CBRE Brokers $19M Outpatient Campus Sale, 400K SF Industrial Lease

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

A three-building outpatient campus located in Marietta recently traded in a $19.2 million deal brokered by CBRE’s U.S. Healthcare Capital Markets Group.

The Northside/East Cobb Medical Campus, totaling 69,341 square feet, is nearly 97 percent occupied by high-profile, long-term tenants such as Northside Hospital—Atlanta’s largest Gastroenterology group, one of Atlanta’s leading women’s health and pediatrics group, a top orthopedic clinic, and one of the largest OB/GYN groups in the Southeast.

The three-building campus is anchored by the Northside Hospital, widely regarded as one of Atlanta’s largest and most respected health care systems; on-site services include primary care and an imaging center.

Lee Asher and Chris Bodnar with CBRE’s U.S. Healthcare Capital Markets Group represented the seller in the transaction.

CBRE was also the broker in a recent lease renewal and expansion on behalf of national supplier of doors, windows, frames and building hardware, American Building Supply. The company has renewed its lease for 330,000 square feet at 4475 South Fulton Parkway, in the Airport submarket of Atlanta. Due to the company’s recent growth, American Building Supply has leased an extra 100,000 square feet in an adjacent building that was recently vacated.

Both the renewal and the extension have been signed for a ten-year period, with CBRE’s senior vice president David Nixon and first vice president Chad Burd representing the tenant.

Image: Northside/East Cobb Medical Campus via Ackerman & Co.

149-Room HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria Opens

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

Atlanta is now home to the first HYATT house hotel in Georgia, following this week’s opening of the 149-room HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria.

The result of a joint effort between Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Noble Investment Group and Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria is located in Atlanta’s Northwest Corridor at the intersection of Interstate-75 and Interstate-285 in the Cobb Galleria. This places it near the global headquarters of Home Depot and the Atlanta offices of IBM, Manhattan Associates, General Electric, SITA and Lockheed Martin. The hotel is right across from One Overton Park Galleria and is a short drive to Saint Joseph Hospital, Northside Hospital and Kennestone Hospital.

The HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria consists of 149 residentially inspired upscale king guestrooms, studio, one- and two-bedroom Kitchen Suites—featuring fully operational kitchens with refrigerators, icemakers, convection microwave ovens, dishwashers, stoves, small appliances and utensils, topped by comfortable living space and bedrooms with walk-in showers.

The hotel has also been equipped with nearly 2,000 square feet of flexible, high-tech meeting/function space for business or social gatherings, an H BAR featuring HYATT house’s new Sip+Savor Menu and a 24/7 Guest Market, plus complimentary grocery shopping available to extended-stay guests.

“Every signature element at HYATT house departs from the traditional extended-stay experience to meet the needs of today’s consumers, in particular those frequent travelers looking for a strong community environment,” said Ben Brunt, principal, Noble Investment Group.

HYATT house, a brand of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, offers more than 50 locations throughout the United States. The concept has recently earned the top spot in the upscale extended stay category in Business Travel News’ 2012 Hotel Chain Survey, based on a survey of corporate travel buyers. Additionally, the brand was named one of the 10 Best Hotel Chains for Families by Parents Magazine.

 Image via HYATT house Atlanta/Cobb Galleria official website

Alternative Apparel Extends Norcross Lease to 131,000 Sq. Ft.

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

Clothing brand Alternative Apparel has chosen to consolidate and expand its headquarters at Indian Brooks business park in Norcross, Ga., having recently signed a long-term, 131,000-square-foot lease renewal.

As of May 1, Alternative Apparel will start occupying the new space and will vacate the 85,000 square feet it holds in two industrial buildings within the office park. The company will consolidate its operations under one roof at 1650 Indian Brook Way. The expanded space will serve as the hub for distribution of Alternative Apparel’s casual clothing lines to its domestic and international customers, as well as provide office space for customer support, operations, finance and other administrative functions. Alternative Apparel currently employs 120 workers in Norcross and a total of 170 employees companywide.

Alternative Apparel CEO Evan Toporek is confident that the consolidated space will ensure the company’s ability to maintain optimum inventory levels as it carries out its growth plans. The company currently has two other office locations, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. It also currently operates two retail stores in Los Angeles and plans on opening a new retail store each quarter over the next three years in key cities across the United States.

In other commercial real estate news, Jamestown has reportedly agreed to sell its 28-story 999 Peachtree to Franklin Street Properties for $158 million. While no official statement has been made, sources familiar with the deal say Eastdil Secured has brokered the transaction, expected to close on July 1, 2013. Current seller Jamestown had purchased the building in February 2007 from the original developer, Childress Klein Properties, for $127 million.

Image 999 Peachtree, courtesy of Jamestown

Metro Atlanta Successfully Attracting Corporate Expansions and Relocations

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

Recent leases and expansions stand as clear proof of the increasing attractiveness of the metro Atlanta area for both national and foreign companies.

Outsourcing giant Infosys recently disclosed an expansion strategy for its Cumberland location in Cobb County that involves adding approximately 200 new jobs in the next fiscal year. Moreover, the company is considering additional expansion in the metro Atlanta area over the next two years. The upcoming expansion will involve adding more space at the company’s 30,000-square-foot office in the Wildwood office park in Cobb County for its business process outsourcing (BPO) unit; Infosys is also occupying 40,000 square feet in the Powers Ferry Landing office complex, employing about 300 people in the Atlanta area.

“Infosys is an integral part of metro Atlanta’s technology community and we are pleased that it has decided to expand operations here following the opening of their new business center last year,” said Hans Gant, senior vice president of Economic Development at Metro Atlanta Chamber. “Maintaining our close ties with India and companies like Infosys is central to our growth strategy for the region and it is through collaboration with our partners that these success stories continue to happen.”

Orlando-based Bitcoin payment processor BitPay will soon be relocating its headquarters to Buckhead. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, BitPay plans to open a software development center at Atlanta Tech Village—a 100,000-square-foot office building on track to being converted into a tech company hub.

Eye care provider Thomas Eye Group is also planning a $9 million expansion that will significantly increase its Atlanta footprint. The company’s current St. Joseph Clinic and Ambulatory Surgery Center will be relocated to a newly purchased building at the corner of Barfield Road and Hammond Drive. The project scope will include a renovation of the exterior, the addition of a drop-off canopy and a complete build-out of the interior. Working with project partners Denver-based Marasco & Associates and Atlanta-based Wakefield Beasley Associates, construction is scheduled to begin next month and will be completed by November 2013.

In addition to the Atlanta office relocation, Thomas Eye Group’s existing Roswell Clinic will add nearly 3,000 square feet of space with a complete renovation of the interior allowing for a third eye care provider.

Good things may also be in store for the 376,351-square-foot Cobalt Center office development on Windward Parkway, currently competing for a company that would relocate its nearly 400,000-square-foot operations to metro Atlanta. While the name of the potential tenant has not yet been disclosed, the Atlanta location will be competing with others in Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and Texas for the deal.

Image courtesy of Thomas Eye Group

Lincoln Property Co. Tapped to Lease 332 K SF Metro Atlanta Portfolio

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

OA Development—an Atlanta-based company that specializes in the acquisition, development, management and brokering of commercial properties—has awarded leasing assignments for an additional 332,000 square feet of space to Lincoln Property Company Southeast.

The assignments include the three-building Peachtree Corners Technology Center, in Norcross, Ga., which features 162,000 square feet of office/flex space; and the six-building Royal Phoenix Business Park in College Park, Ga., which features 160,000 square feet of office/flex space. OA Development owns and manages the properties.

Following these new assignments, Lincoln Property Company Southeast is now leasing a total of 770,000 square feet of properties in metro Atlanta for OA Development. Lincoln  has hired Jeff Henson, previously with Resource Real Estate Partners, to join Hunter Henritze and Michael Howell, both vice presidents of office leasing for Lincoln.

“We are pleased that OA Development has chosen to expand our relationship and it has given us an opportunity to grow our team in an effort to provide expanded leasing coverage,” said Tony Bartlett, senior vice president of Lincoln. “The addition of Jeff Henson will make this strong team even stronger. Jeff is an aggressive, hard-working self-starter who will be a powerful addition to the Howell-Henritze team.”

The metro Atlanta office market is showing clear signs of improvement, gaining more than 1.1 million square feet of new tenancy during calendar year 2012, a level not achieved since 2007. According to CBRE, the occupancy gains follow four consecutive years of overall negative or negligible absorption, and helped to drive overall vacancy down to 22.3 percent.

Chart courtesy of CBRE