LOCUST GROVE, GA. — John Hancock Real Estate and CRG are teaming up to develop a 1 million-square-foot industrial building located in Locust Grove, roughly 30 miles south of Atlanta in the city’s South Atlanta industrial submarket. The facility will feature 36-foot clear heights, 236 trailer spaces, 148 dock-high doors and 386 parking spaces. CRG’s parent company Clayco will serve as the design-builder, and its subsidiary Forum Studio is the architect on the project. Situated a half mile from the Interstate 75-Bill Garner Parkway interchange, the facility will be the first component of a 311-acre development that can accommodate 4.5 million square feet of industrial space. The development team expects the building to be available for occupancy in early 2018.
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA. — SunTrust Commercial Real Estate, a division of SunTrust Banks Inc., has provided a $13.7 million loan to TPA Group for Crawford & Co.’s new global headquarters. TPA Group will use the loan to refinance and proceed with the renovation of the existing building at 5335 Triangle Parkway in Peachtree Corners, a Gwinnett County suburb of Atlanta. Crawford & Co., an independent claims management firm, expects to move its 500 employees from its existing office in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket in November. SunTrust Commercial Real Estate was the sole lender for the new facility.
ATLANTA — Coro Realty Advisors has executed a 42,361-square-foot lease with Aldi for a new grocery store at Buckhead Pavilion in Atlanta. The German-based discount grocer will replace the former Sports Authority space. Aldi, which operates 50 grocery stores in Georgia and 1,600 total across the country, plans to sublease a portion of its space, according to Coro. Situated at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Maple Drive, Buckhead Pavilion’s existing tenants include PetSmart, CVS/pharmacy, Modani Furniture and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Kirk Buttle of CBRE represented Aldi in the lease deal, while Andrea Kenney represented Coro in-house.
ELLENWOOD, GA. — Hillwood plans to build Clayton Commerce Center, a 797,580-square-foot distribution center located near Interstate 675 in Ellenwood, about nine miles east of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The facility will be Hillwood’s first metro Atlanta project built on a speculative basis. The property will include 36-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system, cross-dock configuration, 231 trailer storage spaces and 442 parking spaces for automobiles. Clayton County is the only county in metro Atlanta to be designated Tier 1 by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and Hillwood’s development is expected to offer potential tenants job tax credits and property tax reductions. Hillwood has selected Reliant Real Estate Partners to lease Clayton Commerce Center, which is expected to come on line in December.
AUGUSTA, GA. — Berkadia has arranged the $6.8 million sale of Oak Hill, a 120-unit apartment community located at 817 Hickman Road in Augusta. Nashville, Tenn.-based Augusta Hickman Road Multifamily Partners LLC purchased the asset from Lakewood, N.J.-based Oak Hill 2008 LLC. Built in 1972, Oak Hill comprises all three-bedroom units with community amenities including two swimming pools, two laundry facilities, new windows and new roofs. The community was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Mark Boyce and Blake Coffey of Berkadia’s Charleston office and Jeremiah Jarmin of the firm’s Atlanta office represented the seller in the transaction.
GAINESVILLE, GA. — Atlanta-based Branch Properties has acquired Village Shoppes at Gainesville, a 230,000-square-foot retail center located at 879 Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville. Branch purchased the Publix-anchored asset from Retail Properties of America for an undisclosed price. Other tenants include Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less, Party City, Marshalls, Shoe Carnival, Starbucks Coffee, Wingstop, The UPS Store, Great Clips and AT&T.
SMYRNA, GA. — Conlon Capital has arranged an $11.9 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of Ivy Walk Shoppes, a 42,499-square-foot retail center located at 1675 Cumberland Parkway in Smyrna’s Vining district. The retail property is situated within a mixed-use development near SunTrust Park, the new home of the Atlanta Braves in Cobb County. Rushi Shah of Conlon Capital arranged the 10-year loan on behalf of the borrower, Atlanta-based MRE-Ivy LLC. The loan features a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio and interest-only payments for 18 months.
BUFORD, GA. — Liberty Property Trust has signed ProCraft Cabinetry, a Nashville, Tenn.-based distributor of kitchen cabinets, to a 120,400-square-foot industrial lease at the REIT’s new 38-acre Liberty Business Center in Buford, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. ProCraft Cabinetry will move into Building One, located at 3525 Gravel Springs Road, in June. Both of Liberty Business Center’s LEED Silver-certified buildings feature 50- by 54-foot column spacing, 32-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinkler systems and trailer parking. Matt Nelsen of Hughes Commercial Real Estate represented ProCraft Cabinetry, and Price Weaver and Lee Cardwell of Colliers International represented Liberty in the lease transaction.
ATLANTA — Cousins Properties and Gables Residential have sold Emory Point I and II, a mixed-use property in Atlanta’s Druid Hills area comprising the 750-unit Gables Emory Point and 125,000 square feet of retail space. Blackstone purchased the development for a gross price of $199 million. The project was owned through a 75/25 joint venture between Cousins and Gables Residential, and Cousins’ portion of the sales proceeds, before transaction costs and debt payments, was approximately $150 million. Tenants at Emory Point include American Threads, Fab’rik, Francesca’s, Lizard Thicket, Loft, Fresh to Order, Marlow’s Tavern, Tin Lizzy’s, CVS/pharmacy, Earth Fare, Orangetheory Fitness, Empower Yoga and Pink Barre. Paul Berry, John Whitlow, Chris Decoufle and Kevin Hurley of CBRE represented Cousins Properties and Gables Residential in the transaction. CBRE’s Robert Kadoori secured acquisition funding on behalf of Blackstone. Atlanta-based Cousins plans to sell another $150 million to $175 million worth of assets for the remainder of 2017.
FORSYTH COUNTY, GA. — Greystar plans to develop a 300-unit apartment community and a 160-unit seniors housing property within Halcyon, a $370 million mixed-use development located off exit 12 on Ga. 400 in Forsyth County. The multifamily community, known as Elan Halcyon, will feature top-of-market amenities and 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The seniors housing property will feature 12,000 square feet of resort-style amenities, including a resident clubhouse, pool and spa, demonstration kitchen, game room, theater room, fitness center and a golf simulator. RocaPoint Partners, an Atlanta-based affiliate of The Georgetown Co., is the master developer of Halcyon. Set to open in 2018, the development will include more than 500,000 square feet of office and retail space, a high-end CMX movie theater, two hotels and 690 residential units, including Greystar’s two projects.