Newmark Group, Inc., a commercial real estate advisor and service provider to large institutional investors, global corporations and other owners and occupiers, announced the company has arranged the $508 million sale of The Summit, an 870,000-square-foot, mixed-use lifestyle destination in Birmingham, Alabama.
The transaction is the largest single-property commercial real estate transaction in Alabama history by purchase price.
Newmark President and Head of Retail Capital Markets for North America Conor Lalor, represented JDJ, a privately-owned retail investor, in the sale of the asset to Federal Realty.
Located at the intersection of Interstate 459 and U.S. Route 280, The Summit is among the Southeast’s most prominent open-air retail destinations serving as the primary shopping, dining and entertainment hub for the Birmingham metropolitan area and drawing consumers from across the region.
“The Summit is an irreplaceable asset with a dominant market position, exceptional demographics and meaningful growth potential,” said Lalor. “Investor demand for high-quality lifestyle retail continues to strengthen nationwide, and opportunities to acquire assets of this scale and quality are increasingly rare.”
The property features more than 110 retailers, restaurants and entertainment concepts, including Trader Joe’s, Apple, lululemon, Restoration Hardware, Nordstrom Rack and Alo Yoga. The Summit has established itself as Birmingham’s premier retail destination and one of the leading lifestyle centers in the Southeast.
At the time of sale, the property was approximately 95% leased and experiencing strong leasing momentum, with recent commitments from leading retailers including Vuori, Reformation, Arizona, Alo Yoga, LoveShackFancy and Brandy Melville. The asset also offers substantial embedded rent-growth potential, as in-place rents remain below those achieved at comparable lifestyle centers nationally.
The Summit benefits from affluent demographics, significant traffic volumes and a highly differentiated tenant mix. More than 40 retailers operate their only Birmingham-area location at the property, while approximately 30 brands maintain their only Alabama location at the center.
