Business Happenings - August 2021
NOW OPEN
Mobile Fleet Specialists has opened a second location at 800 Third Ave. N. Mobile Fleet Specialists will travel to its clients anywhere in the metro area, services commercial fleet trucks and also offers mobile truck washing services for fleet trucks. 205-332-5300
Yellow Hammer Farms recently opened a hydroponic farm and market, the first such facility in the city, at 702 Third Ave. N., according to a news release from the company. The owners, Frank and Jillian Fitts, said they seek to use their technology to provide fresh, affordable produce year-round. 205-820-9430
The new Technology Innovation Center, which opened this spring and replaces the Rust Computer Center, is located at 17th Street South and Ninth Avenue on the site of the former Ninth Avenue Office Building, according to UAB Media Relations. It hosts the fastest high-performance research computer in the state and the data highway that connects researchers throughout the University of Alabama System. It will house campus internet connectivity and technology infrastructure and host co-location services to campus. 205-934-4011
Coming Soon
Compton ACE Hardware, owned by Don Compton, recently signed a lease to open at 4500 Montevallo Road at The Shops on Montevallo by the end of 2021, according to a news release from Continental Realty Corporation. The store will be about 11,000 square feet. This will be Compton’s ninth Ace Hardware store in the Birmingham area.
Bought/Sold
Out-of-town investors have purchased the 15-story Renasant Place, or Park Place Tower, 2001 Park Place, according to a June 3 report in Birmingham Business Journal. Eightfold Real Estate Capital LP in Miami and Cicada Capital Partners LLC in Memphis acquired the building for $16.75 million, or about $60 per square foot, the BBJ reported, citing public records.
Terrace Court Apartments, 1124 20th St. S. in Five Points South, has been sold to new owners, according to a recent report from Birmingham Business Journal. Local investors Farra LLC and Markle LLC bought the building, which was built in 1907, for $5.25 million from TCA LLC, the BBJ reports. 205-458-1070
New Construction
The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees has given Stage I approval for the construction of a new student organization assembly building at UAB, according to a June 4 report by Birmingham Business Journal. The project is estimated at $3.4 million and is to be located on the northeast corner of 11th Avenue South and 14th Street South. 205-934-4011
UAB announced it will renovate and expand the Lyons Harrison Research Building, 701 19th St. S., into the 145,000 square-foot Altec Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building. This new facility is part of the School of Medicine’s long-range plan to enhance research in genomic medicine and computational biology, according to UAB Media Relations. The adjoining Kracke Building and the Pittman Center for Advanced Medical Studies will be torn down this summer to make way for the renovation. The entire project will cost about $75 million. 205-934-4011
Work recently began on a new practice facility for UAB basketball, according to UAB Media Relations. The $8.5 million project will be a renovation of the current Physical Education Building, located at 608 13th St. S. The facility will be home to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and will include two practice courts, coaches’ suites, locker rooms and players’ lounges for each program. 205-934-4011
Construction will soon begin on the new UAB Science and Engineering Complex, which will cost about $78 million and serve as home to the university’s basic sciences programs. The project should be complete by the summer of 2023, according to UAB Media Relations. It is being built on the site of the demolished Education Building at 14th Street South between University Boulevard and 10th Avenue South. 205-934-4011
Relocations and Renovations
Landing, a nationwide membership network of furnished apartments, recently announced it is relocating its headquarters from San Francisco to Birmingham. The company, which was founded in 2019 by Birmingham entrepreneur and Shipt founder Bill Smith, plans to create 816 new full-time jobs as it continues to grow. Landing will be housed in the John Hand Building, 9 20th St. N. 205-619-8980
One location of Blazer Kitchen, the on-campus food pantry at UAB, was recently moved from Medical Towers to a newly renovated space at 1613 11th Ave. S., according to UAB Media Relations. The new space was formerly Birmingham Pediatric Dental Associates. The UAB Benevolent Fund offices also relocated to the new space. 205-934-4011
News and Accomplishments
Sirote & Permutt, P.C., 2311 Highland Ave. S., is combining with Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, and looks forward to becoming Dentons Sirote. 205-930-5442
Tech startup Linq, 1721 Third Ave. N., Suite 202, recently announced it had raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Mucker Capital, according to media reports. Linq is a networking platform that uses QR codes and Near Field Communication technology to allow users to share information using customizable pages. 217-341-4513
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin recently announced that the city’s Birmingham Promise education initiative had received $8 million in new corporate gifts, including $5 million — the program’s largest private donation to date — from Vulcan Value Partners, 2801 U.S. 280, Suite 300. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Protective Life and Alabama Power each donated $1 million. 205-803-1582
YWCA Central Alabama, 2324 Third Ave. N., recently announced it had awarded 10 small business grants to women entrepreneurs. The 10 recipients were among 36 Birmingham area women, including women of color, who participated in the nonprofit’s WE360 Business Essentials program for entrepreneurs for six weeks beginning in March. The recipients are: Cassandra “Joy” King, Sybil Scarbrough, Javacia Harris Bowser, Aquilla Stanback, Brianna McCoy, Brittany Hogan, Erica Patterson, Britney Davis, LaSharn Ayers Calhoun and Sade Coppins. YWCA WE360 will launch a fall cohort in September, according to a YWCA news release. 205-581-1629
Bryan Holt, principal at Southpace Properties, 300 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N., Suite 900, has been named president of Retail Brokers Network, the nation’s largest and fastest growing retail networking group. 205-326-2222
Coolbus, a Birmingham-based carpool app, recently announced it is expanding to include trusted babysitting options for parents. Coolbus’ trust network matches parents with trusted childcare options in their own community, based on connections, endorsements, trust scores and local proximity. Every driver or sitter that Coolbus recommends to parents has been endorsed, either by someone those parents know, or by someone they share a connection with. 205-259-7079
Birmingham author Debra H. Goldstein recently published a new book, “Four Cuts Too Many.” She was also a panelist at a Hoover Library conference about mystery writers. Her work has attracted favorable attention from New York Journal of Books and Alabama Public Radio.
Personnel Moves
Robertson Banking Company, 1801 Fifth Ave. N., Suite 100, welcomes Mike Coggins to the Birmingham market as a commercial lender. 205-847-3160
Joia Johnson has been appointed to the boards of Regions Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Regions Bank, effective July 20. Johnson recently retired as chief administrative officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for Hanesbrands, an apparel manufacturer and marketer. Based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Johnson served as the executive leader for the Hanesbrands board of directors’ Compensation Committee as well as the board’s Governance and Nominating Committee. She also oversaw legal, corporate social responsibility, human resources, real estate and government/trade relations functions for the company. For Regions Financial and Regions Bank, she will serve on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Risk Committee of the boards. Johnson also serves on the board of Global Payments, a Fortune 500 payments technology company, and previously served on the boards of Crawford & Company, which specializes in insurance claims administration, and H.J. Russell & Company, a private real estate construction and property management business. Regions has two downtown branches at 1900 Fifth Ave. N., and 2200 Fifth Ave. N.
Anniversaries
TherapySouth is celebrating its 15th anniversary of serving people with physical therapy needs. Its Lakeview location can be visited at 720 32nd St. S.
Ignite Cycle, 224 29th St. S. at Pepper Place, recently celebrated its second anniversary. 205-639-6908
Alys Stephens Center’s ArtPlay, 1006 19th St. S., is celebrating its 10th anniversary in August. 205-975-4769
UAB Honors College is celebrating its first anniversary in its new building at 1321 10th Ave. S. 205-996-7190
Five Birmingham, 744 29th St S., is celebrating its ninth anniversary in August. It has also added new general managers and managerial staff. 205-868-3841