Atlanta is recognizing that the nature of retail has changed. Shopping centers and mixed-use projects in Atlanta emphasize restaurants, fitness, entertainment and service retail. The changes in the market are happening quickly and consumers want the urban environment where everything they need is at their fingertips. Destination Retail The BeltLine is providing an unmatched opportunity for this business model. The Eastside trail proves that Atlanta has welcomed this type of retail. New developments without a true parking option or main street access have started to capture the population who use the BeltLine on a daily or weekly basis. Ponce City Market encapsulates experiential retail, taking an existing warehouse structure and transforming it into a food hall, rooftop entertainment and a place to work, congregate or live your daily life. It’s not a shopping center — it’s a destination. The modern shopping center isn’t about being a shopping center, it’s about providing all you need at once. Restaurants, Food Halls The restaurant business is always evolving, and the variety in Atlanta is unparalleled. Yet, while there are an abundance of restaurant openings, there are still several that will need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. The biggest buzz has been food …
ATLANTA — Cortland has acquired Home at The Battery Atlanta, a 531-unit multifamily community, from a joint venture between Braves Development Co. (BDC) and Pollack Shores for $156 million. Walker & Dunlop brokered the transaction. The three-building property — to be renamed Cortland at the Battery Atlanta — offers 328 one-bedroom units, 195 two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units. The apartments were 92 percent occupied at the time of sale. Each building offers a range of shared amenities including swimming pools; a rooftop lounge and bar; an entertainment center with billiards, shuffleboard and an open kitchen; a poolside fitness center with cardio, CrossFit and yoga components; and a cyber café. The community opened in 2017 as part of The Battery Atlanta, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development surrounding SunTrust Park, home ballpark of the Atlanta Braves. The master-planned development features residential, retail, office and entertainment space. “We are pleased to add Cortland to The Battery Atlanta with their strong market leadership,” says Mike Plant, president and CEO of BDC. “This is an exciting next step in our master-planned development process by selling our residential component.” Cortland, an Atlanta-based multifamily real estate investment firm, owns and manages 140 communities in the United …
ROME, GA. — Berry College has announced plans for The Spires at Berry College, a 48-acre continuing care retirement community (CCRC) on its campus in Rome, approximately 70 miles northwest of Atlanta. A groundbreaking is set for Oct. 19, with the first units opening in 2020. Although the number of units was not disclosed, the community will be able to house approximately 300 senior residents in a combination of apartments and cottages. The property is located along Eagle Lake at the foot of Lavender Mountain. Berry College’s full campus totals more than 27,000 acres and is home to more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students.
ATLANTA — Floor & Decor, a specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories, plans to relocate and expand its headquarters to Cobb County from Atlanta. The company’s expansion will create 500 jobs, including administrative and customer service positions, over five years, according to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. Additionally, the company will receive a $500,000 grant to help establish the new headquarters and could be eligible for more than $3 million in state tax breaks for five if it creates 500 qualifying new jobs, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Floor & Decor was founded in Atlanta in 2000 and currently operates 95 warehouse-format stores in 26 states, including seven in Georgia. In February, the company opened a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center, which employs more than 100 people, outside of Savannah.
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Duke Realty Corp. has signed a long-term lease with SOFAMANIA, a manufacturer and distributor of fine home furniture. The manufacturer will occupy 322,500 square feet of space at 175 Portside Court in Savannah. The 600,000-square-foot logistics building is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and GA 21, which is near both the Port of Savannah and Interstate 16. Steve Grable of JLL represented SOFAMANIA, while Brian Sutton provided in-house representation for Duke Realty in the lease transaction. This lease brings Duke Realty’s year-to-date leasing volume in the Savannah market to 2.4 million square feet and occupancy in its 7 million-square-foot portfolio to 100 percent.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — Smyrna, Ga.-based Halpern Enterprises has purchased Shoppes at Trickum, a shopping center located at 12184 Highway 92 in Woodstock, for an undisclosed price. Developed in 2004, the 49,900-square-foot retail center is 94 percent leased to Dollar Tree, Sally Beauty, H&R Block, SportClips, GameStop and Cricket Wireless. The name of the seller and sales price were not released.
ATLANTA — NorthMarq Capital has originated a $7 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Gallman Development Group’s construction loan for MC Kiser Lofts, a multifamily property in Atlanta. Gallman Development converted the MC Kiser Building, a historic shoe manufacturing warehouse once occupied by Atlanta Public Schools, into a multifamily property featuring 41 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space. Built in 1923 and situated in Atlanta’s South Downtown area, the property is near various amenities and attractions, including Underground Atlanta, the Garnett MARTA station, Newport’s South Downtown project and CIM’s Gulch project. NorthMarq arranged construction financing almost two years ago for Gallman, and the new 10-year agency loan has fulfilled the borrower’s business plan. Will James of NorthMarq Capital’s Atlanta office secured the new Fannie Mae loan.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Dallas-based Velocis, a private equity real estate manager, has completed the disposition of Royal Centre One, a Class A office complex located in Alpharetta, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The Simpson Organization acquired the property for an undisclosed price. Situated within the master-planned Royal 400 office park, the asset features 152,935 square feet of office space across multiple buildings spanning 12 acres along the Georgia 400 corridor. Velocis originally acquired the property in 2013 and has raised occupancy from 53 percent to just under 80 percent, at the time of sale. Samir Idris, David Meline, Andy Johns, Stewart Calhoun and Casey Masters of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the deal.
ATLANTA — Capital One has provided a $14.9 million HUD 221(d)(4) rehabilitation and permanent financing loan for Bethel Towers Apartments, an affordable multifamily property located in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Capital One’s Carolyn Whatley originated the loan, which features a fixed interest rate and a 40-year term. The Benoit Group, the borrower, is partnering with the Big Bethel AME Church to renovate the community in accordance with Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ architectural and rehabilitation standards. Big Bethel AME Church built the community in 1972 and will share ownership of the newly rehabilitated development. The 16-story building features 180 units in a mix of one- and two-bedroom floorplans. The property is covered by a project-based rental assistance contract through the Section 8 program. Additionally, the property features 165 surface and garage parking spaces, a playground and access to a laundry facility and community meeting space in adjacent commercial and church buildings. The renovation program includes the replacement of electrical wiring, plumbing risers and flooring, kitchen and bath upgrades and the addition of accessible units, a fitness room, business center and picnic pavilion with a grilling area. The rehabilitation plan also calls for environmentally sustainable improvements including high-efficiency common area lighting, …
ATLANTA — Five years ago, there were about 30 food halls across the entire country. By 2020, Cushman & Wakefield predicts there will be 300. “I agree we have a lot of food halls coming,” said Jamestown president Michael Phillips. “In some regards it signals the end of the food hall.” The comments from Phillips came Monday morning during a panel discussion at the annual conference of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The four-day conference, which ends Wednesday, has drawn 1,600 economic developers, city planners, marketing professionals, consultants and community leaders to the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. It’s the largest number of conference attendees ever and the first time in a decade that Atlanta has served as the host city for the annual gathering. The panel Phillips participated in was titled “Intersection of Food and Economic Development.” His fellow panelists included Adam Schwegman, senior vice president of Brookfield Properties Retail, who is stationed in Atlanta; Thomas McNair, executive director of Cleveland-based Ohio City Inc.; and Haile Johnston, founder of The Common Market in Philadelphia. Catherine Timko, CEO of Wilmington, Del.-based economic development consulting firm The Riddle Co., served as panel moderator. Food traffic, the right demographics, and a community …