Downtown Birmingham Real Estate Update January 2020

Bought/Sold/Leased

1. About 7,500 square feet of retail space is still available at Printer’s Corner, a two-story commercial structure at 201 18th St. S. in Parkside that was redeveloped in 2018 for retail and residential use. The building should be a “prime location” given numerous developments planned or underway in Parkside, according to a spokesperson for Orchestra Partners, the developer.

2. Orchestra Partners announced Nov. 7 it had partnered with California landscape architect Tom Leader — the designer and planner of Railroad Park — to create a Parkside master plan. This will include a mixed-use redevelopment of Alabama Power’s Powell Avenue Steam Plant and several historic warehouse buildings west of Railroad Park surrounding Good People Brewing. “Redevelopment plans are still being finalized, but our vision is transforming Powell Steam Plant and Parkside West into vibrant entertainment destinations that could include a mix of restaurants, retail and/or experiential tenants,” Orchestra Partners Principal Hunter Renfroe told Iron City Ink. “We are currently in discussion with a few high-profile tenants that we hope to announce sometime in 2020.”

3. Will Mason, owner and CEO of Mason Music, announced in November he had purchased and plans to renovate some commercial spaces at 5503 First Ave. N. in Woodlawn. One space will house Mason’s nonprofit, Mason Music Foundation, which helps provide private music lessons to low-income families. The other space will be the Woodlawn Theatre — a 250-person live music venue that will host concerts, weddings and other events. Mason is financing the $500,000 transaction in part through Opportunity Zone investments, an effort supported by REV Birmingham and Opportunity Alabama, according to a news release. The project is said to be one of the first Opportunity Zone projects in a historic neighborhood commercial district in Alabama.

4. On Nov. 26, the Birmingham City Council voted to accept a three-year, $500,000 federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields program to clean up the grounds at Elyton School. The facility will house all of the family support services of Jefferson County Family Court, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Randall Woodfin. The grant includes the city’s match of $100,000, which may consist of money, labor, material or services.

5. On Dec. 31, the Birmingham City Council will host a public hearing to consider a request to change the zoning on five parcels near Woodlawn — 5984, 6004 and 6012 Georgia Road and 200 and 216 61st St. S. The owner, WF Real Property Resources LLC, seeks to change the zoning from R-4, two-family and semi-attached dwelling district, and R-5, multiple dwelling district, to D-5, multiple dwelling district in order to construct a cottage and townhouse development. The zoning request was filed by Dynamic Civil Solutions.

6. The city of Birmingham will partner with Jefferson County to provide for routine maintenance and repair of portions of Barber Motorsports Parkway, according to an agreement approved by the Birmingham City Council on Nov. 19. The city will manage the vegetation growing alongside the roadway, and the county will be responsible for any repair, resurfacing or other maintenance of the roadway and ditches in the right-of-way.

7. Accountant David Kassouf plans to renovate the Massey Mercantile building located at 2419 Second Ave. N. in the Loft District, according to Birmingham Business Journal. Kassouf, who lives next door, purchased the property in 2010 and is planning a historically sensitive renovation. He has no long-term plans for the building, the BBJ reported.

8. The residential units at the Denham Building, a mixed-use redevelopment at 1143 First Ave. S. in Parkside, were about 85% leased at press time, according to developer Hank Farmer of Atlanta-based Third & Urban. The project, which measures about 86,000 square feet, includes 59 loft apartments, as well as office and retail space. Construction was completed in August.

New Construction

9. Red Mountain Theatre Company hosted a groundbreaking for its new $25 million arts campus Dec. 11. The new facility will be located at 1600 Third Ave. S. adjacent to Regions Field. The main theatre will accommodate 360 attendees in cabaret seating or 450 people when confi gured as a proscenium-style venue. The 10,000-square-foot education center will house the 100-seat Discovery Theatre along with rehearsal and classroom spaces. The lobby will include a full-service bar and a donor lounge. LIVE Design Group are the architects. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor. Harbert Realty Services will manage the project. Construction should be complete in summer 2021.

Construction Update

10. UAB expects to complete construction of a new $60 million residence hall on 10th Avenue South between 16th and 17th streets by June or July 2020, according to UAB Media Relations. The dorm will accommodate 720 undergraduates. At press time, construction was about 45% complete, and work was in progress on the concrete structure; exterior framing, sheathing and brick; and interior partitions.

11. Construction continues for the new $19.2 million UAB Technology Innovation Center, located at 17th Street South and Ninth Avenue South, according to UAB Media Relations. Set to open in early 2021, the center, measuring 40,000 square feet, will house campus internet connectivity and technology infrastructure.

12. Firehouse Ministries has nearly finished the construction of its new homeless shelter at 626 Second Ave. N. downtown. At press time, the facility was expected to open in mid-January, according to the nonprofit’s newsletter. The organization is also raising money by selling bricks to donors for $100 each. The bricks will be part of a path leading into the new facility. For information, go to firehouseshelter.com.

13. A renovation of the old Snoozy’s Bookstore on campus to house the UAB Honors College should be complete by May 2020, according to UAB Media Relations. It will cost about $2.7 million to renovate the two-story, 11,000-square-foot building. The exterior grounds will be landscaped as a courtyard. At press time, construction was nearly 40% complete.

14. Construction began in late October on Town House Park, a new park with trees, tables and benches at the former location of Town House Hotel at the corner of 20th Street South and University Blvd., according to UAB Media Relations. Completion is expected in early 2020.

15. Construction began in September on a new central stairwell at the Birmingham Public Library downtown. It replaces an escalator which had been out of service since 2014. Construction should be completed in early 2020, according to a BPL news release. In the meantime, most of the library’s departments are housed temporarily in the Linn-Henley Research Library nearby.

16. The renovation of the McCallum Basic Health Science Building at UAB is about 90% complete, according to UAB Media Relations. Interior work is scheduled to be complete in March 2020, and the exterior renovation should be finished by April 2020.

17. In a project for Dunn Real Estate, bDot Architecture created plans for the renovation of a building at 2205 Seventh Ave. S. as office space. At press time, architect Brian Roberson told Iron City Ink that construction on the project was underway and should be finished by the end of 2019. The firm has also nearly completed its exterior designs for a renovation of the old Berthon’s Cleaners space at 2201 Seventh Ave. S. The plans will be submitted to the Birmingham Design Review Committee in January, and construction should begin the first quarter of 2020, according to Roberson.

18. Construction continues at Mercantile on Morris, a mixed-use redevelopment at 2208 Morris Ave. Orchestra Partners is renovating three buildings — including the former Matthew’s Bar & Grill — and adding some new construction to create a mixed-use development with 47 residential condos and roughly 13,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. Completion is expected in October 2020, according to spokesperson for Orchestra Partners. At press time, the residential units were over 50% pre-sold, and the commercial space is available for lease, including spaces for a restaurant, a bar and some soft goods retailers.

19. At press time, Orchestra Partners expected to finish construction in December on its renovation of the Demarais Automotive building at 205 41st St. S. in Avondale, according to a spokesperson for the company. Avondale Brewing Company will use the facility as a place to expand its operation.

Openings/Closures

20. Three new businesses recently opened at Five Points Lane, a mixed-use redevelopment of the old Base Camp space at 1024 20th St. S. in Five Points South. McFly’s Bird Shoppe, a chicken restaurant, and Unplugged, a bar, opened in November. Domestique Panache, a coffee house, opened in early December. Five Points Lane was developed by Orchestra Partners, who also developed the nearby Woolworth eatery and entertainment facility.

21. A new cocktail lounge, Mayawell, opened in early December at 2900 Fourth Ave. S. in Lakeview. The bar is located in the old RMR 4X4 near Pepper Place and the planned Lakeview Green development. According to the bar’s website, owner and operator Neill Crook specializes in agave-based spirits, such as tequila and mezcal.

22. Charlemagne Record Exchange, a retail and cultural institution in Five Points South since the late 1970s, recently announced it would permanently close by Dec. 31. The business began in a small space at The Garages in 1977 before moving to an upstairs space at 1924 11th Ave. S. The owner, Marian McKay Rosato, cited high rent and declining sales, according to several local media outlets.

Coming Soon

23. Refined Bridal Boutique, billed as the first and only plus-size bridal boutique in Alabama, will be one of several new tenants to take space in the recently renovated Iron Age Building, a historic commercial structure located at 212 20th St. N. While waiting to move into its permanent space, the boutique held a White Friday showcase after Thanksgiving at the nearby Frank Nelson building. The other tenants at Iron Age will be GLOW, Sigao Studios, CODE-R Productions and CORELinQ Innovations, according to Birmingham Business Journal.

24. Larry “Mudd” Townley and Laura Newman, the team that opened Queen’s Park bar in the Loft District in 2018, plan to open a new bar called Neon Moon by spring or summer 2020, according to Birmingham Business Journal. The bar will be located at 2318 Second Ave. N. between the former Rogue Tavern location and Urban Standard.