In Birmingham, Alabama, the University of Montevallo earned a 2024 CoStar Impact Award, as voted on by local judges with knowledge of the market, for the signing of its new lease at the Calera Commerce Park.
The industrial facility is to be the home of the university's AMSTI program, or the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative. The roughly 54,000-square-foot lease was signed in August and is for 10 years.
The program is the Alabama Department of Education’s statewide initiative to improve math and science teaching. Its mission is to support Alabama educators and students in learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
AMSTI has 10 regional sites within the state, each affiliated with a state college or higher learning institution. This site needed to remain central but be closer to the University of Montevallo. Calera Commerce Park is 7 miles from campus, which enabled AMSTI’s personnel to move on campus and have the warehouse space easily available while remaining an accessible distribution hub.
About the Project: Calera Commerce Park is a Class A industrial facility in the Interstate 65 corridor. The building broke ground in January 2021, was completed in August 2022 and was fully leased by the third quarter of 2023. The 216,000-square-foot property is on a 30-acre lot.
What the Judges Said: "The short lease-up period indicates continued demand for Class A industrial product in both the South submarket and overall Birmingham market. Additionally, AMSTI's commitment to advancing STEM education is an investment that will impact the state for decades to come," said Matt Rowan, a valuation analyst for Colliers Valuation & Advisory.
They Made it Happen: Ogden Deaton Graham & Co. represented the landlord.