Southeast

Tenants are battling it out for Atlanta’s top-tier office space as trophy availability tightens and new office construction draws to a halt. With no end to the flight-to-quality trend in sight, Class B assets accounted for a whopping 70 percent of the market’s overall negative absorption (-736,682 square feet total net) in the first quarter of 2025, while Trophy assets recorded positive absorption (+114,579 square feet). Furthermore, office buildings that delivered between 2016 and 2021, which amount to almost 14 million square feet of space, currently average 92 percent occupancy. This underscores the growing divide between the haves and have-nots in Atlanta’s office market. Premium space in demand As office leasing activity reaches its highest level since 2019, decision-makers face a rapidly evolving landscape where securing the right space requires a highly motivated and strategic approach. With rising attendance mandates, workforce expansion and a limited supply of premium office space, competition for the best locations is intensifying. In Atlanta, submarkets like Midtown and Central Perimeter continue to outperform. Mini submarkets surrounding mixed-use districts like Avalon and The Battery (i.e. “urban-edge” in the suburbs) are also in high demand among tenants craving walkability and upscale amenities in the metro’s most sought-after …

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ATLANTA — The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has launched The Biltmore at Tech Square, a 286,931-square-foot mixed-use building located within the larger 2.5 million-square-foot Tech Square innovation district of Midtown Atlanta. The Biltmore building originally opened in 1924 as a grand hotel before transitioning to office space in the 1990s. The property housed the first radio station in Atlanta. Georgia Tech purchased the property in 2016. The school has tapped Collaborative Real Estate, helmed by David Tyndall, an original co-developer of Tech Square, to oversee the Biltmore’s redevelopment. The reimagined Biltmore houses more than 100,000 square feet of Georgia Tech’s innovation sector, including the CREATE-X headquarters (Georgia Tech’s flagship student startup accelerator); Quadrant-i (Georgia Tech’s gateway for launching research-driven ventures); Office of Technology Licensing; VentureLab (home of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Southeast hub); Startup Scaling Platform; Corporate Engagement Office; and the Venture Investment Hub, as well as additional strategic partners. “Atlanta is becoming the startup capital of the South, and this next chapter for The Biltmore strengthens our momentum,” says Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “We are bringing together the people, places and resources to accelerate Atlanta’s growth as a world-class tech and innovation ecosystem.” Upon completion, …

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WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Four new tenants have signed leases to join Nora District, a $1 billion mixed-use project underway in downtown West Palm Beach. The new tenants include fine jewelry retailer LUCE; women’s fashion retailer Pompanos Boutique; group fitness gym studio SWEAT440; and eyewear brand Warby Parker, which will debut at Nora District this fall. The development team behind Nora District includes NDT Development, Place Projects and Wheelock Street Capital. The project’s first phase — which will be delivered this summer — totals more than 100,000 square feet of retail space and 55,000 square feet of creative office space. Additional confirmed tenants at the property include Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Juliana’s Pizza, IGK Hair Salon and Le Labo.

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DEERFIELD BEACH AND POMPANO BEACH, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $55.4 million sale of The Broward Collection, a two-building industrial portfolio totaling 221,045 square feet in South Florida. The first property includes 1111 SW 30th Ave., a 158,000-square-foot distribution center in Deerfield Beach that is fully leased to an undisclosed e-commerce user. The second property, which is located at 1121-1141 N.W. 31st Ave. in Pompano Beach, totals 63,045 square feet and is fully leased to two tenants. Mike Davis, Dominic Montazemi, Rick Brugge, Rick Colon and Greg Miller of Cushman & Wakefield’s Industrial Advisory Group, along with Matthew McAllister and Christopher Thomson of the firm’s industrial leasing team, represented the seller, Elion Partners, in the transaction. EQT Exeter Real Estate was the buyer.

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WINTER GARDEN, FLA. — A joint venture between Pearlmark and Ashcroft Capital has acquired Birchstone Waterleigh, a 300-unit multifamily community in the Horizon West master-planned community near Winter Garden. Birchstone Residential, Ashcroft’s in-house property management and construction management company, will operate the community. DHI Residential sold the property for an undisclosed price. Built in 2023, Birchstone Waterleigh, formerly known as Ascend Waterleigh Club, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 880 square feet to 1,563 square feet, according to Apartments.com. Amenities at the property include a resort-style, saltwater pool with a poolside pavilion, wet bar and grills; a 24-hour gym with a Peloton room; an entertainment club room with arcade; and a cybercafé with private offices and a conference room with a coffee and beverage station. The property also features an activity lawn with table tennis, a dog park, pet spa and electric vehicle charging stations.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CenterSquare Investment Management has acquired Gold Hill Commerce Park, an 11,835-square-foot retail strip center located in Charlotte. Built in 2000, the center is situated roughly 11 miles from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The property was fully leased to tenants including Marco’s Pizza, UrgentVet, Select Physical Therapy and Allen Tate Realty at the time of sale. This transaction marks CenterSquare’s 20th acquisition in the Southeast. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.

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Marvel-City-Business-Park

BESSEMER, ALA. — Range Light Investment Partners has acquired the former Mall at Westlake, a 323,000-square-foot shopping and dining destination located southwest of Birmingham in Bessemer, Ala. The Ohio-based investment firm plans to redevelop the property into an industrial flex complex that will be known as Marvel City Business Park. The former mall, which originally opened in 1969, permanently closed 40 years later in 2009 after retail activity migrated elsewhere, according to Range Light, leaving the property available for alternative purposes. “Shopping malls built from the 1960s through the 1990s were the distribution centers of that era,” says Pat Foran, founder of Range Light Investment Partners. “All of the features that made them great malls years ago are the same features light industrial and flex tenants are looking for today.” “There are many more tenants looking for 30,000 to 50,000 square feet than 300,000 to 500,000 square feet in the Birmingham area, and there are virtually no options for them,” adds Foran. “Marvel City Business Park will cater to those smaller bay-sized tenants that don’t need 36-foot-high ceilings and want more affordable rent than what the newer big box developments demand.” Situated on a 40-acre site at the intersection of interstates …

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BOCA RATON, FLA. — Grover Corlew has obtained a $61 million CMBS loan from Wells Fargo for the refinancing of two adjacent office properties in downtown Boca Raton. The assets include Palmetto Park City Center at 120 E. Palmetto Park Road and Bank of America Tower at 150 E. Palmetto Park Road. Both properties are nearing full occupancy and have the highest lease rates among comparable office buildings in Boca Raton, according to Grover Corlew. The South Florida-based investment firm has invested more than $16 million in upgrades in the past few years at both properties, including a full-floor tenant buildout for Waypoint and the addition of the Mia Rosebud at Bank of America Tower.

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PALM BAY, FLA. — JLL has secured a $48 million loan for the refinancing of Westshore Palm Bay, a 248-unit luxury apartment community located at 2331 Commerce Park Drive NE in Palm Bay, a city on Florida’s Space Coast. Brian Gaswirth, Ted Taylor, Kyle Butler, Aaliyah St. Louis and Noli Muratovic of JLL arranged the floating-rate loan through ACORE Capital LP on behalf of the borrower, Northshore Development. Built in 2023, Westshore Palm Bay features a 24-hour fitness center with on-demand virtual classes, resort-style pool with sun shelves, clubhouse and an 8-acre lake within a nature preserve. The property was 94 percent occupied at the time of financing.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Berkadia has brokered the $43.8 million sale of Highline North, a 168-unit apartment community located at 602 Highline Drive in Asheville. The seller, North Carolina-based Carlisle Residential Properties, delivered the property in 2023. Caleb Troop, Thomas Colaiezzi and Matt Robertson of Berkadia represented the seller in the transaction. Jeremy Lynch and Jake Adoni of Berkadia’s Philadelphia office originated a Freddie Mac acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer, Greenville-based Graycliff Capital. Highline North features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as three-bedroom townhomes, with units ranging in size from 822 to more than 1,500 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center with cardio and weight lifting equipment; clubhouse featuring a TV lounge, wet bar and shuffleboard; pet spa and park; salt-water swimming pool; Amazon package lockers; detached garages; and electric vehicle charging stations.

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