Birkdale Village owners selling to global firm after making sweeping changes last several years

ATLANTA ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — After undergoing sweeping changes over the last few years, Huntersville’s Birkdale Village is once again getting new owners.

The Atlanta-based subsidiary of North American Properties is being acquired by global real estate firm Jamestown in a $2 billion deal, the company announced Tuesday. The deal includes nine properties in six states, including Birkdale and several in the Atlanta metro.

NAP acquired Huntersville’s mixed-use icon in November 2020, and the developer has made significant tenant changes over the last four years. This has centered around community events and bringing in more upscale food and beverage businesses, taking the place of retail and smaller establishments.

Jamestown, which reports having a portfolio of $11.7 billion, employs approximately 500 people worldwide with 12 global offices, including headquarters in Atlanta and Cologne. The company owns two North Carolina properties, including Optimist Hall, the food hall north of uptown Charlotte.

“Jamestown’s North Star is to create inspiring places that serve as the foundation of community life and reinforce a sense of place and belonging, while generating value for investors,” said Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, in a press release. “Their expertise around suburban placemaking is a great complement for our urban placemaking expertise, as well as our grocery-anchored shopping center business.”

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, when the NAP subsidiary and its assets will move under the Jamestown name, as will its more than 200 employees. Tim Perry, who is the managing partner of the Atlanta firm, will join Jamestown’s executive team.

“Joining Jamestown represents an exciting new chapter,” said Perry. “We look forward to continuing to create dynamic, community-focused destinations and unlocking new value creation opportunities as part of Jamestown’s global platform.”

Among the most stark physical changes at Birkdale have been to the green space in the middle of Birkdale Commons Parkway. The developers removed many of the trees at The Grove, and built a stage, as well as smaller shops along the stretch; Charlotte-based Suffolk Punch Brewery is opening a location there.

One of Birkdale’s original tenants, Corkscrew Wine Shop did not have its lease renewed in 2022 , as NAP brought in Foxcroft Wine Company to fill a space across the green. Taking the place of a GAP store, a Cheesecake Factory opened last August.

But not all of NAP’s plans have come to light. In March 2023, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners denied a seven-story office building that came after a 12-story hotel and hundreds of apartments were scrapped from the plans the month before.

Despite the movie industry’s shakeup coming out of the pandemic, Birkdale’s movie theater has remained. And NAP maintained the annual Fourth of July bike parade and “wet-down” from the Huntersville Fire Department.

Jamestown says an affiliate will make an investment into NAP’s portfolio of six properties.

Cincinnati-based North American Properties will continue to own and operate real estate through its other affiliates.

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