ATLANTA — State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, has received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC). Situated in downtown Atlanta, State Farm Arena was certified due to efforts that include a partnership with Rubicon Global to recycle 12,500 seats in 2018 following its $192 million makeover; the arena and surrounding area becoming a smoke-free campus; upgrading the lighting fixtures to LED lighting, which led to 41 percent lighting power reduction; installing more efficient plumbing fixtures that will save 540,000 gallons of potable water per year; and more than 900 tons of waste was sent to Atlanta’s Lifecycle Building for resale, instead of going to the dump. There are four levels of LEED certification, according to the USGBC: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. State Farm Arena, previously known as Philips Arena, is owned by the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club, which is owned by Tony Ressler along with a group of investors including Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill.
Georgia
ATLANTA — Choate Construction will celebrate its 30th anniversary this month. In its 30 years, the Atlanta-based general contractor has completed more than 5,200 projects, ranging from student housing to automotive plants to manufacturing facilities. Choate has also expanded to Nashville and has almost 500 employees. The company is 100 percent employee-owned. “While we have grown a lot, there are some things that haven’t changed: The core values that have guided us from the start. Safety, integrity, innovation, operational excellence, relationships, stewardship,” says Millard Choate, chairman and CEO. “They are the framework that will continue to shape us each and every day.”
AUSTELL, GA. — Beach Investment Management, an affiliate of The Beach Co., has acquired Reserve at Sweetwater Creek, a 156-unit multifamily community in Austell, for $19 million. Reserve at Sweetwater Creek is located 15 miles west of downtown Atlanta and was built in 1988. The property offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging from 650 to 1,000 square feet. Communal amenities include a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, fitness center, tennis court, laundry facility and a cyber lounge. Beach plans to upgrade unit interiors, including installing stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and modern fixtures. Community upgrades will include new roofs throughout the property, conversion of the tennis court into an outdoor fitness center and a new gazebo with a grilling area. Darby Parker of The Beach Co. represented the buyer internally in the transaction. Nate Swenson and Travis Presnell of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Arcan Capital. Berkadia provided arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has arranged the sale of Stonewood Village, a 106,485-square-foot shopping center in Alpharetta. Stonewood Village was 70 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Dover Saddlery, Anytime Fitness, Queen of Hearts Antiques and Pure Spa. A vacant big box also sits on the site. Orkin & Associates acquired the property, which is situated at 670 N. Main St., 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Mark Joines and Drew Fleming of NKF represented the seller, Nightingale Properties, in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.
Investcorp Sells Former Home Depot Headquarters in Atlanta’s Vinings District for $120M
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — Investcorp has sold an office campus in Atlanta’s Vinings district that formerly housed the world headquarters of The Home Depot back in the 1990s. The global asset management firm sold the property, known as Paces West, to a joint venture between Farallon Capital Management LLC and Crocker Partners for $120 million. Crocker Partners served as the asset and property management team in partnership with Investcorp since late 2015. Situated along Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta’s Cumberland/Galleria office submarket, the 646,471-square-foot property comprises two buildings connected via a pedestrian bridge. Amenities include two full-service cafes, a renovated fitness center, conference facilities, dry cleaners, a car wash service, onsite ATM and electric car charging stations. Paces West has served as the administrative headquarters for Piedmont Healthcare, an Atlanta-based health system with 11 hospitals and 650 facilities, since 2002. Jay O’Meara, Justin Parsonnet, Will Yowell, and Ryan Reethof of CBRE represented Investcorp in the sale. Since acquiring Paces West in 2015, Investcorp has boosted its occupancy from 85 percent to 93 percent, according to CBRE. “Paces West has withstood the test of time due to its quality, amenities, large flexible floor plates, and location in one of Atlanta’s most authentic and …
ATLANTA — Carroll Organization has acquired a three-property multifamily portfolio located throughout the Southeast. The three properties include the 268-unit Hawthorne at Mooresville in Mooresville, N.C.; the 312-9unit Hawthorne at Wildwood in Marietta, Ga.; and the 323-unit Hawthorne South Oaks in downtown Nashville, Tenn. According to Atlanta-based Carroll Organization, all three properties will be rebranded under the ARIUM name. Additional terms of the sale were not disclosed.
PMZ Realty Capital Provides $83.5M Loan for Refinancing of Embassy Suites in Downtown Atlanta
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — PMZ Realty Capital LLC has provided an $83.5 million fixed-rate loan to Legacy Ventures for the refinancing of Embassy Suites Atlanta Centennial Park. The hotel offers 321 rooms and is situated next to Centennial Park, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Aquarium, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum and the World of Coke. The hotel is located less than one mile from the future site of Centennial Yards, a $5 billion redevelopment that will bring more than 9 million square feet of new office space to downtown Atlanta over the next 10 years. The hotel recently underwent a $10 million renovation.
Baptist Church in Atlanta Plans 27,200 SF Renovation of Historic Buildings to House Office Space
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Wheat Street Baptist Church will convert two historic buildings on its campus into office space intended for nonprofit organizations. American South Real Estate Fund (ASREF) is providing the senior loan of $3.5 million for the renovations. American Legion Hall is a 5,200-square-foot building that was constructed in multiple phases beginning in 1930, and the Christian Education Building is a 22,000-square-foot building that was built in the 1950s. Leaders in the church plan to target tenants that work with the homeless, local school teachers and underprivileged teens. Wheat Street Baptist is situated in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn district, which is one mile east of downtown Atlanta and near the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park district. Construction is expected to begin in early August and take nine to 12 months to complete.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Stonebridge Investments has acquired River Vista, a 196-unit apartment complex in Sandy Springs, for $33.4 million. River Vista was built in 1996 on 17 acres near the Chattahoochee River. Amenities include access to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, an outdoor swimming pool with sundeck seating, clubhouse, outdoor kitchen and social area with grills and TV, playground and a 24-hour fitness center. River Vista offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans averaging 1,098 square feet. David Gutting and Derrick Bloom of JLL represented the seller, an affiliate of The Milestone Group, in the transaction. HFF provided a $22.9 million Freddie Mac acquisition loan to the buyer. The seven-year, fixed-rate loan offers five years of interest-only payments through Freddie Mac’s Green Advantage program.
NEW YORK CITY — Global asset manager Investcorp, which is based in Bahrain and has its U.S. office in New York City, has acquired 11 multifamily properties totaling 2,615 units across the United States. The sales price was $370 million. The properties are located throughout six primary markets: Orlando, Tampa, Raleigh, Atlanta, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Madison Apartment Group, an affiliate of the seller, Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners, will continue to manage the communities after overseeing capital improvement programs at each property. The portfolio was approximately 95 percent leased at the time of sale with an average construction date of 1994 and an average unit size of 1,020 square feet. Equus acquired the properties between 2013 and 2015 and collectively spent about $20 million upgrading them. “The portfolio is positioned to deliver an attractive, stable and predictable cash flow for the new venture with Investcorp, while at the same time the markets continue to support further enhancement opportunities and ability to push rents higher,” says Christopher Locatell, senior vice president and director of dispositions for Equus. Investcorp executives noted that the deal marked the firm’s largest real estate acquisition in the United States in the last decade, and was appealing …