Bridge Street Town Centre

Bridge Street Town Centre is a mixed-use lifestyle center in Huntsville, Alabama. It is situated within Cummings Research Park near the junction of Old Madison Pike, Interstate 565, and Research Park Boulevard, making it accessible to the city’s research, technology, office, residential, and visitor markets. Rather than functioning only as an enclosed shopping mall, the project was planned as an open-air destination combining retail stores, restaurants, entertainment, hospitality, offices, parking, and landscaped public areas. The retail component opened on November 1, 2007. Its original development was associated with O&S Holdings, while the project was designed by TSArchitects, both based in Los Angeles. The center was conceived as a regional lifestyle destination with a broad tenant mix of department stores, national specialty retailers, boutiques, restaurants, and entertainment. Reported retail space totals approximately 550,000 square feet and has included around 80 shops and restaurants. The tenant mix has included brands such as Apple, Anthropologie, Altar'd State, Barnes & Noble, Bath & Body Works, Belk, DSW Shoes, Francesca's, H&M, Mountain High Outfitters, Sephora, and Victoria's Secret, along with restaurants including Connors Steak & Seafood and P.F. Chang's. A Cinemark movie theater provides an additional entertainment anchor. Hospitality and commercial uses extend the center beyond shopping. The development includes an approximately 140,000-square-foot, six-story Class A office building, an eleven-story Westin hotel with 232 rooms, and an Element by Westin hotel with 150 rooms. The Westin, which opened in spring 2008, was reported as the first Westin hotel in Alabama. These components support a destination-oriented model in which visitors, office workers, hotel guests, and local residents use the property for different purposes throughout the day. The center’s original design featured a roughly ten-acre lake. A substantial portion of that water feature was later filled to create space for a department-store anchor pad, while a lake of approximately five acres remained. This change formed part of a broader expansion plan following a change in ownership. In May 2012, Miller Capital Advisory purchased Bridge Street from O&S Holdings. Bayer Properties was appointed management and leasing company in February 2013. Around the same period, the owners and the City of Huntsville announced a third development phase. Phase 3 began in January 2013 and added a two-level, approximately 170,000-square-foot Belk department store, about 45,000 square feet of additional retail space in four buildings, and new surface and deck parking. Belk opened at Bridge Street in fall 2014 after relocating from Madison Square Mall, reinforcing Bridge Street’s role as a successor regional shopping destination within the Huntsville market. In December 2023, Tanger acquired the shopping center for a reported $193 million. Bridge Street therefore became part of Tanger’s portfolio while continuing to operate as a mixed-use retail and entertainment property in Huntsville. Its current identity is based on a combination of accessible shopping, dining, cinema, hotels, offices, and outdoor amenities rather than on a single proprietary merchandise line.

Bridge Street Town Centre was developed as a lifestyle-oriented mixed-use project in Huntsville, Alabama, within Cummings Research Park. The development was associated with O&S Holdings and designed by TSArchitects, firms based in Los Angeles. Its location at Old Madison Pike, Interstate 565, and Research Park Boulevard provided direct access to major roads and placed the center near Huntsville’s research, technology, and employment base. The retail portion opened on November 1, 2007. The project departed from the traditional enclosed-mall format by combining open-air shopping streets with restaurants, entertainment, offices, hotels, parking, and landscaped areas. At full development, its retail component was reported at approximately 550,000 square feet and included roughly 80 shops and restaurants. A Cinemark theater served as an entertainment component, while the tenant mix brought together department-store, specialty, boutique, beauty, apparel, footwear, electronics, book, and dining uses. The project also included a six-story, approximately 140,000-square-foot Class A office building. Water was an important part of the original site plan. The center initially featured a lake of about ten acres. However, the need to accommodate a department-store anchor pad and problems involving water leakage led to most of the lake being filled. Approximately five acres of lake area remained. This adjustment illustrates the center’s evolution from an amenity-led plan toward a larger retail and anchor-store configuration. Hospitality expanded the project’s regional role. The eleven-story, 232-room Westin hotel opened in spring 2008 and was identified as the first Westin in Alabama. A 150-room Element by Westin hotel was also included in the broader development. Together with the office building, these facilities gave Bridge Street a significant non-retail component and helped position it as a destination for visitors, business activity, and local leisure. Ownership and management changed during the center’s next major phase. Miller Capital Advisory bought Bridge Street from O&S Holdings in May 2012. In February 2013, Bayer Properties was selected to manage and lease the property. The ownership change coincided with an expansion announced with the City of Huntsville. Phase 3 began in January 2013 and used part of the former western lake area for new development. Its principal elements were a two-level, approximately 170,000-square-foot Belk department store, about 45,000 square feet of new retail space in four buildings, and additional surface and deck parking. Belk opened in fall 2014 after moving from Madison Square Mall. The relocation strengthened Bridge Street’s role as a major shopping destination in the Huntsville area and added a large department-store anchor to its previously more specialty-oriented lifestyle-center mix. The center continued to combine shopping with restaurants, cinema, hotels, office space, and outdoor amenities. In December 2023, Tanger purchased Bridge Street Town Centre in a reported $193 million transaction. This acquisition placed the Huntsville property within Tanger’s retail real-estate portfolio. Bridge Street’s development history is therefore marked by three broad stages: the opening of an open-air mixed-use destination in 2007–2008, ownership-led expansion and department-store anchoring after 2012, and integration into Tanger’s portfolio after 2023. The property remains defined by its physical destination format and tenant ecosystem rather than by a proprietary product brand.

• 2023

  Tanger acquisition

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Tanger purchased Bridge Street Town Centre in December 2023 for a reported $193 million.

• 2014

  Belk department store opens

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The expanded center added a two-level Belk store in fall 2014, following the retailer’s relocation from Madison Square Mall.

• 2013

  Bayer Properties takes over management and leasing

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Bayer Properties became the center’s management and leasing company in February 2013.

• 2013

  Phase 3 expansion begins

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on an expansion including a Belk department store, four new retail buildings, and additional parking.

• 2012

  Ownership transfers to Miller Capital Advisory

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Miller Capital Advisory acquired Bridge Street Town Centre from O&S Holdings in May 2012.

• 2008

  Westin hotel opens

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The associated Westin hotel opened in spring 2008 and was described as the first Westin hotel in Alabama.

• 2007

  Retail district opens

  [1]Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The retail portion of Bridge Street Town Centre opened on November 1, 2007, introducing an open-air shopping and dining destination in Cummings Research Park.

A regional, open-air lifestyle center positioned as a mixed-use destination for shopping, dining, entertainment, hospitality, and office activity in the Huntsville metropolitan area.

• Specialty retail · 2007

  Retail shops

  Bridge Street’s principal offering is a collection of open-air retail stores spanning apparel, accessories, beauty, footwear, books, electronics, home-related merchandise, and lifestyle goods. Reported tenants have included Apple, Anthropologie, Altar'd State, Barnes & Noble, Bath & Body Works, DSW Shoes, Francesca's, H&M, Mountain High Outfitters, Sephora, and Victoria's Secret.

• Department store · 2014

  Belk

  Belk is the center’s major department-store anchor. The two-level store covers approximately 170,000 square feet and offers a broad department-store assortment rather than a narrow specialty category. It opened in fall 2014 after relocating from Madison Square Mall, supporting Bridge Street’s expansion into a larger regional shopping role.

• Entertainment

  Cinemark

  The Cinemark movie theater is an entertainment anchor within the mixed-use center. Its presence broadens Bridge Street’s use beyond daytime shopping and dining and contributes to the property’s positioning as a destination for leisure and social activity.

• Hotel · 2008

  Westin Huntsville

  The eleven-story Westin hotel has 232 rooms and forms part of Bridge Street’s hospitality component. Opening in spring 2008, it was identified as the first Westin property in Alabama and added visitor accommodation to the center’s retail, dining, office, and entertainment uses.

• Hotel

  Element by Westin

  The 150-room Element by Westin hotel is another hospitality component associated with the development. It complements the larger Westin hotel and extends the project’s ability to serve business travelers, visitors, and longer-stay guests.

• Commercial real estate

  Office building

  Bridge Street includes a six-story Class A office building of approximately 140,000 square feet. The office component links the center to the employment and research environment surrounding Cummings Research Park and adds daytime business activity to the property.

• 2023

  Sell the center to TangerM&A

  Background

  Bridge Street had previously been owned by O&S Holdings and later by Miller Capital Advisory.

  Action taken

  Tanger acquired the shopping center in December 2023.

  Aftermath

  The property became part of Tanger’s retail real-estate portfolio while continuing to operate as a mixed-use lifestyle center in Huntsville.

  Reported acquisition price. $193 million (December 2023)

  Source

• 2013

  Replace part of the lake with an expansion areaStrategy

  Background

  The original development included a lake of approximately ten acres, but a department-store anchor pad was needed and the site experienced leakage problems.

  Action taken

  Most of the western portion of the lake was filled and used for the Phase 3 expansion, while approximately five acres of lake remained.

  Aftermath

  The revised site plan enabled a large Belk department store, additional retail buildings, and expanded parking, increasing the center’s retail capacity.

  Source

• 2013

  Launch Phase 3 expansionStrategy

  Background

  Following the 2012 ownership change, Miller Capital Advisory and the City of Huntsville announced plans to expand the mixed-use center.

  Action taken

  Construction began in January 2013 on a two-level Belk store, four additional retail buildings totaling approximately 45,000 square feet, and new surface and deck parking.

  Aftermath

  Belk opened in fall 2014 after relocating from Madison Square Mall, giving Bridge Street a major department-store anchor.

  Source

1. 1Bridge Street Town Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bridge Street Town Centre official websitebridgestreethuntsville.com