ATLANTA —The iconic Georgia-Pacific Center, a 51-story, 1.1 million-square-foot Class A office tower in downtown Atlanta, has received $112 million in refinancing. The borrower, GA-MET LLC, is a limited liability company owned by Georgia-Pacific LLC and MetLife Insurance Co. (NYSE:MET).
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of capital providers lending on deals in Atlanta during the last 24 months, especially for loans in excess of $75 million,” says Mike Ryan, senior managing director for Cushman & Wakefield's equity, debt and structured finance division operating out of Atlanta. Ryan helped arrange the loan on behalf of the borrower. “There was an extremely competitive landscape for Georgia-Pacific Center from the lending community. The impeccable rent roll, institutional sponsorship, modest loan-to-value ratio were well within the target strike zones.”
The office tower has served as Georgia-Pacific's headquarters since it was constructed in 1982. Georgia-Pacific is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of tissue, packaging, paper, pulp and building products.
“Georgia Pacific Center has been a fixture in Atlanta's skyline for 30 years. An asset of this caliber received considerable interest from the lending community,” says Bill Runge of MetLife.
Ryan, Brian Linnihan, Jeff Walker and Larry Johnson of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the loan on behalf of Georgia-Pacific LLC and MetLife Insurance Co.
MetLife's stock price closed Friday at $34.65 per share, up from $31.46 a share at this time a year ago.
— John Nelson