix Super Markets will acquire two Western Supermarket locations in Alabama as the grocer expands its Birmingham footprint. The location in Vestavia Hills, about nine miles south of downtown Birmingham, will open as a Publix grocery store. The location in Mountain Brook, four miles south of downtown Birmingham, will open as a GreenWise Market. GreenWise Market is a specialty, natural and organic store featuring a variety of house-prepared meals and grab-and-go items. It is the seventh announced GreenWise Market and is expected to open in third-quarter 2019. The other location will be torn down and rebuilt into a 35,000-square-foot Publix. An opening date has not been announced. The sales prices of the properties were not disclosed.
Bridge Investment Group Acquires Somerby Living Services, Including Nine Seniors Housing Communities
by John Nelson
NEW YORK CITY AND BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — An affiliate of Bridge Investment Group has purchased Somerby Senior Living Services, a seniors housing operator based in Birmingham. The seniors housing firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Partners, a Birmingham-based real estate developer. The sales price was not disclosed. The acquisition includes a nine-property portfolio of seniors housing assets located in prime markets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. The portfolio’s unit mix includes 134 independent living villas, 771 independent living units, 393 assisted living units and 260 memory care units. Ryan Maconachy and Chad Lavender of HFF represented Dominion Partners in the portfolio sale. Sarah Anderson led HFF’s debt placement team to secure acquisition financing on behalf of Bridge. Bridge currently owns 90 properties totaling 10,600 units across two private equity funds managed by its seniors housing affiliate, Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager. “We are excited to further vertically integrate Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager through this acquisition,” says Robert Chapin, CEO of Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager. Bridge plans to retain David Grady, president and chief operating officer of Somerby, to lead the company post-acquisition. Somerby currently has 20 corporate-level employees and more than 1,350 property-level …
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Berkadia has arranged the $56 million sale of Wildwood Crossings Apartments, a 520-unit multifamily complex in Birmingham. The buyer, New York City-based White Eagle Property Group LLC, will renovate the interiors of the units as well as update amenities community-wide. David Oakley, David Wilson, Caleb Frizzell and Abe Maddox of Berkadia represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Leidos Inc., a defense, aviation and biomedical research company, has signed a 61,358-square-foot lease at 915 Explorer Blvd. in Huntsville. The company occupies multiple locations in the city but plans to consolidate much of its operations to the single-story flex building. The property is located within Cummings Research Park, the second-largest research park in the United States, trailing only Research Triangle Park in Raleigh. Carter Burwell of JLL’s Birmingham office, and Doug Seale and Mateo Diachok of JLL’s Washington, D.C., office, represented Leidos in the transaction.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Easterly Government Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties leased to the U.S. government, has acquired the 83,676-square foot U.S. Department of the Treasury facility in Birmingham. Known as TREAS-Birmingham, the property is a three-story, Class A build-to-suit facility that was constructed in 2014. The building is 100 percent leased to the Treasury on an initial 15-year, non-cancelable term expiring in December 2029. The sales price and seller were not disclosed.