Weeks Robinson will also replace Cousins on the master development team for Ft. Gillem, a 1,427-acre military base in suburban Atlanta, but Cousins will continue to have a financial participation in that redevelopment. Cousins does not have plans to replace Robinson or Currie, and any operating industrial properties will now be managed internally by its office/multifamily division.

"Combined with their departure, this land sale means Cousins is not pursuing new speculative industrial development opportunities in Atlanta, giving us more time and resources for office, retail, residential and mixed-use opportunities," says Tom Bell, chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties. "Those have been our core businesses for decades, and we believe they can deliver the best returns for our shareholders."

Robinson and Weeks' collaboration comes as no surprise since the two have worked together for more than 30 years. They served as president and chairman at Weeks Corp., a company they made public as a REIT in 1994, then sold to Duke Realty in 1999. Robinson then went on to serve as president of Miami-based Codina Group before joining Cousins to start an industrial division in 2004. Since 2004, Weeks has also partnered with Cousins to develop industrial buildings in Atlanta. For the past three years, Weeks has been working as chairman of the BeltLine Partnership to advance the Beltline, an innovative urban renewal project in Atlanta.

Cousins will continue to manage its diverse portfolio, which include interests in 7.7 million sf of office, 4.8 million feet of retail, 24 residential communities under development and 9,000 acres of land tracts. The company also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors.