The Atlanta office market has continued down a path of steady recovery and absorption, although the pace remains somewhat muted from prior recovery cycles. As outside investors have warmed up to the city of Atlanta, they have been comforted by a safe and positively boring period of growth. For the last couple of years, investors have been committed strongly to value-add opportunities throughout metropolitan Atlanta, including areas that have historically been out of favor like Alpharetta and Peachtree Corners. The fundamental improvements in the market rents and occupancy continue to support bullish forecasts for office space in Atlanta with significantly low vacancy and steady rent growth. Atlanta’s office market sits at 12.1 percent vacancy, 6 percent rent growth and 3.6 million square feet of positive net absorption after several years of consistent absorption and falling vacancy. With value-add being a buzz word throughout the Southeast, many investment sales brokers have taken core assets and found ways to present them as opportunities for value-add in an effort to reach a larger pool of investors. Investor appetite continues to be measured and very focused on downside risk versus upside potential. This has inflated the return expectations for very solid real estate, making …
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Avison Young has brokered the $57 million sale of Milton Park, a two-building office campus spanning 320,000 square feet in Alpharetta. Matt Tritschler of Avison Young represented the buyer, Adventus Realty Trust, in the transaction. The seller and sales price were undisclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that a venture between Talcott Realty Investors LLC and Greenstone Properties were represented by CBRE and sold the assets for $57 million. Milton Park is situated off North Point Parkway near North Point Mall and Avalon. The two six-story buildings were 88 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Landis+Gyr, Pegasystems and Schneider Electric.
BROOKHAVEN, GA. — Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) has broken ground on its Center for Advanced Pediatrics ambulatory care center, a new 260,000-square-foot facility situated at I-85 and North Druid Hills Road in Brookhaven, a suburb of Atlanta. Located at 1400 Tullie Road N.E., the Center for Advanced Pediatrics will house 457 physicians and employees and anticipates managing more than 100,000 patient visits in the first year. The development cost was undisclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that contractors familiar with the project estimate that the facility could cost anywhere from $90 million to $120 million to build. Pulmonology, neurology, cardiology and diabetes are a few of the specialties that will move into the new building, which will be centrally located to CHOA’s three hospital campuses: Egleston, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite. Basic imaging and phlebotomy services will also be available at the facility. In addition to physician space, the six-story property will have telemedicine capabilities, flexible exam rooms, a teaching classroom and a demonstration kitchen. Additional features of the site include gardens and green space around the building and a dedicated parking deck. CHOA has not announced an expected completion date.
BRASELTON, GA. — Peachtree City, Ga.-based Randolph Williams has completed construction of The Lodge by Chateau Elan, a new Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton hotel located on the estate of Chateau Elan in Braselton. Located at 5159 Golf Club Drive, the 95-room hotel will feature free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour fitness center, meeting space and an outdoor pool with views of Chateau Elan’s vineyard. Chateau Elan Hotels & Resorts manages the hotel, which offers access to Georgia’s largest winery, 63 holes of golf, a 35,000-square-foot spa and seven restaurants.
DORAVILLE, GA. — Urbana Holdings LLC has purchased Peachtree Pavilion, a 167,488-square-foot shopping center situated adjacent to the new Assembly mixed-use development, which is currently being constructed on the 165-acre site of the former GM assembly plant in Doraville. The sales price and seller were undisclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports Crimson Peachtree Road Holdings LLC sold the property to Urbana Holdings for $14.5 million. Peachtree Pavilion is anchored by H Mart, an Asian-themed grocery chain with 59 locations in the United States.
To understand the state of retail in Atlanta in 2005, you first looked at where and what developers were building, then to where retailers were locating and lastly to how consumers were shopping. Simply put, if a developer built it and a retailer occupied it, the consumer was sure to shop there, but that’s no longer the case. To understand the state of retail in Atlanta today, you need to start with the Atlanta consumer. Go Big or Go Home From 2000 to 2010, the Atlanta Regional Commission reports metro Atlanta added over 1 million residents with an additional 2.5 million people projected to be added between 2015 and 2040. Further, according to a study by the University of Georgia, half the state’s population growth is concentrated in just three Atlanta metro counties — Fulton, Gwinnett and Forsyth. A big driver for the growth is jobs, especially those in high-paying sectors like information, professional services, science and technology. EMSI reports that two of the counties making up Atlanta’s metropolitan area, Forsyth and Coweta, are in the top eight of large counties for skilled job growth. Additionally, Forbes claims Atlanta is now growing its business service sector faster than New York, …
MIAMI — Related Development LLC, a Miami-based mixed-use and multifamily developer and affiliate of The Related Group, has six projects set to begin construction in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Atlanta. The Florida projects include the 399-unit Tampa Tribune, a waterfront apartment community located at 202 S. Parker St. in Tampa; Town at Westshore Marina District, a 396-unit mid-rise apartment community located in Tampa’s Westshore district; Town Maitland at Trelago, a 350-unit townhome and Big House multifamily development located in Orlando; and Town Southern, a 392-unit garden-style apartment community located on Southern Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach. In Atlanta, Related Development has two projects planned in Atlanta’s Midtown and Buckhead districts. The developments include a 77,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, which is Phase II of Related’s 390-unit Apogee Midtown development; and Apogee Buckhead, a 35-story high-rise comprising 362 residential units above three levels of retail and office space.
SAVANNAH, GA. — PCCP LLC and a major national bank have provided a $135 million loan to The Kessler Enterprise Inc. for the development of Plant Riverside District, a $270 million, five-building mixed-use project in Savannah’s Historic District. Situated along the Savannah River, the development will include a 419-guestroom JW Marriott hotel, 13 food and beverage outlets, 22,000 square feet of meeting space, high-end retail space and a 488‐space parking garage. The project will include the repurposing of the historic Georgia Power Plant Building that will house 163 guestrooms, a spa and a portion of the project’s meeting space and food and beverage outlets. Kessler has selected general contractor Hunt Construction, locally based design architect Sottile & Sottile and production architects John T. Campo & Associates Architects and PFVS Architecture for Plant Riverside District’s design team. The ownership has commenced construction with completion anticipated for early 2019.
ATLANTA — On behalf of developer New City Properties, general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie is currently constructing 725 Ponce, a 12-story mixed-use tower situated along Ponce de Leon Avenue and the Atlanta BeltLine. The project will feature Class A loft office space situated atop an urban prototype Kroger and a three-level, below-grade parking deck. The project will face the BeltLine and will feature rooftop terraces with views of Historic Fourth Ward Park, Ponce City Market and the downtown Atlanta skyline. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in mid-December that featured Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Atlanta City Council Member Kwanza Hall, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. and other dignitaries.
ATLANTA — GLL Real Estate Partners has purchased The Forum at West Paces, a nine-story, 220,000-square-foot office tower located at 3290 Northside Parkway in Atlanta’s Buckhead submarket. The Munich-based real estate fund management group bought the Class A asset from Atlanta-based Cousins Properties for an undisclosed price. Built in 2001, The Forum at West Paces was 96 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including healthcare and financial institutions, wealth managers, attorneys, investment funds and other professional services. The building features tenant balconies on every floor, onsite security, a fitness center and an adjacent five-story parking garage. CBRE’s Atlanta office represented Cousins Properties in the transaction.