Jill Meeks Appointed as President of Mobile Commercial Investment Real Estate Club
Stirling Properties’ Senior Sales and Leasing Executive, Jill Meeks, has been appointed as President of the Mobile Commercial Investment Real Estate Club. She assumed duties in early December and will serve in the position for one year.
The Mobile Commercial Investment Real Estate Club is a networking group for industry professionals to exchange ideas, insight and data on marketing information regarding commercial and investment property among its members. Club goals include promoting professionalism, co-operation and education in commercial, investment and exchange transactions.
As club president, Meeks’ responsibilities will include running the weekly meetings and arranging for speakers to attend and present educational opportunities for the members. Meetings occur every Thursday at 7:00 am at the Mobile Area Association of Realtors.
“The Mobile Commercial Investment Real Estate Club provides tremendous resources for both beginning and experienced real estate professionals, and it’s a great tool to network and meet others in the industry,” said Meeks. “As president of the club, I hope to be able to generate more interest and participation by arranging for various speakers from the community to attend our meetings that will be beneficial to members.”
Meeks has been active in the commercial real estate industry for more than 27 years. Her focus areas include office and retail leasing, commercial sales, and landlord and tenant representation. She is responsible for overseeing the property management of over 400,000 square feet of retail and office space in Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Jill Meeks works out of Stirling Properties’ Mobile Office located at One St. Louis Centre, 1 St. Louis Street, Suite 4100 in Mobile. For club membership and information, Meeks can be reached at (251) 375-2499 or jmeeks@stirlingprop.com.
Mobile Office Market Assessment 3rd Quarter 2016
Stirling Properties is pleased to present the 2016 third quarter Mobile Office Market Survey. This report, compiled by Jack Conger and Jill Meeks, Sales and Leasing Executives of our Mobile office, is intended to track average rental rates, occupancy rates, and average absorption rates for West Mobile and the downtown Central Business District (CBD) on office buildings greater than 20,000 square feet. It was created to be a resource for agents, as well as tenants, landlords, developers, lenders, fellow brokers and anyone else looking for information about the Mobile Office market.
Jack Conger is our newest Sales and Leasing Executive in our Mobile office, focusing on industrial and office brokerage. Jill Meeks has over 27 years’ experience in commercial real estate.
Here’s an excerpt from Jack and Jill’s Market Assessment:
Since the Q1-16 Mobile Office Market Survey, the West Mobile office market had a number of noteworthy transactions that created quite a stir in the market. In the end, the office market experienced a slight decrease in average occupancy from 79.5%-79.4% and an average rental rate decrease from $15.50 per sq. ft. to $15.35 per sq. ft., reflecting a decrease in the absorption rate of 0.09% from Q1-16.
Mobile’s growth is evident with several building projects planned and underway. In the CBD, a new Federal Courthouse is under construction and the Meridian at the Port, a 264-unit apartment complex located at 300 Water Street, is awaiting construction. Walmart announced plans for a new 2.9 million sq. ft. distribution center in West Mobile, and Airbus launched the first airplane assembled by its new $600 million final assembly plant back in April. This activity promises to further stabilize the office market in Mobile, and Stirling Properties looks forward to being a part of this season of growth and creativity!
Please click here to view and download the PDF of the Mobile Office Market Survey. This survey provides a good summary of the Mobile office market and my hope is that it becomes a valuable resource in the market.
Stirling Properties Brokers Acquisition for The Learning Tree, Inc. in Mobile, Alabama
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the sale of property to The Learning Tree, Inc. in Mobile, Alabama, that will be used to house office and support staff, as well as allow for future school expansion.
The property is located at 5451 Able Court in Mobile, adjacent to The Learning Tree’s current facility, and was purchased from F&S. The acquisition includes four existing office/warehouse buildings totaling 15,190 square feet. With the new location, office and support staff will now be located next door to the school facility, rather than across town, creating a much more efficient and effective operation. They plan to occupy the space early 2017.
Nathan Handmacher, Stirling Properties Senior Sales & Leasing Executive in Mobile, handled the transaction. “My son attended Woody’s Song School, which is a program of The Learning Tree, so this transaction was rather personal and fulfilling for me,” said Handmacher. “I’m thrilled that we were able to help the school acquire this property that will streamline their operations, so they can continue to focus on the great work they do for the young people in our community.” Handmacher also volunteers for The Learning Tree and serves on the Board of Trustees for the group.
The Learning Tree is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational, residential and support services for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, including autism. Programs are designed to help children lead more fulfilling and rewarding lives.
Access to educational opportunities and support services for families and children with developmental disabilities is crucial for their success and growth. In addition, educational expansion leads to economic development and increased job opportunities within the community.
The Learning Tree serves more than 600 children and families from across the state of Alabama and the southeast region of the United States. It operates seven programs in the north, central and southern regions of the state including residential and non-residential schools for children ages 5-21, as well as preschool services.
Stirling Properties is proud to serve the commercial real estate needs for Mobile and the surrounding Gulf South region. Stirling Properties manages more than 17 million square feet of property, with close to 100 million square feet of properties and land for sale or lease in the region. We specialize in brokerage services, development & redevelopment opportunities, acquisitions & investments, and property and asset management, over a wide array of property types.
Nathan Handmacher can be reached at nhandmacher@stirlingprop.com or (251) 342-7229.
#StirlingProud
Amazon Leads the Way in E-fairness!
Alabama becomes 29th state to collect sales taxes from online giant
For decades, brick-and-mortar stores have been fighting for a level playing field with their on-line rivals who are not required to charge sales tax. To enact a little e-fairness, the state of Alabama passed the Alabama Simplified Use Tax Remittance Program, which allows online retailers that do not have operations within the state to collect, report and distribute an 8% sales tax. The on-line tax rate is still lower than its brick-and-mortar rivals who are generally closer to 10%. Since the program’s inception in October 2015, the state has received nearly $3 million in its general fund from 52 on-line retailers.
It was recently announced that Amazon, the largest e-commerce company in the world, has enrolled in Alabama’s state program and will begin distributing funds to the Alabama Department of Revenue monthly. Beginning on November 1st, Alabama will become the 29th state to collect sales taxes from Amazon.
Alabama’s Commissioner of Revenue, Julie Magee, is confident more on-line companies will sign up and expects to see a $40 to $50 million influx of tax funds by 2017 with “substantial” increases by 2018 and beyond. She further noted that 75% of the revenue goes to the state’s general fund, with the remaining balance to be split between cities and counties across the state.
As Alabama’s Government Relations Chair for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), I am thrilled to hear that Amazon will be participating in Alabama’s tax remittance program and like Ms. Magee, I too believe other on-line retailers will follow their lead. According to recent studies, it is estimated that Alabama is losing upwards of $500 million per year in uncollected sales tax from remote sales.
The shopping center industry is essential to state and local economic development – as a significant job creator, driver of GDP and critical revenue source for the communities they serve through the collection of sales taxes and the payment of property taxes.
In Alabama there are nearly 113.5 million square feet of shopping center space across 1,718 properties that directly employs over 200,000 people or 9.5% of the total state employment. These centers account for close to $32 billion in annual sales and add approximately $1.3 billion in state sales tax revenue.
An annual sales tax revenue of $1.3 billion for brick-and-mortar retail versus $40 to $50 million for on-line retail tells me we have a ways to go to level the playing field, but this is a great start. I commend Amazon for leading the effort!
University of South Alabama Appoints Stirling Properties’ Nathan Handmacher To Center for Real Estate and Economic Development Advisory Board
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is pleased to announce that Nathan Handmacher, Senior Sales and Leasing Executive, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the University of South Alabama’s (USA) Center for Real Estate and Economic Development.
The USA Center For Real Estate and Economic Development and the Real Estate Program select members of the local real estate industry to serve on the Advisory Board. Their mission is to achieve a high-quality educational program and real-world experience for USA students, respond to educational and informational needs of the local real estate community, and offer a curriculum that is nationally competitive.
Handmacher has been active in the commercial real estate business for more than 12 years, and has experience in all facets of the industry, including tenant representation, commercial sales and leasing, asset and property management, development, and investment sales. He has knowledge in every aspect of commercial real estate: office, retail, land and industrial properties. In addition to providing brokerage services, Handmacher currently manages a diverse portfolio of more than 600,000 square feet of retail, office and industrial property.
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Handmacher is a graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia with a degree in marketing. He currently resides in Fairhope with his wife and children, and is very active in the community. Handmacher is the Immediate Past President of the Mobile Touchdown Club, Board Member of the Mobile Area Jewish Federation, Treasurer of The Learning Tree, Inc., Trustee of the Springhill Avenue Temple, a member of the Program Committee of the Community Foundation of South Alabama, and a member of the 2006 Class of Leadership Mobile.
Nathan Handmacher can be reached at nhandmacher@stirlingprop.com or (251) 342-7229.
Stirling Properties is located in One St. Louis Centre, 1 St. Louis Street, Suite 4100 in Mobile. For more information regarding our services, please visit us at www.stirlingproperties.com.
Mobile Office Market Assessment 1st Quarter 2016
Stirling Properties is pleased to present the 2016 first quarter Mobile Office Market Survey. This report, compiled by Jack Conger and Jill Meeks, Sales and Leasing Executives of our Mobile office, is intended to track the direction of the office market by establishing an absorption rate, a market occupancy rate and an average rental rate for West Mobile and the downtown Central Business District (CBD) on office buildings greater than 20,000 square feet. It was created to be a resource for agents, as well as tenants, landlords, developers, lenders, fellow brokers and anyone else looking for information about the Mobile Office market.
Jack Conger is our newest Sales and Leasing Executive in our Mobile office, focusing on industrial and office brokerage. Jill Meeks has over 27 years’ experience in commercial real estate.
Here’s an excerpt from Jack and Jill’s Market Assessment:
Since the Q3-15 survey, the office buildings surveyed in this report in West Mobile experienced a very modest increase in average occupancy rate from 80% to 80.1%, and the average rental rate decreased from $15.61 to $15.45/per square foot. West Mobile has a fair amount of older, unimproved office space available at below-market rental rates that contributes to low rental rates. We have seen several new Healthcare related expansions in West Mobile and expect that this trend will continue around the hospital campus.
In the CBD, there was a decrease in the occupancy rate from approximately 72% to 65.9%, and average rental rates decreased from $17.42 to $17.29/per square foot. The decrease in the occupancy rate is due in part to a few notable transactions: Regions Bank’s consolidation of its St. Francis Street and Water Street branches, Servis1st Bank’s relocation to the redeveloped Phelps Dunbar office at Royal and Dauphin Street, and lastly, BBVA Compass Bank and Phelps Dunbar’s move into RSA’s recently completed Van Antwerp renovation.
Overall leasing activity in updated CBD office buildings continue to be solid, along with demand for smaller renovated historic properties.
Please click here to view and download the PDF of the Mobile Office Market Survey. This survey provides a good summary of the Mobile office market and my hope is that it becomes a valuable resource in the market.
