State Farm Insurance will occupy 585,000 square feet in  Park Center's first office building.

ATLANTA -- KDC has commenced construction on Park Center, a new 17-acre master-planned project in Atlanta's Central Perimeter submarket. State Farm Insurance will lease 585,000 square feet in Park Center's first office building, a 13-story property at Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center Parkway, adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA station. The office building will feature a seven-level parking structure and ground-level retail space. KDC plans to achieve LEED Silver certification. The office building is the first step in Phase I of Park Center, which will also include 17,000 square feet of retail and restaurants and a 175-room hotel. Occupancy for the first office building is slated for late 2016. At full build-out, the transit-oriented development will feature 2.2 million square feet of office space; 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; and the previously mentioned hotel. The project team includes architect Cooper Carry & Associates and general contractor Holder Construction Co.

ATLANTA -- Inland American Communities Group Inc. has broken ground on University House Midtown, a student housing project located adjacent to the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta. The 20-story, 268-unit project will be located at 930 Spring St. at the corner of Spring and 8th streets. The property will feature more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. Pre-leasing will begin in the summer with opening scheduled for August 2015. The 700-bed property will feature a resort-style pool on an elevated terrace, parking garage, business center, study rooms and fitness centers and a lounge on the top floor, which offers views of Midtown, downtown Atlanta and the Georgia Tech campus. The project team includes architect Niles Bolton Associates, civil engineer Eberly & Associates and general contractor DPR Hardin.

SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA. -- Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of General Mills Distribution Center, a 1.5 million-square-foot facility located in the I-20 corridor in Social Circle, about 44 miles east of Atlanta. The Class A facility is fully leased to General Mills. An affiliate of Welsh Property Trust purchased the asset from Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and Reus GM Inc. for an undisclosed price. Stewart Calhoun, David Meline, Samir Idris and Casey Masters of Cushman & Wakefield represented the sellers in the transaction.

DECATUR, GA. -- Lennar Commercial Investors LLC and Sterling Organization have teamed up to acquire North DeKalb Mall, a 622,297-square-foot shopping mall in the northeast Atlanta suburb of Decatur. Lennar and Sterling, along with developer Hendon Properties, plan to convert the enclosed portion of the mall into an open-air concept. Sterling will manage North DeKalb Mall. The current tenants of North DeKalb Mall include AMC Theatres, Burlington Coat Factory, Macy's, Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less.

LAS VEGAS -- The way retailers use real estate around the globe is fundamentally changing in response to shifts in consumer preferences, spending patterns and robust growth in e-commerce. International retailers are focused on acquiring high-quality retail space in markets with healthy fundamentals. London, New York, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Shanghai continue to attract top retailers and are outperforming their regional peers. Yet, these markets aren't the only pockets of opportunity, according to global retail experts at JLL. The international retail market took center stage at this year's ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas, which has drawn more than 33,000 retail and shopping center professionals, as well as 1,000 exhibitors.

LAS VEGAS -- Mark Brandenburg, executive vice president of JLL, discusses the role of retail's place in CMBS money. Retail makes up roughly one-third of total CMBS issuance, according to Brandenburg. Brandenburg's commentary came during the 2014 ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas, which drew more than 33,000 retail and shopping center professionals, as well as 1,000 exhibitors.