ATLANTA — A joint venture between The Simpson Organization and Harbert Management Corp. has sold 730 Midtown, an 11-story, Class A office building in Atlanta’s Midtown district, for $35.3 million. David Meline and Samir Idris of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, and Mike Ryan and Brian Linnihan of Cushman & Wakefield arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, Crestlight Capital. Located at 730 Peachtree Street N.E., the 217,090-square-foot office building features an outdoor courtyard, 55-seat conference center and on-site property management office. The property was 92 percent leased at the time of sale.
Georgia
COLLEGE PARK, GA. — BMW will develop a new technical training center on the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) campus in College Park, roughly two miles from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The facility will span 4.1 acres and will bring approximately 10,000 BMW professionals annually for corporate training. The BMW training facility joins other new developments in College Park including ThePad on Harvard, a multifamily community; the expansion of the Federal Aviation Administration Region IV Headquarters; the creation of a multipurpose arena at the GICC that will become the future home of the Atlanta Hawks Development League team; and plans for expansion of the Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters.
JONESBORO, GA. — Big V Capital LLC has purchased Crossroads South, a 207,404-square-foot shopping center located at 7965 Tara Blvd. in Jonesboro, roughly 17 miles south of Atlanta. The center was 91 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Kroger, Badcock Furniture, Planet Fitness, Roses, Subway, UPS and H&R Block. Big V Properties, the property management affiliate of Big V Capital, will manage the retail center. The sales price and seller were not disclosed.
MARIETTA, GA. — Ziff Properties Inc. has acquired Burnt Hickory Village, a 56,640-square-foot retail center located in Marietta, roughly 20 miles north of Atlanta, for $8.7 million. Robby Pfeiffer of Marcus & Millichap facilitated the transaction. The seller was not disclosed. Chicken and the Egg, a farm-to-table restaurant, is housed in the center.
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.