SMYRNA, GA. — Halpern Enterprises Inc. has broken ground on the second phase of The Shops at Belmont, a 47,593-square-foot retail center located at the intersection of Atlanta and Windy Hill roads in Smyrna, roughly 17 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. The shopping center is part of Halpern Enterprises’ 48-acre Belmont mixed-use development. Phase II of The Shops at Belmont will feature 12,000 square feet of retail space. Australian fitness brand F45 Training will occupy 2,400 square feet at the development for its fourth metro Atlanta studio, and organic dining concept Real Subs Café & Deli will occupy 2,100 square feet. Both tenants are expected to open this fall. The first phase of The Shops at Belmont was completed in 2016 and houses tenants such as Creatwood Tavern, Opa Greek Village, Cielo Mexican Grill, N’Style Barber Shop, Hearing Solutions, Sprint and J. Christopher’s. The Belmont mixed-use development includes residential, healthcare and education components, including Belmont Physicians Center, a 30,000-square-foot medical office building anchored by Emory Healthcare; Village of Belmont, a single-family residential community; 400 Belmont, a 274-unit apartment community; and Smyrna Elementary School.
Georgia
ATHENS, GA. — Knotting Development, in partnership with the Ardent Cos., has broken ground on General Time Athens, an adaptive reuse project at the former Westclox Building in Athens. The first phase of the project will revitalize the 100,000-square-foot warehouse of the former clock manufacturer, located at 100 Newton Bridge Road, roughly two miles from the University of Georgia (UGA) campus. Terrapin Beer Co. will anchor the project, leasing 68,000 square feet of warehouse space. The Athens-based brewery has been situated across the street from the site for 11 years. Phase II of General Time Athens will include environmental remediation, as well as demolishing and rebuilding the original 250,000-square-foot Westclox manufacturing building. The space will house offices, shops and restaurants. In addition, the project will house residential units and a 3,000-seat music venue that will host beer and wine festivals, recreational events, movie nights and other community events. Charlottesville, Va.-based Red Light Management is developing the music venue in partnership with Knotting and Ardent. Headed by UGA graduate Michael Dinerman and Jennifer Davidson, Knotting Development worked closely with the Athens Clarke County (ACC) Commissioners, ACC Economic Development, ACC Leisure Services, small business owners and the surrounding community to curate the …
FAIRBURN, GA. — HFF has arranged an $11 million construction loan for the development of Graham Logistics Center, a 281,025-square-foot industrial building in Fairburn. The property is situated on 25.7 acres at 7375 Graham Road, roughly 20 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Gregg Shapiro and Matthew Beam of HFF arranged the four-year, non-recourse, floating-rate loan through Brand Bank on behalf of the borrower and developer, Stream Realty Partners. Upon completion, Graham Logistics Center will be divisible into four suites with separate entrances and office space, and will feature 32-foot clear heights and rear loading doors. Stream Realty Partners expects to wrap up construction on the facility in 11 months.
MILLEDGEVILLE, GA. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $6.4 million acquisition loan for Prospect Milledgeville, a 141-bed student housing community in Milledgeville. The community is located less than a mile from Georgia College & State University, Georgia Military College and downtown Milledgeville. Lee Weaver of NorthMarq’s Tampa office arranged the 12-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. Prospect Milledgeville features a resort-style pool, 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse with a grilling station and on-site management.
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based Core5 Industrial Partners has signed Saddle Creek Logistics Services to a 1.2 million-square-foot lease at Southwest 85 Logistics Center, an industrial building under construction in southwest Atlanta. Saddle Creek, a provider of supply chain solutions for retailers, manufacturers and e-commerce companies, will use the new space to provide distribution services on behalf of a home improvement retailer for its Southeast locations. Core5 expects to wrap up construction on the facility this summer. Ladson Montgomery of Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group and Dave Watson of Newmark Knight Frank represented Saddle Creek in the lease negotiations. The transaction marks the largest industrial lease signed to date in the Atlanta region, according to Core5. Southwest 85 Logistics Center will feature 40-foot clear heights, more than 590 trailer spaces and 200 auto parking spaces.
ATLANTA — Akron, Ohio-based The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas Inc. have formed a tire distribution joint venture and will locate the newly created company’s headquarters in Atlanta. TireHub LLC will provide U.S tire dealers and retailers with a range of passenger and light truck tires, with an emphasis on distributing larger rim diameter premium tires. TireHub will lease 30,000 square feet at One Ravinia in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket for its new headquarters, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The 50-50 joint venture will initially operate more than 80 distribution centers and warehouse locations throughout the country. TireHub will combine and complement Goodyear’s company-owned wholesale distribution network with the Bridgestone-owned Tire Wholesale Warehouse (TWW). The new company will also complement both Goodyear and Bridgestone’s existing networks of third-party distributors and provide distribution, warehousing, sales and delivery solutions following the closing of the transaction, which is expected in mid-year. At launch, TireHub will have the scale to reach the vast majority of retail locations across the country daily.
ATLANTA — Renowned Atlanta apartment developer John A. Williams died Monday, April 16 at the age of 75. Williams founded Post Properties in 1970 and took the company public in 1993. When he resigned as chairman in 2003, the company had roughly 30,000 apartment units in its portfolio. In 2016, Memphis-based Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) acquired Post in a deal valued at nearly $4 billion. Life After Post Preferred Apartment Communities Inc., (PAC) the company Williams founded in 2009 after leaving Post, released a statement Monday saying employees are saddened to announce the unexpected passing of their company’s co-founder, chairman and CEO. “The board and the company are indebted to Williams for his strong leadership, real estate vision, outgoing personality and boundless energy,” said PAC in the statement. PAC’s board of directors has appointed Daniel DuPree to succeed Williams as chairman of the board and CEO. Leonard Silverstein, a co-founder of the company along with Williams, has been appointed vice chairman of the board and will continue as president and chief operating officer. “John was a dear friend, partner, mentor and influence in our lives and careers,” said Silverstein and DuPree in a joint statement. “He was a visionary and …
SAVANNAH, GA. — Savannah-based Foram Group has received approval from the Savannah City Council for zoning amendments needed to move forward with Starland Village, a planned $40 million mixed-use development in Savannah. Located on a two-block stretch along the historic Bull Street in the city’s Starland District, the development will be home to artist studios, an event venue, retail and restaurant space, a rooftop park, coworking space and 90 residential units. Other team members for the project include architecture firm Lynch Associates, DPR Construction, engineering firm Thomas & Hutton and Kaufman-Heinz LLC, which will manage the development upon completion. A construction timeline for the project was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Grove Street Partners, in a joint venture with Batson-Cook Development Co. (BCDC), has broken ground on Gateway Center Two, a 51,000-square-foot office building located a half-mile from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The building is part of the second phase of Gateway Center, a $230 million, 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use project that Grove Street Partners is developing. The development also houses the 128,396-square-foot Gateway Center One and three Marriott-branded hotels spanning 754 rooms. Gateway Center Two marks the first joint venture between Grove Street Partners and BCDC. In addition to the groundbreaking, the joint venture inked a lease with ECFMG, a nonprofit medical certification and training provider based in Philadelphia. ECFMG will occupy a full floor, or 24,000 square feet, upon completion in March 2019. Lee Evans of Colliers International represented the landlord in the lease, and John Behm, Jim Byrd and Jason Jones of Cresa represented the tenant. Alfie Means, Wilson Rogers and Jimmy Warren of iCap Realty Advisors arranged construction financing through Protective Life Insurance Co. Gateway Center offers direct connectivity to Hartsfield-Jackson and MARTA via the airport’s SkyTrain commuter rail.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Hall Structured Finance (HSF) has provided a $14.6 million construction loan for the 132-room EVEN Hotel in Alpharetta, roughly 26 miles north of Atlanta. Tanya Little and Jessica Reyes of Hart Capital Partners arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower and project developer, Epelboim Development Group LLC. Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is Epelboim’s joint venture partner and will manage the hotel upon completion. EVEN Hotels, the newest brand from IHG, emphasizes “eating well, resting easy, keeping active and accomplishing more.” The Alpharetta hotel will be the wellness-focused brand’s first location in Georgia, and will be situated across the street from $600 million Avalon mixed-use development. In addition, the hotel will be located in close proximity to IHG’s U.S. headquarters in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter district.