ATLANTA — Atlanta-based REIT Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) has named Colin Connolly CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Larry Gellerstedt, the company’s current chairman and CEO, will transition to executive chairman. “Colin’s promotion is part of a deliberate and planned succession effort that will allow Cousins Properties to benefit from his ideas, energy and strategic leadership skills, while continuing its evolution into a larger, highly focused company,” said Gellerstedt. Since joining Cousins Properties in 2011, Connolly, 42, has held the roles of senior vice president, chief investment officer, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Last year, he was named president of the company, a title he will retain in addition to his role as CEO. “Growing up in Atlanta, I have a deep appreciation for Cousins Properties and its importance to this community,” said Connolly. “The opportunity to work side by side with Larry and our outstanding team for more than seven years has been tremendous, and I have total confidence that our top-quality Sunbelt portfolio and strong balance sheet leave us well positioned to maintain our position as one of the top urban [REITs] in the marketplace.” Cousins Properties’ stock price closed at $9.08 per share on Tuesday, Sept.18, …
DUNWOODY, GA. — Grubb Properties is moving forward with Park at Perimeter Center East, a 19-acre mixed-use project in Dunwoody, roughly 17 miles north of Atlanta. The Charlotte-based company has submitted a rezoning request to the Dunwoody City Council to rezone the site from “Office Industrial” to include residential and retail. The proposed project would include a mix of 900 condominiums, 500,000 square feet of new office space, approximately 12,000 square feet of retail space and three acres of green space. The site is already home to three office buildings totaling 285,000 square feet. After acquiring the site, Grubb Properties refreshed the buildings’ interiors and updated the lobbies. The buildings house tenants such as Veritas Collective, Alzheimer’s Association, Hotel Equities and Marx Okubo Associates. Grubb Properties will focus on making the project walkable and bikeable, encouraging the utilization of nearby transit options such as MARTA. Park at Perimiter East will have a 12-foot shared-use path around the perimeter that will run alongside an existing bike lane. An approval timeline and construction schedule were not disclosed.
MARIETTA, GA. — Publix Super Markets Inc. has announced plans to open the fifth location for its new-format GreenWise Market in Marietta, a suburb roughly 20 miles north of Atlanta. The store will be located at the southeast corner of Sandy Plans and Shallowford roads. Atlanta-based developer Fuqua Development inked the lease with Publix Super Markets. Owned and operated by the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer, GreenWise Market is a specialty, natural and organic store that features house-prepared meals, grab-and-go items and groceries under its GreenWise brand. The first GreenWise market is scheduled to open in Tallahassee, Fla., next month. Other announced locations include Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Lakeland and Boca Raton, Fla. The Mount Pleasant and Lakeland stores are expected to open in 2019. An opening date for the Marietta location was not released.
LOGANVILLE, GA. — Bull Realty has brokered the $7.3 million sale of Piedmont Medical Health Center, a 15,000-square-foot medical office building in Loganville, located roughly 35 miles east of Atlanta. Paul Zeman of Bull Realty arranged the transaction. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare operates a women’s healthcare clinic and a gastroenterology clinic at the facility, which also includes an endoscopy/surgery center.
ATLANTA — Brasfield & Gorrie has broken ground on a 104,100-square-foot expansion of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Dubbed Expansion 2020, the project costs will total $100 million, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. A 1 million-gallon “interactive and immersive” shark tank exhibit will be the focal point of the expansion. The project will also include a new entrance and exit, office spaces, retail spaces, loading dock and new ticketing services. Since the aquarium’s 2005 opening, Brasfield & Gorrie has completed multiple expansions, including the ballroom renovation, dolphin expansion, multiple marine life holding projects, sea lion exhibit and the café renovation. Birmingham, Ala.-based Brasfield & Gorrie is collaborating with Peckham, Guyton, Alberts & Viets Architects on the project, which is slated for completion in late 2020. The aquarium will remain open during construction.
ATLANTA — American Realty Advisors (ARA) has acquired Azure on the Park, a 329-unit, high-rise apartment community located at 1020 Piedmont Ave. N.E. in Atlanta’s Midtown district. The community overlooks the 189-acre Piedmont Park and is surrounded by more than 150 restaurants, art exhibitions and retail. Community amenities include a fitness center with a yoga and spin studio, rooftop pool, rooftop movie theater, sky club with billiards, bocce ball court, dog spa, dog park and a Starbucks Coffee bar. In addition, an overlook on the 22nd floor features an outdoor kitchen and grilling stations. Kris Mikkelsen of Walker & Dunlop arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
JEFFERSON, GA. — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and joint venture partner Clarion Partners LLC have acquired 109.7 acres for the third phase of Jefferson Mill Business Park, an industrial park in the northeast Georgia city of Jefferson. The acquisition represents an assemblage of seven properties held by seven different owners. Price Weaver and Ben Logue of Colliers International represented TCC and Clarion Partners in the transaction. Matt McCord of Norton Commercial, Grant Whitworth of Whitworth Land Corp. and Kim Bowman of Keller Williams represented the various sellers. Phase III of Jefferson Mill Business Park will be a build-to-suit, cross-dock distribution facility that will span between 1.1 and 1.5 million square feet. The first two phases of the industrial park include more than 500 trailer spaces and 1,000 auto parking spaces. All together, Jefferson Mill Business Park spans 232 acres and includes 2.7 million square feet of industrial space. A construction timeline for Phase III was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Innovatus Capital Partners LLC has acquired 3400 Overton, a 172,756-square-foot office building located in Atlanta’s Cumberland/Galleria office submarket. TPA Group and USAA Real Estate delivered the seven-story project in October 2017. The all-glass building is situated at the southeast corner of the Interstate 75 and I-285 interchange at the intersection of Akers Mill Road and Cumberland Boulevard. The sales price was not disclosed. The building is 80 percent leased to tenants including Synovus Financial Corp. and McGriff, Seibels & Williams Inc. Lincoln Property Co. is handling the property’s leasing assignment and management services. Onsite amenities at 3400 Overton include a modern lobby, fitness center, Synovus bank branch, café, grab-and-go coffee bar, indoor/outdoor Wi-Fi, covered parking and an open courtyard overlooking the Chattahoochee National Forest. A 140-room hotel planned by Intercontinental Hotels Group is scheduled to open adjacent to the property in 2019.
ATLANTA — Roger Tutterow, director of Kennesaw State University’s Econometric Center, encourages hoteliers to be optimistic about today’s historic level of consumer confidence because it directly impacts the leisure travel side of the hospitality sector. In late August, the consumer confidence index increased to 133.4, its highest level since October 2000, according to The Conference Board. The index gauges consumers’ confidence levels about business and labor conditions. “This is still a consumer-driven economy, and it’s very important that we maintain those confidence levels,” said Tutterow, who was one of the featured speakers at Atlanta Lodging Outlook 2019. The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cornell Hotel Society and the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association jointly hosted the annual event, which took place on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at the InterContinental Buckhead hotel in Atlanta. Spending Power Impacts Hotel Performance Personal income gains and corporate profits also affect hotel absorption as these determine the spending power of leisure travelers and businesses. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income increased by 3.5 percent over the past six months, while corporate profits rose 20 percent during the same period. “You’ve got support both from the personal income and corporate profits side,” said Tutterow …
ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta has broken ground on the first phase of Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry in Atlanta’s Westside area. Expected to be the largest park in Atlanta, the first phase will include a signature gateway and trails leading to an overlook area for views of a quarry-turned-reservoir. Upon completion, the park will encompass 280 acres, nearly 100 acres larger than Piedmont Park in Atlanta’s Midtown district. The park will connect the Proctor Creek Greenway and Chattahoochee River Corridor with the Atlanta BeltLine, a loop trail that will eventually span 22 miles and connect 45 intown neighborhoods in Atlanta. Architecture firm HGOR is designing the park. The quarry-turned-reservoir will take on the role of Atlanta’s major emergency water source, increasing the city’s drinking water supply from three days to more than 30 days. The surrounding park will feature elements of green infrastructure, which should enhance water quality and ground water infiltration. HGOR is collaborating on the development with partner leaders Reeves Young and CERM. Other project team members include Portman & Associates, Long Engineering, EcoWorks, Full Circle Communication, Denyse, BioHabitats, Sherwood Design Engineers, S.L. King & Associates and Sykes Consulting. According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the park …