A Chattanooga-based investment group has bought the former Golden Flake property in Birmingham and has plans to redevelop it into warehouse and retail space.

The Factory at Golden Flake, located on Golden Flake Drive, was once the home to the well-known snack factory that closed last July.

The property, which sold for $6 million, includes a 283,310 square-foot warehouse building and 36.7 acres a few hundred feet west of Interstate 65.

Bart Moore and Robert Crook of IronVest Partners represented the buyer in this transaction. Mark Byers and Deborah McGill Smith of Cushman & Wakefield / EGS Commercial Real Estate, Inc. represented the seller, Golden Flake Snack Foods, Inc, a division of Utz Brands.

“This was such an iconic brand,” Moore said. “The owners wanted to preserve as much of that legacy as they could.”

Tammy Cohen and Robert Bruner, of CCR Architecture & Interiors, are the architects of record for the redevelopment project.

Its first tenant will be Southeastern Salvage, which has signed a lease for 135,000 square feet as the project’s anchor. The company plans to spend between $3 million and $4 million on improvements, with plans to move in during the second quarter of 2025.

The Factory property will double the size of Southeastern’s current 20-year-old Irondale location, and add an addition 66,000-square-foot outdoor garden and patio center.

“We are excited about the opportunity to revitalize and occupy a building that has played such a big role in Birmingham and Alabama’s history,” said Scott Leroy, Vice President of Southeastern Salvage Company. “This is an acquisition based on years of positive growth in one of the South’s fastest growing markets. To have the demand and market to feel confident in more than doubling your retail space to 135,000 square-feet speaks volumes about the Birmingham market.”

Leasing and sales of approximately 145,310 square feet of warehouse/retail space, as well as the adjoining land, will be handled by Crook and Moore of IronVest Partners.

Moore said there is a 55,000-square-foot building that will be offered for sale or lease adjoining the main building, a 76,000-square-foot building, a separate 6.8 acre parcel that Golden Flake had used as a truck maintenance area, and 15.7 acres of vacant land.

“It’s got great visibility,” Moore said. “There’s going to be a lot of demolition work inside that you won’t see, but the facade is going to be gorgeous.”