Category Archives: Business

A nice week for Motus Motorcycles

Posted on July 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

3 words... via Motus Motorcycles. The folks at Motus Motorcycles probably weren’t worried for a moment yesterday, though it could have been a crazier day if the outcome at Monday afternoon’s Budget and Finance committee meeting at Birmingham City Hall had been different.

The business has spent the last 3 ½ years at Innovation Depot and is preparing to “graduate” from the nationally recognized business incubator. They enjoyed a pretty nice morning at the city’s Design Review Committee at the Auburn Urban Studio. (NOTE: Magic City Post has a full rundown of yesterday’s meeting.) That’s where a proposal by Barber Properties to make improvements to property located at 500 28th Street South – the former home to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum – to facilitate serving as the company’s new home was unanimously approved.

This scene could have been a little awkward if the City Council committee hadn’t voted to recommend approval of $75,000 in financial incentives for the motorcycle manufacturer by the full council as reported by Joseph Bryant that evening on al.com. The vote was unanimous, though there was apparently an exchange between councilor Lashunda Scales and Jarvis Patton from the mayor’s office.  They’ll be looking to grow their staff by as much as six times as a result of this week’s events.

Photo: 3 words…Blue Ridge Parkway. Courtesy Motus Motorcycles brand page on Facebook.

Leave a comment

Posted in 35233, Development

Tagged , , , , ,

Housing vacancy goes up, apartment vacancy goes down

Posted on July 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

29/7 in Lakeview under construction, June 2012.Yesterday’s Birmingham Business Journal shared an encouraging report from New York-based real estate services company CBRE that included Birmingham among seven cities with the largest decline in apartment vacancies during the second quarter of this year (compared to the same period in 2011).

The results seem to make sense when looked at alongside another report shared by the BBJ back in late June that pointed to the Magic City as having the 16th highest vacancy rate for overall housing units based on 2010 U.S. Census numbers. The folks at real estate research firm Reis, Inc. released a report back in April announcing the national vacancy rate for apartments had reached their lowest levels (4.9%) since the first quarter of 2001. The piece filed by Reuters points out that Alabama’s largest city was tied with New York, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, and Northern New Jersey for the second lowest increase in the country.

Projects like 29 Seven in Lakeview (set to open later this summer and pictured above while under construction in June) will continue to add to rental properties in Birmingham proper for some time to come, supporting the statements in the Reis report that suggest that it will be a great market for landlords for the foreseeable future with rent increases accompanying this period.

Of course, if demand keeps up, we may see initiatives like those underway in San Francisco and New York for micro-efficiences…

Leave a comment

Posted in Business

Tagged , , , ,

UPDATE: A petition supporting area food trucks appears

Posted on July 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

Food Truck. Courtesy of Operation New Birmingham

See updates below | It’s been a long time since anyone’s talked about the issue of food trucks here in Birmingham, AL – relatively speaking. It’s been nearly two years since an episode that eventually led to ONB announcing and then changing its stance on them.

It’s not hard to find folks supportive of their existence based on the crowds that gathered for two different events built around them in the metro area held on the same day back on May 12. If nothing else, folks are more aware of just how many options they have.

Some residents are wanting to make sure that members of Birmingham’s City Council are aware of how many people enjoy the options currently available to folks who work, live, and visit our fair city. They’ve already garnered about 75 virtual signatures as of 10 a.m. this morning on a Change.org petition asking our municipal legislative body to establish policies that support them when possible (and they’ll probably reach their goal of 100 well before lunchtime).

Early Wednesday evening, July 11, the owner of Spoonfed Grill shared an update from a Birmingham City Council meeting where new regulations were being discussed.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/SpoonFedGrill/status/223184528913596416″]

It’s been interesting to look at the conversation taking place on the petition’s page, particularly when you look at what some who aren’t signing the petition are saying about whether or not other issues facing the area need the same level of opinion.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: According to a post this afternoon on Magic City Post, the total number of signatures being sought has been raised to 500 – and its nearly reached that goal as well.

UPDATE 5:27 p.m.: The Birmingham News is now reporting that the new goal for Naomi Anderegg’s effort  is 1,000; it’s currently at 617.

UPDATE 7/15, 8:50 a.m.: A quick check of the petition currently shows the new goal as being 1,500 signatures with more than 1,160 already collected.

Leave a comment

Posted in Business, food, Online

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Store is on target in Homewood

Posted on June 26, 2012 | 1 comment

Target Beam Raising in Homewood, AL.

Tuesday afternoon, June 26, saw the city of Homewood come one step closer to changing shopping patterns for residents throughout metro Birmingham’s central region. Its mayor, Scott McBrayer, was joined by city officials and the business community as Minneapolis, MN-based retailer Target held a beam raising ceremony for their 135,000 square foot store currently under construction at Colonial Brookwood Village.

As mentioned on this site a little less than two years ago, this will be Target’s sixth location in the metropolitan area and the one located closest to Birmingham’s city center, reasonably reducing potential travel distances for potential shoppers in neighborhoods like Norwood, Fountain Heights, Southside and Central City. It is scheduled to open sometime in 2013 and employ approximately 200 people.

1 Comment

Posted in Business, Homewood

Oskar Blues comes “home” to Alabama next month

Posted on June 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last night, one simple tweet stopped the local craft beer scene in its track, but  in a good way:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/OskarBluesBama/status/214742671938424832″]

That’s right; Oskar Blues and their cans of craft beer will be making its Alabama debut later this summer – perhaps as early as July based on this other tweet sent out by the account dedicated to the state earlier today:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/OskarBluesBama/status/215486689215385601″]

This development is big news for fans of the Lyons, CO-based craft beer maker, especially those aware of the fact that the company’s owned by Florence, AL natives Dale and Chris Katechis will turn to Birmingham Beverage to begin distributing their cans in Birmingham and elsewhere in the northern 2/3 of the state. They’re scheduled to be in holding release events between July 2-4 according to their press release.

We got a chance to catch up with Ben Lewellyn of Good People Brewing Company to hear what someone from the only brewer in the state currently making craft beers delivered in cans had to say.

Keeping up with plans as they unfold should be easy if you’re a fan of social networks. They’ve got a brand page on Facebook in addition to the Twitter account.

Leave a comment

Posted in Business, food

Tagged , , , , ,

PNC Bank signs set to appear in Birmingham on March 2

Posted on February 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

PNC Bank sign installationThe Birmingham-area locations of RBC Bank have been the scene of images like this one to your left in recent weeks. This photo was taken at the branch located on Crestwood Blvd. last Wednesday, February 15.

The agreement to sell the branches (and all of the U.S. operations) to Pittsburgh, PA-based PNC Bank was announced back in June. Now they’re being prepared for when the change becomes official on March 2. Branches will reopen on March 5 – with no noticeable changes made to the customer-facing side (as reported by the Birmingham Business Journal).

PNC Bank logoIt will be interesting to see how the company integrates into the local business community. Considering the increased focus on sustainable development that’s been happening in the area – particularly UAB’s recent Sustainable Cities Symposium and yesterday’s Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail master plan announcement – the city’s newest financial institution could be an interesting fit.

The bank announced last May that it would undertake constructing a new 33-story corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh – The Tower at PNC Plaza – with hopes that it would be “the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper.” The company is also reportedly responsible for the most new construction projects LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council on the planet. – There are also their company-wide sustainability initiatives (PDF) to keep in mind, including their Green Branch® Locations program.

Leave a comment

Posted in Business

Tagged , , , ,

Yes, cash mobs are a good thing…

Posted on February 21, 2012 | 1 comment

Cash. BlantantWorld.com/Flickr.The cash mob has found its way to Birmingham, AL in recent months. The folks at Magic City Post have recently held two events in the metro area so far and late this morning there were mentions floating around the local digital network that a Birmingham Cash Mob brand page had been created on Facebook.

The movement’s got its roots in Buffalo, NY and it’s continued to gain traction as a shop local movement continues to spread across the country as gas prices continue to go higher (as evidenced by the success of Carrie Rollwagen‘s (of Church Street Coffee & Books) Shop Small blog here in metro Birmingham.

According to the page’s info section:

Once a month, we’ll be hitting up locally owned and operated businesses armed with $20, a smile, and a love of Birmingham. Then we’ll head over to a local watering hole to celebrate the awesome night.

While we’re not sure who the organizers of the page are, we do know that they aren’t going to announce the unwillingly happy recipient of their generosity until they reach 500 people. Based on a quick reading of the site linked to on the page though, it may be safe to admit that they’ll try to coordinate their first effort with what will probably be referred to as National Cash Mob Day on March 24.

They’ve also set a goal of having at least 100 people “like” the page today. If you’re on Facebook and you’re interested in supporting local businesses, this could be yet another way to stick with your principles.

Photo: Cash. BlantantWorld.com/Flickr.

1 Comment

Posted in Business

Tagged , ,