Last Mile Investments Buys Huntsville-Area Retail Asset

Image by Markus Spiske via Unsplash

Last Mile Investments has acquired Whitesburg Center, a 49,821-square-foot retail asset in Huntsville, Ala. JLL brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, Baker Storey McDonald Properties.

The property was completed in 1990 and upgraded in 2002. Both national and regional retailers are among the center’s tenants, including Dollar Tree, Hollywood Feed, Edible Arrangements, Baskin Robbins, Buff City Soap and Papa Murphy’s, among others.

Located at 5000 Whitesburg Drive, Whitesburg Center is in close proximity to Crestview Medical Center and Huntsville High School. Situated just east of U.S Route 231, the retail center is exposed to a daily car traffic of approximately 60,000 vehicles. The location is also less than 4 miles from downtown Huntsville and some 10 miles from Cummings Research Park.

According to a third quarter 2022 retail report from Marcus & Millichap, the national retail vacancy returned to levels recorded before the onset of the pandemic, with operations in this sector being supported by the labor market recovery.

With more than 250 million square feet of retail space being leased in the U.S. in the 12 months ending in June, Whitesburg Center presents a solid value-add opportunity for the new owner, having three vacant spaces available for lease.

The JLL team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton, Managing Director Brad Buchanan and Associate Andrew Michols.

Earlier this month, a JLL Capital Markets team brokered the sale of a 99,839-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store in New Bern, N.C., on behalf of Columbia Development Group and Lubert Adler.