Cousins Opens Avenue West Cobb at 87% Occupancy

ATLANTA-Using a mix of traditional mall merchants and selected local businesses in an open-air environment, Cousins Properties Inc. has set a local leasing record by opening its 206,000-sf, $38 million The Avenue West Cobb shopping center at Dallas Highway (GA 120) and Due West Road at 87% occupancy.

The leasing level would have been over 90% had all the commitment contracts been signed prior to opening, company officials say. “Retailer interest has been excellent since we first started working on this project in 2001,” says Joel Murphy, president, Cousins’ retail division. He adds the opening occupancy figure “exceeds our already high expectations” for the property.

“I think the success says much about the growing acceptance of our Avenue concept, the new ways retailers are approaching their customers, and most of all, about the quality of the West Cobb community and its residents,” Murphy says.