The overall snapshot is that Atlanta’s economy is on a growth tract in terms of employment and corporate growth, and has definitely rebounded from the recession and its previous overbuilding. Economic growth and the current lack of speculative development are driving the improvement in the retail market. Rental rates, occupancy levels, absorption, leasing momentum and pricing are increasing. In addition, new retailers are entering or looking to enter the market. However, the retail market’s improvement varies across the metro region. Vacancy and Rental Rates Due to positive absorption and leasing momentum in both vacant and sublease space, the overall occupancy rate and average rental rate for Atlanta’s retail inventory have been increasing. According to CoStar’s third quarter retail market update, the overall vacancy rate is now down to 8.8 percent and the average rental rate is $12.78 per square foot. However, when you break it down by submarket and property types, rental rate and occupancy gains vary significantly. Quality shopping centers in strong submarkets and locations have experienced very strong gains, yet Class B and C centers and those located in certain submarkets are still lagging the overall market. The Buckhead, Central Atlanta, Central Perimeter and Georgia 400 submarkets are …
SAVANNAH, GA. — Johnson Development has been awarded the lease to develop a new Veteran’s Affairs (VA) medical facility in Savannah. The new 69,000-square-foot healthcare clinic will replace the existing 25-year-old VA clinic. Johnson Development will be breaking ground on the new clinic in the spring. New outpatient services that will be provided in the new facility include eye care, audiology, physical rehabilitation, prosthetics and a special women’s center. The anticipated completion date is summer 2016.
ATHENS, GA. — Landmark Properties has begun construction on The Mark, a 928-bed student housing project with 38,400 square feet of retail space and 41,000 square feet of Class A office space. Located adjacent to the campus of the University of Georgia at the intersection of Oconee and Broad streets in downtown Athens, The Mark will offer 14 different floor plans including studios, one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom apartments. The Mark will provide students with an amenity package that includes a clubhouse, fitness facilities, a golf simulator, racquetball court, indoor basketball court, tanning beds, computer lab with private and group study rooms and an Internet café. A rooftop resident center will feature a large fitness center overlooking a two-tiered rooftop pool with cabanas, a Jumbotron, outdoor grilling areas and a stadium-view rooftop lounge. The top level will also feature a “VIP” floor with private rooftop patios and a select number of private hot tubs. A Landmark subsidiary, Landmark Construction, will serve as the project’s general contractor. Niles Bolton Associates is the architecture firm and Williams & Associates is the engineering firm.
AUGUSTA, GA. — Waypoint Residential has acquired the Estates at Perimeter, a 240-unit, Class A apartment community located at 50 St. Andrews Drive in Augusta. Built in 2007, the property was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale. The community’s amenities include a saltwater swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, business center, media room, playground and a newly decorated clubhouse. Waypoint plans to upgrade the units with new lighting packages, plantation blinds, ceiling fans and faux wood flooring in the kitchens and baths. In addition, amenities will be improved and a pet park will be added at the property. The Estates at Perimeter is Waypoint’s third acquisition in the state of Georgia. Waypoint also manages The Hamptons at East Cobb in Marietta and Village on the Green Apartments in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Noble Investment Group, in a joint venture with Simon Property Group, has broken ground on the AC Hotel Buckhead. The 166-room hotel will be located at the intersection of Peachtree and Wieuca roads in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood across from the Nordstrom at Phipps Plaza. This will be AC Hotels by Marriott’s first hotel in the Atlanta area. Upon completion in early 2016, the hotel will feature an AC Lounge, 2,500 square feet of meeting space, the AC Library, a fitness center and an indoor pool.
ATLANTA — Pierce Education Properties (PEP) has purchased 100 Midtown, an off-campus student housing community serving Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University students, for $28 million. KeyBank Real Estate Capital provided PEP with $14.3 million in debt financing for the acquisition. The 330-bed, 118-unit 100 Midtown is located across from the Georgia Tech campus in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. The fully furnished community features two- and four-bedroom units, each equipped with modern appliances and washers and dryers. PEP will be adding large, flat-screen TVs in every unit. Property amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, movie theater, computer lab, video gaming room, conference room and study rooms. 100 Midtown also houses a Chinese restaurant on-site, Chinese Buddha.
ATLANTA — NCR Corp., a consumer transaction technologies company with approximately 29,000 employees worldwide, has entered into an agreement to build a new world headquarters campus in Midtown Atlanta. NCR also plans to maintain its presence in the northern suburbs of Atlanta with a second campus. The new headquarters will be located at Centergy North at Technology Square on Spring Street. The new campus will be ready late in 2017 or early in 2018. The location for the campus in the northern suburbs is yet to be finalized, but it is expected to open during a similar timeframe, according to NCR Corp. “Technology is a critical sector for our local economy and we are honored to have NCR locate its global headquarters in Atlanta,” says Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “Every day, businesses are voting with their feet and choosing the city of Atlanta as the place to bring their dreams and build their businesses. The best companies in the world are building their brands here, strengthening our economy and confirming Atlanta’s place as a leading city for business.”
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based developer Jamestown has revealed 13 new retail tenants for its Ponce City Market development, a 2 million-square-foot, adaptive reuse project in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Ponce City Market is a retrofitting of the 1920s-era Sears, Roebuck & Co. building on Ponce de Leon Avenue, which is located along the Atlanta Beltline. The property features a marketplace with a central food hall (opening in spring 2015), loft apartments and boutique office space. The retail tenant roster includes The Frye Company (4,135 square feet); Oakleaf & Acorn (700 square feet); The Jean Machine (1,200 square feet); Williams-Sonoma Home (9,251 square feet); Madewell (3,017 square feet); West Elm (13,750 square feet); Anthropologie (11,618 square feet); Mountain High Outfitters (6,900 square feet); Rejuvenation (6,000 square feet); Goorin Bros. Hat Shop (1,000 square feet); J. Crew (5,382 square feet); Michael Stars (1,539 square feet); and Lou Lou Accessories (1,200 square feet). The retailers will begin to open their stores in the spring in conjunction with the opening of the central food hall, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
ATLANTA — KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III (KBS REIT III) has signed a 24,829-square-foot office lease with Georgia Tech Research Corp. (GTRC) at 171 17th St. in Atlanta. The 21-story, Class A office tower at 171 17th St. is located in the Atlantic Station mixed-use development. The office building was the first LEED Silver Core and Shell-certified building in the world, according to KBS REIT III. Glenn Kolker and Sonia Winfield of Cassidy Turley represented KBS REIT III in the lease transaction.
BROOKHAVEN, GA. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of The Clairmont, a 288-unit apartment community located at 3078 Clairmont Road in Brookhaven, a northeast suburb of Atlanta. New York-based GFI Capital Resources Group Inc. sold the asset to an affiliate of Equus Capital Partners Ltd., which will rename the property Madison Brookhaven. Equus plans to invest $3 million in capital improvements to the property, which was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. The apartment community features a clubhouse, fitness center, two pools and a dog park. Equus affiliate Madison Apartment Group will manage the property. Ron Cameron and Will Matthews of Colliers International’s Atlanta office represented GFI Capital in the transaction.