As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to revisit some of the stories that resonated most across the 280 corridor. These aren’t just top clicks or biggest headlines — they’re pieces that captured something real about the people, places and moments that defined the year.
Photo by Taylor Bright
Signs outside of Perrin & Son Landscaping Supplies, which is one of the last remnants of old U.S. 280.
There are still coolers in the old store on U.S. 280 — stocked with a few half-cases of beer, soft drinks, and a shelf full of condiments where employees can place their food. The old cigarette shelves now hold local honey for sale.
In the front corner of the store, crickets and minnows remain for those fishing at Lake Purdy. It’s a time capsule — a living memory of how life was decades ago along this stretch of U.S. 280.
The store itself is almost like a museum piece, harking back to a time when the area was dominated by farmland. Now, U.S. 280 is a strip of heavy traffic bordered by miles of businesses. The structure serves as an office for Perrin & Son Landscaping Supplies, but it was once a gas station for travelers heading to or from weekends at the lake. That original gas station is now buried under the soil that raised modern U.S. 280, with the current structure built on top of it. The Perrin family still stocks a few items in the store.
Photo by Taylor Bright
Trey Perrin, the third generation of Perrin & Son Landscape Supplies, stands in front of the original gas station his grandfather bought on U.S. 280.
“Some of our customers will come in and grab a little something while they’re here, but if we were trying to make any living off of that, we would starve,” said Trey Perrin, the third generation of his family to work on this property.
Across the street, the former site of Lloyd’s Restaurant stands vacant and for sale more than a year after its closure. Meadow Brook sits just north of the property, and a Lowe’s is across the road from Perrin’s store.
All of this makes Perrin & Son a throwback. But it’s more than that. It’s a thriving business on six acres of land along one of Birmingham’s busiest roads, surrounded by a flurry of residential developments.
The same growth that shuttered the old gas station (competition being the main reason, according to the Perrins) is what has helped the family’s landscaping business thrive.
“All the new development and all this other stuff — that’s really helped the business,” Perrin said. “It was real slow when I first started, but it has picked up ground.”
The housing developments lining U.S. 280 have created a demand for landscaping supplies, particularly for contractors working in neighborhoods where homeowners associations enforce landscaping standards.
That gives Perrin & Son a distinct niche compared to Lowe’s across the highway.
“We sell a lot of things in bulk that Lowe’s doesn’t, and it usually works out more economical to buy it in bulk,” Perrin said.
The Beginning
Photo courtesy of Perrin & Son
An aerial shot of the intersection of Highway 280 (left) and Highway 119 (front) shows the early view of the area surrounding Perrin & Son. Perrin & Son, established in the late 1950s, was once surrounded by forest and open land.
The business started in “about” 1958 or 1959, said Jamie Perrin, the son of founder James Perrin and father of Trey.
James Perrin was just 20 years old when he bought the property with help from a banker who believed in his ability to repay the loan.
Photo by Taylor Bright
Jamie Perrin sits on a swing where his father, who started Perrin & Son, enjoyed sitting looking at U.S. 280.
Jamie grew up in the house behind the old gas station where the family lived at the time.
“I was brought home from the hospital here 60 years ago,” he said.
The family now lives in Chelsea, having moved years ago.
Initially, the business operated as a gas station — a logical choice for a road experiencing g rowing traffic. When the state expanded U.S. 280 in 1970, the road level was raised in front of the gas station.
“When they built the new highway around 1970, for some reason they built it up about 15 feet right in front of our store,” Jamie said. “So we were going to be off in a tremendous hole. Well, my dad was friends with the guy in charge of grading the highway, and he came up with the idea of tearing the roof off the store and building a new store on top. They filled all that in out there, and we weren’t off in such a hole.”
While the gas station was now level with the highway, the new road also brought new competition. Jamie recalled that a station called Parade, where the RaceWay now sits near Walmart, was one of the first challengers.
In 1982, the family pivoted from the gas station business to landscaping supplies.
“My dad had the forethought that we have to diversify and do something,” Jamie said.
Selling Out?
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Photo by Taylor Bright
Trey Perrin, the third generation of Perrin & Son Landscape Supplies, points out old news clippings inside the original gas station his grandfather bought on U.S. 280.
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Photo by Taylor Bright
Trey Perrin of Perrin & Son Landscaping Supplies stands at the heart of the landscaping business behind the structure that sits on U.S. 280.
Perrin & Son now operates on six acres. Behind the old store is a bustling operation with 12 employees—and closer to 20, including contractors.
The property is home to mounds of soil, mulch, and gravel, with heavy machinery moving the materials to keep the area orderly. The family also runs a delivery truck. Most of their business comes from landscaping crews working in residential neighborhoods like Greystone and Meadow Brook.
Trey plans to take over the business one day and believes the location is key to its success.
“I don’t think I would ever want to move from here and restart somewhere, because the biggest thing is location,” Trey said.
For now, the decision about selling rests with Trey’s parents.
Jamie said the family has received offers over the years. His father, James, was once offered $4.2 million for the property 35 or 40 years ago but refused to sell.
“But he said it ain’t for sale at no price. I’ll die right here,” Jamie said.
While Jamie has also turned down offers, he’s more open to the idea than his father was.
“I’ve been here 53 years,” Jamie said. “I’m ready to go home.”
Jamie has a price in mind.
“$10 million, and I’m going to the house,” he said.
Post-Pandemic Market
Photo by Savannah Schmidt
An aerial view of the intersection of 280 and 119 on Jan. 14, 2025. The Perrin & Son building, once surrounded by trees and open land, is now immersed in commercial. buildings and activity.
The commercial real estate market has been unpredictable since the pandemic, said Glenn Ponder, director of sales, leasing, and development for NAI Chase Commercial Real Estate Services in Birmingham.
“The markets shift, but it was time for a change, and I think COVID just forced that,” Ponder said. “I think something was going to happen, but COVID changed it in a weird way that I can’t understand.”
Part of the challenge is the rising cost of construction post-COVID.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher to build with these construction costs,” Ponder said.
Ponder noted that land sellers often overestimate the value of their property, not factoring in the buyer’s costs for site preparation, building materials, and other expenses.
“If you’ve got a site in Trussville that’s half a mountain and your site prep work is $900,000 an acre, then you’re already falling behind the eight ball right there,” Ponder said. “It’s just difficult to get landowners to understand that because now they think their property is worth gold.”
For Jamie, if the right offer doesn’t come, he’s fine with Trey continuing the business.
“If it’s the Lord’s will, it will work out. If it don’t, I’ll be like my dad, and I’ll die here.”
