8/4/2000 - Trussville boom continues: $1.5M retail center

Birmingham Business Journal - August 4, 2000 by Jennifer Park Staff

Birmingham's not-so-sleepy bedroom community of Trussville has a new retail project, a $1.5 million retail development on U.S. Highway 11 that will house at least two well-known stores.

Tuscaloosa-based developer, The Buchalter Co. Inc., is developing a 14,000- square-foot retail center south of Trussville's city hall on property once occupied by two old residences that housed Peachy Beach Tanning Salon and Boutique and Tiffany's Candle and Gift Shop.

The new center will be home to a 7,000-square-foot Advance Auto Parts store and a 4,200-square-foot Movie Gallery video rental store.

"Approximately 2,000 square feet will also be available for retail or office space," says Robert Buchalter, principal of The Buchalter Co. Inc.

He says his firm, which develops build-to-suit facilities across the Southeast, is finding that clients increasingly have their sights set on the suburbs.

"More than anything, our clients want to be located out in the neighborhood communities," Buchalter says.

"Plus, there is growing demand in these communities, especially in Trussville with the centers like Target on Highway 11 and the cinemas on the hill."

Buchalter says one of the pluses for his new Trussville project is a traffic light located near the entrance to the property.

"There is, at this point, a three-way red light at the intersection," he says. "Upon completion of the project, it will be a four-way red light so the traffic in and out of the center won't clog. Patrons can go in and shop and get out easily."

Trussville Mayor Gene Melton says the center will be good for the city.

"What he is putting in, what the beautification board is doing, and the landscaping he is doing will look much more desirable and more aesthetically pleasing than what is there," he says.

Melton says Buchalter's design will give the city a larger right-of-way on the property, allowing for installation of a sidewalk and landscaping.

"We're trying to do things the right way here, without encroaching on someone's right to develop," Melton says. "But we do have ordinances to make sure the projects are aesthetically pleasing and benefit downtown."

Construction is under way. The developer hopes to have tenants moved in by November.

Buchalter's previous Trussville projects include Blockbuster Video and the RealtySouth building, across from the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Trussville is the third project developed in recent months by Buchalter. His company and the commercial division of Brigham-Williams Realty are building two 20,000-square-foot retail outlets.

One is in Leeds on U.S. Highway 411, south of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. The other is in Bessemer, just off Interstate 459 on Morgan Road.

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