ATLANTA — The RADCO Cos. has purchased Legends of Dunwoody, a 532-unit, Class B apartment community located in Atlanta, for $60 million. The Atlanta-based multifamily investment firm will invest roughly $8.7 million on capital improvements and rebrand the property Radius Sandy Springs, the second community under RADCO’s Radius brand. RADCO Residential will manage the property, which is the 24th community that RADCO owns in metro Atlanta. RADCO financed the acquisition using a $50.4 million Freddie Mac loan and $21.6 million in private capital. The renovations will include unit interior upgrades, building repairs, a remodeled clubhouse, pool deck expansion, new pool, new dog park additions, exterior lighting upgrades, landscaping and a refurbished tennis court. Built in 1980, Radius Sandy Springs is situated in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter office submarket, home of State Farm’s new East Coast hub and the corporate relocation of Mercedes-Benz USA.
Georgia
Portman Holdings Breaks Ground on $400M Coda at Tech Square Project in Midtown Atlanta
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — Portman Holdings has broken ground on Coda at Tech Square, a 770,000-square-foot mixed-use development at the edge of Georgia Tech’s campus in Midtown Atlanta. The development cost was undisclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the project as costing $400 million to construct. Upon completion in early 2019, Coda at Tech Square will feature advanced research facilities, a high-speed data center, dining options, outdoor gathering spaces and collaborative office space. The design team includes architect and engineer John Portman & Associates and general contractor DPR Construction.
ATLANTA — Sumitomo Corp. of Americas has closed its $222.5 million purchase of Atlanta Financial Center, a three-building, Class A office asset in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The 914,774-square-foot property is located on Peachtree Road and sits directly atop the Buckhead MARTA station and has the GA 400 highway run directly underneath. Atlanta Financial Center was 85 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as SunTrust Bank and Morris, Manning and Martin. Situated blocks from Lenox Square mall and Phipps Plaza, the property includes a nine-level parking garage with 2,335 parking spaces. Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, a New York-based subsidiary of global Japanese investment firm Sumitomo Corp., plans to upgrade Atlanta Financial Center’s common areas, amenities and building systems and equipment, as well as re-landscape an on-site park. Eastdil Secured brokered the sale.
ATLANTA — A joint venture between Wingate Cos. and Columbia Residential has opened City Lights Apartment Homes, an 80-unit affordable seniors housing community in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta. The units, all one-bedroom, are reserved for residents over the age of 62. Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. provided construction financing for City Lights, which comprises a four-story building spanning 93,333 square feet. Financial partners on City Lights included Community Affordable Housing Equity Corp., Sugar Creek Capital, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, The City of Atlanta, InvestAtlanta and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The design team included architect JHP Architecture/Urban Design and general contractor Agile Construction. The project is part of a redevelopment plan for Village of Bedford Pine, and Wingate has announced Phase II of the redevelopment, a 96-unit affordable community called Station 464, which will not have any age restrictions. Four existing buildings will be torn down to make way for construction of the five-story Station 464. Wingate plans to start construction of that project as early as 2017.
Seefried, Cabot Properties to Develop 281,000 SF Spec Industrial Property in Metro Atlanta
by John Nelson
AUSTELL, GA. — A joint venture between Seefried Industrial Properties and Cabot Properties has closed on its purchase of 27.5 acres of land at Cobb West Business Park in Austell for the development of a new 281,000-square-foot spec industrial facility. NAI Brannen Goddard represented the seller, Jadow Realty Co., in the land sale. Seefried-Cabot has selected Mike Chambers, Jack Haden and Brad Pope of NAI Brannen Goddard to market the property for lease. The joint venture plans to deliver the facility in the third quarter of 2017.
ATLANTA — SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) has closed on its previously announced acquisition of all of the assets of the operating subsidiaries of Pillar Financial LLC, which includes receiving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration Agency license transfer approvals. The assets include Pillar’s multifamily lending business, which comprises affordable housing, healthcare properties, seniors housing and manufactured housing specialty teams. The assets also include Chicago-based Cohen Financial’s commercial real estate investor services business, advisory services and offering loan administration, as well as its mortgage banking business. The Pillar team has joined SunTrust’s Commercial Real Estate (CRE) division, which is part of the bank’s Wholesale Banking segment. CRE provides banking and capital markets services to commercial real estate developers, owners and operators through various lending platforms. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey served as financial advisor to SunTrust Banks for this transaction. Beekman Advisors acted as the strategic advisor for Pillar.
Third & Urban, Trillium Management to Redevelop Property Along Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — Third & Urban and Trillium Management plan to redevelop the former Western Electric Building at 820 Ralph McGill Blvd. in Atlanta. The 85,000-square-foot asset is situated along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail and currently houses Two Urban Licks. Third & Urban and Trillium have signed a lease with a partnership between Mitch Steele, Carey Falcone and Bob Powers for a 20,000-square-foot brewery and restaurant that will include a BeltLine-facing biergarten and a rooftop bar. Steele is the former brewmaster at Stone Brewing, a brewery headquartered in Southern California. The co-developers have also signed a 7,000-square-foot lease with The Diligence Co., a hospitality concept that will be opening a Latin-inspired brasserie, or informal restaurant, at the project. Third & Urban and Trillium are marketing the remaining 23,000 square feet for office, retail or entertainment uses. The project features 600 linear feet of frontage on the BeltLine and is situated across from Fourth Ward Park. Architect ai3 is leading the design of the redevelopment, which will feature a BeltLine-facing façade and park space. The co-developers will break ground on the redevelopment in February with completion scheduled for next summer.
Ready Capital Structured Finance Closes $7.9M Loan for Multifamily Conversion in Buckhead
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — Ready Capital Structured Finance, a commercial real estate bridge and mezzanine lender, has closed on a $7.9 million, interest-only loan for Pharr Manor Residences, a Class B, 48-unit condominium property in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The undisclosed borrower will use the financing to acquire Pharr Manor and convert the asset into a rental property. Ready Capital Structured Finance closed the non-recourse loan that features a two-year term with one extension option, flexible pre-payment and a facility to provide future funding for capital expenditures, interest and carry reserves.
Duke Realty Signs Armada Warehouse to 447,606 SF Industrial Lease in South Atlanta Prior to Construction
by John Nelson
EAST POINT, GA. — The Atlanta office of Duke Realty Corp. has signed Armada Warehouse Solutions to a long-term lease for a new 447,606-square-foot, build-to-suit industrial facility at 3707 N. Commerce Drive in East Point, a southern suburb of Atlanta. Duke Realty had been designing its next speculative building on the site prior to inking the lease with Armada. The building will be located within Camp Creek Business Center, Duke Realty’s 400-acre, mixed-use business park situated 3.3 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Armada’s new warehouse will be located near the north entrance of Camp Creek Business Center at the intersection of Camp Creek Parkway and North Commerce Drive just off I-285. The cross-dock building will feature 36-foot clear heights and include 82 dock doors, 100 automobile parking spaces and 87 trailer spaces. Additionally, the space will contain approximately 107,700 square feet of freezer/cooler space inside the building. Kris Bjorson, Chris Watts and Alan Clayton of JLL represented Armada in the lease deal, while Wes Hardy represented Duke Realty internally. Construction is expected to start this month with an expected delivery in July 2017.
DULUTH, GA. — Biscayne Atlantic, a South Florida-based real estate investment group, has sold the Gwinnett Commerce Center, a 213,600-square-foot, 10-story office building located in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, for $26.8 million. The name of the buyer was undisclosed. The Class A office building’s tenant roster includes The College Board, Mutual of Omaha, Department of Veteran Affairs, Penske Truck Leasing, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Travelsky. Biscayne Atlantic purchased the Gwinnett Commerce Center in July 2013 for $20 million and invested approximately $1 million in capital improvements to upgrade the building’s operations and modernize the lobby and common areas. During Biscayne Atlantic’s ownership of the property, occupancy increased from 73 percent to 85 percent and NOI jumped by 25 percent.