ATLANTA — A joint venture between Songy Highroads and Hyatt Hotels Corp. has opened its 11-story Hyatt Place Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. The 175-room hotel, which was announced in November 2017, opened on Thursday, Sept. 12. Amenities include ground-level retail space facing Luckie and Marietta streets, a swimming pool, fitness center, lobby bar, onsite food service, parking deck, 2,100 square feet of meeting space and a large aquarium in the lobby paying homage to its neighbor Georgia Aquarium. The hotel is also situated across the street from Centennial Olympic Park and World of Coca-Cola and near other venues such as College Football Hall of Fame, CNN Center, World Congress Center and State Farm Arena. Atlanta-based Reeves Young was the general contractor of Hyatt Place Centennial Park, and Alpharetta, Ga.-based Wakefield Beasley & Associates was the architect.
Georgia
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA. — Cortland has purchased Echo Lakeside, a 296-unit apartment complex in Peachtree Corners that was delivered in April. The buyer will rebrand the property as Cortland Peachtree Corners. The property is bordered by two lakes, which includes two docks for residents to fish from or launch kayaks. Additional communal amenities include a clubhouse, business center, fitness center, swimming pool, rideshare space and a dog park. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, though the Gwinnett Daily Post reported that Brand Properties was the developer.
ATLANTA — FCP has acquired Ashford at Spring Lake, a 180-unit multifamily community in southwest Atlanta, for $23.2 million. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a clubhouse, playground, fitness center and a swimming pool. The complex is located at 6200 Bakers Ferry Road, 13 miles west of downtown Atlanta. Pinnacle Management, which manages 17 communities for FCP throughout the Southeast, will manage Ashford at Spring Lake. Matt White, Andrew Mays and Paul Vetter of Berkadia represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
ATLANTA — Seniors housing investors are pumping the brakes on acquiring memory care facilities as the property type’s fundamentals and high turnover have proven to be worrisome. That’s according to an investment panel during the annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference. Held on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, the one-day conference attracted more than 430 seniors housing professionals from all over the Southeast. Memory care is a subsector of seniors housing real estate for seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), memory care is often located within assisted living facilities but also exists in standalone settings. Memory care residents are typically separated from assisted living residents in a secured area with specialized programming. The panelists said that memory care was a hot product type in the recent past but that the sector’s current distress is a direct result of overzealous developers. “Memory care was low hanging fruit for developers but now it has become overbuilt and has fallen out of favor,” said the panel’s moderator Adam Heavenrich, managing director of Heavenrich & Co., a seniors housing investment brokerage firm based in Chicago. …
Peak Campus, Blue Vista Capital Complete 525-Bed Student Housing Community in Atlanta
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Peak Campus Development and investment partner Blue Vista Capital Management have completed Theory West Midtown, a 525-bed student housing community located near the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The property offers fully furnished studio, one-, two-, three- four- and five-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity. Shared amenities include a resort-style swimming pool with a sundeck, outdoor grilling area, 24-hour fitness center, computer lab, study lounges, game room with billiards, outdoor lounge with a fire pit, roof deck with seating and grilling stations, business center and 10,500 square feet of retail space. The property was designed by Niles Bolton Associates Inc. and built by Summit Contracting Group.
ATLANTA — Legacy Shamrock Community has sold Shamrock Gardens, a 344-unit affordable housing community in Atlanta, for $23.5 million. Built in 1967, Shamrock Gardens is an all-brick property offering one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a community center, computer room, two playgrounds, onsite laundry facilities, community garden and an orchard. The property also offers a state-certified onsite daycare for children ages six weeks to 12 years old, which is open to both residents and non-residents. The daycare is a recipient of the Georgia Lottery Pre-K program, which is free and based on “Bright from the Start” requirements and standards. Located at 1988 Plaza Lane, the property has MARTA bus stops onsite and is near Camp Creek Market and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Barden Brown, Cory Caroline Sams, Taylor Brown, Chandler Brown and Bo Brown of Greystone Brown Real Estate Advisors represented the seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, Alcott Capital. Greystone also provided a 10-year, $19.3 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan to Alcott.
ATLANTA — Seniors housing operators and developers are facing pressure to adapt as a new category of lower-acuity housing rises in popularity. The new player in the seniors housing game — active adult — is undercutting independent living developers by appealing to a slightly younger population of empty nesters and retirees. Active adult housing refers to residential communities designed for residents age 55 and older, but often do not have a strict age restriction. These are multifamily or single-family homes that often include amenities typically enjoyed by older residents, such as golf courses and clubhouses, but do not market themselves as full-fledged seniors housing. Independent living communities are structured similarly but often carry a strict age restriction of approximately 65 years old, and will sometimes offer basic assistance such as dining or laundry services. Independent living developers often struggle to attract residents when their target demographic of able-bodied senior citizens moves into nearby active adult communities 10 years early. Many of them will not move again until they are ready for assisted living or skilled nursing. “Independent living residents haven’t changed; the places where they are residing and the services they want that have changed, but we have stayed the …
Majestic Realty, Portman Architects Unveil Design of $350M Hotel Near Atlanta Airport
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Majestic Realty has unveiled design plans for its $350 million hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Atlanta-based Portman Architects designed the 14-story hotel, which will be situated on the site of the current West economy parking lot. Majestic expects the hotel will be branded under a Hilton flag. Construction of the 541-room hotel, the first to be built at Hartsfield-Jackson and attached to the airport, is expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2022. Wimberly Interiors will design the guest rooms, and Tihany Design will design the lobby and restaurant space. The hotel is part of Majestic Realty’s larger master-planned development that will include 50,000 square feet of meeting space, an office building, a second hotel and a 1,150-space parking deck.
Cobb Chamber Sells Headquarters Building in Atlanta, Will Move Office Near SunTrust Park
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — The Cobb County Chamber of Commerce has sold its headquarters building located at 240 Interstate N. Parkway in Atlanta to Pope & Land for an undisclosed price. The Cobb Chamber and other tenants, including the Cumberland Community Improvement District and Cobb Community Foundation, will relocate to the 10th floor of 1100 Circle 75, where they will occupy 17,517 square feet of office space by early 2020. SK Commercial Realty is the owner and landlord.The new office space is located across from The Battery Atlanta and SunTrust Park, home to Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves. The new space will feature meeting rooms, event spaces, modern workspaces, huddle rooms to foster collaboration and a bistro-style break room. Chad Koenig and Trey Dove of Cushman & Wakefield represented Cobb Chamber in the lease negotiations, and Andrew Walker of Colliers International represented the on the sale of its former headquarters building. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio will serve as the architectural design firm and Darden will serve as project manager of building out the space. Choate Construction will serve as the general contractor. Turnerboone is the project’s furnishings vendor, and Unified Technology Systems is providing the audio-visual design and installation.
ATLANTA — Velvet Taco has opened its first Atlanta restaurant in Buckhead. The 2,500-square-foot establishment is situated at 77 W. Paces Ferry Road within a Whole Foods Market-anchored shopping center. The late-night joint offers a variety of chicken, beef, pork, fish and vegetarian tacos as well as brunch options. Velvet Taco expects to open a second Atlanta location next year at the Interlock development in West Midtown, according to local media. Based in Dallas, the brand also operates restaurants in Austin, Chicago and Houston.