Stirling Properties Announces President and CEO Marty Mayer to Retire, Townsend Underhill Named Successor
Stirling Properties announces that after 36 years of service, President and CEO Marty Mayer will retire at the end of 2023. At that time, Stirling’s current President of Development and Partner, Townsend Underhill, will assume the role of President and CEO.
Since joining Stirling in 1986 and assuming the role of President in 2002 and CEO in 2006, Mayer has led Stirling through unprecedented growth, expansion, and diversification throughout the Gulf South.
“Leading Stirling Properties over the past 20 years has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my lifetime,” Mayer stated. “I will be leaving Stirling with tremendous pride and satisfaction but also the utmost confidence in the company’s future and the great accomplishments yet to come.”
Townsend Underhill states, “Under Marty’s leadership, Stirling has grown and established a unique and outstanding culture, and it will be my top priority to ensure it continues in our organization. Marty’s legacy will live on at Stirling for many years. Our entire Organization is grateful for Marty’s visionary leadership, and we wish him the very best in this next chapter,”
“I am both humbled and honored to be asked to lead Stirling into the future by Marty and our fellow partners,” says Townsend Underhill. Since joining Stirling in 2007 and becoming a Partner in 2012, Townsend Underhill has been involved in most every facet of Stirling while overseeing the Development and Finance divisions. In Townsend’s current role as President of Development, Stirling’s product lines have diversified beyond retail and office to include healthcare, industrial, multi-family, single-family for rent, and more. “With Townsend as CEO and the extraordinary team in place, I am excited to see to what heights he leads Stirling into the next chapter,” stated Marty Mayer.
Over the next year, Mayer and Underhill, along with Stirling’s leadership team, will work together to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
Walk-On’s Coming to River Chase in Covington, Louisiana!
Stirling Properties, NAI Latter & Blum and Greenleaf Architects announce Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar is coming to River Chase mixed-use development in Covington, Louisiana. This will mark the 1st Northshore location for the highly anticipated sports restaurant and bar.
This week, the company closed on the purchase of 1.82 acres of property located on the northwest corner of Stirling Blvd. and Brewster Road next to Sam’s Club. Construction on the site will commence within the next couple of weeks. The restaurant will occupy roughly 9,600 square feet and is expected to open by the summer of 2017, according to Arkel Constructors who has been chosen as the General Contractor.
Stirling Properties’ Senior Retail Leasing & Development Executive, Rhonda Sharkawy, represented the property owners, and Beau Bourque with NAI Latter & Blum represented the tenant. Greenleaf Architects was selected to design the custom restaurant for the new Northshore location.
The popular restaurant started by two LSU students in Baton Rouge has thrived over the years, and expanded into multiple locations. The next stop for Walk-On’s is right here in St. Tammany Parish, and Greenleaf Architects is fortunate enough to work closely with Walk-On’s Enterprises in making this happen. As a firm full of LSU graduates who frequented the original location on Burbank Drive throughout college, this is truly an honor for Greenleaf Architects. The Covington location will include a rooftop bar, “The Upper Deck”, an element unique to the design by Greenleaf Architects. The Upper Deck will feature group seating and additional space for catching a game under the skyline of St. Tammany Parish.
“Stirling Properties is pleased to welcome Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar to River Chase,” said Townsend Underhill, Senior Vice President of Development at Stirling Properties. “They join a dynamic assortment of restaurants, retailers, hospitality, multi-family, and office users offering a one-of-a-kind, mixed-use destination for the entire region.”
“Among other attributes, low stress ingress & egress and complementary anchor/junior anchor tenants together with Stirling Properties’ and St. Tammany Parish’s commitments to developing a live/work/play environment that improves quality of life attracted Walk-On’s to River Chase. I look forward to seeing Greenleaf Architects’ exceptional design come to life,” said Beau Bourque, Sales & Leasing Associate with NAI Latter & Blum.
River Chase is a 253-acre premier mixed-use development located on the southeast corner of Interstate 12 and LA Highway 21 in Covington, Louisiana. The center includes retail, restaurants and entertainment options, as well as a Holiday Inn Express, Regal Cinema, 500+ luxury residential apartment units, and a 48,000-sqaure-foot class A office building currently under construction. Stirling Properties developed River Chase and currently manages and leases the property.
Anchored by Target, Belk, JCPenney, Best Buy, Marshalls, Ross Dress For Less and Sam’s Club, River Chase shopping center occupies 945,000 square feet, and is the largest open air retail center in Louisiana. Additional tenants include Carter’s, Cato, Charming Charlie, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Cost Plus World Market, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Family Cuts, Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank, Five Below, GameStop, Hibbett Sports, Holiday Inn Express, In Style Salon, John V Salon & Spa, Justice, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Men’s Wearhouse, Michaels, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Nutrishop, Oreck Vacuums, Pink & White Nails, Regal Cinemas, River Chase Cleaners, Rooms To Go (opening 2017), rue 21, Sephora, Shoe Carnival, The Children’s Place, ULTA Beauty, Verizon Wireless, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, Which Wich and Zoe’s Kitchen. Outparcel tenants include Chick-fil-A, LongHorn Steakhouse, Regions Bank, Taco Bell, Texaco and Wendy’s.
Senior Project Manager Robert Dischler To Retire At End Of This Year
Please join us in extending best wishes to Robert Dischler, who is retiring from Stirling Properties at the end of this year. Robert has been a great Stirling Team Member and Project Manager for over 24 years, overseeing all aspects of active development projects from design coordination, to construction implementation, tenant coordination, and beyond.
Robert came to Stirling as a seasoned veteran in the shopping center construction industry and has worked in the retail development industry for over 36 years. “Robert has been a leader, mentor, and friend to many in the Stirling Properties family for more than two decades” states Townsend Underhill. “He will be greatly missed and his presence is an irreplaceable part of our Company’s history.”
Robert has been involved in many development projects with Stirling — beginning with Bluebonnet Village, Woodlawn Park and Siegen Village in Baton Rouge in the early ‘90’s, the redevelopment of McArthur Village and Eastgate Shopping Center, ground up development of Stirling Millerville Shopping Center, the initial three phases of University Club Plantation, multiple Eckerd and Walgreens locations, and finally with Fremaux Town Center & Stirling Bossier Shopping Center. Robert will continue with these two projects through his retirement at the end of 2015 and will also continue to be involved with Stirling on a part-time consulting basis with the development team post-retirement.
Robert is eager to enjoy his time at his camp, Livingston Four Seasons, with wife Nancy, family and friends as well as catch up on his fishing and traveling to visit his grandchildren!
Louisiana Continues to be Recognized in National Rankings
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share:
Louisiana State Director’s Message – Summer 2015
I have written many times in recent newsletters about Louisiana’s economic development growth and I can’t help myself but to continue to report the good news. Our State continues to be on an unprecedented roll for economic growth and diversification that is really changing our trajectory in a way that is having extreme benefits on our industry, our career, our families and our long term well-being. The progress and growth is not going unnoticed, this summer’s publications have bestowed some significant rankings and milestones.
For the 6th straight year, Southern Business and Development has ranked Louisiana #1 among Southern states for attracting the most significant capital investment and job-creation projects per million residents. In the State of the Year category, Louisiana earned honorable mention. While not receiving State of the Year this year, Louisiana has earned State or Co-State of the Year honors in five of the past seven years. In addition our cities are being recognized individually as well.
- 2015 Small Market of the Year (Pop < 250K) – Lake Charles
- Honorable Mention – Houma-Thibodaux
- 2015 Major Market of the Year (Pop 750K – 2M)
- Honorable Mentions – New Orleans & Baton Rouge
- 2015 Mid-Market of the Year (Pop 250K – 750K)
- Honorable Mention – Shreveport
In June Area Development magazine awarded Louisiana the 2015 Silver Shovel Award (Pop 3M to 5M category) for posting one of the best economic development performances in the U.S. during the past year. The awards honor states with the most significant impact from their 10 leading investment and job creation projects during 2014. This is our State’s 6th year in a row earning a Silver Shovel Award.
In May Chief Executive magazine honored Louisiana with its highest ranking ever in its CEO survey of state business climates, ranking #7 on Best & Worst States for Business. This is up 40 positions since January 2008, representing the greatest improvement of any state in that time period. Additionally, Site Selection magazine picked Louisiana No. 2 in U.S. for economic development competitiveness in 2014 with 7 of the top 10 states located in the Southeast, which points to the region’s sustained competitiveness over the past decade.
All of this just a decade after most of the nation had written Louisiana off for dead following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the summer of 2005, quite remarkable to say the least. This is not only encouraging for our personal businesses but also inspiring for the business community in our State. I see the retail industry as a huge beneficiary of this success during this past decade with even brighter days ahead.
Stirling Properties Welcomes Mike Bucher to the Development Team
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the addition of Mike Bucher as Development Director.
As Development Director, Mr. Bucher will lead new and on-going development projects, including ground-up development, redevelopment and joint ventures. Based in the Covington office, he will plan, coordinate and direct personnel relating to Development and Redevelopment.
“Mike’s extensive background in Development will play a significant role in Stirling Properties’ continued expansion of our services across the Gulf South. We are ecstatic to be able to bring someone of Mike’s caliber onboard,” stated Townsend Underhill, Senior Vice President of Development.
Mr. Bucher was previously with Federal Realty Investment Trust in Boston, MA, where he worked as a Development Associate and previously as a Development Financial Analyst.
Mike Bucher can be reached at 985-898-2022.
Fremaux Town Center – February Update
The push this week at Fremaux Town Center is to “finish strong”. The buildings are in their final stages of completion with fixturing and stocking of the shelves underway. The parking lot defining stripping and traffic controls wrap up this week with connecting sidewalks and landscaping in their final stages. A large number of the tenants have building ID signage installed announcing openings in March. Stirling Properties and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CBL) will be grand opening Phase I of Fremaux Town Center on March 14, 2014. Stay tuned for more updates!
