HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $16 million sale of University Place, a 168,212-square-foot shopping center located at 6125 University Drive in Huntsville. The center was 37 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as 88 Kitchen, United States Armed Forces, Cheddar’s Casual Café, Panda Express, Phil’s Restaurant and Zaxby’s. The anchor tenant, Burlington Coat Factory, was not part of the sale. Joseph French Jr., Schuyler Boylan and Eddie Greenhalgh of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private firm based in New York. The buyer is a private investment firm based in Canada.
Alabama
MONTGOMERY, ALA. — Birmingham-based Retail Specialists LLC has topped out 79C, its new mixed-use development located on Bibb Street between Commerce and Lee streets in downtown Montgomery. The development is located across from the Montgomery Convention Center. Upon completion, the development will feature 54 Class A multifamily units and 15,800 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The retail space will house four to six retailers and Mellow Mushroom has already committed as a tenant. Golden Bell Capital and Iberia Bank provided construction financing for the development. The design team includes general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie, architect Live Design Group and engineer Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood. T.J. Wiliford of Partners Realty is handling the management and leasing for the multifamily portion of 79C, and David Plummer of Retail Specialists is handling the management and leasing responsibilities for the retail portion. The development team expects to deliver 79C in September 2015.
Birmingham’s retail market remained steady in 2014, with approximately 10 percent of the total 24 million square feet available for lease. Birmingham is tracking above national averages relative to new ground-up and rehab projects that are announced or underway. Downward pressure on rents have challenged developers pro-formas, though the very friendly city and state incentives environment has allowed developers to creatively meet tenants conservative occupancy cost requirements. While the Birmingham metro area is challenged by the threat of major closings by retailers like JC Penney, Sears and Kmart, there is a pipeline of first-to-market national retailers eyeing the growth submarkets, including Highway 280, Hoover/ Riverchase and Trussville. New Grocers Enter Market Trader Joe’s recently unveiled plans to open a 12,600-square-foot store at The Summit shopping center in the second half of 2015. Trader Joe’s provides a destination food option for the market. The Summit is leased and managed by Bayer Properties. Arizona-based Sprouts Farmers Market recently announced it would be entering the Birmingham metro as well. Sprouts’ first local offering will be at Brook Highland Plaza on U.S. 280. The 22,457-square-foot store will serve an array of fresh produce and meats. Additionally, GBT Realty is developing a 25,000-square-foot Sprouts location …
Spring has come to Birmingham, and with it the sound of multifamily developers breaking ground. Their success in finding tenants for these properties — numbering more than 1,000 units — will be a litmus test for the future of the Birmingham market. Right now, the market activity leads one to be cautiously optimistic. Work on the $66 million renovation of the historic Pizitz Building in downtown commenced in March, which will add 143 apartments to the market in fall 2016, and the newly dubbed 20 Midtown project is finally underway. This mixed-use project, featuring a Publix and a Starbucks, will have at least 122 apartments when completed. Construction has also started on the $22 million renovation of the Thomas Jefferson Tower, another mixed-use project that will yield 96 apartments. These projects join the 236-unit Venue at the Ballpark, which broke ground last year and promises views over the outfield fence into Regions Field. The cranes are also busy east of the expressway in Lakeview. Work there has started on the 67-unit Iron City Lofts and is slated to begin later this spring on the 260-unit Metropolitan Apartments. Testing the Millennial Market Taken together, these developments highlight a number of facts …
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Berkadia has brokered the $4.1 million sale of Element 26, a recently remodeled apartment community in Birmingham. The 66-unit property is located on 14th Avenue and 17th Street on Birmingham’s south side. Element 26’s units average roughly 650 square feet that rent for an average $1.11 per square foot. The asset was fully occupied at the time of sale. Element 26 LLC, an investment group based in Birmingham, purchased the asset from Birmingham-based Highland Ridge LLC for $61,742 per unit. Joshua Jacobs of Berkadia represented the seller in the transaction. The new owner has retained ArbourValley to manage Element 26.
ALEXANDER CITY, ALA. — Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (Wheeler REIT) has entered into Alabama with its $10.3 million purchase of Alex City Marketplace in Alexander City, roughly 40 miles northwest of Auburn. The 147,791-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center was 98.3 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Winn Dixie, Dollar Tree, Goody’s, Domino’s Pizza, Verizon Wireless, Advance America, Subway and Cato Fashion. The shopping center was built in 1995 and renovated in 2001.
CULLMAN, ALA. — Birmingham-based Merchants Retail Partners (MRP) has signed Ross Dress for Less and Ulta Beauty to join the tenant roster at Cullman Shopping Center, a 325,000-square-foot center in Cullman. MRP has also signed The U.S. Department of Labor Career Center to occupy a renovated 8,000-square-foot outparcel building. The 22,000-square-foot Ross Dress for Less and 10,000-square-foot Ulta will join Publix, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Belk and Books-A-Million at the expanded Cullman Shopping Center. Publix, Dick’s and Ulta are slated to open in late 2015; Ross and PetSmart are slated to open in early 2016; and the career center is slated to open in early summer 2015.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Inland Real Estate Corp. has purchased Westbury Square, a 115,000-square-foot shopping center in Huntsville, for $23.4 million in cash. The center is located at the intersection of Highway 53 (Memorial Parkway South) and Airport Road. Westbury Square was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Stein Mart, TJ Maxx, Michaels, Jimmy John’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Jenny Craig and BB&T. The center is the publicly traded REIT’s fourth acquisition in the Southeast in the past 15 months.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Doster Construction Co. has broken ground on the Iron City Lofts, a 67-unit urban infill multifamily project in downtown Birmingham. The apartment complex will be located adjacent to Birmingham’s Lakeview district and Pepper Place, a farmers market establishment operating from April to December. The property’s amenity package includes a fitness center, elevated pool and deck, leasing center and surface level parking. The development team includes developer KRE Development Holdings and architect Hendon + Huckestein Architects PC.
Stewart/Perry Co. Breaks Ground on $20M Conversion of Former Hotel in Downtown Birmingham
by John Nelson
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — The Stewart/Perry Co., a construction firm based in Birmingham, has started construction at the former Hotel Thomas Jefferson site in downtown Birmingham. The $20 million project will convert the historic hotel into a mixed-use apartment building with 96 residential units and ground-floor retail space. The 20-story structure, which was built in 1929 as a 350-room hotel, is best known for having the world’s last zeppelin mooring mast on the rooftop, which will be preserved in the new project. Scott Reed of Reed Realty Advisors has partnered with Brian Beshara and Adam Beshara of Beshara Investment Group to develop the property. The team has utilized historic tax credits administered by the National Park Service, as well as a new funding program operated by the state of Alabama. The project team expects to deliver the new apartment tower in the second quarter of 2016.