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The Inside Scoop on the People & Places that Shape Atlanta Real Estate | |
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One Tough S.O.B.
Projected vision of Streets of Buckhead.
Among other things, 2010 proved that what doesn't happen can be just as intriguing as what does. So what didn't happen? Not much dirt - or concrete or steel - moved at the Streets of Buckhead (S.O.B.) in 2010, and then San Diego-based OliverMcMillan was brought in by the billion-dollar, mixed-use development's financial backers to complete the massive project Ben Carter Properties started in 2006 before the economy soured.
We also expected an announcement regarding the site of a new Buckhead high school by the end of 2010. Atlanta Public Schools did eliminate the Paces Apartments site on East Andrews Drive from the mix, leaving us to wonder what's next for the centrally located development.
Our sources indicate that a couple of sites remain in contention for the new school, including IBM property on Northside Parkway and the former West Paces Medical Center site at Howell Mill and Northside.
One more thing that hasn't happened ... yet: CB Richard Ellis Investors and North American Properties' closing on pieces of Atlantic Station, including the 271 17th St. office building and 586,000 square feet of retail. We can't imagine why a complex transaction at a complex development with an owner with more than its share of complex problems might take so long to close. Eastdil Secured represents owner AIG in the deal.
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What's Happenin'? M&A
Lee & Associates sponsors local charities Bright Futures Atlanta and Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity.
Mergers and acquisitions and the executive moves that go along with it were what's happenin' in 2010.
Toronto-based services firm Avison Young swept in like an Alberta Clipper, hiring former Grubb & Ellis EVP Steve Dils in January. Over the year, Dils put together a successful recruiting push that brought in Phil Barry, Matt Tritschler, Brent Weitnauer and Chip Watson, and Avison Young took a big step toward solidifying its status in the Southeast with the acquisition of Hodges Management and Leasing Co. The HMLC deal not only added a nearly 20 million square foot leasing and management portfolio for Avison Young, but also included deal makers like Chet Koenig, Bruce Logue and Tommy Crowe as well as former Hodges' and new Avison Young principals Todd Blalock, Krista Reid, Chris Stanley and Belinda Lauderbaugh.
Avison Young wasn't the only growing firm to establish a new beachhead in Atlanta and the Southeast, though. Los Angeles-based Lee & Associates partnered up with Bryant Commercial Real Estate.
Lee & Associates is prominent in the Western U.S., but Dick Bryant, who founded Bryant Commercial in 2004, was unfamiliar with the company until it came calling. Bryant liked Lee's structure - a series of joint ventures owned by the principals and no debt - as well as the opportunity to expand client services. The merger already has led to 700,000 square feet of referrals for the new Lee & Associates Atlanta office.
"We've been looking for a way to broaden our footprint for a couple of years," Bryant said. "I really liked the idea that we have one company comprised of a series of local operating companies that have a common partnership and technology and marketing, and it allows us to retain back office and other functions that can be handled more efficiently locally."
Both Dils at Avison Young and Bryant at Lee & Associates will play integral roles as their new firms expand across the Southeast. |
By the Sea
The Cloister at Sea Island.
One era ended and a new one began on Georgia's coast as the Jones family lost control of Sea Island Co. and their luxury resort serving the rich and powerful since the 1920s. Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management, New York-based Avenue Capital Group, Denver-based Anschutz Group and Starwood Capital of Greenwich, Conn., formed a partnership that won Sea Island's four resorts, three golf courses and two private clubs with a bid of $212.4 million.
Dallas-based Stratford Land bought the remainder of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.
Well, not really, but it seems that way, with the land fund's acquisition of 17,181 acres in Glynn and Camden counties from Sea Island Co., and the notes on two industrial parcels near the Port of Savannah to go along with the company's 5,100 acres at RiverPort in Hardeeville, S.C. In December, Stratford and a group of South Carolina-based investors acquired 15 Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head, S.C., residential and commercial properties totaling 7,390 acres. Closer to home, Stratford Land also bought 112 acres at Suwanee Gateway in Gwinnett County.
Stratford Land has patient capital and no debt and can ride out a down market as it seeks more land opportunities, especially in metro Atlanta and Nashville, said David Moore, director of investments in Georgia, North Florida and Tennessee.
"We've had some great opportunities presented to us," Moore said. "Land can be a risky opportunity from an investment perspective, and banks and other financial institutions were ready to get it out the door." |
A Star is Born
Mayor Kasim Reed, Chris Cooney of UEU/Screen Gems, and John Raulet of Raulet Property Partners.
State tax incentives for movie and television production have helped turn metro Atlanta and the state into Hollywood South, making celebrity sightings a relatively routine occurrence.
A celebrity in his own right, John Raulet of Raulet Property Partners played a big role in furthering Atlanta's film and TV future, brokering a 50-year lease between the city and UEU/Screen Gems that is transforming 30 acres at Lakewood Fair Grounds into sets and more than 100,000 square feet of production space, including a new 37,500-square-foot sound stage. |
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