Commercial real estate across the Mobile Bay area stayed busy in the early summer, with an investor lining up a beachfront “condotel” in Gulf Shores and a string of restaurants and businesses signing leases in and around Mobile.
A condotel on East Beach Boulevard
An investor paid $1.65 million for 17 lots on East Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores, directly across from The Colonnades, and was looking to build a condotel on the property, which fronts 700 feet on the boulevard and includes beach access. A condotel is a condominium complex operated much like a hotel. Ken Crabtree of REMAX Paradise represented the buyer, while Bob Shallow of REMAX Paradise worked for the seller.
In another coastal transaction, a local investor paid $180,000 for a bank-owned, 2,100-square-foot building on Cove Avenue in Gulf Shores, according to Pratt Thomas of Merrill P. Thomas Company.
New tenants downtown and in west Mobile
Dewberry, an architectural, engineering and consulting firm based in Virginia, leased 800 square feet in the Landmark Square building at 169 Dauphin St. in downtown Mobile. Thomas of Merrill P. Thomas Co. represented the firm, and Richard Inge of Inge & Associates worked for the landlord.
Chicken Salad Chick, the Auburn-based restaurant, leased 2,400 square feet in Hillwood Plaza at the northwest corner of Hillcrest and Cottage Hill roads. Tim Herrington of Herrington Realty, who represented the new franchisee, said the chain was expected to open additional locations in the area. David Dexter of White-Spunner & Associates worked for the landlord, and a new Publix Supermarket anchors the shopping center.
Foosackly’s Chicken Fingers planned to move from 3249 Dauphin St. to the nearby former Popeye’s site at Dauphin Street and Sage Avenue, according to Matt Cummings of Cummings & Associates. The restaurant intended to tear down the Popeye’s building and construct a new eatery on the leased land. Cummings also handled a lease for Hong Kong Express, which took 1,200 square feet in the former Hong Kong Island Chinese restaurant building in Dauphin Square for a take-out operation.
Providence Academy leased 4,650 square feet at 1020 University Blvd. in west Mobile for a daycare center, a deal handled by Jeremy Milling of Milling Commercial Realty. Milling Commercial Realty also represented BBB Bail Bonding Company, which leased 1,760 square feet at 665 S. Conception St. downtown.
A new kitchen at the BB&T Centre
Stevie’s Kitchen leased the 2,800-square-foot first floor of the BB&T Centre at Dauphin Street and Interstate 65 and planned to open in July. Harry Brislin of The Mitchell Company represented the landlord. The space was formerly occupied by The Red Brick Café, and owner Stevie Watford planned to serve breakfast and lunch.
Taken together, the transactions pointed to steady demand for retail, restaurant and office space along the coast and across Mobile, from downtown storefronts to west Mobile shopping centers.