THEODORE, ALA. — Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. has acquired a newly constructed industrial building located at 6735 Trippel Road in Theodore, roughly 15 miles southwest of Mobile, for $33.7 million. The 362,942-square-foot facility, which opened in the second half of 2017, is net-leased to Amazon Fulfillment Service Inc. for 11 years. Johnson Development Associates Inc. developed the facility in partnership with Amazon. The property is situated on 31.3 acres, roughly 14 miles from the Port of Mobile. The acquisition marks Monmouth’s second property leased to Amazon.
BESSEMER, ALA. — Amazon has announced plans for its first fulfillment center in Alabama. The Seattle-based e-commerce company will operate an 855,000-square-foot facility located in Bessemer, roughly 16 miles southwest of Birmingham. The development cost was not disclosed, but local media outlets report that the facility represents a $325 million investment. Amazon, which currently operates a sortation center in Mobile, expects to bring 1,500 jobs to the new facility, which will utilize Amazon Robotics. The Birmingham Business Alliance led several aspects of the project, including presentation of the site, infrastructure issues and local incentives. According to Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley, Amazon’s new facility will be the single-largest private investment in the history of the city. No construction timeline was given.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Eyzenberg & Co. has arranged a $14.4 million bridge loan for the acquisition of two neighboring apartment communities in Huntsville: Hillside Village and Twickenham Village. David Eyzenberg, Jeff Conti and Diana Davidson of Eyzenberg arranged the loan through SunTrust Bank on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Blue Magma Residential LLC and Auerbach Opportunity Fund I LP. The loan was used to fund a portion of the acquisition and subsequent renovation of the properties. Hillside Village is located at 4515 Bonnell Drive N.W. and includes 223 units. Twickenham Village, located a half-mile away at 5001 Galaxy Drive N.W., comprises 152 units. The communities are situated less than two miles from the University of Alabama at Huntsville and roughly five miles from Huntsville’s central business district.
PHENIX CITY AND MOBILE, ALA. — Capital One Multifamily Finance has provided a combined $37 million in agency loans for the acquisition of two multifamily communities in Alabama. In Phenix City, Capital One provided a $26.5 million Fannie Mae loan on behalf of EBSCO Income Properties for the acquisition of The Grand Reserve at Phenix City. The 12-year, fixed-rate loan features eight years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Developed in 2010, The Grand Reserve at Phenix City features a pool, clubhouse and a fitness center. A 22-acre, grocery-anchored shopping center is scheduled to open adjacent to the property in 2019. In Mobile, Capital One provided a $10.5 million Freddie Mac loan for the acquisition of Southern Oaks Apartments. The 10-year, fixed-rate loan features five years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. StoneRiver Co. acquired the 224-unit asset from the PEM Real Estate Group. Built in 1975, Southern Oaks Apartments feature a clubhouse, fitness center, barbecue station and a swimming pool. StoneRiver plans to update the community with new appliances, flooring, countertops and painting. Chad Thomas Hagwood of Capital One originated both transactions.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — RCP Cos. has signed three restaurant concepts to join the tenant lineup at MidCity, a $350 million mixed-use development under construction in Huntsville. Two celebrity-driven dining concepts — Wahlburgers and Rascal Flatts — will open first-to-market locations at the project. Wahlburgers, owned by reality TV and movie star brothers Mark, Donnie and chef Paul Wahlberg, will open a 4,000-square-foot location at the development. The location will be Wahlburgers’ second in Alabama. Construction on the restaurant is expected to begin this year, with a scheduled opening in 2019. Rascal Flatts — named for and endorsed by the country music band of the same name — will open a 7,500-square-foot restaurant that will feature a Southern-inspired menu, live entertainment, sound stage, a bar and retail space. Currently und er design, Rascal Flatts will be located across the bridge from Topgolf. Upon opening in 2019, the location will mark the restaurant’s first in the Southeast. In addition, Alchemy Lounge, a coffee house that offers an assortment of coffee, craft beer and other beverages and treats, will open at The Camp, MidCity’s music and arts outdoor entertainment venue. Currently under construction, the venue is scheduled to open in June. The new …
PELL CITY, ALA. — Fairfield Asset Advisors has arranged the $15.8 million sale of a 50,400-square-foot medical office building located at 74 Plaza Drive in Pell City, roughly 24 miles east of Birmingham. Northside Medical — a Birmingham-based specialty practice — anchors the building, which was constructed in 2017. An undisclosed borrower acquired the asset from the developers, a physician group.
Birmingham’s multifamily market closed out 2017 with an average 7 percent vacancy rate and effective rents that flirted with the $900 per unit ceiling. On the investment side, multifamily assets in the market demonstrated some notable pricing trends through year-end 2017. The market outperformed the region and the nation in terms of value appreciation on a per unit basis. The average price per unit in Birmingham increased by more than 20 percent from fourth-quarter 2016 to fourth-quarter 2017. And, among these assets, garden-style properties stood out with a 36 percent increase in average price per unit. One explanation for this trend is the combination of value-add upgrades to garden-style properties in the market, as well as new construction that is lifting values in the market. To that end, Birmingham’s Highway 280 Corridor makes for a great case study. Stabilization of 280 Corridor What was a soft submarket in 2017, the Highway 280 Corridor in Birmingham has now rapidly tightened up in the first quarter of 2018. This one corridor spans various Birmingham submarkets ranging from urban Central City and Southside to Birmingham’s southeastern suburbs of Meadowbrook and Lake Purdy. According to Alabama Traffic Data (ATD), the average annual daily traffic …
It’s no longer a secret that Birmingham and its surrounding communities are confidently moving forward, bursting with festivals, arts, concerts, parks, reimagined spaces and a red-hot local dining scene. These revitalized spaces represent opportunities to find affordable housing, a vibrant social life and a place where all can participate in the community’s ongoing progress. Tourism is also on the rise, with a 50 percent increase in expenditures over the past 10 years as visitors flock to the region to dine at the restaurants of culinary legends, cheer on Minor League Baseball teams in a downtown stadium, attend the Sidewalk Film Festival, watch IndyCar racing at the Barber Motorsports Park, visit the historic Civil Rights Museum and enjoy live music venues throughout the area. With all of its history, charm and new amenities, Birmingham is no longer a pass-through; it is the destination. The greater downtown Birmingham area experienced a 40 percent increase in its multifamily inventory in 2017, which is nearly three times the amount added in 2015. These spaces are filling up quickly as the submarket’s occupancy rate is currently at 92.5 percent and climbing. Everyone from millennials who are marrying later and waiting longer to buy homes to …
HOOVER, ALA. AND WILMINGTON, N.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided $37.4 million in financing for two multifamily properties in Hoover and Wilmington. In Hoover, KeyBank provided a $16.3 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Hawthorne at Wisteria, a 200-unit community. The property was built in 1978 and renovated in 2015. In Wilmington, KeyBank provided a $21.1 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Hawthorne at New Centre, a 301-unit apartment community that was constructed in 1998 and renovated in 2014. Tim DeWispelaere of KeyBank originated both 10-year loans with 30-year amortization schedules on behalf of the undisclosed borrowers.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has arranged the $13.8 million sale of The Gallery Shopping Center, a 101,498-square-foot retail center located near the $350 million Mid-City mall redevelopment in Huntsville. A Florida-based private family office acquired the asset from Plaza Properties via a 1031 exchange. Jordan Powell and Scott Henard of Matthews arranged the transaction on behalf of both parties. The Gallery Shopping Center was 95 percent leased at the time of sale.