Mobile Development Thread

[10101000]

Sorry you feel that way, at least it is something other than dirt and dead space. It is development and it is needed. It does take time for places like this to grow. At least you have the beach and nice retail close by. It will all come together, it just takes time. Think about the whole Mobile and metro area about 15 years ago! Metro Mobile now has ten times more entertainment and retail to offer than what use to be. You have to think about the positive things. If the city would had went off of what most old Mobilians wanted for downtown, the RSA Tower would not even be there. Trust me, Eastern Shore Centre is getting plenty of foot traffic and I talked to the marketing director when I was home for the holidays and had great things to say about the place. I would like to see more different types of retail, but you only need so many Coldwater Creek and Ann Taylor Loft stores! What about Whole Foods, J Crew and A/X. Give it time, I am sure that it will all be awesome in a few years. At least Mobile has more now, and that is all that matters.

[nimsjus]

New Lagniappe out...
www.lagniappemobile.com

[NitekKetin]

Well fifteen years ago, Airport Boulevard/I-65 was a strong retail destination. Springdale Mall had a recent renovation, anchored by the state's largest department store-Gayfers; Bel Air Mall had quality in-line tenants such as Bailey Banks & Biddle and Lillie Rubin; the Festival Centre rounded out the retail mix with a selection of strong big box stores. The entire west Mobile shopping district seemed more...vibrant than it does now in these hyper competitive times.

Spanish Fort Town Center would be more acceptible if its various components weren't so scattered about. Secondly, what retailers would tenant some of these vast in-line spaces? This 200 acre boondoggle would have been better off as a pine forest.

Going into its fourth year, Eastern Shore Centre has a noticeable vacancy problem. At least 20,000 square feet is just sitting in that lifestyle center unleased, so, this mall needs another anchor to bring foot traffic around the place. Hopefully the new megaplex will be a success.

[10101000]

Originally Posted by NitekKetin

Well fifteen years ago, Airport Boulevard/I-65 was a strong retail destination. Springdale Mall had a recent renovation, anchored by the state's largest department store-Gayfers; Bel Air Mall had quality in-line tenants such as Bailey Banks & Biddle and Lillie Rubin; the Festival Centre rounded out the retail mix with a selection of strong big box stores. The entire west Mobile shopping district seemed more...vibrant than it does now in these hyper competitive times.

Spanish Fort Town Center would be more acceptible if its various components weren't so scattered about. Secondly, what retailers would tenant some of these vast in-line spaces? This 200 acre boondoggle would have been better off as a pine forest.

Going into its fourth year, Eastern Shore Centre has a noticeable vacancy problem. At least 20,000 square feet is just sitting in that lifestyle center unleased, so, this mall needs another anchor to bring foot traffic around the place. Hopefully the new megaplex will be a success.

Have you been there lately? Have you seen that they are trying to fill it in. A new restaurant and a new movie theater and from the word on the streets more stores are looking to come in. They had to lower the rent so stores would come in. It was too high at one point and now it is reasonable. The BLVD in BR is $310 SQ foot and Apple is paying some of the highest rent in BR just to open there, they will have 20k sq feet of retail space. Spokesmen for Apple stated that more locations were being looked at and Mobile was one and they did not say where, rather far south Alabama was what they said and unless they plan to build it in Gulf Shores. I have talked to a Macy's spokesman in Ohio and she said that they construct 10 new stores per year, I did mention that she needed to look into Mobile, because of its significant growth and it has needed one since 1990. She would not confirm anything, but did say that it is possible. Also, Fox 10 has shown a lot of their advertisements and they do not do that unless they plan to open are construct a new store. Macy's is still a high-end store, but since they were bought out by another vendor they have down-scaled there prices to JC Penny's prices. Mobile can do that for sure.

[10101000]

http://www.white-spunner.com/whats.php?news=30

White-Spunner Construction Announces Plans for New LEED Office Building
Wednesday, Aug 29, 2007

[Mobile, AL] – Owners of White-Spunner Construction, Inc. announced plans to build a new office for White-Spunner Construction, Inc. on 6.5 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate-65 and Government Boulevard. Construction is currently underway at the site.

The 40,000 square foot, two-story office building will be constructed on 3.5 acres, leaving additional property open for future company growth. The office building will take approximately eight months to build and will be built under LEED guidelines, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED features include an open floor plan with tinted windows, numerous skylights, large windows, motion-sensitive lighting, water-efficient systems and the use of recycled materials and environmentally-friendly approaches during construction.

Company owners have also obtained an option on an adjoining 18.5 acres and plan to develop a mixed use office park on the site. The site will have tremendous visibility as the first office development located on I-65 as travelers turn north from I-10. Initial plans for the business park include a lake, fountain and walking paths in addition to 27 business lots and three lots fronting I-65 for hotels or restaurants. The property has views of the Heron Lakes Country Club golf course next door and is located across the Interstate from Hank Aaron Stadium.

White-Spunner Construction, Inc. is a general contracting and management company based in Mobile, Alabama with branch offices in Orange Beach, Alabama; Dallas, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina. Incorporated in 1981, White-Spunner Construction is committed to safety, quality and integrity. One of the leading construction companies in the South, White-Spunner Construction is licensed in 35 states and works closely with clients on multi-family, industrial, commercial and retail projects. White-Spunner Construction prides itself on completing every project on time, on schedule and within budget. For more information, visit www.white-spunner.com or call 251-471-5189.

# # #

[NitekKetin]

Originally Posted by timothyncrystal

Have you been there lately? Have you seen that they are trying to fill it in. A new restaurant and a new movie theater and from the word on the streets more stores are looking to come in. They had to lower the rent so stores would come in. It was too high at one point and now it is reasonable. The BLVD in BR is $310 SQ foot and Apple is paying some of the highest rent in BR just to open there, they will have 20k sq feet of retail space. Spokesmen for Apple stated that more locations were being looked at and Mobile was one and they did not say where, rather far south Alabama was what they said and unless they plan to build it in Gulf Shores. I have talked to a Macy's spokesman in Ohio and she said that they construct 10 new stores per year, I did mention that she needed to look into Mobile, because of its significant growth and it has needed one since 1990. She would not confirm anything, but did say that it is possible. Also, Fox 10 has shown a lot of their advertisements and they do not do that unless they plan to open are construct a new store. Macy's is still a high-end store, but since they were bought out by another vendor they have down-scaled there prices to JC Penny's prices. Mobile can do that for sure.

I've last visited Eastern Shore Centre this past weekend and saw numerous closed stores and unleased spaces. Beyond the multiplex site preparation behind the mall, there was some renovation going at the former Dish It Out store near Objects. It seems as though the limited number of new retailers coming to Eastern Shore Centre are just moving into previously occupied spaces.

The Wharf and Legacy Village might be potential sites for a possible Apple store. However, Mobile and Baldwin Counties don't seem to have *that* many Mac users to make a store here viable.

[10101000]

I thought the same thing about MAC too, but they do not talk a lot. B.R. got wind of them coming back when I first moved here and then there was not anymore news. I thought that it was going in another development here, but it did not and then we found out about three months ago that it was coming to Mall Of Louisiana's The Blvd. When they released that information Apple released a web page and I cannot find it anymore but it shows the cities where they plan to build. Mobile was a few list down from B.R. I could care less where it goes as long as it is done. I have a feeling that high-end retail is coming in quicker than we all think and you would be surprised to see that Mobile's income can actually handle it. I saw some of the stores in Bridge Street Towne Centre and they have some never even located in the south. If Huntsville can have it, so can Mobile. Maybe they want to build downtown and are just waiting to see when there are more residences there. From my understanding at meetings held with Mobile Alliance, they hired a group to strictly lure retail for pedestrians. Anyway, there are so many things going on over there that it is hard to keep up, I just wish they would let people that want the retail to get evolved. Another way to find out information about Business in Mobile is the Business View from the Chamber. They normally send out these publications about the whole area and not just about downtown. Another thing, the new leasing office for Bel-Air LaSalle, has something up there sleeve because the new leasing manger told me that the mall was full and they do not have a lot of space but was wanting more to come in. http://www.shopatbelairmall.com/ The new web site. This is what I did, I found the guys email address and contacted him about a change in the mall. My guess is that people need to email this cat and let him know how much retail Mobile needs. If enough people push him then something can happen. I have seen it numerous times. Truly one person can make a difference.
http://www.jllretail.com/en-US/contact/ This is the link for their email, and I encourage everyone to give him your thoughts. It can only help, what can he tell you, no? Give it a shot everyone, lets get some reatil and change here.

[NitekKetin]

Not to turn this into a mall thread, but for the last 20 or so years, Bel Air has always wanted to develop the tracts west and immediately south of JCPenney. This is purely speculative, but Macys could potentially anchor a nice new corridor in that area.

[BlessedMobile]

I saw it today, Saturday, and it looked to be about 25-35% complete. It has a long way to be 150' plus. I'm just guessing that it is about 30' or so off the roof now. They probably have done little work over the holidays and with the wet weather.

[Randy Sandford]

Originally Posted by CottonCity251

Create another one and call it Mobile Development News 2008 so it won't be limited to downtown. Or rename this one Mobile Development News.

I have removed "2007" from this thread's title as nimsjus requested by PM. Alxx611 started a new thread, "Mobile,AL Development Thread," which is intended for downtown and the rest of the metro area. There really doesn't need to be two threads covering development in Mobile (or any city for that matter). My suggestion would be to keep this thread going and drop "Downtown" from the title because if we close this one and direct discussion to the new thread, then it will be difficult for people to find this thread to read past messages. I'll let you guys decide what you'd like me to do.

[SouthSky]

Originally Posted by Randy Sandford

I have removed "2007" from this thread's title as nimsjus requested by PM. Alxx611 started a new thread, "Mobile,AL Development Thread," which is intended for downtown and the rest of the metro area. There really doesn't need to be two threads covering development in Mobile (or any city for that matter). My suggestion would be to keep this thread going and drop "Downtown" from the title because if we close this one and direct discussion to the new thread, then it will be difficult for people to find this thread to read past messages. I'll let you guys decide what you'd like me to do.

I think just dropping "downtown" would work quite well. Thanks in advance, Randy.

[CottonCity251]

Originally Posted by Randy Sandford

I have removed "2007" from this thread's title as nimsjus requested by PM. Alxx611 started a new thread, "Mobile,AL Development Thread," which is intended for downtown and the rest of the metro area. There really doesn't need to be two threads covering development in Mobile (or any city for that matter). My suggestion would be to keep this thread going and drop "Downtown" from the title because if we close this one and direct discussion to the new thread, then it will be difficult for people to find this thread to read past messages. I'll let you guys decide what you'd like me to do.

Just what I had in mind, thanks Randy!

[CottonCity251]

Today from the PR....

RSA gets another HQ

Sunday, January 06, 2008
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

Signal International plans to move its corporate office from Pascagoula to the 35-story RSA Battle House Tower in downtown Mobile, the second tenant to relocate its headquarters there.

The marine and fabrication company has leased a 6,000-square-foot office in the tower and will move there within six to nine months, according to Joe Toole, leasing agent for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

Business deal

Signal's move is a result of a business deal between the company and RSA, according to David Bronner, who heads the state's $28 billion, Montgomery-based pension fund. The $200 million office tower and adjacent 238-room Battle House Hotel projects were funded by RSA, and both opened last May. The hotel carries the four-star Marriott Renaissance Hotel brand.

RSA helped finance the buyout of some of Signal's investors, and is now a partner in the 4-year-old company, Bronner said.

"You have to look at your opportunities," he said. "And both of the head guys live in the Mobile area, so it's to their benefit."

Bronner was also instrumental in bringing the publicly traded International Shipholding Corp. headquarters here from New Orleans. The shipping firm moved into two floors of the RSA tower last April. The company was looking for a home for one of its shipping operations after Hurricane Katrina, and Alabama and local governments lured the company with an incentives package worth at least $23 million, according to state officials. RSA bought out the shipping firm's office lease in New Orleans.

"When you can get a corporate headquarters in your city, you basically get all those people who do business with the corporate office having to come to the area," Bronner said. "It's good for the restaurants and the hotels, and exposes the city to all of these different businessmen."

So far, 76 percent of the tower's 460,000 square feet of office space has been leased, according to Toole. The tower's lease rates range from $18 to $19 per square foot to the low $20s, he said. "As the building fills, the rates are going up. It's market-driven."

Current rates downtown average $15 to $16 per square foot for newer or updated Class A office space, according to leasing agents.

About 20 percent of the tower's tenants have moved in, with the majority expecting to finish their interior build-outs or finishes this year, he said.

"There will be a lot of construction going on this year," on the interior office space, Toole said. "That's a good impact for the city and you won't see all the construction workers leaving downtown."

The state's tallest building is a convenient location for Signal International, according to Richard Marler, the company president and CEO, who lives in Fairhope. "The building will present a good image for us," he said. "And on a personal note, it will shorten my commute."

Signal currently does business with a number of Mobile firms to buy raw materials and insurance, and often uses local aircraft charter services for traveling to its Texas shipyards, Marler said.

His company employs more than 2,500 workers in its six shipyards, two in Pascagoula and four in the Port Arthur and Orange, Texas, areas. The company's sales are in the $500 million range, Marler said.

Pleased with progress

Bronner said he was pleased with the leasing activity at the 745-foot office tower, considering it has been open just eight months.

The room bookings for the Battle House Hotel, which adjoins the office tower, are not substantial yet, he said. There are 126 hotel rooms on the first seven floors of the tower, and he expects those rooms to start booking up once the office tenants move in.

"We're not getting the level of traffic we could get," he said. "Once the tower is built out and you have businesses in there, they will have clients who will stay on the property, especially the law firms who have clients coming in from out of town."

So far, the tenants that have leased space in the office tower include Regions Bank; U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile; CitiGroup/Smith Barney; the architectural firm Goodwyn Mills & Cawood; and the law firms Adams & Reese, Hand Arendall and McDowell Knight Roedder & Sledge.

[Bama_75]

I am glad to see some names of tenants.

[nimsjus]

Originally Posted by Randy Sandford

I have removed "2007" from this thread's title as nimsjus requested by PM. Alxx611 started a new thread, "Mobile,AL Development Thread," which is intended for downtown and the rest of the metro area. There really doesn't need to be two threads covering development in Mobile (or any city for that matter). My suggestion would be to keep this thread going and drop "Downtown" from the title because if we close this one and direct discussion to the new thread, then it will be difficult for people to find this thread to read past messages. I'll let you guys decide what you'd like me to do.

That sounds great

[elb401]

I like that idea too!

Oh the RSA is 76% full! only about 20% have finished their interiors and have moved in. that explains all the empty looking floors! they are leased just not finished!

[Randy Sandford]

I changed the title of this thread to "Mobile Development Thread" and merged the other thread with this one.

[SouthSky]

Originally Posted by Randy Sandford

I changed the title of this thread to "Mobile Development Thread" and merged the other thread with this one.

Thanks a bunch, Randy.

[BamaGrad04]

Originally Posted by elb401

Oh the RSA is 76% full! only about 20% have finished their interiors and have moved in. that explains all the empty looking floors! they are leased just not finished!

Yeah, this should finally quell talk from those who see the tower as only 20% leased, rather thank simply occupied. Good news all around. Let's just hope we can continue to attract new companies to the tower, and not just those who move from other buildings.

[pkp]

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say I am glad to see more and more Mobile folks on here getting excited about the city. I haven't really been on here much in the last few months. After having moved to downtown (well, Oakleigh) towards the end of '06, I have simply been having too much fun to spend much time on the internet at all. Anyway, for those with any interest in moving to the city's core, now is a great time. There are many more available housing options now than even a year ago - everything from studio lofts to mansions - all within a short walk or bike ride to Bienville Square. We still need a little more retail support, but with the transformation going on here now, it will come soon - get in while you can still afford it!