JOHNS CREEK, GA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $8.4 million sale of Jones Bridge Triangle, a retail center located in Johns Creek, roughly 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. The unanchored property, which totals 33,133 square feet, was fully leased to 15 tenants at the time of sale. Eric Abbott and Zach Taylor of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor, in the transaction. The buyer was also a private investor.
Mirroring sentiments expressed at the year-end ICSC conference in New York City, with the national vacancy rate hovering around 5 percent and new concepts anxious to take a foothold in the area, there continues to be tremendous optimism for the retail sector in the greater Baltimore metropolitan region. Although ground-up development projects remain rare locally, several high-profile adaptive projects are in the works that are placing smiles on brokers’ faces because they have something to lease. Value-oriented retailers, together with quick-service restaurant (QSR) concepts, are showing the most activity. Adaptive reuse The redevelopment of the iconic Harborplace festival marketplace (more on that later) is grabbing all the headlines in Charm City, but the adaptive reuse of Baltimore’s Penn Station — the epitome of a transit-oriented development and the renovation of a historic industrial building at Riverside in South Baltimore — are happening now. Beatty Development Group and Cross Street Partners are partnering with Amtrak to transform the train station originally developed in 1911 into a mixed-use project combining 1 million square feet of commercial office, retail and residential space. Destination retail and restaurants are a central core of the program. Urban Pastoral and The Wilhide Family are transforming the 135-year-old …
THOMASTON, GA. — Brightmark LLC, a recycling solutions company based in San Francisco, has announced plans for a $950 million recycling facility project in Thomaston, about 65 miles south of Atlanta. Upon completion, the “circularity center” will comprise 2.5 million square feet with the capacity to repurpose 400,000 tons of plastic per year. According to the company, the project will create 200 advanced manufacturing jobs in the central Georgia area. Plans include a $20 million investment in additive infrastructure in Thomaston, with upgrades to utilities, roadway improvements, rail access extensions and other improvements.
ATLANTA — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV) — an affiliate of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) — have completed construction of the first phase of Science Square, a mixed-use development situated adjacent to the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. Comprising 18 acres, the development features Science Square Labs, a life science building, and The Grace, a 14-story residential tower. Perkins + Will designed Science Square Labs, which totals 368,258 square feet and features lab and clean-up space. The 13-story building features a 38,000-square-foot solar panel array on top of the parking garage and 22 electric vehicle charging stations. Amenities at the property include a fitness center, conference space and private meeting rooms, and a tenant lounge and event space dubbed The Commons that features a 16,000-square-foot sky deck on the fifth floor. Portal Innovations has signed a 33,000-square-foot lease as the first tenant at the property, which includes 33,136 square feet of pre-built speculative lab and office suites, as well as space for custom-built units. The Grace, designed by Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, comprises 280 units with a mix of market-rate and affordable residences. Amenities include a bike room, club room, outdoor …
GARNER, N.C. — Johnson Brothers Mutual Distributing, a wine and beer distributor, has broken ground on a 625,000-square-foot industrial building in Garner, a southern suburb of Raleigh. Upon completion, the property will feature 40-foot clear heights with dock-high, drive-in doors and trailer parking. Johnson Brothers plans to relocate and occupy 420,000 square feet at the development in early 2026. Jim Allaire and Alexis Lambeth of Foundry Commercial will lease the remaining 205,000 square feet. LS3P designed the project, and Evans is the general contractor, with DCI serving as project manager.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $13.2 million sale of a medical office property located at 13813 Metro Parkway in Fort Myers. Constructed in 2006, the building totals 38,404 square feet. Alex Sacks, Brett Rodgers and Frank Roti of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private limited liability partnership, in the transaction. The buyer was also not disclosed.
METAIRIE, LA. — Three new tenants, all divisions of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., will open at Lakeside Shopping Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot retail center located in Metairie, roughly eight miles outside of downtown New Orleans. Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids and Hollister Co. are scheduled to open at the property this summer. The stores will feature updated prototype formats for the respective brands. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates more than 750 stores under these banners throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
ATLANTA AND NEW YORK CITY — Private equity giant Blackstone has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a franchiser of fast-casual restaurants, from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. The deal values the Atlanta-based smoothie chain at around $2 billion, including debt, according to The Wall Street Journal. Tropical Smoothie Cafe began as a single location in Destin, Fla., in 1997. The chain has grown to more than 1,400 locations in 44 states today. The company opened more than 175 locations in 2023, 70 percent of which were opened by existing franchisees. In addition to smoothies, the company sells menu items like sandwiches, salads and bowls. In the first quarter of this year, Tropical Smoothie Cafe completed 64 franchise agreements and opened 39 new stores. Its newest airport location opened at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The launch of new menu items such as Tropic Bowls helped drive overall sales, which were above the industry average in the first quarter, according to the company. “Tropical Smoothie Cafe has had an impressive growth trajectory, consistently building on its loyal customer base as it has scaled nationwide,” says Peter Wallace, a senior managing director in Blackstone’s private equity business. “Blackstone …
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL), an IT company known for its cloud-based products and services, has announced it is moving its global headquarters from Austin to Nashville in a move to focus on the healthcare sector, according to multiple media outlets. Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison announced the move at the Oracle Health Summit earlier this week, citing the Music City as a “health center.” In 2020, Oracle announced it was moving its longtime headquarters from Redwood City, Calif., to the Texas capital. In 2021, the company purchased a 60-acre riverfront site in downtown Nashville for more than $250 million with plans to develop a corporate campus. In 2022, Oracle bolstered its healthcare portfolio when it acquired electronic medical records company Cerner in a deal valued at more than $28 billion. Oracle also expanded its office presence in Nashville by leasing more than 100,000 square feet at Radius, a nine-story office building in the city’s Gulch district. According to The Tennessean, Ellison says that the riverfront campus underway in Nashville will resemble a city within a city with office buildings, a park, hotel, concert venue, restaurants and a community clinic.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Tortoise Properties, a locally based development firm, has delivered Tortoise One, a luxury multifamily development in downtown West Palm Beach. The property comprises two eight-story buildings with 264 apartments, nearly 21,000 square feet of amenities and 3,325 square feet of ground-level retail space. Tortoise One’s floor plans range from studios to two-bedroom units ranging from 548 to 1,053 square feet in size. Monthly rental rates range from $2,506 to $4,629, according to Apartments.com. Tortoise Properties recently received its final temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) for the project. The project team includes property manager Crown Residential, architect MSA Architects, interior designer Builders Design and general contract Verdex. In summer 2022, Acore Capital provided an $88.5 million construction loan for the project.
