The mixed-use development trend continues to be hot, especially with projects that incorporate both retail and residential. In recent years, the office portion of mixed-use projects has been stagnant; however, new urban mixed-use retail developments have been eschewing residential co-tenancy in favor of office. This perhaps reflects a sign of the times, as more and more employers are now insisting that their staff physically show up for a face-to-face workday in an office setting. In addition, there is a growing tech industry boom, which demands group collaboration in an office environment.
These office/retail developments have been especially prevalent in cities that are steadily seeing more tech-industry businesses spring up, most notably in the thriving AI category. Two upcoming mixed-use projects that exemplify this new energy devoted to the retail/office mix, especially in the still-growing tech urban centers in the South, include the Urban Supply development in Birmingham, Ala., and the Ashwood 12 South development in Nashville, Tenn.
Urban Supply
Urban Supply is the name of the roughly 100,000-s.f. mixed-use project that encompasses two blocks in the Parkside neighborhood of Birmingham. The project entails the redevelopment of six different vacant historic buildings and warehouses into mid-century modern spaces for office, retail and restaurant tenants. The buildings will be interconnected by pedestrian-friendly alleyway corridors that will also provide outdoor gathering areas.
With Orchestra Partners at the helm of the redevelopment project, the site’s first retail tenant, Dogtopia, opened its 6,500-s.f. unit in October. By late 2024, a 7,500-s.f. Fairway Social, an “eatertainment” concept that offers virtual sport simulation game experiences alongside food and drinks, will open. Urban Supply also signed on three different office tenants: co-working space THRIVE, audio/visual tech company Diversified and Knight Eady Marketing Agency, which offers event management services.
As for future tenants, Urban Supply hopes to sign on eateries, coffeehouses and health-related brands, such as a gym, a juice bar, a sporting goods specialty shop or a yoga studio. This is because the site abuts the Jones Valley Trail, a pedestrian and bike-friendly path that extends through a portion of the city. Urban Supply anticipates being a spot where those traveling along the path can stop for a snack and a drink, as well as find products related to their outdoor interests. The destination also expects to attract traffic from the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus, which is less than a mile away.
The neighborhood of Parkside has been undergoing a renaissance lately, especially with other mixed-use developments. The most notable, within walking distance of Urban Supply, is the redevelopment of a three-story warehouse into a residential/office/retail building, now called The Denham Building, completed by developer Third & Urban back in 2020. Tenants signed for that building include The Piedmont Group; iHeart Media; marketing agency Luckie & Company; East Pole Coffee Co., a specialty coffee roaster based in Atlanta; and Tucana Tiki Bar, a tropical-themed cocktail bar.
Overall, the city of Birmingham has also benefited from its designation as an official “tech hub” by the Biden administration in October.
This declaration boosts Birmingham’s ability to appeal to other tech industries to consider relocating to the city. The tech hub designation was spearheaded by Southern Research, the city’s nonprofit scientific research organization that has recently been focused on AI-driven biotechnology.
Ashwood 12 South
The Ashwood 12 South development, which expects to be fully completed and open by early 2025, covers 1.92 acres on the south end of a trendy retail-oriented street just south of downtown Nashville. The six-parcel site, which once housed the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, was acquired by the New York-based Turnbridge Equities in 2022. It will ultimately become a 116,500-s.f. three-story mixed-use development with 44,500 s.f. of ground-floor retail — consisting of 16,700 s.f. of restaurants and 27,800 s.f. of high-end shops. The remaining second and third floors will be devoted to luxury office spaces. The project will also include 190 parking spaces on the premises.
Confirmed tenants that will occupy the ground-floor spaces include Reformation; Roark; Birkenstock; BURDLIFE, a jeweler with one location in Houston; Sushi-san, a Chicago-based Japanese restaurant; SunLife Organics, a juice bar/smoothie concept; and health-oriented Australian-influenced restaurant Two Hands. Additional tenants rumored to potentially occupy future spaces in Ashwood 12 South are nationally known brands that do not yet have a presence in Nashville but are currently in another mixed-use project completed by Turnbridge Equities in Austin called Music Lane. These include Alo Yoga, Sweetgreen and Le Labo.
The location of the Ashwood 12 South site is ideal, as the one-mile retail portion of 12th Avenue South has seen numerous buzzed-about tenants rise up over the last few years, including alice + olivia, LoveShackFancy, Mejuri, Gorjana, Vuori and Faherty Brand. The site, about three miles from Nashville’s city center, is within a 10-minute walk to Belmont University, and a five-minute drive from Vanderbilt University. Although office tenants in the Ashwood development haven’t yet been announced, the city of Nashville continues to see a rise of the tech sector, with such companies as Calm Waters AI and Iron Galaxy Studios recently occupying office spaces in the city.
