NEWS & NOTABLES

NEW ORLEANS, LA—McGlinchey Stafford PLLC added three associate attorneys in the firm's Louisiana offices: Laura C. Cannon in New Orleans and Rachal Cox and Aukse Joiner in Baton Rouge. Cannon's practice includes commercial litigation and consumer financial services litigation. Cox practices in the areas of commercial litigation and consumer financial services litigation. Joiner has practiced law since 2005 and has extensive experience in a variety of state and federal litigation matters at the pre-trial and appellate levels in the areas of banking and financial services, real estate, commercial litigation, and consumer litigation.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Topgolf has confirmed Huntsville as its second Alabama location. Topgolf will be located on the property being redeveloped into MidCity. Construction on the 53,000-square-foot venue begins in March and is expected to open in late December 2017 or early January 2018. Topgolf will create 325 full- and part-time jobs at this location. The new three-level venue will feature 1,500 square feet of private event space and 72 climate-controlled hitting bays that can host up to six players at one time. Topgolf estimates it will serve approximately 300,000 visitors in its first year of operation. Nearly half of all Topgolf guests describe themselves as “non-golfers.”

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA – FCA Partners just announced Sephora has joined the tenant line-up at The Exchange, a retail center in Buckhead. A redevelopment that included new facades and architectural upgrades revitalized the 44,500-square-foot center at Peachtree Road and Grandview Avenue. Scheduled to open early summer, Sephora will occupy the 4,800-square-foot corner unit along Peachtree Road adjacent to YEAH! Burger that will be under construction this spring. The retail center is about 56% leased.

ATLANTA—Franklin Street arranged the $5.65 million sale of The Avery, a boutique multifamily property located at 419 Chamberlain Street in the Sweet Auburn district of the Old Fourth Ward. The sale represents the largest per unit apartment price for a 1960s-era multifamily property in Atlanta. Ricky Jones and Jake Reid of Franklin Street's Atlanta office represented the seller, a local private investor, in the marketing of the newly-renovated, 30-unit property. The buyer is a local private investor that plans to continue operating the asset and anticipates future growth through the continued improvement of the Sweet Auburn district. “This property is now one of the trophy assets in the Sweet Auburn district of Atlanta and a great success story of revitalizing a previously troubled asset,” says Reid, senior director for Franklin Street's investment sales team. “The owner went above simply renovating the asset by including modern day amenities including a dog park, outdoor areas and a fire pit along with interior Wi-Fi enabled HVAC and lighting.”

BATON ROUGE, LA—Gov. John Bel Edwards and Entergy Corporation executives broke ground on Entergy Louisiana LLC's new 980-megawatt power station in Saint Charles Parish, which will provide additional energy for Entergy Louisiana's more than 1 million electric customers. Entergy Louisiana will make an $869 million capital investment in the Saint Charles Power Station, with the economic impact of the plant felt statewide. The new plant will reduce fuel costs for all Entergy Louisiana customers and increase reliability in the region from east of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area to the Mississippi state line and south to the Gulf of Mexico, including greater New Orleans. At the peak of building activity, the project will generate 700 construction jobs on site and support 3,400 indirect jobs in the state.

JACKSON, MS—Boulder Group completed the sale of a single tenant net leased FedEx Office property located at 226 East Capitol Street in Jackson for $490,000. The 1,869-square-foot property is a relocation of a store in the downtown Jackson business district. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder Group represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was a Southern real estate investment company. The purchaser was a Southern private real estate investor. “Properties featuring long term leases to national tenants remain at the forefront of investor demand.” says Blankstein, president of Boulder Group.

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Curtis Shepard, vice president of NorthMarq Capital's Saint Louis-based regional office, arranged the $12 million refinance of Lake Terrace Garden Apartments, a 184-unit multifamily property located at 1610 Robert East Lee Boulevard in New Orleans. The transaction was structured with a 12-year term on a 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged financing via Fannie Mae for the borrower, Lake Terrace Apartments, LLC.

SEA ISLAND, GA—The Cloister Ocean Residences have sold more than $18.8 million in luxury, shared ownership real estate since summer 2015. The oceanfront development, located on the exclusive Southern coastal resort of Sea Island. The gated community is now 70% sold out. Randy Burgess, project director for The Cloister Ocean Residences, says current owners and potential buyers have shown an increased interest due to limited availability. In 2016 more than $123 million in sales were made by Sea Island Properties, up 21% over the prior year.

FLORENCE, AL—Dick's Sporting Goods is planning a significant addition to its Florence, AL store in the Cox Creek Shopping Center, owned and operated by U.S. Properties Group. The Field & Stream concept store will join the Dick's Sporting Goods on property in one super store over 60,000 square feet, with a projected opening on August 8th, 2017. In a separate note, Best Buy announced it would not be renewing its lease. In late February, they will be consolidating to a nearby city.

MURFREESBORO, TN—National Health Investors funded the remaining $11.9 million mortgage and mezzanine loan commitment to affiliates of Senior Living Management, headquartered in Coconut Creek, FL, to facilitate the acquisition of five senior housing communities operated by SLM. Four of the facilities have primary debt financing by HUD. The NHI loans totaling $24.5 million exist under a master credit agreement maturing in August 2021, and bear interest at 8.25% annually. The financing expands NHI's relationship with SLM to 15 communities in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, including 10 communities leased to SLM.

BUILDING BLOCKS

LOUISVILLE—Marriott International announced the opening of Aloft Louisville East, the brand's second Aloft in Louisville. Owned by M&T, LLC and developed by CRM Companies/PWM Real Estate Holdings, LLC, Aloft Louisville East features 126 spacious loft-style rooms, more than 3,500 square feet of flexible meeting space and live music performances at the hotel's signature W XYZ Bar and the outdoor Carloftis Courtyard. Aloft Louisville East is close to Baptist East, Tom Sawyer Park, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, numerous corporate offices and an abundance of retail shopping.

Deal flow was scattered across the Southeast this week, with Louisiana seeing a greater number of notable deals than I've witnessed in the past few months for our mid-market. Atlanta office numbers continue rolling in and recreation real estate continues gaining a foothold in the Southeast.

BY THE NUMBERS

Atlanta office asking rents are pushing higher. Class A rent for the region continued to increase, rising by .1% to $27.22. For the first time on record, the average asking rent for class B space exceeded $20, jumping by 3% in the fourth quarter to $20.12. As a result, build-out costs are likely to increase in 2017 due to a shortfall in skilled labor. (Source: Savills Studley)

Investors remain bullish on Atlanta's office market, with sales of office buildings in the region totaling $3.8 billion as of November 2016. While that is roughly 16% below the $4.5 billion sold in 2015, the market is still a hot destination for buyers thanks to the region's moderate climate, affordable cost of living and access to intellectual capital.

NEWS & NOTABLES

NEW ORLEANS, LA—McGlinchey Stafford PLLC added three associate attorneys in the firm's Louisiana offices: Laura C. Cannon in New Orleans and Rachal Cox and Aukse Joiner in Baton Rouge. Cannon's practice includes commercial litigation and consumer financial services litigation. Cox practices in the areas of commercial litigation and consumer financial services litigation. Joiner has practiced law since 2005 and has extensive experience in a variety of state and federal litigation matters at the pre-trial and appellate levels in the areas of banking and financial services, real estate, commercial litigation, and consumer litigation.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Topgolf has confirmed Huntsville as its second Alabama location. Topgolf will be located on the property being redeveloped into MidCity. Construction on the 53,000-square-foot venue begins in March and is expected to open in late December 2017 or early January 2018. Topgolf will create 325 full- and part-time jobs at this location. The new three-level venue will feature 1,500 square feet of private event space and 72 climate-controlled hitting bays that can host up to six players at one time. Topgolf estimates it will serve approximately 300,000 visitors in its first year of operation. Nearly half of all Topgolf guests describe themselves as “non-golfers.”

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA – FCA Partners just announced Sephora has joined the tenant line-up at The Exchange, a retail center in Buckhead. A redevelopment that included new facades and architectural upgrades revitalized the 44,500-square-foot center at Peachtree Road and Grandview Avenue. Scheduled to open early summer, Sephora will occupy the 4,800-square-foot corner unit along Peachtree Road adjacent to YEAH! Burger that will be under construction this spring. The retail center is about 56% leased.

ATLANTA—Franklin Street arranged the $5.65 million sale of The Avery, a boutique multifamily property located at 419 Chamberlain Street in the Sweet Auburn district of the Old Fourth Ward. The sale represents the largest per unit apartment price for a 1960s-era multifamily property in Atlanta. Ricky Jones and Jake Reid of Franklin Street's Atlanta office represented the seller, a local private investor, in the marketing of the newly-renovated, 30-unit property. The buyer is a local private investor that plans to continue operating the asset and anticipates future growth through the continued improvement of the Sweet Auburn district. “This property is now one of the trophy assets in the Sweet Auburn district of Atlanta and a great success story of revitalizing a previously troubled asset,” says Reid, senior director for Franklin Street's investment sales team. “The owner went above simply renovating the asset by including modern day amenities including a dog park, outdoor areas and a fire pit along with interior Wi-Fi enabled HVAC and lighting.”

BATON ROUGE, LA—Gov. John Bel Edwards and Entergy Corporation executives broke ground on Entergy Louisiana LLC's new 980-megawatt power station in Saint Charles Parish, which will provide additional energy for Entergy Louisiana's more than 1 million electric customers. Entergy Louisiana will make an $869 million capital investment in the Saint Charles Power Station, with the economic impact of the plant felt statewide. The new plant will reduce fuel costs for all Entergy Louisiana customers and increase reliability in the region from east of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area to the Mississippi state line and south to the Gulf of Mexico, including greater New Orleans. At the peak of building activity, the project will generate 700 construction jobs on site and support 3,400 indirect jobs in the state.

JACKSON, MS—Boulder Group completed the sale of a single tenant net leased FedEx Office property located at 226 East Capitol Street in Jackson for $490,000. The 1,869-square-foot property is a relocation of a store in the downtown Jackson business district. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder Group represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was a Southern real estate investment company. The purchaser was a Southern private real estate investor. “Properties featuring long term leases to national tenants remain at the forefront of investor demand.” says Blankstein, president of Boulder Group.

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Curtis Shepard, vice president of NorthMarq Capital's Saint Louis-based regional office, arranged the $12 million refinance of Lake Terrace Garden Apartments, a 184-unit multifamily property located at 1610 Robert East Lee Boulevard in New Orleans. The transaction was structured with a 12-year term on a 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged financing via Fannie Mae for the borrower, Lake Terrace Apartments, LLC.

SEA ISLAND, GA—The Cloister Ocean Residences have sold more than $18.8 million in luxury, shared ownership real estate since summer 2015. The oceanfront development, located on the exclusive Southern coastal resort of Sea Island. The gated community is now 70% sold out. Randy Burgess, project director for The Cloister Ocean Residences, says current owners and potential buyers have shown an increased interest due to limited availability. In 2016 more than $123 million in sales were made by Sea Island Properties, up 21% over the prior year.

FLORENCE, AL—Dick's Sporting Goods is planning a significant addition to its Florence, AL store in the Cox Creek Shopping Center, owned and operated by U.S. Properties Group. The Field & Stream concept store will join the Dick's Sporting Goods on property in one super store over 60,000 square feet, with a projected opening on August 8th, 2017. In a separate note, Best Buy announced it would not be renewing its lease. In late February, they will be consolidating to a nearby city.

MURFREESBORO, TN—National Health Investors funded the remaining $11.9 million mortgage and mezzanine loan commitment to affiliates of Senior Living Management, headquartered in Coconut Creek, FL, to facilitate the acquisition of five senior housing communities operated by SLM. Four of the facilities have primary debt financing by HUD. The NHI loans totaling $24.5 million exist under a master credit agreement maturing in August 2021, and bear interest at 8.25% annually. The financing expands NHI's relationship with SLM to 15 communities in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, including 10 communities leased to SLM.

BUILDING BLOCKS

LOUISVILLE—Marriott International announced the opening of Aloft Louisville East, the brand's second Aloft in Louisville. Owned by M&T, LLC and developed by CRM Companies/PWM Real Estate Holdings, LLC, Aloft Louisville East features 126 spacious loft-style rooms, more than 3,500 square feet of flexible meeting space and live music performances at the hotel's signature W XYZ Bar and the outdoor Carloftis Courtyard. Aloft Louisville East is close to Baptist East, Tom Sawyer Park, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, numerous corporate offices and an abundance of retail shopping.