Stirling Assists Birmingham Water Works in Acquiring New Industrial Life Science Facility
Stirling Advisors Juhmad M. Hollis and Melissa Warren, CCIM represented Birmingham Water Works (BWWB) in their search to acquire a new building for the development of their new EnviroLab facility. The acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the BWWB’s relentless pursuit of advancing water quality standards in the Birmingham metropolitan area.
Through their collaborative efforts, BWWB acquired the class A R&D facility in Oxmoor South Industrial Park, located at 100 Lucerne Lane, Birmingham, AL. The newly acquired building measures 30,000 SF of office, wet lab, and warehouse space and is situated on 5.7 acres. Upgrades are planned for the facility to incorporate state-of-the-art technology for water-testing laboratory services. The life-sciences facility will serve as a cornerstone in the Birmingham Water Works’ unwavering commitment to ensuring the utmost in water quality for the communities it serves.
Juhmad M. Hollis and Melissa Warren, Advisors with Stirling, guided Birmingham Water Works through the intricate process of acquiring the building. Their profound knowledge of the Birmingham real estate landscape, combined with their skills in life science and industrial transactions, contributed significantly to the successful realization of this venture.
“We are excited to have assisted the Birmingham Water Works in acquiring their new EnviroLab facility,” stated Melissa Warren, Senior Advisor at Stirling. “This accomplishment not only exemplifies our commitment to delivering exceptional real estate solutions but also highlights our collaborative efforts with the Birmingham Water Works’ executive team and engineers.”
“As a commercial real estate advisor, it was an honor to work with Birmingham Water Works to assist them in achieving their goals. Having been born and raised in the City of Birmingham, this was a particularly important project because it impacts my family and the people in my community,” said Juhmad M. Hollis, Advisor, Associate Broker at Stirling. “Stirling has allowed me to not only utilize my Alabama real estate license but also engage in meaningful endeavors that resonate deeply with my roots and empowers me to seamlessly integrate my expertise, making a tangible and positive impact on the city that raised me.”
What’s Happening at Fremaux Town Center & Fremaux Park in Slidell, Louisiana?
Stirling Properties announces new tenants and development updates.
Stirling Properties announces four new tenants and development updates at Fremaux Town Center and the surrounding Fremaux Park mixed-use project in Slidell, Louisiana.
- Spencer’s gifts, fashion, and décor store will occupy 3,500 square feet of retail space on Town Center Parkway, Suite C400, next to Torrid. The new novelty retailer opened this week.
- Skechers shoe store will fill 9,000 square feet of retail space off Levis Lane, Suite D900, next to Rock’ N Roll Sushi.
- Ding Tea, offering Taiwanese teas, coffee, and dessert drinks, will fill 1,793 square feet of space on Town Center Parkway, Suite C700, between Journeys and European Wax Center.
- Lendmark Financial Services will also take 1,200 square feet of space on Town Center Parkway, Suite B500, next to Chico’s.
Ryan Pécot, Senior Retail Leasing and Development Advisor with Stirling Properties, represented the landlord in the lease transactions.
In addition, construction on the Amazon Fulfillment Center located on Town Center Parkway at the adjoining Fremaux Park is progressing. Signage has been installed, and landscaping is underway. The facility is expected to be open and operating by the 2nd quarter of 2022.
Fremaux Town Center, anchored by Dillard’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, and Best Buy, is part of the roughly 350-acre regional mixed-use development located at the southwest corner of Interstate 10 and Fremaux Avenue in Slidell, Louisiana. The retail center includes more than 640,000 square feet of shopping and restaurant options and is jointly owned and operated by CBL Properties and Stirling Properties.
The adjoining Fremaux Park includes Retreat at Fremaux Town Center luxury residential apartment units, Springhill Suites by Marriott, The Mason Fremaux Park apartment community, Dana Inc. Service & Assembly Center, and Amazon Fulfillment Center (coming soon). Additional phases are forthcoming with added residential, retail, industrial, and office park. Fremaux Park is a Stirling Properties mixed-use development.
For leasing or sales information, contact Ryan Pécot at 337-572-0246 / rpecot@stirlingprop.com or Michael Oswald at 423-490-8272 / mike.oswald@cblproperties.com.
Stirling Properties Acquires 140,000-Square-Foot Pepsi Distribution Center in Livingston, LA
Marks company’s 1st large-scale industrial acquisition.
Stirling Properties announces the acquisition of a 140,000-square-foot Pepsi Distribution Center located in Livingston, Louisiana. The sale closed on August 19th. This marks Stirling Properties’ first large-scale industrial acquisition. The company will also assume asset management duties of the property immediately.
Built in 2016, the industrial property sits on 15 acres and is strategically located along the I-12 corridor. The facility is fully occupied by PepsiCo., Inc. and serves as a logistics hub for PepsiCo brands, including Gatorade, Dasani, Frito-Lay, Starbucks, Mountain Dew and other related brands for the Greater Baton Rouge Area, Greater New Orleans Area and the Northshore regions of Southeast Louisiana.
Townsend Underhill, President of Development for Stirling Properties, will serve as the Asset Manager for the property. Beezie Landry, Justin Langlois, and Chad Rigby, with Stirling Investment Advisors (SIA), a division of Stirling Properties, handled the sales transaction. Stirling Investment Advisors specialize in investment sales of retail, multifamily, office, healthcare, and industrial properties, across the Gulf South market.
Stirling Properties Welcomes Amazon to Fremaux Park in Slidell, Louisiana
Continuation of industrial expansion efforts in Fremaux mixed-use development
Amazon Logistics announced Thursday that it would build a delivery station at Fremaux Park in Slidell, Louisiana. Fremaux Park is the mixed-use property that includes Fremaux Town Center retail center, multiple multifamily developments, two hotels and the Dana Corporation Service center that will complement this project in the industrial park area.
Stirling Properties recently closed on the sale of a 30-acre land parcel for the construction of the 141,000-square-foot Amazon facility located at 1914 Town Center Parkway near the intersection of Old Spanish Trail. Groundbreaking and construction timing will be announced soon. The facility is expected to be open in early 2022.
Ryan Pécot, Senior Retail Leasing and Development Advisor with Stirling Properties, represented the landlord in the transaction.
Packages are shipped to delivery stations from nearby fulfillment and sorting centers and loaded onto trucks for final delivery to customers. This marks the first Amazon delivery station in St. Tammany Parish and the third in Louisiana. It is expected to house roughly 950 Amazon Prime vans to serve St. Tammany Parish and surrounding communities. There are 150 similar Amazon delivery stations across the U.S. Amazon said the new station would create hundreds of full- and part-time jobs.
“Stirling Properties is excited to officially welcome Amazon to Fremaux Park and provide an ideal location here in Slidell to house this facility—the first of its kind in St. Tammany Parish. This new delivery station is a continuation of our industrial real estate expansion efforts. Logistics, fulfillment and last-mile distribution centers will only play a more critical role in the future of retail and commercial real estate. We hope to attract more industrial facilities to the area to further bolster and support the economic growth of Slidell and our surrounding region,” said Townsend Underhill, President of Development for Stirling Properties.
Fremaux Park is part of the roughly 350-acre regional mixed-use development located at the southwest corner of Interstate 10 and Fremaux Avenue in Slidell, Louisiana. It includes Retreat at Fremaux Town Center luxury residential apartments, The Mason Fremaux Park apartment community (under construction), Springhill Suites by Marriott (under construction) and Dana Inc. Service & Assembly Center. The adjoining Fremaux Town Center, anchored by Dillard’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s and Best Buy, includes more than 660,000 square feet of retail and restaurant options. Additional phases are forthcoming with added residential, retail, industrial and office park. Fremaux Park is a Stirling Properties development.
For leasing or sales information, contact Ryan Pécot at 337.572.0246 / rpecot@stirlingprop.com or Bradley Cook at 985.246.3720 / bcook@stirlingprop.com.
So, what’s coming next for lenders and borrowers of CRE?
Commercial real estate today is extremely dynamic. Under “normal” circumstances, that is a positive thing, but in the context of the events over the last four months, dynamic is detrimental. There has been much discussion about accelerated uses of technology in the industry and how it will impact retail, office, hospitality, multi-family and industrial real estate sectors. We hear a lot about PPP funds, rent deferrals, omnichannel strategies, decentralized supply chains, working from home and creating healthy environments for employees and customers.
One issue, though, that to this point has been largely missed is the relationship between lenders and borrowers. Over the next few years, there will unquestionably be fallout from the aforementioned discussions that will ultimately put stress on the relationship between lender and borrower in the commercial real estate space. So, what’s coming, and how do we address it?
To look at the future, the first step is to understand the underlying issues of where we are today. In this Covid-19 landscape, the stress on businesses has significantly impacted landlords across the board. Forced closures by governing authorities, diminished foot traffic in retail, vacant hotels, lower utilization of office space and disrupted supply chains are all examples of issues that tenants have faced throughout the commercial real estate sector. Even in multi-family where tenancy has remained high, and rent collections stayed strong, there is a fear that once the stimulus provided by the Federal Government is no longer a factor, collections could become a massive issue.
The effects on lenders and borrowers will be felt across the board. If tenants can’t pay rent, which, in turn forces landlords to either seek relief from their lender or not perform on loan requirements, what happens next? For the few borrowers with deep enough pockets, they could attempt to pay penalties or cover debt service themselves, but at the expense of wiping away a lifetime of work and cash reserves. Furthermore, there is no guaranty that in six months or a year down the line, there will be enough tenants paying rent to stabilize the property and sustainably cover debt payments. Some tenants have continued to stay afloat, but how long can they hold on operating at reduced capacity, unable to get stable shipments of supplies or workers. And, how long can a landlord continue to float the debt service from reserves before they are gone altogether?
So far, most landlords and tenants have recognized their unique predicament and have tried diligently to work together to bridge the gap for survival. Still, as time goes on, this will become less tenable, and there will be fallout. The same issues will inevitably arise between the lender and borrower. We already see this in the CMBS segment of our market, where both sides have less leeway to work through cash flow issues. That said, the real stress has yet to be realized across the industry.
As the crisis continues—regardless of the pace of recovery—more commercial properties will certainly be impacted in both the short- and long-term. We anticipate a significant increase in distressed properties, which will go into servicing or foreclosure. As a result, investors and property owners will be left to sort through the chaos.
At Stirling Properties, we have begun working with lenders, servicers and property owners to strategize solutions for potential problems that continue to grow as loans rollover, values decrease and properties default. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the issues, our Lender Solutions Program can help.
We have created a platform that, regardless of the type of lender or borrower issues, can help to alleviate the stress. Stirling Properties has a proven track record of success working with all commercial property types to develop a plan and achieve the end goal. Whether it is to stabilize an asset for the current borrower, manage a property and process through foreclosure, or ultimately find the right purchaser through asset disposition, we have the experts to achieve the desired results.
If you are an investor, property owner or lender who needs assistance with valuation, asset and property management, development or disposition services, please reach out to us. Our experienced commercial advisors are knowledgeable in various property types and market segments.
Our Lender Solutions Program can help you determine the next steps. For more information, contact Chris Abadie at (985) 246-3721 or cabadie@stirlingprop.com.
President’s Message: Now What?
As we move beyond the initial shock and awe of the Coronavirus crisis, we in the commercial real estate industry begin considering “Now What?”
The pace of change in our business was moving at lightning speed even before the pandemic, with shifts in consumer and workplace behaviors, integration of technology, changing demographics. The pandemic only served to accelerate those changes to warp speed.
What will those impacts be? While none of us know exactly the long-term effects of this unprecedented situation (my crystal ball is still a bit foggy), those able to adjust and respond to the new landscape will find opportunities.
So, here are some of my observations as I sit here contemplating what’s to come.
Retail
- Open-air shopping centers primarily anchored by essential retailers like grocery, pharmacy and dollar stores are the winners and emerging stronger than ever. Enclosed malls, particularly B and C class with department store anchors, have seen an acceleration of their struggles.
- Online shopping surged during the pandemic and is still going strong, triggering increased behavioral trends such as BOPIS (buy online, pick-up in-store), curbside pick-up and delivery options—a direction we were headed in before.
- We will see an equilibrium point in e-commerce, and successful retailers will figure out how to marry online sales with storefronts and fulfillment centers. Those retailers that can successfully integrate online and brick and mortar will be the winners.
- Retailers will accelerate the depth and breadth of data mining of their customer base to drive more business into physical stores and improve upon convenience factors and delivery options.
- Creative restaurant operators will continue to find ways to expand take-out and delivery through innovative marketing, such as partnering with community associations for delivery options/pick-up stations within individual neighborhoods.
- Food kitchens offering delivery of various selections of meal options, like Asian, Italian, burgers, and salads all under one roof, will become increasingly more popular.
Supply chain and logistics
- Already one of the fastest-growing sectors before COVID was the distribution and logistics property type. Retailers, as well as many companies that depend upon the import of goods, saw a disruption in their supply chains during the pandemic, creating months-long backlogs of soft goods (remember toilet paper!), clothing, appliances, medical supplies (PPEs!), and even outdoor/sports equipment (bikes!).
- Businesses are going to diversify and expand their sourcing of goods and supplies, so as not to be dependent on one primary source, decreasing their risks of future interruption.
- The bright side is that we expect increased demand for manufacturing, storage and distribution facilities in the U.S., presenting more opportunities for development, as well as backfilling large blocks of space. This continuing trend bodes especially well here in the Gulf South region, where we have excellent logistical infrastructure in place, such as ports, air, rail and interstate systems.
Office
- The workplace landscape was already evolving pre-COVID; now, we see new, different twists on those existing trends.
- All companies will be pressed to reevaluate their long-term office needs and contemplate space decisions, with the health and safety of employees being paramount.
- Some permanent changes we can expect to continue in the office environment are distancing requirements, enhanced sanitation, reduced touchpoints, incorporation of more outdoor spaces, increased use of technology in place of meetings, and the adoption of more hybrid work environments balancing remote and in-office personnel.
- One winner in the office real estate sector will be the low-rise or garden office park setting, which will allow companies to control their environment, design safe floor plans and office layout for employees, and avoid dense, high-rise settings with crowded elevators.
- Some companies will be willing to pay more to get what they want, spurring an increase in demand for certain office types and opportunities for adaptive reuse and conversion of old retail space into office.
Investments
- Market turmoil usually creates opportunities to buy and sell. Those creative people who can sort through the challenges and prospects will be successful.
- Investor and property owners need to understand what will come out on the other side of this as more troubled, distressed and foreclosed properties inevitably hit the market—and more so, how do we value them? More thought will need to be given to analyze the risks and opportunities accurately.
- At Stirling Properties, we have begun working with local lenders to help strategize solutions for potential problems that continue to grow as loans rollover, values decrease and properties default.
The COVID-19 crisis has undoubtedly changed the commercial real estate industry and our businesses. Still, those who can adapt and evolve will be successful, especially if they have the right people in place to effectively see and execute.
Here at Stirling Properties, our team of skilled, experienced, professional advisors is well poised to assist our clients and investors in wading through these murky waters.
My crystal ball can’t precisely predict what will happen next. However, as it relates to Stirling Properties’ ability to weather this storm through our diversity, expansion of services for our clients, and extraordinary talent, the future is pretty clear.
