Tessa’s Success with Stanley Funches!
We love seeing our clients in the news! It's truly rewarding to witness Stanley Funches and INTELUS Wealth Management, LLC, renovate their office investment to beautifully meet the needs of both their business and clients!
Keep an eye on Stanley and his team as they continue to grow, all while empowering individuals to achieve financial freedom. INTELUS Wealth Management, LLC offers comprehensive, holistic financial services that help clients build and protect their financial legacies with personalized, objective advice.
We look forward to achieving more, together!
Closing on the Baldone
We are thrilled to have contributed to the successful sale of the historic Baldone Tailors Building. Huge thanks to Libby Lassiter for her dedication in facilitating this deal and helping bring this iconic property to new ownership. We’re excited to see how they will revitalize the space and bring fresh energy to the intersection of Ave North and 23rd Street—such an important corner of Downtown Birmingham.
This closing wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and expertise of Bart Crawford and his team at The Title Group, Vaughn McWilliams and the DLB Law team, and Michael Randman of Southpace Properties. A special thanks to Lew Garrison and the Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC ownership for your patience and partnership throughout the process. It takes a village, and this village made it happen! Here’s to new beginnings for the Baldone Building!
Moxi secures new leases for Birmingham and Homewood!
Moxi’s innovative model combines on demand, best-in-class childcare with co-working and fitness spaces, fulfilling a long-awaited need for urban parents in our community. This concept promises to provide a much-desired blend of convenience and quality for families and professionals alike.
We are honored to play a part in Moxi’s journey and look forward to supporting their continued growth and success. We know they are going to make a huge impact!
BBJ 2024 Power 60: Meredith Calhoun
Founder and CEO, Tessa Commercial Real Estate
Calhoun is a versatile entrepreneur with a background in commercial real estate. She founded Tessa Commercial Real Estate and co-founded Practice Works, a space for wellness practitioners. The University of Georgia graduate earned a degree in psychology. She began her career in human resources before transitioning to real estate brokerage and development. She spent nearly 13 years with Corporate Realty Associates, where she was a vice president and oversaw the organization. In 2018, she made a jump to Practice Works, a flexible turn-key workspace. She founded Tessa Commercial Real Estate in 2020, where one of her first projects was The Hardwick by Bayer Properties, an adaptive-reuse project on the Rotary Trail. She is a board member of the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama, The Literacy Council of Central Alabama, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.
Tessa Commercial Real Estate Partners with Opportunity Alabama's OPAL Fund to Redevelop Historic Burger Phillips Building in Downtown Birmingham
It all begins with an idea.
Birmingham, AL – Tessa Commercial Real Estate, in collaboration with Opportunity Alabama's OPAL Fund, announces plans to revitalize the first floor of the historic Burger Phillips building located at 1914 3rd Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203. This transformative project aims to rejuvenate a long-vacant property in the heart of Birmingham’s Central Business District into vibrant office space that will serve the local community and spotlight the city's potential for growth and innovation.
The OPAL Fund, a lead equity investor in the project, will also become a tenant alongside Tessa in this redeveloped space. The decision to invest in this project underscores both organizations' commitment to fostering economic development in Birmingham's Central Business District and creating a collaborative environment for innovative and impact-oriented companies to thrive.
This redevelopment opportunity brings two unique teams with deep CRE experience and a heart for Birmingham together under one roof, with the intent of creating a “multiplier effect” that will leverage their respective skills to accelerate investment across the 99 neighborhoods. The redevelopment initiative is expected to yield several significant benefits, including:
Activation of a long-vacant space, dormant for 20 years.
Establishment of a central hub for providing technical assistance to underrepresented groups seeking impact-oriented developments.
Creation of a unique "showcase space" designed to attract national investors, with availability for use by the City and other groups.
Enhancement of a major pedestrian corridor connecting 20th Street to the Theater District.
Tessa Commercial Real Estate and Opportunity Alabama's OPAL Fund bring together two teams with extensive experience in commercial real estate and a shared vision for driving positive change in Birmingham. Tessa, founded in 2020, stands out as the only woman-owned brokerage and development firm in Alabama, with a significant portion of its projects dedicated to empowering minority and woman-owned businesses.
22% of Tessa’s projects are minority-owned or led
31% of projects are woman-owned or led.
27% of Tessa’s clients have been nonprofit organizations making a direct impact in Birmingham including the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Ed Farm, Women’s Foundation of Alabama, Lakeshore Foundation, REV Birmingham, STRIVE, and Aletheia House.
Tessa’s owner, Meredith Calhoun, is also founder of Table Investment Group, specifically for female accredited investors, which has invested in a Birmingham-based tech start up and is actively seeking a second investment opportunity in a project or business located in the City of Birmingham.
OPAL is providing technical assistance to multiple nonprofits and impact-oriented development teams working on catalytic CRE projects across the city including Common Thread (Titusville), Urban Impact (4th Ave Business District), Navigate Housing Authority (Titusville), The Flourish (Ensley), HICA (Titusville), Mason Music Foundation (Woodlawn), and Birmingham-based Penny Foundation to expand food access in Bessemer.
OPAL has helped multiple nonprofits located in the City of Birmingham apply for grant funding with more than $820,000 secured and an additional $1 million under review. Opportunity Alabama is recognized as the only nonprofit-owned, state-focused commercial real estate investment platform in the country and has played a pivotal role in facilitating over $120 million in investment for projects in the City of Birmingham including American Life, Market Lofts on Third, The Hardwick, Woodlawn Theater, and more. . Through initiatives like OPAL Community Capital (OCC), OPAL’s newest, most impact-forward vehicle, the organization continues to invest in growing minority- and woman-owned businesses that are directly engaged in revitalization of Birmingham’s neighborhoods such as Creed63, Wyatt Builds, and Sachai Tea Company. They are on track for CDFI status.
The redevelopment of the Burger Phillips building represents a significant milestone in the ongoing revitalization of Birmingham's Central Business District. Tessa Commercial Real Estate and Opportunity Alabama's OPAL Fund are excited to embark on this journey together and look forward to the positive impact their partnership will have on the local community.