When an area grows quickly, sprawl can easily develop. But EBSCO Properties, Inc. has a different vision for its hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. The company is taking a pro-active step to make sure that as Birmingham grows, the right environment develops. EBSCO Properties is currently in the process of developing Tattersall Park, a 78-acre mixed-use project located about 10 miles southeast of downtown.

Southeast Real Estate Business recently met with Joseph Talentino, vice president and general manager of development; Warren Maurer, director of leasing; Shelley Knox, director of marketing; and Walker May, real estate analyst for EBSCO Properties, as well as Richard Bozzelli, vice president and chief financial officer of EBSCO Industries, parent company of EBSCO Properties.

The team behind Tattersall Park is not new to real estate. Talentino has been involved in many high-profile retail projects -- The Mall of America among them -- and Maurer was most recently with Jones Lang LaSalle' new business development team in Atlanta. Collectively, the EBSCO Properties team has nearly 100 years of experience.

With more than 700,000 square feet of retail planned for the first phase of the project, there will be no shortage of shopping at Tattersall Park. In total, the project will consist of approximately 1.35 million square feet, which includes 340,000 square feet of office space and 210,000 square feet of residential space, as well as a 100,000-square-foot boutique hotel.

"Tattersall Park is truly a mixed-use main street development," says Bozzelli. "It hearkens back to the 1940s and wants to take on the ambiance of the old towns that the shopping center industry helped to change in the 1960s and '70s."

Plans for the retail call for new merchants to the Birmingham market. EBSCO wants to have a high-end department store anchor that is new to the area, as well as a gourmet grocery store, several junior anchors and entertainment venues. Restaurants will also play a significant role at Tattersall Park. EBSCO Properties is planning to include a multi-screen cinema in the project to add to the entertainment component.

"We want to attract tenants that will allow our surrounding residents to use this project over and over again," says Talentino. "We also want the public to tell us what they want." To find out the local' perspective, EBSCO Properties has included a survey on the center' web site, www.tattersallpark.com, that will be essential to the success of the development.

Green space is another element that EBSCO Properties will incorporate into Tattersall Park. The company is planning to have a number of trees and small parks throughout the center. It also wants to create a larger preserve on acreage near the project -- in hopes that this will be an amenity for residential and office tenants as well as shoppers.

The groundbreaking is scheduled for this spring. The construction process will be market driven, but the center is slated to open no later than spring 2004.

The population in the 5-mile area surrounding Tattersall Park is projected to have an average household income of $120,000 by 2005 following the project' opening. Located in the 15th fastest growing county in the nation, the Tattersall Park trade area population exceeds 1 million. EBSCO Properties has spent the past 15 months researching what this market will need in 3 years. The company wanted to find out who its market was, and that the information available was correct. EBSCO Properties also looked at other main street projects around the country. It studied Country Club Plaza in Kansas City and Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. EBSCO Properties wanted to create an element that was unique to Birmingham.

"We wanted to create something that was more about the South and Birmingham," says Talentino. "We looked for the components that could bring that element to the project. The project takes on the downtown feel that we used to have in years past. With a new, high-end grocer, it will bring a level of quality to the center. The lofts and other residential space will be located near the retail and entertainment, and that will create a great synergy between all aspects of the development."

EBSCO Properties plans to develop Tattersall Park in an upscale fashion. The center will have the look and feel of a small town from days past and use materials such as brick and stone on its fascia to enhance the authenticity. Lighting will be reminiscent of the 1940s. The center will have on-street parking, as well as decks and a surface lot.

Tattersall Park is being designed by Seattle-based Callison and Atlanta-based Thompson Ventulett Stainback. The two firms are collaborating on the design of the center. Tattersall Park' main street theme will reflect the heritage and history of the South. EBSCO Properties wants to place fountains, crafted furniture and other telltale signs that will remind visitors of the area' history.

In addition to serving the surrounding area, Tattersall Park will have its own residential component to service. The project will have approximately 120 residential units, comprised of luxury townhomes and upscale loft apartments, in its first phase. There is a possibility for more residential units as the project grows. Most of the housing in the immediate surrounding area is high-end single-family. Tattersall Park' lofts will reflect upscale housing, yet look to serve renters who could afford to buy, but do not want the hassle of ownership.

"Birmingham has made a transition over the last 3 years to a white-collar service industry city versus the blue-collar steel town that it used to be," says Talentino. "Now there is an escalation of professionals that has created a dynamic high-end market in this area."

Tattersall Park isn1t the only development that EBSCO Properties has up its sleeve; the company also owns land on Florida' Gulf Coast that it plans to develop. In addition to Tattersall Park, EBSCO Properties has hundreds of acres that can eventually be developed. This is important for retailers today, who look carefully at the ownership of a property.

"We are a buy-and-hold company," says Bozzelli. "We would not put a team together of this quality and background if we were only going to do one project. We build everything for the long-term."

EBSCO Industries has always been known as a very careful company. It is involved in many different areas -- from printing to wholesaling to real estate development -- and it studies before it commits. The privately-held Birmingham-based company is quiet about its finances, but it is estimated that the company has revenues approaching $1.5 billion.

"Over the years, we have taken the time, effort and money to develop and research our projects to make them work," says Bozzelli.

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