News

2021 Graham Office Market Survey

It is challenging to look back at 2020 without referring to it as the “Year of the Pandemic”. With that said, Birmingham’s office market experienced healthy activity levels.
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The Millwright & Machinery Erectors Local Union No. 1192 has acquired property for a new location.

The local union chapter paid $800,000 for the property at 624 28th St. N. on March 4, according to property records.

Currently located at 203 Oporto Madrid Blvd. N., the union decided to buy the property to accommodate growth with a larger union hall and more office space.

“We’ve gone from 625 members to 834,” said Clint Smith, business agent in the union’s Birmingham office. “For union meetings, it’s made more sense to get a bigger building instead of trying to pad onto the one we’ve got. And it’s in a good location for us to get some exposure off of 280 and 20/59.”

Smith said the chapter plans to rearrange the large office space in the middle of the building to create more room for its meetings. Built in 2008, the 6,080-square-foot building comes with about 70 to 80 parking spaces.

“It’s got a lot of room for us to grow in,” Smith said.

Michele Jennings of Keller Williams represented the union, and Sonny Culp of Graham & Co. represented the seller.

[ Read article on bizjournals.com ]

An office building in the middle of all the action in Parkside has a new owner.

A Shannon Waltchack affiliate acquired the 101 Parkside building at the corner of First Avenue and 12th Street South right next to the Hesco building.

The Dec. 31 deal went for $2.3 million, or about $188 per square foot, with financing from Community Bank of Mississippi, according to Jefferson County public records.

The selling entity, Superior Commercial Properties LLC, which belongs to Matthew Hogan, had acquired the property in late 2017 for $1.095 million, or about $90 per square foot. Hogan also sold the Paramount building downtown recently, as we reported.

Matt Gilchrist and Sam Carroll of Graham & Co. represented the seller.

Formerly known as the BFGoodrich warehouse building, according to David Schneider of Schneider Historic Preservation, 101 Parkside was redeveloped for 12,231 square feet of office space and now houses Airship, Knight Eady, and Pihakis Restaurant Group. Built in 1951, it is located in the Birmingham Wholesale Warehouse Loop (West).

“This is a strategic long-term investment to add to our portfolio of well positioned real estate within the dynamic Parkside district,” said Andrew Patterson, managing partner at Shannon Waltchack.

In addition to its other properties near Railroad Park, the Birmingham commercial real estate firm had bought and redeveloped the Hesco building next door over the past few years.

With several luxury apartment buildings going up in the area and part of Orchestra Partners’ Urban Supply project in the same block, the 101 Parkside building is witnessing the continued transformation of the Parkside area. Another multifamily project by Residential Ventures may be in the works across the street at the former Sherman Industries plant as the Denver-based firm recently acquired more property for that potential project.

[Read Article Here]

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A prominent building along Birmingham’s “Main Street” has sold to local investors.

Carter Hughes and Bret Connor acquired the Paramount building along 20th Street North as a long-term hold. The tenancy-in-common deal which closed on Dec. 31, went for $2.85 million, according to public records.

Selling entity Fun City North LLC, which belongs to Matthew Hogan, had closed on the property for $2.575 million in 2017, according to public records.

Matt Gilchrist and Sam Carroll of Graham & Co. represented the seller in the deal.

In addition to the popular Paramount restaurant and bar on the ground floor, the building is home to the Birmingham office of Action Enterprise Logistics.

H2 Real Estate is managing the property.

The investment deal is another vote of confidence for Birmingham and especially the downtown area, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the economic uncertainty, Helen Restaurant opened nearby last year in another property owned by Hughes.

More activity is expected for downtown with the redevelopment of the AT&T City Center building for mixed-use.

[Read Article Here]

A Woodlawn-based nonprofit has purchased property along a busy Birmingham corridor.

Christ Health Center purchased property at 750 Montclair Road for $950,000 from the Baptist Health System on Dec. 29, according to public records.

The property is located near the former Trinity Medical Center, a storage facility and the Levite Jewish Community Center.

Leaders with Christ Health Center did not immediately return BBJ requests for comment on the purchase, including what the building would be used for. However, the nonprofit’s annual report indicates it does have goals for clinic expansions.

As of December 2019, the nonprofit that provides health care to the indigent community still needed $1.89 million for an expansion campaign. It had $6.34 million already secured with an overall goal of $8.23 million.

“We are expanding access to affordable, Christ-centered mental health care for adults and kids … even if they are unable to pay,” CHC’s annual report said. “We are committing to train 80 family physicians … to provide 240,000 medical ministry opportunities over the next 10 years.”

Christ Health Center also has been pivotal during the Covid-19 pandemic, offering testing sites throughout Birmingham.

Walter Brown represented the Seller and Sam Carroll represented the Buyer in the transaction.

[Read Article Here]

Buffalo Rock Co. is expanding its presence in metro Birmingham with a large distribution campus off Lakeshore Parkway that will create about 50 new jobs.

It’s a $75 million investment for the Birmingham-based company in a new center that encompasses about 77 acres off Lakeshore Parkway.

The company acquired 895,000 square feet of warehouse space in the facility at 400 Industrial Drive as well as the adjacent 120,000-square-foot office building at 800 Lakeshore Parkway in deals totaling $39.2 million, according to Jefferson County public records. Real Capital Solutions in Louisville, Colorado, was the seller.

Philip Currie and Edwin Moss of J.H. Berry & Gilbert represented the buyer, and Ogden Deaton and Walter Brown of Graham & Co. represented the seller.

PNC Bank provided $46 million in financing for the deals, according to public records. Burr & Forman provided legal support.

“This is the largest infrastructure investment in our company’s history, and we are proud to make it in Birmingham,” said Jimmy Lee, chairman of the board and CEO of Buffalo Rock. “We’ve been in business in Birmingham since 1901, and today’s announcement is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to this community. We are grateful for the hard work of all our employee-partners and for local elected officials whose support sustains our continued success.”

The company will add between 25 and 50 new jobs at the center.

“Buffalo Rock has been a great corporate partner to the city of Birmingham for well more than a century,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “We are grateful for the company’s investments that create jobs in our community, as well as the Lee family’s significant contributions over all these years to support education, workforce development and other city initiatives. Jimmy, the Lee family, and Buffalo Rock have demonstrated unwavering commitment to our city.”

The warehouse property sits on about 64 acres and includes a 780,000-square-foot dry storage warehouse, a shallow bay warehouse that is 70,000 square feet and cross dock and fleet building totaling 45,000 square feet. The office building and its parking lots make up the remaining almost 13 acres.

The warehouse and office building will serve as the company’s central office and warehouse distribution center with new technology such as a $20 million vertique system, a high-speed automated four-lane pick system, which will be able to handle up to 2,000 different beverage cues, said Matthew Dent, president and COO at Buffalo Rock.

Coronavirus has been a challenge, Dent told the Birmingham Business Journal, but this project is not in response to the pandemic but part of the company’s long-term, strategic plan as it sports growth numbers that have not been published yet, he said.

“We are investing in meaningful ways over the next few years to enhance our supply-chain infrastructure, and the goal of that is to be able to better serve our customers across our entire Buffalo Rock footprint,” Dent said. “We have enormous growth coming for the company as part of our strategic plan, and this infrastructure is going in place to be able to support that growth. The technology that we’re adding is going to really enhance our ability to serve our customers across the whole footprint as we expand that portfolio.”

The project is also part of the company’s vision to be a major player in the beverage industry.

“We will have the greatest consumer offering of anybody in the industry,” Dent said. “We’re not at liberty to disclose what those moves are, but over the next year or two we’ll be expanding our portfolio in major ways.”

Hoar Program Management has begun pre-construction planning, and the renovation project is expected to last about 12 months.

It is another significant project for the Lakeshore Parkway corridor that is seeing large facilities under construction for several major companies including Amazon, Carvana, FedEx Ground and Lowe’s.

[Read Article Here]

Buffalo Rock Co. is expanding its presence in metro Birmingham with a large distribution campus off Lakeshore Parkway that will create about 50 new jobs.

It’s a $75 million investment for the Birmingham-based company in a new center that encompasses about 77 acres off Lakeshore Parkway.

The company acquired 895,000 square feet of warehouse space in the facility at 400 Industrial Drive as well as the adjacent 120,000-square-foot office building at 800 Lakeshore Parkway in deals totaling $39.2 million, according to Jefferson County public records. Real Capital Solutions in Louisville, Colorado, was the seller.

Philip Currie and Edwin Moss of J.H. Berry & Gilbert represented the buyer, and Ogden Deaton and Walter Brown of Graham & Co. represented the seller.

PNC Bank provided $46 million in financing for the deals, according to public records. Burr & Forman provided legal support.

“This is the largest infrastructure investment in our company’s history, and we are proud to make it in Birmingham,” said Jimmy Lee, chairman of the board and CEO of Buffalo Rock. “We’ve been in business in Birmingham since 1901, and today’s announcement is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to this community. We are grateful for the hard work of all our employee-partners and for local elected officials whose support sustains our continued success.”

The company will add between 25 and 50 new jobs at the center.

“Buffalo Rock has been a great corporate partner to the city of Birmingham for well more than a century,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “We are grateful for the company’s investments that create jobs in our community, as well as the Lee family’s significant contributions over all these years to support education, workforce development and other city initiatives. Jimmy, the Lee family, and Buffalo Rock have demonstrated unwavering commitment to our city.”

The warehouse property sits on about 64 acres and includes a 780,000-square-foot dry storage warehouse, a shallow bay warehouse that is 70,000 square feet and cross dock and fleet building totaling 45,000 square feet. The office building and its parking lots make up the remaining almost 13 acres.

The warehouse and office building will serve as the company’s central office and warehouse distribution center with new technology such as a $20 million vertique system, a high-speed automated four-lane pick system, which will be able to handle up to 2,000 different beverage cues, said Matthew Dent, president and COO at Buffalo Rock.

Coronavirus has been a challenge, Dent told the Birmingham Business Journal, but this project is not in response to the pandemic but part of the company’s long-term, strategic plan as it sports growth numbers that have not been published yet, he said.

“We are investing in meaningful ways over the next few years to enhance our supply-chain infrastructure, and the goal of that is to be able to better serve our customers across our entire Buffalo Rock footprint,” Dent said. “We have enormous growth coming for the company as part of our strategic plan, and this infrastructure is going in place to be able to support that growth. The technology that we’re adding is going to really enhance our ability to serve our customers across the whole footprint as we expand that portfolio.”

The project is also part of the company’s vision to be a major player in the beverage industry.

“We will have the greatest consumer offering of anybody in the industry,” Dent said. “We’re not at liberty to disclose what those moves are, but over the next year or two we’ll be expanding our portfolio in major ways.”

Hoar Program Management has begun pre-construction planning, and the renovation project is expected to last about 12 months.

It is another significant project for the Lakeshore Parkway corridor that is seeing large facilities under construction for several major companies including Amazon, Carvana, FedEx Ground and Lowe’s.

[ Read article on bizjournals.com]