Stirling Properties Expands Gulf South Presence with New Office in Mobile, Alabama
COVINGTON, LOUISIANA (OCTOBER 15, 2013) – Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in downtown Mobile, Alabama at 182 St. Francis Street, Suite 101. As the company’s first location in Alabama, the office joins 11 other offices located in Louisiana and Mississippi to further strengthen Stirling Properties’ presence in the Gulf South.
“This office will not only serve the surging market and growing economy of Mobile, but also anchor the eastern side of the Interstate 10 corridor for Stirling Properties,” stated Marty Mayer, President and CEO of Stirling Properties.
Will Barrois is Stirling’s Vice President and Regional Manager of Alabama/Florida. Mr. Barrois will expand Stirling’s market presence by pursuing acquisitions of retail, office and multi-family properties, seeking new third party property management and brokerage assignments, exploring development and redevelopment opportunities, and building a top-tiered commercial brokerage team to serve Alabama and Florida.
“We are proud to be part of the growing commercial real estate market in the Gulf South. The future of Mobile is bright and the area is poised for tremendous growth,” said Will Barrois. “We’re looking forward to serving our clients throughout Alabama and Florida from our new Mobile office.”
For your commercial real estate needs in Alabama or Florida, contact Stirling Properties at the new Mobile office located at 182 St. Francis Street, Suite 101, Mobile, Alabama or call (251) 706-6457.
National Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Online Sales Tax Collection at Time of Purchase
As a follow-up to one of my previous President’s Messages about the Marketplace Fairness Act, I wanted to comment about a recently conducted national poll by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
The results of the poll show that the majority of American consumers (64%) are aware that they are required to pay state sales or use tax on online purchases, if not collected by the online seller, when they file their state income tax. However, other research indicates that over 98% don’t report such purchases. The poll also shows that 78% of voters feel it would be easier to pay state sales or use tax on online purchases at the time-of-purchase, rather than through special forms or when they file their state income taxes.
This poll is proof that the public is aware that this is NOT A NEW TAX, but rather one that isn’t being paid because it slips through the loopholes in the law. The current loophole is draining our state and local governments of desperately needed revenues for education, health care, police, firefighters and teacher pay, etc. Estimates of lost sales taxes in Louisiana alone due to internet sales range up to $800 million.
There is now overwhelming support for the collection of online sales tax at the time of purchase. We need to close this loophole NOW before it doubles in size.
You can read more about the poll results in this ICSC Press Release.
The Strength of the Gulf South
I wanted to share a PowerPoint I recently presented at a meeting highlighting the strength of the Gulf South. In recent years, the Gulf South has been gaining the Nation’s attention and rising to the top of many National Rankings. Activity in the Gulf South is driven by achievements in a variety of areas, must notably Energy/Oil & Gas Production, Chemical Processing, Aerospace, IT & Digital Media, the New Orleans BioDistrict and Coastal Restoration.
When you look at the entire picture of what is happening down here – from the LNG facilities in Lake Charles, Airbus in Mobile, the IBM announcement in Baton Rouge, the medical corridor in New Orleans, and the activity in the IT sector and coastal restoration – it is an amazing picture. Truly. Nowhere else in the country is this level of activity occurring.
Click the image below to view the presentation.
President’s Message: It’s a New Day in New Orleans!
Last week, we celebrated the Grand Opening of Mid-City Market in New Orleans. This Winn-Dixie anchored, urban shopping center is a milestone for Stirling Properties, as it’s our largest ground-up shopping center development in the City of New Orleans in our company’s 37 year history! It also represents one of the most significant retail developments in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, taking once blighted and vacant properties and returning them to commerce. This project creates over 500 new jobs and generates projected annual retail sales of over $61 Million.
Mid-City Market is the culmination of over 4 years of work and it was a challenge to put (and keep) all the pieces together. Few companies could take on a project of this complexity and succeed, but Stirling Properties was up for this challenge.
I want to commend our incredible team who worked on this project for a job well done! There were many points in time where it looked like the deal was dead, but our Stirling team worked diligently to complete it. It was through their hard work and perseverance that this inner-city project materialized.
I also want to commend Mayor Mitch Landrieu for his vision and leadership and Councilwoman Susan Guidry for her incredible support and drive to help make this a reality for Mid-City.
The Mid-City Market project is a result of over $40 Million in private investment and demonstrates our strong belief in the City of New Orleans and the civic and business leadership which has created an environment where businesses are confident to invest. A plethora of national and regional rankings paint a truly remarkable picture of New Orleans as THE city on the move, which is in stark contrast to previous decades.
This project, combined with our other projects completed to date, brings Stirling’s investments to over $120 Million in the City of New Orleans in just the last 3 years. All of us at Stirling Properties are confident in the direction of New Orleans, and Mid-City Market shows our continued commitment to the market. This project was the first for us in many ways and certainly will not be the last.
Mobile, Alabama Garners International Attention
I wanted to share this article from Mobile’s Press-Register, “Mobile Chamber President: Area Must Capitalize on ‘Great Window of Opportunity’ after 2013 Paris Air Show,” that highlights how Mobile is now seen internationally as a new center for aviation and aerospace.
It is a great article about the surging Mobile, Alabama market and it underscores the reasons why Stirling is opening an office there this year. This office will not only serve this growing economy, but also anchor the eastern side of the Interstate 10 corridor for us.
Will Barrois, our Vice President and Regional Manager for Alabama and Florida added, “The future of Mobile is bright and the area is poised for growth. Our active customer base is looking forward to us expanding our presence there.”
Stirling Stewardship Event Raises $25,000!
This past Friday, employees and agents gathered for the first-ever Stirling Properties Office Olympics, an event hosted by the Stirling Stewardship Committee to raise money for charitable causes. The event was a HUGE SUCCESS and a total of $25,000 was raised! Over 50 employees and agents were divided into 8 teams with each team choosing their team name, team colors, team song, and charity to contribute donations and winnings. Charities selected by the teams included March of Dimes, Red Cross, St. Francis Animal Sanctuary, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation (in honor of Lee de la Houssaye), American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, St. Jude’s, and Children’s Advocacy Center/Hope House. Teams collected over $20,000 of the total raised through personal donations and attaining sponsors for their team. Congratulations to our teams! Teams were able to earn points the week leading up to the Olympics by correctly answering Stirling Employee Trivia or the ever-popular “Where’s Marty’s Bobblehead” questions. Special points were also given to the team that raised the most money and the Most Unique Team. On the day of the Olympics, teams competed in 8 events – Golf Chipping, Fish Casting Contest, Wii Bowling, Trash Can Basketball, Shooting Contest, Hula Hoop, Root Beer Pong and a Tricycle Relay Race. Scores were tallied at the end of the day and medals were give to the top overall teams. The Gold Medal overall went to Team Nerdy…congratulations to Paul Mastio, Beezie Landry, Karen Bachemin, Courtney Lehman, Monica Milazzo and Judy McKee! Extra money was donated to their charity by the Stirling Stewardship Committee! Congratulations also goes to Jeff Marshall, Chris Abadie, Samantha Marshall, Peggy Sayler, Sharon Amacker and Nancy Stallings of Snail Team 6 who earned the Silver Medal. Townsend Underhill, Joseph Koon, Cyndie Quave, Jeanne Taravella, Amanda Pfeil, Dina Moran and Angelique Bates of Arrested Development took home the Bronze Medal. At the end of the day, in an effort to raise even more money, the ownership team volunteered to have pies thrown in their faces, but employees and agents had to outbid them for the right to throw the pie. Pies were smashed in all but one owner’s face. Employees were obviously motivated to smash a pie in an owner’s face as over $4,500 was collected toward the overall total. One pie even went for $1,200! A special thanks to the Stirling Stewardship Committee for all their hard work on organizing the event and making it happen. A fun day was had by all and we look forward to more events like this in the future!
