Georgia

Hitachi-Automotive-Monroe-Georgia

MONROE, GA. — Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas Inc., a global supplier of automotive parts, has announced a massive, multi-year expansion of its manufacturing plant in Monroe, approximately 45 miles east of Atlanta. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Friday, May 17 that Hitachi will invest anywhere from $100 million to $330 million in expanding its existing facility. The project is expected to bring an additional 100 jobs to Walton County. The parent company of Hitachi Americas, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo and manufactures engine powertrain systems, electric powertrain systems and integrated vehicle control systems. The company opened its first facility in Georgia in 1997 and currently employs more than 900 people in the Peach State, making it the largest employer in Walton County. The expansion project will be unveiled in phases over the next five years, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and parts produced at the plant will continue to be sold to major automotive companies like Ford, General Motors, Honda and Nissan. Hitachi cited larger growth in the automotive industry and the strength of the local workforce as the key incentives behind the expansion project. “It’s our goal at the Georgia Department of Economic Development to …

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ATLANTA — Woodbine Legacy Investments (WLI) has completed a $20 million renovation of W Atlanta-Buckhead, a 12-story, 291-room hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The renovation began in May 2018. Guest accommodations — 286 guest rooms, four WOW Suites and one EWOW Suite — were enhanced with new headboards, armoires, damask wallcoverings and carpeting, 55-inch TVs, in-room Nespresso machines, beverage bar and artwork throughout. Communal renovations included new furnishings, an upgraded lobby and living room, upgraded fitness center and added Wi-Fi and meeting space throughout the hotel. The design team included architect and interior designer C+TC Studio, which designed the hotel’s rooftop bar, Whiskey Blue; interior designer Studio 11, which designed the lobby; and general contractor Genoa Construction. A second phase of renovation is planned for later this year, which will focus on updating the hotel’s restaurant, Cook Hall.

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ATLANTA — John Portman & Associates has unveiled plans for 712 West Peachtree, a 578,851-square-foot office tower in Midtown Atlanta. The tower will stand 20 stories high and include one story below ground. The total rentable office space will span 309,465 square feet from the eighth to 20th floor. The building will also include 8,761 square feet of retail space, 516 parking spaces and an outdoor terrace on the eighth floor. Developed by Portman Holdings LLC, an affiliate of the Atlanta-based architectural firm, 712 West Peachtree will be located near NCR’s headquarters, Anthem Technology Center and Norfolk Southern’s headquarters. The project is also near Coda at Tech Square, a 770,000-square-foot mixed-use development on the edge of Georgia Tech’s campus that Portman Holdings is also developing. A timeline for 712 West Peachtree’s construction was not disclosed.

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BUFORD, GA. — Seefried Industrial Properties Inc. has purchased two sites in Buford. The first is a 28-acre parcel that will house Buford Creek I, and the second is a 31-acre parcel that will house Buford Creek II. The adjacent sites are located on Buford Highway, 38 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Buford Creek II will be a 252,540-square-foot speculative distribution facility and Buford Creek I will be a 236,102-square-foot speculative building. Buford Creek II will begin construction in late June and deliver in January 2020. Construction on Buford Creek I will follow in late 2019. “This well-located distribution center offers users signalized site access and terrific visibility off the newly constructed five-lane Buford Highway,” says Greg Herren, senior vice president and Chief operating officer of Seefried. “The City of Buford infrastructure and proximity to retail amenities make this infill location perfect for the I-85 Northeast business distribution users.”

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Galleria-100-Atlanta

ATLANTA — Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: PDM) has acquired Galleria 100, an 18-story office building located in Atlanta, for $95.1 million. The sale includes a 1.5-acre parcel for future development. Galleria 100, which spans approximately 414,000 square feet, was 91 percent leased at the time of sale. The property is located within The Galleria mixed-use development on the city’s northwest side. The property is connected via footbridge to the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park and the surrounding entertainment destination known as The Battery. Piedmont already owns two office buildings that are adjacent to the acquired property within The Galleria, an 86-acre development with office and retail uses, as well as a hotel and convention center. Tenants at Galleria 100 include insurance giant Aflac, law firm Freeman Mathis & Gary and private dining venue The Georgian Club. With this acquisition, Piedmont, which is based in the northern Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, now owns roughly 1.3 million square feet of office product within this submarket. The company’s total portfolio consists of nearly 17 million square feet of office space across eight major markets, holdings that are valued at roughly $5 billion. “This transaction underscores our overall strategy of acquiring and …

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ATLANTA — Banyan Street Capital has unveiled The Hub and The Plaza within the historic Peachtree Center in downtown Atlanta. Banyan Street tapped architectural firm The Beck Group on the design for both portions of the 2.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development. The Hub, formerly known as the Mall at Peachtree Center, is home to more than 50 shops and restaurants. In the past 18 months, Banyan Street has inked leases with Salata, Beni’s Cubano, Taste of India and BEP! Vietnamese, as well as Time to Escape, a locally owned and operated escape room concept that includes live actors. Amy Fingerhut of CBRE’s Atlanta office is leading The Hub’s retail leasing assignment. The Plaza is the development’s overhauled central courtyard that fronts Peachtree Street and is situated between Peachtree Center’s various towers. Beck Group’s design for the public space includes a central area for live events; custom planters and benches; a reflective pool that can be drained for events; a suspended, illuminated canopy; revamped entrances to the adjacent office towers and existing atrium; and a glass-encased staircase leading to The Hub that features a sloped water fountain on the backside. At a private event held Wednesday, Miami-based Banyan Street officially opened The …

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Vintage-Pointe-Las-Vegas-NV

LAS VEGAS AND LITHIA SPRINGS, GA. — TruAmerica Multifamily, in partnership with an institutional partner, has purchased a two-property apartment portfolio in an off-market transaction valued at $97 million. The properties are Vintage Pointe, a 368-unit community in Las Vegas, and Sweetwater Creek, a 240-unit asset in Lithia Springs, a suburb of Atlanta. Neither property—Vintage Pointe built in 1994, nor Sweetwater Creek built in 2003—have undergone significant renovations. The new ownership plans to invest in a multi-million dollar capital improvement program to reposition both properties.

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ATLANTA — Broadrange Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, has signed a full-building industrial lease for 408,600 square feet in Atlanta’s Fulton Industrial submarket. The Atlanta-based firm offers air, ocean, trucking and warehouse logistics services to several major companies including Amazon, Wayfair, Drive Medical, SP Richards and Smith Cooper. The facility is located at 105 Kendall Park Lane, 13 miles west of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 16 miles west of downtown Atlanta. Bob Robers and Brian Monaghan of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease transaction. LaSalle Investment Management is the landlord. Brian Alcorn of Cushman & Wakefield will oversee build-out of the space, though details of the build-out were not disclosed.

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DORAVILLE, GA. — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was onhand Friday at the site of the former GM plant in Doraville to officially open the new Serta Simmons Bedding headquarters. The mattress company now employs more than 500 people at its 210,000-square-foot office building situated adjacent to Third Rail Studios within the $2 billion Assembly Yards project. Joining Gov. Kemp were Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman, chairman and CEO of Serta Simmons Dave Smith and outgoing CEO of Serta Simmons, Michael Traub. In 2014, The Integral Group LLC acquired the land after GM closed its plant in 2008 and began working on Assembly Yards. The planned “city within a city” will offer 120,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 500,000 square feet of office space, more than 700 residential units and three miles of paved pathways at full buildout. “Assembly Yards is one of the things that really excites me about our metro area,” said Kemp during the event. Autonomous Transportation In addition to creating a place where people can work and live, Integral is also creating a technological hub by bringing in Georgia’s only autonomous shuttle bus operated by Navya that will be able to take employees from the campus to …

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MARIETTA, GA. — Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has completed a $42 million expansion that includes two buildings spanning 350,000 square feet in Marietta. The facilities are part of GTRI’s South Cobb Campus. In 20167, GTRI acquired four buildings on an unused, 52-acre Lockheed Martin site next to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. Renovations included transforming 205,500 square feet of retired office space into a research facility featuring computing and electronics laboratories. It also included the 144,500-square-foot renovation of a 403,500-square-foot high-bay industrial warehouse, which GTRI will also use for research. This space incorporates two, 10-ton cranes and a 30-ton crane to handle heavy equipment. The design team included McCarthy Building Cos. and Flad Architects. JLL’s project and development services division managed the design and construction phases.

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