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John Lauriello, CCIM, SIOR, CPM - Principal at Southpace Properties

Co-Founder

CCIM, SIOR, CPM

John Lauriello

In 1984, John co-founded Southpace Properties with William McDavid. Southpace is now the largest independent commercial real estate firms in Alabama. John moved to Birmingham in 1969 from his hometown in Amsterdam, New York. It was in Birmingham where he “accidentally” got into real estate as a way to make money on the side selling residential properties. John’s historic hometown of Amsterdam was settled by the Dutch in 1710 and sparked a fascination in him for restoring old properties, which has led him to become one of Birmingham’s most influential individuals who has revitalized the city center and brought life to downtown again. John earned the nickname, “The Damn Yankee Who Saved Downtown Birmingham.” He has restored 12 historic homes, 8 historic apartment buildings in Highland Park, Redmont, and Forest Park, in addition to 30 historical commercial buildings in downtown/southside including The Clark, The Kress, The Massey, and The Title (Southpace’s headquarters).

In addition to his expertise in historic renovation/adaptive reuse, John also specializes in office tenant representation, investment sales and partnerships, build-to-suits, development and redevelopment, and special assets/bankruptcy. John’s gross sales and leasing volumes exceeds over $400M and his gross development volume is in excess of $250M. He holds the prestigious Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), and Certified Property Management (CPM) designations. John holds countless awards and recognitions, which includes Commercial Realtor of the Year for the state of Alabama, Commercial Realtor of the Year for the city of Birmingham, an eight-time winner of the Historic Preservation Awards, a seven-time winner of the Birmingham Business Journal’s “50” Most Influential Executives, a three-time winner of Small Business Executive of the Year, and in 2018 he was the first recipient to receive the Birmingham Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022, John was presented with the Oasis of Hope Anne Bruno Larussa Award. John was selected to serve as a part of the Birmingham Parking Authority (BPA) Strategic Planning Committee in 2023.

John attended Wilbur H. Lynch High School in Amsterdam, NY, Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. John is married to Beth Lauriello and has one son John, daughter-in-law Denise and 2 wonderful grandchildren, Jennifer and Anthony. He enjoys breeding thoroughbred horses as a hobby and side business and currently has four Brood Mares and four foals in Kentucky and New York.

Education

  • Jefferson State, Birmingham
  • University of Alabama, Birmingham

Commercial Transactions (1977-2023)

  • Over $500,000,000 in Gross Sales and Leasing Volume
  • Over $300,000,000 in Gross Development Volume

Specialties

  • Tenant Representation (office)
  • Investment Sales and Partnerships
  • Build to Suit
  • Development and Redevelopment
  • Special Assets/Bankruptcy
  • Historic Renovation/Adaptive Reuse – Saved 50 historic properties in Downtown, Southside, Forest Park and Redmont areas 30 Commercial Buildings, 8 Apartment Properties and 12 Historic Homes.

Board Member / Past & Present

  • Board of Trustees, Birmingham Business Alliance
  • Executive Board, Better Business Bureau
  • Executive Board, YMCA
  • Executive Board, Operation New Birmingham
  • Advisory Board Children’s Harbor
  • Auburn Center for Architecture & Urban Studies

Notable Accreditations / Awards

  • “Damn Yankee, Pioneer of Birmingham” (2014)
  • CCIM, CPM, SIOR Designations
  • Commercial Realtor of the Year (State of Alabama)
  • Commercial Realtor of the Year (Birmingham)
  • Million Dollar Producer, Sales & Leasing for over 40 years
  • NAIOP Office Deal of the Year (2006)
  • BBJ Deal of the Year (7 time winner)
  • Historic Preservation Awards (8 time winner)
  • BBJ “50” Most Influential Executives (7 time winner)
  • BBJ Top 30 Executives of Influence (2015)
  • Small Business Executive of the Year (3 time winner)
  • BBJ Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
  • Oasis of Hope Anne Bruno Larussa Award (2022)
  • Birmingham Parking Authority (BPA) Strategic Planning Committee (2023)

Partial Client List

  • ADT
  • Baptist Health Systems
  • Birmingham Business Alliance
  • Bojangles’
  • Brinker International
  • Burr Forman, LLP
  • Central Parking
  • Chapter 13/Sims Crawford
  • Children’s Hospital
  • City of Vestavia
  • Colonial Properties
  • Cory Watson
  • General Electric Credit
  • Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton
  • Kassouf & Company
  • Legacy Federal Credit Union
  • Leitman, Siegal & Payne, PC
  • Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC
  • McDonald’s
  • Najjar Denaburg, PC
  • Pittman, Hooks & Hellums
  • Pizitz Management Group
  • Porter White & Company
  • Regions/AmSouth
  • Royal Bank of Canada
  • ServisFirst Bank
  • Smith, Spires & Peddy
  • Starwood Capital
  • Synovus (First Commercial)
  • Total Skin & Beauty
  • University of Alabama in Birmingham
  • Urology Centers of Alabama
  • US Bankruptcy Court (Northern Division)
  • Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt
  • Wells Fargo
  • Wettermark Keith, LLC
  • Whatley Kallas, LLC
  • White, Arnold & Dowd, PC
  • Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis, LLC