Hackney Real Estate Partners Buys Village at Lee Branch Phase II in Birmingham From Cygnus Capital for $32.5M

ATLANTA — Hackney Real Estate Partners has acquired Village at Lee Branch Phase II, a 223,300-square-foot retail center in Birmingham, Alabama, from Cygnus Capital for $32.5 million, JLL Capital Markets announced Oct. 29, 2026. JLL represented the seller in the transaction.

The property is located at 1201 Doug Baker Blvd. and was 83% leased at the time of sale. Deed records put the consideration at $32.525 million and identify the buyer entity as RCC Village at Lee Branch LLC, a Virginia entity. The seller entity was Cygnus Bham LLC. The sale closed Oct. 6, 2026, and Atlantic Union Bank was identified as a lender on the purchase.

Village at Lee Branch Phase II: Property and Tenancy

The center is anchored by Onelife Fitness, Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree, alongside restaurant, health and wellness, and service-oriented shop tenants. Other tenants include Taziki's Mediterranean Café, The Melting Pot, Anvil Pub & Grill, Sushi Village, East 59 Cafe, Sport Clips, Sparrow Health, Stretch Zone and ATI Physical Therapy.

At 83% occupancy, roughly 186,000 square feet was occupied at closing, with approximately 38,000 square feet of vacancy remaining. JLL said tenant demand has been robust since the announcement of Onelife Fitness and that the remaining vacancy allows for continued value-creation potential. The Onelife Fitness club occupies a roughly 68,000-square-foot former theater facility and opened in September 2026. Hackney's leasing materials list vacant spaces ranging from approximately 1,200 to 7,040 square feet.

The implied price is approximately $145.70 per square foot based on the $32.525 million deed figure.

Location Along U.S. 280 in Meadowbrook

The property sits in the Meadowbrook area along U.S. 280, which JLL described as one of Birmingham's most affluent submarkets and premier retail destinations. The center is adjacent to Village at Lee Branch Phase I, a grocery-anchored shopping center that includes Publix and Dick's Sporting Goods. JLL said the adjacency enhances daily consumer traffic and reinforces the property's role as a regional retail destination. Traffic is estimated at approximately 90,362 vehicles per day on U.S. 280 at Doug Baker Boulevard.

Phase II followed the original Village at Lee Branch development, which opened in 2003, and Phase II came underway in 2005.

JLL Capital Markets Team and Parties

The JLL Capital Markets team was led by Managing Director Brad Buchanan, Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton and Vice President Anton Serafini.

Cygnus Capital is an integrated real estate investment and alternative asset management company focused on opportunistic, special situation and distressed real estate investments. Hackney Real Estate Partners is a vertically integrated real estate investment and asset management firm that specializes in the acquisition, repositioning and operation of retail properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. Through its discretionary investment funds and strategic partnerships, the firm pursues value-oriented investment opportunities.

Deed records also reference a prior foreclosure process involving the previous owner's loan.

Birmingham Retail Market Context

Birmingham retail vacancy was near 6.1% in the second quarter of 2026, with median asking rents around $18 per square foot annually. Another market summary reported a 3.8% vacancy rate, below a cited national average of 4.1%, though that figure may reflect a narrower market definition or a different data set.

Investment activity along the U.S. 280 corridor includes the sale of The Summit, a lifestyle center, for approximately $508 million at 92% occupancy. The Summit differs from Village at Lee Branch Phase II in scale, format and occupancy.

Village at Lee Branch Phase II previously traded for $25 million in 2016, when it was approximately 223,100 square feet, or about $112 per square foot. The implied 2026 price of approximately $145.70 per square foot is roughly 30% higher in nominal terms. Tenant composition, leasing status, pad-site inclusion and property improvements may differ between the two transactions.

JLL (NYSE: JLL) reported annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in more than 80 countries and a workforce of more than 112,000 as of June 30, 2026. Its Capital Markets group has more than 3,000 specialists worldwide.

Sources

• JLL: JLL arranges $32.5M sale of Village at Lee Branch Phase II in Birmingham