Birmingham Biz Journal real estate reporter departs

Hanno van der Bijl, the real estate reporter at the Birmingham Business Journal, is moving to Boston to take on a new role at a nonprofit organization.

Van der Bijl writes, “I am so grateful to Joel Welker, editors Ty West and Stephanie Rebman and our staff for the opportunity to be part of the team and grow.

“Feeding off Ty’s energy in the newsroom — one of the things I missed most with the pandemic lockdown — and seeing the impact our reporting has on readers and the city drove me forward during my time at the BBJ.

“The work I did would not have been possible without several sources whose help I believe fundamentally changed the way we report on commercial real estate and economic development news. You know who you are and how grateful I am for our friendship.

“Many aspects of the job were helpful in my personal life: developing the discipline of writing on demand, learning to negotiate with difficult people by not caving into their demands but remaining objective to deliver valuable business intelligence to our readers, and staying committed to integrity I think shielded me from cynicism or bitterness.”

Read more here.