In 2016 and the first quarter of this year, Atlanta’s economy boomed, showing several positive signs that point to another banner year for the multifamily market. From December 2016 through February 2017, Atlanta added 96,700 total non-farm jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent over the same time the previous year. Additionally, in 2016 the city experienced 3 percent wage growth overall. This translates to a robust multifamily market with solid fundamentals. According to Axiometrics, Atlanta’s average effective rent broke the $1,000 ceiling in second-quarter 2016 and has not stopped climbing since, reaching $1,068 as of first-quarter 2017. Rents are projected to increase by just under 5 percent in 2017. While the market’s rent growth rate is slowing, we cannot forget that Atlanta is breaking historical rent records while maintaining an occupancy rate in the 94 percent range for the last 11 consecutive quarters. Throughout the city, all asset classes — from Class C suburban properties to trophy Class A properties in the urban core — are posting strong performances. One trend we are keeping an eye on is single-family development, which is starting to come back as rental rates continue to rise and renters look to make a more permanent …
ATLANTA — Joel & Granot Real Estate/CORFAC International (JGRE) has sold a 108,000-square-foot office building located at 550 Pharr Road in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The property is situated at the northwest corner of Pharr and Piedmont roads. Alan Joel and Dan Granot of JGRE represented 550 Buckhead LLC, an entity made up of JGRE, its Dallas-based mezzanine partner Rainer and other investors, internally in the sale to Charlotte-based Stone Street Capital. JGRE and Rainer originally acquired the office building when it was vacant in 2013.
ATLANTA — CGI Strategies has sold City Walk, a mixed-use development located at 171 Auburn Ave. N.E. in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Avenue Historic District. The six-story property includes 144 one- and two-bedroom units and approximately 30,500 square feet of street-level retail space. Property amenities include a rooftop tennis court, poolside resident lounge and a 24-hour fitness center. CGI sold the apartment portion of the property to San-Francisco-based FPA Multifamily and the retail portion to a joint venture between Franklin Road Amoco Inc. and Southern Gas Partners LLC. Mike Kemether, Josh Goldfarb and Travis Presnell of Cushman & Wakefield represented both parties in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed. At the time of sale, the retail portion was leased to Pizza Hut, Sweet Auburn Seafood and Moe’s Southwest Grill.
BRUNSWICK, GA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Merritt Landing, a 128-unit multifamily community located at 5700 Altama Ave. in Brunswick, approximately seven miles west of St. Simons Island. Francesco Carriera, Michael Regan, Kurt McGarry and Rich Merryman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a financial institution, and the buyer, a private investor. Michael Fasano of Marcus & Millichap also assisted in the transaction.
It is no secret that Atlanta has been a booming market in the post-recession era. Metro Atlanta added more than 85,000 jobs in 2016, while the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.9 percent, back to a prerecession level (2007). Atlanta has ranked near the top of the largest 10 office markets in annual job growth, outpacing the likes of New York, Los Angles and Chicago. There was 3.3 percent job growth in 2016, outpaced by only one large metropolitan peer, Dallas-Fort Worth. Rent Growth The Atlanta office market has shared this success as rents have continued to climb to record levels and vacancy levels have dropped. Since the end of 2012, overall gross asking rents have risen 22.1 percent, or $4.41 per square foot. Thanks to major relocations by companies such as Honeywell, GE Digital and Synovus, and major expansions by Kaiser Permanente, Sage, Anthem and Kabbage, among others, Atlanta’s overall office vacancy rate has plummeted 540 basis points from the end of 2012 (from 22.3 percent to 16.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017). Construction With market fundamentals in a stronger state than at any other time in recent history, the introduction of new product presents a litmus …
MARIETTA, GA. — A joint venture between Praelium Commercial Real Estate and South Street Partners has acquired Newmarket Business Park, a six-building, 471,486-square-foot office park in Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta. The sales price was not disclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the asset sold for $54 million. The joint venture plans to rebrand the property and market the remaining vacant space to stabilize the asset above 90 percent occupancy. Mark Strauss of Walker & Dunlop arranged acquisition financing through ACORE Capital. Colliers International represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and will handle office leasing and management on behalf of the joint venture. Newmarket Business Park was 85 leased at the time of sale, with The Home Depot occupying 66 percent of the park.
MARIETTA, GA. — NexPoint Residential Trust Inc. has acquired Rockledge, a 708-unit apartment community located in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, for $113.5 million. NexPoint Residential Trust acquired the property as part of a reverse 1031 exchange with cash on hand, borrowings of approximately $113.5 million under a bridge facility with KeyBank National Association and a new first mortgage with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Rockledge is situated on 78 acres and has average monthly rental rates of $1,153. Located approximately one mile from the new Atlanta Braves stadium, SunTrust Park, the property features seven swimming pools, an indoor basketball court, tennis courts, grilling area, volleyball court, indoor track, fitness center, yoga studio and access to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The community was 93.6 percent occupied at the time of sale. The seller was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Colliers International has arranged $81 million in refinancing for a 40-property industrial portfolio in Atlanta. The portfolio is owned by a joint venture advised by New York-based Clarion Partners LLC. Kevin Troy and Hank Hall of Colliers International arranged the financing through Principal Global Investors on behalf of Clarion Partners. The portfolio, which includes 3.7 million square feet of Class A and Class B industrial buildings, was fully leased at the time of sale.
The Atlanta industrial market continues to grow in popularity when it comes to real estate investors’ appetite. Industrial assets are “hot items” in current investment sales transactions as the region’s economic momentum continues to position Atlanta as one of the healthiest industrial markets in the Southeast. Some of the major local and macro-economic trends affecting the industrial market include the ongoing growth of infrastructure, logistics and manufacturing industries. Furthermore, the Port of Savannah’s new Post Panamax facilities, its ongoing investment and expansion plans and its increasing activity are also beneficial to the Atlanta industrial market. Investment sales professionals, especially individual investors, remain attracted to Atlanta’s industrial market as e-commerce continues to transform how and where products are stored and shipped, not to mention the simplicity of owning and managing industrial properties, compared to retail and office. In 2016, the Atlanta industrial market experienced over 17 million square feet of net absorption. The forecasted absorption for 2017 ranges between 12 and 14 million square feet, with approximately 12 million square feet of new product being delivered this year. Over 90 percent of the new product comprises warehouse/distribution product, and less than 10 percent consists of new flex and shallow-bay buildings. Most …
AUGUSTA, GA. — Starbucks has unveiled plans to expand its soluble plant in Augusta. The $120 million expansion will add 140,000 square feet to the current 180,000-square-foot facility, nearly doubling the size of the operation. Starbucks opened the plant in July 2012. It is the first company-owned facility in the world to produce Starbucks soluble products. Located roughly 20 miles south of Fort Gordon, the plant currently employs 185 Starbucks partners, one in six of which are armed forces veterans or military spouses. The expansion will bring up to 100 new jobs to the facility. Construction on the property is slated for completion in fall 2019. On the retail front, Starbucks plans to add 12,000 stores globally by 2021, bringing the total number to 37,000.