MORROW, GA. — Dallas-based Sealy & Co. has sold a 209,210-square-foot industrial property in Morrow, roughly 14 miles south of Atlanta, for an undisclosed price. The company’s investment offefring, Sealy Strategic Equity Partners, executed the sale to enhance the fund’s key performance metrics.
The Atlanta industrial market is in the beginning stages of its third growth cycle since 1990. Vacancy has declined over the past 18 quarters, and asking rates have seen a positive trend over the same time period, increasing by 14.9 percent. These improving metrics should come as no surprise to those familiar with the history of Atlanta’s industrial market. Although the Atlanta metro is the nation’s ninth-largest metropolitan area, its industrial market represents the fourth-largest by volume. Total vacant space in the market has fallen to a 13-year low 8.7 percent, meaning the metro is once again poised for industrial expansion. Cycles One, Two and Three Atlanta’s growth cycle in the 1990s lasted just under 8 years, from 1994 until 2002, where 135 million square feet of new product was added to the market. That constitutes almost a quarter of the total 549 million square feet in the metro today. Total vacancy had fallen to 9.2 percent in the middle of 1994 and asking rates hit what was then an all-time high of $3.26 per square foot. These factors triggered a 40 percent rise in construction volume. As this cycle closed in 2001, vacancy rose back above 10 percent in …
SANDY SPRINGS AND ROSWELL, GA. — Atlanta Property Group, an investor and owner of office and industrial assets in the metro Atlanta area, has disposed of three Class B office assets in Sandy Springs and Roswell. The buildings total 125,283 square feet and include Hightower Centre I and II at 8300 and 8302 Dunwoody Place in Sandy Springs and Pavilion Center at 9755 Dogwood Road in Roswell. Kevin Markwordt and Todd Syprett of Transwestern’s Southeast investment sales group represented Atlanta Property Group in the transaction.
ATLANTA — Colliers International has brokered the sale of two industrial assets in metro Atlanta totaling 1.2 million square feet for a combined $42.1 million. Dennis Mitchell and Matt Wirth of Colliers International’s Atlanta office represented the seller, DCT Industrial, in both transactions. The properties included Eagles Landing Trade Center III, a 505,000-square-foot distribution building located at 301 Eagles Landing Parkway in Stockbridge that sold for $21 million, and a five-building industrial portfolio totaling 712,763 square feet in Atlanta’s I-20 West/Fulton industrial submarket that sold for $21.1 million.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Atlanta-based Fairlead Commercial Real Estate has purchased Embassy Row, a four-building office campus in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter office submarket, for an undisclosed price. Located on Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, the 37-acre, 551,515-square-foot campus fronts GA 400 near Abernathy Road. Fairlead partnered with Bridge Investment Group Partners, manager of the ROC Funds, to purchase the office campus from ARES Management LLC. Embassy Row’s Building 100, which is occupied by the Art Institute of Atlanta, is not part of the transaction. Fairlead and Bridge Investment plan to invest $10 million to upgrade the buildings’ operating systems, common areas and tenant amenities. Will Yowell and Justin Parsonnet of CBRE represented ARES in the transaction.
MCDONOUGH, GA. — Lincoln Property Co. Southeast has arranged three leases totaling nearly 72,000 square feet at Westridge Logistics Center, a two-building industrial campus totaling 324,112 square feet. Westridge is located in the South Atlanta industrial submarket of McDonough. Denton Shamburger of Lincoln represented the landlord in all three transactions. The deals included Thom Sawyer Logistics Solutions signing for 26,286 square feet, Legacy Commissary Services signing for 15,172 square feet and an unnamed tenant signing for 30,343 square feet. Rusty Epperson of Wilson, Hull & Neal Real Estate represented Thom Sawyer Logistics Solutions, and Bob Robers of Transwestern represented Legacy Commissary Services in their lease transactions.
SENOIA, GA. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has originated a $2.6 million loan for Starr’s Mill Academy Preschool and Childcare in Senoia, roughly 35 miles south of Atlanta. Warren Factor led Walker & Dunlop’s team to originate the refinancing through Wells Fargo’s U.S. Small Business Administration 7A loan program. The 25-year loan was structured at 85 percent loan-to-value and features a fixed 5.05 percent interest rate.
Atlanta is experiencing an influx of human capital, corporate relocations and development of distribution networks that are combining to create a robust expansionary cycle in our real estate markets. One of the most positive elements of this expansion is that it appears the underlying structure of the growth is creating stability for our city and state well into the future. It is the structure of the growth that will be a long-term difference maker. CNBC annually conducts a study and ranks the top states for doing business. These rankings are a result of assessing various criteria, including but not limited to the cost of doing business, workforce quality, access to capital and business friendliness. CNBC’s results in 2014 were very telling. Four of the top 10 states are located in the south. The South’s top 10 finalists in CNBC’s study were Georgia (1), Texas (2), North Carolina (5) and Virginia (8). In addition to these empirical studies, major corporations are voting as well. The verdict is that many organizations are choosing to relocate corporate headquarters to Atlanta. Recently, marquee brands such as Mercedes-Benz USA and State Farm all have made plans to open or expand major corporate centers in our …
HOOVER, ALA. AND MARIETTA, GA. — Steadfast Apartment REIT has acquired two apartment communities in Alabama and Georgia in two separate transactions totaling a combined $88.5 million. The two properties total 900 apartment units and include the 720-unit Ridge Crossings Apartments in Hoover and the 180-unit Rosemont at East Cobb in Marietta, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The REIT purchased Ridge Crossings for $72 million, making it the company’s first acquisition in Alabama. The property’s units average 1,107 square feet with average in-place rents of $862 per month. Ridge Crossings’ amenities include two swimming pools, a tennis court, playground, fitness center, laundry center, car wash area, pet park and walking trail. The property is currently 94 percent leased. Steadfast purchased Rosemont at East Cobb for $16.5 million, making it the company’s fourth acquisition in Georgia. The property is currently 96 percent occupied with in-place rents averaging $824 per month and unit sizes averaging 1,056 square feet. The property’s amenity package includes a fitness center, business center, tennis court, volleyball court, swimming pool and barbecue area. Steadfast is planning to extensively renovate both properties in the near future.
JULIETTE, GA. — Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General Corp. has opened its 12,000th store in the small, historic town of Juliette. Dollar General anticipates opening 730 new stores in 2015 and plans to remodel or relocate an additional 875 stores. “It is exciting to open our 12,000th store and move into new communities where we can serve customers with everyday low prices, convenience and great service,” says Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and CEO. With 12,000 stores in 43 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America.
