Take a look at the Graham Report for 2025. The past year brought its share of market shifts, yet our company stayed active and engaged, helping clients adapt to new challenges and opportunities. With ongoing discussions about the future of commercial real estate, we remain focused on what we do best—supporting property owners, landlords, tenants, investors, and our community as they navigate an ever-changing landscape.
Jordan Tubb, SIOR and the guys have been busy at it in Birmingham. Learn all about it here, as published in a recent article on the BBJ.
Montgomery, AL – October 2, 2024 – An exciting new industrial development has broken ground in Montgomery, AL, marking the start of a $52 million project to build a state-of-the-art 460,000-square-foot facility for Hyundai MOBIS. Located adjacent to the existing Hyundai MOBIS campus on Mitchell Young Road, the planned Class-A distribution center will support the growing aftermarket parts needs of both Hyundai and Kia vehicles across a national network to dealerships.
With a vision towards the future, MOBIS worked closely with the project’s design/build team to plan for the likely need to expand the facility in the future. Sitting on approximately 60 acres of land, the initial facility will feature a cross-dock layout and be expandable out the eastern wall by an additional +/- 270,00 SF. This expansion underscores Hyundai MOBIS' long-term commitment to serving Alabama and enhancing their national distribution network of after-market parts for both combustion engine and electric vehicles in the Hyundai and Kia model line-up. The continued growth of the campus is also a reflection of the strategic partnership between Hyundai MOBIS and the greater Montgomery region. The Montgomery Chamber and Graham played a key role in helping MOBIS see the value in retaining and growing this line of business next door to its main Montgomery headquarters
Sam Carroll, SIOR & Matt Gilchrist, SIOR represented Kratos SRE in leasing 43,001 SF at 801 Tom Martin Dr, a two story office building off Lakeshore Parkway. Kratos SRE is a division of Kratos Defense & Security Systems, Inc. The 90,504 SF office building has been vacant since the IRS relocated its offices in 2021.
You can click here to read the full story on the BBJ: Defense contractor leases vacant Oxmoor office building
By Samuel Stettheimer – Commercial Real Estate Reporter, Birmingham Business Journal
A health care practice at Ascension St. Vincent’s OBGYN is moving to the Grandview
Medical Center complex.
Birmingham OBGYN will move its main practice from the Ascension St. Vincent’s Birmingham campus to an office at 3595 Grandview Parkway, leasing the entire third floor of an office building named The Grand that sits just off U.S. 280.
Richard Tidwell of Vulcan Realty represented Birmingham OBGYN in the lease deal, and Sam Carroll, senior vice president of Graham & Co., represented the owner of The Grand, Grandview Holdings LLC.
“The recent capital investment made by the ownership group to renovate all of the building’s common areas and to rebrand the building were tremendous benefits in helping secure Birmingham OBGYN as a tenant. The building is now well positioned from an occupancy/tenant standpoint for the foreseeable Future.”
Sam Carroll
Sr VP Graham&Co
Birmingham OBGYN’s current main office is about 15,000 square feet, according to CEO David Carmichael. The new office will house a clinical area with additional exam rooms, labs, physician offices and a new wellness center. Birmingham OBGYN plans to move by Jan. 1 and will budget roughly $1.6 million for the lease, move and tenant build-out.
With this latest deal, Carroll and Graham & Co. Vice President Matt Gilchrist have leased The Grand’s 150,000 square feet to 99% occupancy. Carroll told the BBJ the company recently leased 2,333 square feet to XS Brokers Insurance Agency Inc. and 3,177 SF to Vera Ventures.
In a significant industrial real estate transaction, the Jeff Met McCalla Industrial Park witnessed the sale of a newly developed warehouse property. The deal, which closed at $32.26 million, was facilitated by our own Sonny Culp of Graham & Co., who, alongside Doug Longyear of Cushman & Wakefield, represented the seller, AMR REIT Prestige Industrial LLC. This property, spanning more than 300,000 sf, is a testament to the park’s appeal to top-tier companies and investors, with its strategic location and state-of-the-art facilities. This sale is part of a larger trend in the Birmingham area, where industrial sites are increasingly sought after for their potential to drive economic growth and job creation, particularly in the automotive supply and distribution sectors. Sonny’s role was pivotal in this transaction, showcasing his expertise in closing deals that contribute to the region’s industrial development.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham's acquisition of the former Daniel Building, a 19-story, 300,000 SF office tower, was one of the most significant deals in Birmingham last year. Located between Downtown and the Southside/Medical district, the former Daniel Building is one of the tallest in Birmingham outside the city's central business district.
The $16 million sale and the expansion of the university earned the deal a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for the sale/acquisition of the year, as judged by local real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Built in 1970 as the regional offices of Daniel International, which included its real estate division, Daniel Realty, the office tower was acquired by Compass Bancshares in 1993, which was later acquired by BBVA to become BBVA Compass. PNC Bank acquired BBVA Compass in 2021, becoming the fifth-largest bank in the United States, and inherited the office property as part of the acquisition.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will be the building's owner-user. UAB is the city's largest employer, and the tower is near the school's existing infrastructure. They plan to move the back-office personnel, accounting, and HR departments to the tower from the various medical buildings these departments currently occupy, which will create open space for expansion. It also reiterates the impact UAB Medicine has on the city, and their investment in a significant amount of square footage means its current workface remains within the UAB footprint as well as having additional room for future employees.
What the Judges Said: "The Former Daniel Building not only set a precedent for the innovative reuse of vacant office space in a challenging market but also significantly impacts the local community by expanding UAB Medicine's footprint. The comprehensive benefits to the community, the healthcare system, and the local real estate market highlight the transaction's exceptional value and alignment with the award's criteria."
University of Montevallo STEM Initiative’s New Lease
Calera Commerce Park (CCP), a 216,000 SF, Class A Industrial Facility, broke ground in 1Q 2022 and was fully leased by 3Q 2023. Located in Shelby County, which is a southern Industrial submarket of the Birmingham MSA, along the northside of I-65, the building has excellent interstate access and visibility. At the time construction began, the Southern industrial submarket had a total of 3.9m SF and an occupancy rate of 91.4%.
University of Montevallo/AMSTI is the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI), which is the Alabama Department of Education’s initiative to improve math and science teaching statewide. Its mission is to support Alabama educators and students in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through doing STEM. AMSTI has 10 regional sites within the state and each site is affiliated with a state college/higher learning institution. This site needed to remain in a central location but move closer to the University of Montevallo. Calera Commerce Park is 7 miles from campus, which enabled AMSTI’s personnel to move on campus and have the warehouse space easily available, as well as remaining an accessible distribution hub. The roughly 54,000-square-foot lease was signed in August and is for 10 years.
What the Judges Said: "The short lease-up period indicates continued demand for Class A industrial product in both the South submarket and overall Birmingham market. Additionally, AMSTI's commitment to advancing STEM education is an investment that will impact the state for decades to come."
An industrial property in Jefferson Metropolitan Industrial Park in McCalla has sold to a Missouri-based real estate firm.
By Illyshia Parker – Commercial Real Estate Reporter, Birmingham Business Journal
Feb 29, 2024
The 111,983-square-foot property was fully leased in 2023 to Mobis, a Tier 1 automotive supplier. The company uses the facility for assembly and distribution to support Mercedes-Benz, which is located in nearby Vance. Located at 6800 Jefferson Metro Parkway, the newly constructed concrete tilt-up industrial building has 30-footclearance heights, 21 dock-high doors, two drive-in doors and 88 parking spaces. According to Jefferson County public records, AMR REIT Prestige Industrial II LLC sold the industrial property to PMUDO Alabama LLC on Feb. 15. The deal closed for $13 million. Sonny Culp with Graham & Co. and Doug Longyear with Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the deal. There was no buyer representation. The selling entity, AMR REIT Prestige Industrial II LLC, has an address listed at 200Crescent Ct. Ste. 240 in Dallas, Texas, that it shares with AMR Capital LLC, indicating some affiliation. The privately owned real estate investment firm developed the speculative property in 2022.
The purchasing entity, PMUDO Alabama LLC, has an address listed at 2600 Grand Blvd.in Kansas City, Missouri, that it shares with Kessinger Hunter & Co. LLC, indicating some affiliation. According to the company's website, Kessinger Hunter is a full-service commercial real estate firm that currently manages over $26.3 million square feet spanning more than 200 properties across the U.S. and European countries. The company has been in business since 1879.
Culp said in general, the Birmingham industrial market is seeing an overall slowdown inactivity, mirroring corporate America's pullback in the economy. However, he said despite moving at a slower pace, the local market is not overbuilt and remains stable.
Used by permission from the Birmingham Business Journal
Founded in 1978, Graham & Company is a full-service commercial real estate firm with offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Panama City, Florida. Graham offers investment sales, leasing, property management, and development services.
Graham & Company has been involved in the development and management of industrial properties, office buildings, office/service centers, and office rehabilitation projects throughout the Southeast. Over the last 20 years, Graham & Company has delivered more than 11 million SF of build-to-suit and speculative industrial and office projects, each involving a unique set of challenges and hurdles to overcome.
