Business Happenings - March 2022
Now Open
Owners Corey Whatley, Quincy Coleman and Byron Watkins recently opened Woodlawn Bar and Lounge, 5505 First Ave. N., according to the Woodlawn BHM Facebook group. The establishment serves beer, wine and cocktails. Instagram @woodlawnbarandlounge
Coming Soon
Chicago-based tech company Fetch Rewards recently announced it will invest more than $1 million to open a new office facility and customer-support hub in Birmingham. The project, approved Jan. 20 by the Jefferson County Commission, will create 200 new full-time jobs, according to a Fetch news release. At press time, the company was hiring for positions including support, data integrity, engineering, product and fraud. “With Fetch continuing to grow exponentially, Birmingham is the perfect place to launch the next chapter of our expansion,” CEO and founder Wes Schroll said in the release. “It’s an up-and-coming technology and entrepreneurship hub with an incredible pool of local talent.”
Relocations and Renovations
Red Mountain Makers — a nonprofit makerspace formerly located in Woodlawn — moved in February to a new 8,000-square-foot space at 810 Fourth Ave. N. in Hardware Park in Smithfield. Hardware Park, measuring 100,000 square feet, is a tech-centered business campus located in the western portion of the Innovation District. RMM will be able to offer more classes, workspace and studio rentals for small businesses and entrepreneurs, according to the organization’s vice chair, Carlo Rezzonico. 205-588-4077
Apex Systems, a technology services business that incorporates industry insights and experience to deliver solutions that fulfill its clients’ digital visions, is relocating from One Perimeter Park South, Suite 140, in Birmingham to an office with about 3,000 square feet on the 11th floor of The Offices at 3000 Riverchase in Hoover. The new office was expected to open around the beginning of March, said Alan Paquette, vice president for property management for Jim Wilson and Associates and property manager for The Offices at 3000 Riverchase. Apex has a presence in more than 70 markets across North America, Europe and India. 205-623-1115
SecurIT360, a company that fights ransomware and provides other cybersecurity services, has relocated from 530 Beacon Parkway West, Suite 901, in Birmingham to The Offices at 3000 Riverchase in Hoover. The company has leased almost 9,000 square feet in the office tower next to the Riverchase Galleria, taking up nearly half of the seventh floor, said Alan Paquette, vice president for property management for Jim Wilson & Associates and manager of The Offices at 3000 Riverchase. The new office was expected to be open by Feb. 15. SecurIT360 has another office in Kansas City, Missouri, and employees in other states as well. 205-419-9066
New Construction
Pittsburgh-based HarbisonWalker International, the largest supplier of refractory products and services in North America, announced in January that it intends to spend about $25 million to convert its closed property at 2595 Ensley-Pleasant Grove Road in Fairfield into Alabama One, or AL1, manufacturing, service and distribution hub for steel customers in the southern United States. Construction will begin during the first quarter of 2022, and the 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to open before the end of 2022, according to an HWI news release. 412-375-6600
Construction Update
Construction continues on 20th Street North for the Birmingham Green Refresh, an extensive redo of the Birmingham Green beautification project carried out in the 1970s. The project stretches from Morris Avenue to Linn Park and includes expansion of the bike and flex lanes installed in 2020. There will be new native and drought-resistant landscaping, similar to that in Railroad Park and Rotary Trail, All businesses on 20th Street North are to remain open throughout construction. The work is being done in four phases. At press time, Phase 1 — the northbound lane of 20th Street from Third Avenue North to Linn Park — was complete, according to the REV Birmingham website. The three remaining phases are: Phase 2: Southbound lane of 20th Street from Linn Park to Third Avenue North; Phase 3: Southbound lane of 20th Street from Third Avenue North to Morris Avenue; and Phase 4: Northbound lane of 20th Street from Morris Avenue to Third Avenue North. Each phase should take about 50 days, according to REV. After all four phases are complete, new plants and planters, bike lanes, colorful flex-lane painting and new seating will be installed along 20th Street North.
News and Accomplishments
YWCA Central Alabama, 309 23rd St. N., had its annual meeting Jan. 18 and presented the 2021 Jeana P. Hosch Woman of Valor — its most prestigious award — to Eleanor Griffin, according to a news release from the nonprofit. Griffin is a long-serving YWCA Central Alabama board member who serves as vice president of planning and, for several years, co-chaired Purse & Passion, the organization’s signature annual fundraiser. A former publishing executive and a 34-year veteran of Time Inc./Meredith Corp., Griffin was founding editor of Cottage Living magazine and later editor of Southern Living magazine. Among her numerous editorial awards is the Time Inc. Henry Luce Award for outstanding community service. At the meeting, Volunteer Manager Valerie Johnson received the organization’s highest honor for staff, the Annie Caudle “Living the Mission” Award. 205-322-9922
Jeff Holmes, the dean of the UAB School of Engineering, has received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health titled “Multiscale Models for Predicting Short and Long-term Outcome of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy,” according to UAB News. Holmes will share the grant with a colleague from the University of Virginia. “The goal is to customize a recently developed therapy for heart failure patients,” Holmes said. “There used to be no treatment for heart failure other than a transplant; but when it works, this therapy — called Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy or CRT — can reverse the progression of heart failure.” 205-934-8400
The city of Birmingham, through the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, recently announced the winners of $500,000 in BOLD (Building Opportunities for Lasting Development) grants. The funding recipients are Ed Farm, Rebirth Community Corporation, Urban Impact, Community Care Development Network and the Women’s Fund. The goal is to support organizations and agencies that are taking creative approaches to solving community issues, according to a city news release.
Regions Bank, 1900 Fifth Ave. N., recently announced it has launched a Commercial Business Development team focused on helping small businesses build customized financial plans. The new team is led by Jordan Baxter, senior vice president in Regions Commercial Banking. It complements the bank’s existing Commercial Banking Solutions group, which is led by Ginger Blake, a Regions executive vice president. 205-326-5151
Space One Eleven, 2409 Second Ave. N., recently announced it has received a $12,800 grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to fund “Magic City Memories,” an interactive exhibition in collaboration with the Invisible Histories Project, and 2022 summer art camps for children in grades 2-12. SOE will collaborate with the Invisible Histories Project to create an exhibition and interactive timeline of LGBTQ life in the South where community members will be invited to share their stories. Space One Eleven will offer summer art camps to children and youth in grades 2-12 using a sliding fee scale to ensure quality art education is accessible for all area residents, regardless of family income. SOE, formed in 1986, is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a series of exhibits during the 2021-22 arts season. 205-328-0553
Cynthia T. Anthony, president of Lawson State Community College, 3060 Wilson Road S.W., was named the recipient of the Charles A. Long Outstanding Civic Award for 2022 given by the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 3. With over 30 years in the Alabama Community College System, Anthony has held many roles including assistant dean, dean of students, executive vice president, interim president and now president. 205-925-2515
The Birmingham Business Alliance, 505 20th St. N., Suite 200, recently announced that 21 local companies had been selected to take part in its Supplier Scale program, which will provide customized solutions to prepare these companies to do business with the region’s largest employers. Ninety-five percent of the businesses chosen are women- or minority-owned. Supplier Scale is part of the Small Business Advisory Services program funded by Prosper. The chosen companies and owners are: 3G Chemical Solutions LLC, Aleia Shipman; Auto Tread Inc., Carl Colvin; Birmingham Health, Dr. Alex Casey; Blueroot, Jennifer Senske Ryan; C&J Lawn LLC, Tanesha Howard; College Prep U, Jay Johnson; Complete 3 Tech Solutions LLC, Christopher White; Electrical Maintenance & Troubleshooting LLC, Lensey King Jr.; Global Team Staffing LLC, Greg Minard; Life Touch Massage LLC, Lemar Storey; LVL Up Logistics LLC, Olu Aladebumoye; MPA Financials, Cicely Jones; Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co., Clem Summers; Never Go Broke Inc., Tae Lee; ProFRESHional Creations LLC, Courtney Woods; Rebirth Marketing & Consulting, Rashida Reese; SARCOR LLC, Selena Rodgers Dickerson; Slade Land Use, Environmental and Transportation Planning, L’Tryce Slade; Smith and Associates Enterprise Inc., Joe Smith; Spiffy Designs, Barbara Cooney; and Weelth Inc/TaxxWiz, Tevin Harrell. 205-324-2100
Personnel Moves
Joseph McGee, the longtime president and CEO of Legacy Community Federal Credit Union, has retired after nearly 45 years in the financial services industry and nearly 31 years at Legacy. The board of directors named Chief Operating Officer Glenn Bryan as the new president and CEO, a change which became effective in January. McGee will remain in a consultative and advisory capacity as CEO emeritus through his planned retirement date in March 2022. During his tenure, the credit union grew from $70 million in assets to more than $600 million in assets. Bryan has worked in the financial services industry for nearly 40 years and has been with the credit union for 37 years. Legacy Community Federal Credit Union has local locations at 1400 South 20th St., 9825 Parkway East, 1920 Fourth Ave. S.
The UAB Heersink School of Medicine, 1670 University Blvd., recently named Dr. Raegan Durant, who is a tenured professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine, to the new role of Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, according to UAB News. Durant was also named as one of two recipients of the Heersink School of Medicine 2017 Dean’s Excellence Awards for Diversity Enhancement. In his research, Durant studies both health disparities related to chronic disease outcomes and minority participation in clinical trials. 205-975-8884
Childcare Resources, 244 W. Valley Ave, Suite 200, a nonprofit organization and United Way of Central Alabama partner agency, recently announced executive officers and board members for 2022. The officers for 2022 are: Chairman Rick Morris, president of R2 Consulting LLC; Vice Chair Jenna Dorlon, manager of business development, American Express; Secretary Liz Hyde, president, Hyde Engineering Inc.; Treasurer Jay Snipes, operations director and senior advisor, Bureau of Fiscal Service, Department of the Treasury; and Past Chairman Michael F. Walker, attorney, Bradley. 205-945-0018
Alabama Symphony Orchestra, 3621 Sixth Ave. S., recently announced that Mandy Peterson-Tice had been hired as the ASO’s new director of development. Peterson-Tice has held fundraising positions at several universities, including Berry College, the University of Mississippi and Belhaven University. She is also a trained musician who loves classical music. Kimberly King has been serving as director of development since November 2020, but she joined the ASO as corporate development and events manager in 2019 and will continue in her original role with the organization. 205-975-2787
Southern Research, 2000 Ninth Ave. S., recently announced several additions to its staff and leadership team. Brantley Fry has joined the organization as its new vice president of people and community. She formerly worked as chief of staff and general counsel for Pack Health. The new position was created as part of an effort to restructure, modernize and expand Southern Research operations in Birmingham, including the construction of a new biotech facility at its Southside campus, according to a news release from the organization. In other personnel changes, Mark Suto, the vice president of the Life Sciences section, has retired, and his team has been split into two new divisions, Scientific Platforms and Contract Research Oriented (CRO) Services, Corinne E. Augelli-Szafran is the interim vice president for Scientific Platforms, a division that conducts early drug-discovery research to identify new treatments for illnesses. Kevin Burton has been named vice president of Research Services, a division that conducts later-stage drug-discovery research to test the effectiveness of potential new treatments before they move to human clinical trials. The new director of the High-Throughput Screening Center is Paige Vinson. She replaces Bob Bostwick, who retired in December. Briana Bryant joined Southern Research in December as the organization’s new communications director. She previously served as the marketing manager of the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UAB. 205-581-2000
Regions Bank, 1900 Fifth Ave. N., recently announced that Nikki Stephenson has been promoted to serve as head of corporate development. She will lead the bank’s mergers and acquisitions strategy, identifying opportunities for Regions to further expand its range of specialty capabilities and high-value financial services for clients across the banking sector, according to a Regions news release. Stephenson, who has 20 years of banking experience, will also manage Regions’ Equity Investment Program, which provides strategic equity primarily in financial technology companies. 205-326-5151
Union Home Mortgage, based in Strongsville, Ohio, recently announced the hiring of Carl Douglas as a producing brand manager and Michelle Benefield Smith as a loan officer in the company’s Greater Birmingham region. Douglas and Smith will help produce, manage and originate loans for homebuyers. Douglas and Smith have a combined 21 years of mortgage experience. Prior to joining UHM, Douglas served as a loan officer at First Bank Mortgage. Smith is also experienced in working with Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs and Rural Development loans. 1-877-846-4968
The board of directors of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc., 4600 E Lake Blvd., recently elected Michael A. Suco as its next president and chief executive officer, effective Aug. 1, according to a news release from the company. Suco, who is currently senior vice president and chief commercial officer, will succeed John Sherman, who is retiring at the end of July. Suco will be the eighth president and CEO to lead the company in its 120 years of operation. 205-841-2653
EXIT Realty Birmingham, 2808 Seventh Ave S., Suite 111, recently hired four new team members at its office in Lakeview, according to a news release from EXIT Realty Corp. International. The new hires are Eboni Hale, Tiffany Russell, Cristy Brasher Jenkins and Antwone Henry. In addition, Stacey Duncan has joined the EXIT Legacy Realty office at 7924 Parkway Drive SE in Leeds. 205-202-2747