Ward Neely buys Vestavia Village, plans more medical offices

The Vestavia Village shopping center has a new owner.

Retail Developer Ward Neely said he bought the property March 13 for $3.6 million.

The property formerly known as Todd’s Mall has been in the community for decades, and Neely said it formerly included Baskin Robbins and a baseball park. The area, now tucked behind Walgreens on U.S. 31, also at one point was the headquarters for Bruno’s, he said.

Neely isn’t 100 percent sure what will happen with the property, but the current tenants, most of which are medical offices, have indicated they want to stay, so the plan for now is to turn it into a medical center, he said. That would allow the tenants to possibly recommend business to each other and thrive, he said.

“It’s been an eyesore for quite a while,” Neely said.

Neely specializes in retail redevelopment and is hoping to “spruce up” the property, he said.

There are currently five occupied spaces and technically, there are four available spaces, but Neely said one of the available spaces is a huge 20,000-square-foot facility.

“I’m sure we’ll get all kinds of suggestions,” he said.

As far as a timeline, Neely said it depends largely on what happens in the area and in the world as businesses continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.