VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., a Virginia Beach-based retail REIT, has acquired 14 shopping centers in South Carolina and Georgia for $71 million, making it the REIT’s largest portfolio purchase to date. Wheeler REIT purchased the portfolio from Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. KeyBank Real Estate Capital provided the bulk of the acquisition financing on behalf of Wheeler REIT, and Dallas-based Revere Capital provided an $8 million loan. Brian O’Flanagan of Revere Capital’s Dallas office originated the loan. The acquired portfolio consists of 603,142 square feet and has a combined occupancy of 92 percent with grocery-anchored tenants that include Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo and Piggy Wiggly. The Shoppes at Litchfield Market Village in Pawleys Island, S.C., is one of the properties. The others include a Piggly Wiggly-anchored center in Georgetown, S.C., as well as locations in Greenwood, Mullins, Bluffton, Lexington, St. Matthews, Columbia and Ridgeland in South Carolina and one location in Darien, Ga. Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS Real Estate Partners’ Atlanta office brokered the transaction.
MARIETTA, GA. — Atlanta United FC, Major League Soccer’s (MLS) 22nd franchise, has released details and renderings for its $60 million training facility underway in Marietta, a northern suburb of Atlanta. Designed by Atlanta-based tvsdesign, the project will include six playing fields and a 30,000-square-foot facility that will house both the professional and academy teams for the club, which will begin its first MLS season in 2017. Located along Marietta’s Franklin Road on a 33-acre site, the training facility will be used by professional and soccer academy players, along with the club’s executive and soccer operations staff. The project is expected to bring 80 high-paying jobs to the area. Atlanta United will play in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium currently under construction in downtown Atlanta. The team is owned by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and is led by club president Darren Eales.
CARTERSVILLE, GA. AND RIVERVIEW, FLA. — Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II Inc. has purchased two grocery-anchored shopping centers in Cartersville and Riverview. The properties include the 375,067-square-foot Bartow Marketplace in Cartersville and the 78,442-square-foot Bloomingdale Hills in Riverview. Bartow Marketplace’s tenant roster includes a 204,170-square-foot Walmart Supercenter, and a 130,497-square-foot Lowe’s Home Improvement. Other tenants include Cricket Wireless, CPR Cell Phone Repair, Rue 21, World Finance Loans, Dollar Tree, Metro PCS, Pearle Vision, Gamestop, Peachstate Auto Insurance, Sally Beauty Supply and Payless Shoe Source. Bloomingdale Hills’ tenant roster includes a 57,756-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market, Happy’s Home Centers, Great Clips and Great Expressions Dental. As of April 14, 2016, Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II owns and manages 66 grocery-anchored centers totaling roughly 7.9 million square feet.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — New York Life Real Estate Investors has provided a $29.6 million for Brookside I and II, two Class A office buildings in Alpharetta totaling 267,000 square feet. Cushman & Wakefield’s Washington, D.C., office arranged the loan through New York Life on behalf of the borrower, Equus Investment Partnership X LP, a discretionary fund managed by Equus Capital Partners Ltd. The floating-rate loan features a five-year term.
CARTERSVILLE, GA. — Pattillo Industrial Real Estate has wrapped up construction on a 265,200-square-foot spec industrial facility within Cartersville Business Park. The building is situated on 34 acres at 731 Cassville White Road in Cartersville, a northwest suburb of Atlanta. The facility is roughly a half-mile from I-75 and features 30-foot clear heights, a white reinforced TPO roof system, 185-foot truck court, 24 dock high doors, an ESFR sprinkler system, T5 fluorescent lighting and 61 spaces for trailer parking.
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based Pellerin Real Estate has announced the name of its $20 million, 110,000-square-foot redevelopment project in Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood — The Beacon Atlanta. The project is a revitalization of six warehouses at 1039 Grant St. along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Southside Trail within blocks of Zoo Atlanta. Upon completion, The Beacon Atlanta will feature retail space, a fitness studio, wellness center, beauty salon, food market, loft office space and food and beverage production facilities. Construction is set to begin in late 2016, with a planned opening in the late summer of 2017.
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. — Avison Young’s Atlanta office has arranged a 91,000-square-foot office lease at 1715 N. Brown Road in Lawrenceville, a northeast suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. Sage Software, an accounting and business management software firm, will lease the space for five years. Chet Koenig of Avison Young represented the landlord, Clarion Partners, in the lease transaction.
ATLANTA — Charlotte-based FCA Partners has announced three new tenants joining The Exchange, a 44,500-square-foot retail center in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The new tenants joining the previously announced Storico Fresco Pasta and YEAH! Burger include SculptHouse, Kohler Signature Showroom and Kale Me Crazy. SculptHouse, a boutique fitness destination, will occupy 3,600 square feet; Kohler Signature Showroom, a home furnishing store, will occupy 7,100 square feet at the “elbow” of the property along the connecting paseo; and Kale Me Crazy will occupy 1,300 square feet for its newest superfood café. The project is a redevelopment of the former Buckhead Exchange. FCA Partners expects for construction on the redevelopment to wrap up this month. Stephanie McCall of The Shopping Center Group is The Exchange’s exclusive leasing agent.
KATHLEEN, GA. — Walker & Dunlop has closed a $19.9 million acquisition loan for Houston Lake, a 300-unit, Class A apartment complex in Kathleen, roughly 20 miles south of Macon. Dustin Swartz of Walker & Dunlop’s Bethesda, Md., office led the team that structured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Freddie Mac’s CME program on behalf of the borrower, Denver-based Miller Frishman Group. The loan features three years of interest-only payments. Approximately 35 percent of the community’s residents are active and civilian military employees at nearby Robins Air Force Base, which is located about 14 miles southwest of Houston Lake. Built in 2008, the property features gated access, walking trails, poolside grills, a clubhouse, fitness center, playground, basketball court and a tennis court.
BROOKHAVEN, GA. — Emory University has purchased roughly 60 acres of commercial property at Executive Park, an office park located near the interchange of North Druid Hills Road and I-85 in Brookhaven. The private university purchased the property, totaling roughly 400,000 square feet of office space in nine buildings, from Equity Commonwealth for an undisclosed price. Emory has several programs operating at Executive Park, including Orthopaedics, Brain Health, Medical Science Education, Continuing Education and Health Information Technology, according to James Wagner, president of Emory University.