NEWS & NOTABLES

ATLANTA—Hotel Equities named Tucker Stallings as the business development coordinator. Stallings reports to Joe Reardon, senior vice president of business development and marketing.

Stallings will focus on marketing deliverables, owner relations through development, and transition as well as underwriting. Stallings comes to Hotel Equities from the 151-room St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. He began his career in hospitality more than five years ago at the Hampton Inn Greenville, NC.

ATLANTA—Atlanta-based multifamily owner and management firm JMG Realty has been ranked one of the 50 largest multifamily managers in the country by the National Multifamily Housing Council when it released its annual list of Top 50 Managers, as reported by Multifamily Executive Magazine. Since 1990, the NMHC has released its results each year for the Top 50 Managers and serves as the authoritative rankings of the nation's leading apartment firms. In 2016, JMG experienced strong portfolio growth to move them into this year's rankings. To continue the growth of their management footprint, JMG opened a new regional office earlier in 2016 which oversees the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast portfolio's where they continue to see opportunities.

NASHVILLE—JLL entered into a new contract with the State of Tennessee to manage state-owned properties, including public colleges and universities that choose to leverage Tennessee's innovative facilities management program. Success of Tennessee's facilities management outsourcing program, initiated in 2013, drove the state's decision to include more state properties for professional management and maintenance. Results of the initial project, which included 10 percent of state properties, yielded better service and more than $26 million in savings through fiscal year 2016 (including $6 million in utility savings). It is on track for $40 million in savings by the end of 2017 and $50 million in five-year taxpayer savings by June 30, 2018.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—CT Realty acquired 213 acres of industrially zoned land in Atlanta. CT Realty, through its affiliate Port Logistics Realty, acquired the parcel, along with an option on an adjacent 145 acres, and is developing Palmetto Logistics Park, a three-building, 3.5 million-square-foot industrial project. Palmetto Logistics Park will be built in three phases, with buildings ranging in size from 1 million square feet to 1.5 million square feet. Palmetto Logistics Park is represented by Ben Logue and Price Weaver in the Atlanta office of Colliers International.

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA—Avison Young's Atlanta office brokered an office lease for 53,000 square feet at 1715 North Brown Road in Lawrenceville. M3 Accounting Services has inked a 10-year deal. Chet Koenig, a principal with Avison Young's Atlanta leasing team, represented New York-based investment manager Clarion Partners, LLC in the transaction. Clarion Partners is acting on behalf of a commingled fund managed by the firm.

CLEVELAND, TN—Avison Young completed the sale of an 851,370-square-foot General Electric Company lighting distribution facility in Cleveland. Avison Young principals Erik Foster and Mike Wilson, represented the seller, Chicago-based SMB Bradley, a real estate private equity firm with interests in over $2.5 billion of real estate throughout the country. The buyer was Lexington Realty Trust, based in New York, NY. Financial details were not disclosed. The Foster/Wilson team worked in conjunction with Avison Young principals Sue Earnest in Nashville, and Chris Skibinski in Charlotte. The building, at 1520 Lauderdale Memorial Highway, is GE's largest lighting distribution center in the country and serves some of the world's leading retailers, including Walmart, Lowes and Target. The facility was built to meet the specific needs of GE Lighting. The tenant occupies the entire building. “Investors continue to seek high-quality corporate distribution facilities with long-term tenants in place,” says Foster. “This asset, which is a critical location for GE Lighting, provides the stability and growth potential that investors want.”

ATLANTA—HFF secured $11.5 million in acquisition financing for Castleberry Southard, a dominant 80,018-square-foot, Publix-anchored neighborhood retail center in the affluent Atlanta submarket of Cumming, Georgia. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, New Market – Castleberry, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Market Properties, to place the 10-year, fixed-rate financing with Principal Global Investors. HFF brokered the sale of this property to the borrower in a previously announced transaction. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrowers was led by senior managing director Ed Coco and associate Matt Casey.

HAMMOND, LA—Arbor Realty Trust funded a $13.470 million loan for Tangi Lake Townhomes in Hammond. This 185-unit multifamily property was funded under the Fannie Mae DUS Loan product line. The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule.

ATLANTA—Hines and Cousins Properties announced that Crown Castle, the nation's largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure, has signed a 55,622 square-foot lease at 8000 Avalon, a 224,000-square-foot class A office development in Atlanta. 8000 Avalon is the only high-rise office building in Avalon, a leading mixed-use development in North Atlanta. Hines and Cousins entered into a joint venture to develop the $73 million project, which is currently under construction. With the addition of Crown Castle, 8000 Avalon is now 65% leased.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ATLANTA—Sales launched for the 53-story tower that will soon rise over Midtown Atlanta, No. 2 Opus Place (No. 2). Located within the 4.5-acre, mixed-use destination, Opus No. 2 will be the tallest residential tower in Atlanta. Homes will range from 980 to 5,000 square feet with pricing starting at about $700,000 and going up to $12 million. Construction is slated to begin this Fall 2017 with anticipated move-ins at the end of 2019. No. 2 is expected to be fully complete by early 2020.

This week in the Southeast saw plenty of wins for commercial real estate firms large and small. Retail news is rising. And an industrial project is getting underway.

BY THE NUMBERS

Multi-tenant construction surges in Atlanta. As market fundamentals improve, construction of retail space will increase in 2017, doubling the number of completions from the prior year. (Source: Marcus & Millichap)

A large portion of these deliveries will be multi-tenant properties, many of which are pre-leased. Major multi-tenant projects include the Battery at SunTrust Park, near the Braves' new ballpark. The 500,000-square-foot project is fully leased and includes Yard House and Wahlburgers, along shopping and other dining options. (Source: Marcus & Millichap)

NEWS & NOTABLES

ATLANTA—Hotel Equities named Tucker Stallings as the business development coordinator. Stallings reports to Joe Reardon, senior vice president of business development and marketing.

Stallings will focus on marketing deliverables, owner relations through development, and transition as well as underwriting. Stallings comes to Hotel Equities from the 151-room St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. He began his career in hospitality more than five years ago at the Hampton Inn Greenville, NC.

ATLANTA—Atlanta-based multifamily owner and management firm JMG Realty has been ranked one of the 50 largest multifamily managers in the country by the National Multifamily Housing Council when it released its annual list of Top 50 Managers, as reported by Multifamily Executive Magazine. Since 1990, the NMHC has released its results each year for the Top 50 Managers and serves as the authoritative rankings of the nation's leading apartment firms. In 2016, JMG experienced strong portfolio growth to move them into this year's rankings. To continue the growth of their management footprint, JMG opened a new regional office earlier in 2016 which oversees the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast portfolio's where they continue to see opportunities.

NASHVILLE—JLL entered into a new contract with the State of Tennessee to manage state-owned properties, including public colleges and universities that choose to leverage Tennessee's innovative facilities management program. Success of Tennessee's facilities management outsourcing program, initiated in 2013, drove the state's decision to include more state properties for professional management and maintenance. Results of the initial project, which included 10 percent of state properties, yielded better service and more than $26 million in savings through fiscal year 2016 (including $6 million in utility savings). It is on track for $40 million in savings by the end of 2017 and $50 million in five-year taxpayer savings by June 30, 2018.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—CT Realty acquired 213 acres of industrially zoned land in Atlanta. CT Realty, through its affiliate Port Logistics Realty, acquired the parcel, along with an option on an adjacent 145 acres, and is developing Palmetto Logistics Park, a three-building, 3.5 million-square-foot industrial project. Palmetto Logistics Park will be built in three phases, with buildings ranging in size from 1 million square feet to 1.5 million square feet. Palmetto Logistics Park is represented by Ben Logue and Price Weaver in the Atlanta office of Colliers International.

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA—Avison Young's Atlanta office brokered an office lease for 53,000 square feet at 1715 North Brown Road in Lawrenceville. M3 Accounting Services has inked a 10-year deal. Chet Koenig, a principal with Avison Young's Atlanta leasing team, represented New York-based investment manager Clarion Partners, LLC in the transaction. Clarion Partners is acting on behalf of a commingled fund managed by the firm.

CLEVELAND, TN—Avison Young completed the sale of an 851,370-square-foot General Electric Company lighting distribution facility in Cleveland. Avison Young principals Erik Foster and Mike Wilson, represented the seller, Chicago-based SMB Bradley, a real estate private equity firm with interests in over $2.5 billion of real estate throughout the country. The buyer was Lexington Realty Trust, based in New York, NY. Financial details were not disclosed. The Foster/Wilson team worked in conjunction with Avison Young principals Sue Earnest in Nashville, and Chris Skibinski in Charlotte. The building, at 1520 Lauderdale Memorial Highway, is GE's largest lighting distribution center in the country and serves some of the world's leading retailers, including Walmart, Lowes and Target. The facility was built to meet the specific needs of GE Lighting. The tenant occupies the entire building. “Investors continue to seek high-quality corporate distribution facilities with long-term tenants in place,” says Foster. “This asset, which is a critical location for GE Lighting, provides the stability and growth potential that investors want.”

ATLANTA—HFF secured $11.5 million in acquisition financing for Castleberry Southard, a dominant 80,018-square-foot, Publix-anchored neighborhood retail center in the affluent Atlanta submarket of Cumming, Georgia. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, New Market – Castleberry, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Market Properties, to place the 10-year, fixed-rate financing with Principal Global Investors. HFF brokered the sale of this property to the borrower in a previously announced transaction. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrowers was led by senior managing director Ed Coco and associate Matt Casey.

HAMMOND, LA—Arbor Realty Trust funded a $13.470 million loan for Tangi Lake Townhomes in Hammond. This 185-unit multifamily property was funded under the Fannie Mae DUS Loan product line. The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule.

ATLANTA—Hines and Cousins Properties announced that Crown Castle, the nation's largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure, has signed a 55,622 square-foot lease at 8000 Avalon, a 224,000-square-foot class A office development in Atlanta. 8000 Avalon is the only high-rise office building in Avalon, a leading mixed-use development in North Atlanta. Hines and Cousins entered into a joint venture to develop the $73 million project, which is currently under construction. With the addition of Crown Castle, 8000 Avalon is now 65% leased.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ATLANTA—Sales launched for the 53-story tower that will soon rise over Midtown Atlanta, No. 2 Opus Place (No. 2). Located within the 4.5-acre, mixed-use destination, Opus No. 2 will be the tallest residential tower in Atlanta. Homes will range from 980 to 5,000 square feet with pricing starting at about $700,000 and going up to $12 million. Construction is slated to begin this Fall 2017 with anticipated move-ins at the end of 2019. No. 2 is expected to be fully complete by early 2020.