Business Roundup: Taking EQUIP online, Mercantile on Morris update, CRST HQ
A big construction company in the Magic City is going online to increase networking opportunities for small and minority-owned firms. A new mixed-use project on First Avenue North downtown has its first retail tenant. Transportation company CRST is building a new facility in Birmingham. And two local organizations make major personnel moves.
CREATING OPPORTUNITY
Birmingham construction firm Brasfield & Gorrie is going online with its EQUIP program, an initiative designed to help create networking and development opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned construction firms.
At press time, virtual programming was to be launched Feb. 16, according to the company’s news release.
Brasfield & Gorrie employees will lead virtual sessions to provide registered firms with industry education, networking and access to project opportunities. Topics covered will include estimating, safety, innovation and risk. Workshops will be held monthly in the spring and fall.
The EQUIP program was launched in 2019 with in-person sessions in Birmingham and Atlanta.
“One of the key pieces of feedback I receive from small and diverse businesses is the need for more access to relationships and project opportunities with large general contractors,” said Natalie Kelly, director of corporate responsibility at Brasfield & Gorrie, in the release.
“As we continue building strong relationships with small and diverse firms in the industry, it is important that Brasfield & Gorrie expands the reach of EQUIP,” she said. Interested companies should register at equip.brasfieldgorrie.com/register.
MERCANTILE ON MORRIS
Orchestra Partners, a Birmingham development firm, is nearing completion of construction for Mercantile on Morris, its newest project downtown.
At press time, the developers expected to finish work on the first residential units in February and the pedestrian plaza with retail and public areas in the spring.
The company also announced in January that Bridge + Root, a fashion shop for men, will be the first retailer to open in the mixed-use development.
This will be the first storefront for Bridge + Root, which is owned by Aisha Taylor, who has been in retail management for 25 years and worked as a personal stylist.
“My brand was born because I noticed that there was a retail gap for style-forward men who appreciate curated quality and rarity,” Taylor said in the Orchestra Partners release.
She launched Bridge + Root in 2020 with online sales and a popup at the Elyton Hotel.
Taylor likes her new location. “I wanted an industrial aesthetic with exposed brick and a smaller footprint,” she said.
For more information about Mercantile on Morris, including available residential and commercial space, go to Facebook @MercantileOnMorris.
FORGING A STRATEGY
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) hired a new president and CEO, Ron Kitchens, in late December.
Now the BBA has promoted Emily Jerkins, formerly the organization’s director of research, to serve as its new vice president of strategy and research.
“Emily voluntarily undertook leading the BBA’s strategic planning efforts last year, in addition to the high-quality research services that she has provided to our stakeholders over the past three years,” said Fred McCallum, the BBA’s interim president and CEO, in a news release.
Jerkins, who joined the BBA in 2017, has contributed research services to projects in Alabama that have generated over 1,400 jobs and $400 million in capital investments over the past 6 years, the release states.
She has also helped lead efforts to obtain more than $220,000 in grant money to support new and existing BBA programs.
Jerkins is “a backbone of our team and the work we do serving Birmingham,” McCallum said.
Throughout 2021, Jerkins will — among other duties — work with Kitchens and other partners to finalize and launch the organization’s new strategic plan.
Jerkins was also recently named one of the Top 50 economic developers in North America by Consultant Connect.
A ‘MARK ON HISTORY’
Allison Skinner, the deputy general counsel at Cadence Bank, was recently named president-elect of the Birmingham Bar Association, according to a news release from the bank.
Skinner is only the sixth woman to hold the position since the association started in 1885.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to support Birmingham lawyers in their legal professions, as well as promoting justice and public service throughout our communities,” Skinner said in the release.
“This is a historic selection for the BBA, and we are extremely proud of Allison,” said Jerry Powell, Cadence general counsel.
At the bank, Skinner focuses on corporate governance, risk management, litigation and other corporate matters.
NEW HQ AT DANIEL PAYNE
CRST Flatbed Solutions announced recently it will open a divisional headquarters at Daniel Payne Industrial Park in Birmingham.
The facility — costing $5.14 million and measuring more than 23,000 square feet — will allow CRST to combine its corporate office in Birmingham and its maintenance operations in St. Clair County. It will house 42 employees with room for 10 more new hires.
“Birmingham’s business-friendly environment made the decision to stay in the city an easy one,” CRST President and CEO Hugh Ekberg said in a Jan. 20 BBA news release.
The facility will house training, education and orientation programs, provide parking and overnight facilities for CRST drivers and offer maintenance facilities for drivers and contractors.
The Birmingham Industrial Development Board approved a 10-year tax abatement for the company on sales and use tax and property tax, according to the news release.
Malone Freight Lines was founded in Birmingham in 1928 and was acquired in 1985 by CRST, which is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
CRST has several divisions, and Birmingham will be home to the flatbed division.
The company’s announcement reflects the Birmingham area’s increasing presence in transportation and logistics, Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons said in the release.