"It was an opportunity for us to acquire a property at a price significantly below replacement cost in a niche market," Karen Dick, executive vice president of brokerage for Ackerman and president of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's in East Cobb (County), which is an affluent neighborhood not accessible by the interstate, that is supply constrained in terms of office. It will always be a small eclectic market."

The Marietta/Kennesaw submarket consists of 2.1 million sf of inventory at a 15.4% vacancy rate, according to a Grubb & Ellis second quarter market report. Another 75,000-sf are under construction with average class A asking rents at $21.69 and class B asking rents at $18.69, says the report.

The 12-building Johnson Square Office Park on Johnson Ferry Road is 80% leased, mostly to medical tenants, says Dick. Other tenants include a software development company, small businesses and a few national tenants such as Great American Insurance. Non-medical leasing rates at Johnson Square start at $17.50 per sf up to $23 per sf for medical space.