The 20 Perimeter Summit building, developed in 1995, was formerly owned and occupied by Hewlett-Packard Co. "The outstanding design and high potential of this office tower make it a very attractive addition to our portfolio," says GE Asset Management managing director Jerry Karr, who is exclusive real estate adviser to the GE trust.

Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia Inc.'s executive director Rick Ingwers, senior director David Meline and director Stewart Calhoun represented Hewlett-Packard in the transaction. GE Asset Management vice president Gary Andrews advised the buyer.

Hines will lease and manage the building, as it does for 2002 and 2003 Summit Blvd., the other two office buildings within the park. The just-bought building's space is quoted at $21 per sf. Perimeter Summit, located in the Central Perimeter submarket of Atlanta, is an 85-acre, master-planned development zoned for up to 3.5 million sf of office space, 500 hotel rooms and 400 apartment homes.

The area's investment sales market has been booming for the past six months. Perimeter Summit, in fact, is the second office building that the trust has acquired in recent months. In September, it acquired a 41-story, 669,711-sf office building at 1180 Peachtree. That building sold for $379 per sf, according to a Grubb & Ellis third-quarter office market report.

"The investment market is red hot with an astounding number of trades this quarter," the Grubb & Ellis research team concluded in the report. "This velocity is being driven by the combination of investors' need to place capital and a growing confidence in the strength of the Atlanta economy."