NEWS & NOTABLES

ATLANTA—6525 The Corners in Peachtree Corners, Georgia received the International TOBY Award at the 2017 Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference & Expo in Nashville. 6525 The Corners won in the “Under 100,000 Square Feet” category. The property is managed by CBRE and owned by Glenfield Capital.

ATLANTA—Newmark Knight Frank has attracted its second senior hire in 12 weeks as top corporate broker Stephanie Marino joins the Atlanta office as senior managing director. Marino will reunite with former colleagues Steve Morgan and Brett Hunsaker to extend the firm's investment sales, tenant representation, landlord representation, capital markets and advisory expertise. Marino comes to the firm after five years as a senior vice president with Avison Young's Office Properties, Healthcare and Enterprise Solutions Groups, where she partnered with Morgan for four years. Morgan joined NKF as an executive managing director in late April 2017. Marino will work alongside Morgan again.

ATLANTA—Church's Chicken hired David Knies as vice president of franchise development. To facilitate its rapid expansion throughout the nation, Knies' role was created to support the executive vice president of US Operations, Peter Servold in his newly expanded role, announced earlier this month. Knies will oversee three newly created director roles—director of new business, director of real estate, and the recently appointed director of construction, Wayne Stubbs. Knies is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee where he earned his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Accounting and Finance.

ATLANTA—CommScope is hosting “The Evolution of the Workplace” workshops in four US cities in August. These single-day events, available to registered guests at no cost, will include presentations by intelligent building experts from CommScope, Navigant Research, IBM and JLL. “The technology evolution in commercial buildings is astounding and includes applications for energy efficiency, space utilization, enterprise mobility, data analytics and the overall in-building experience,” says Ed Solis, director, Enterprise Strategy, CommScope. “To make sense of so much change requires partnerships, advisors and collaborators, which is why CommScope is bringing together players from across the industry for these workshops.” The workshop is coming to Atlanta on August 2.

DEAL TRACKER

MOBILE, AL—Lightstone acquisition of three multifamily rental properties in Mobile, adding a total of 1,327 units to their national holdings. The three multifamily properties most recently acquired are all located in the heart of Mobile and were purchased for $70.5 million. They include: The Estates at Lafayette Square; Pine Bend & Hampton Park; and Bel Air. “Some of the best growth opportunities available right now are in secondary markets like Mobile,” David Lichtenstein, chairman and CEO of Lightstone. All three multifamily properties were constructed in the 1970s and were excellently maintained by the former owner, Morguard, a Canadian REIT, for over 20 years.

BARTLETT, TN—HFF closed the sale of Bartlett Towne Center, a 192,624-square-foot, Kroger-anchored neighborhood retail center in the Memphis-area community of Bartlett. HFF marketed the property for the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors. Branch Properties, LLC purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing directors Jim Hamilton and Richard Reid and associate Brad Buchanan. “Bartlett Towne Center represented a rare opportunity to acquire a dominant, high-performing Kroger-anchored shopping center in the fast-growing Memphis MSA,” says Hamilton.

NORCROSS, GA—Admiral Capital Group and Elite Street Capital acquired The Fields Peachtree Retreat (formerly known as Ashley Lakes Apartments), a 240-home community located in the Peachtree Corners section of Norcross. The property represents the second Atlanta MSA multifamily investment in Admiral's most recent fund, Admiral Capital Real Estate Fund II, and its first joint venture with ESC. “The Fields Peachtree Retreat represents an opportunity to dramatically improve a well-located asset in a very strong submarket of Atlanta,” says David Whitby, Elite Street's chief investment officer. “ESC currently owns over 2,000 units in Georgia, and the Norcross market continues to be a top performer in the state with strong job growth projections and limited multifamily supply. We are very excited to invest in this property with our partners at Admiral.”

MEMPHIS—Inland Real Estate Acquisitions facilitated the acquisition of 49 newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties, totaling 651,216 square feet across 16 states, for a total purchase price of more than $211 million. Joe Cosenza, vice chairman of the firm and president, facilitated the transaction on behalf of an Inland affiliate, with the help of David Neboyskey and Kristin Orlando, in-house counsels. The CVS Pharmacy properties are located in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont.

SELMA, AL—Diversicare Healthcare Services acquired a 103-bed skilled nursing center in Selma for $8.75 million. This acquisition increases the number of centers operated by the company to 77 and is expected to contribute in excess of $8 million in annual revenues. Kelly Gill, CEO, says, “This acquisition was the 47^th we have completed since we began our focused expansion and is the 11^th acquisition that included the purchase of the real estate. As such, we now own the real estate for 18 of our 77 centers. Looking at our current geographical footprint, we have the opportunity for a seamless integration process by our operations team.”

BUILDING BLOCKS

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Hollingsworth Companies broke ground on its sixth industrial building project in SouthPoint Industrial Park, AL. This is the second facility started within the last two months and is a replacement for a building that was leased early this month. The 108,960-square-foot class A steel building, with 32-foot clear height and LED lighting is suitable for warehouse or manufacturing space.

ATLANTA—This week in the Southeast saw some musical chairs, awards and plenty of deals in the region's secondary and tertiary markets. A new industrial building is also rising that should turn prospective tenants' heads.

BY THE NUMBERS

Atlanta stands out as a strong tech-job creator and tech talent attractor, with more than 20, 500 more tech jobs than graduates, behind only San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle. (Source: CBRE)

With a rate of 48.9%, Atlanta ranked third among the top markets for education attainment, behind Seattle and Washington, DC. (Source: CBRE)

NEWS & NOTABLES

ATLANTA—6525 The Corners in Peachtree Corners, Georgia received the International TOBY Award at the 2017 Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference & Expo in Nashville. 6525 The Corners won in the “Under 100,000 Square Feet” category. The property is managed by CBRE and owned by Glenfield Capital.

ATLANTA—Newmark Knight Frank has attracted its second senior hire in 12 weeks as top corporate broker Stephanie Marino joins the Atlanta office as senior managing director. Marino will reunite with former colleagues Steve Morgan and Brett Hunsaker to extend the firm's investment sales, tenant representation, landlord representation, capital markets and advisory expertise. Marino comes to the firm after five years as a senior vice president with Avison Young's Office Properties, Healthcare and Enterprise Solutions Groups, where she partnered with Morgan for four years. Morgan joined NKF as an executive managing director in late April 2017. Marino will work alongside Morgan again.

ATLANTA—Church's Chicken hired David Knies as vice president of franchise development. To facilitate its rapid expansion throughout the nation, Knies' role was created to support the executive vice president of US Operations, Peter Servold in his newly expanded role, announced earlier this month. Knies will oversee three newly created director roles—director of new business, director of real estate, and the recently appointed director of construction, Wayne Stubbs. Knies is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee where he earned his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Accounting and Finance.

ATLANTA—CommScope is hosting “The Evolution of the Workplace” workshops in four US cities in August. These single-day events, available to registered guests at no cost, will include presentations by intelligent building experts from CommScope, Navigant Research, IBM and JLL. “The technology evolution in commercial buildings is astounding and includes applications for energy efficiency, space utilization, enterprise mobility, data analytics and the overall in-building experience,” says Ed Solis, director, Enterprise Strategy, CommScope. “To make sense of so much change requires partnerships, advisors and collaborators, which is why CommScope is bringing together players from across the industry for these workshops.” The workshop is coming to Atlanta on August 2.

DEAL TRACKER

MOBILE, AL—Lightstone acquisition of three multifamily rental properties in Mobile, adding a total of 1,327 units to their national holdings. The three multifamily properties most recently acquired are all located in the heart of Mobile and were purchased for $70.5 million. They include: The Estates at Lafayette Square; Pine Bend & Hampton Park; and Bel Air. “Some of the best growth opportunities available right now are in secondary markets like Mobile,” David Lichtenstein, chairman and CEO of Lightstone. All three multifamily properties were constructed in the 1970s and were excellently maintained by the former owner, Morguard, a Canadian REIT, for over 20 years.

BARTLETT, TN—HFF closed the sale of Bartlett Towne Center, a 192,624-square-foot, Kroger-anchored neighborhood retail center in the Memphis-area community of Bartlett. HFF marketed the property for the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors. Branch Properties, LLC purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing directors Jim Hamilton and Richard Reid and associate Brad Buchanan. “Bartlett Towne Center represented a rare opportunity to acquire a dominant, high-performing Kroger-anchored shopping center in the fast-growing Memphis MSA,” says Hamilton.

NORCROSS, GA—Admiral Capital Group and Elite Street Capital acquired The Fields Peachtree Retreat (formerly known as Ashley Lakes Apartments), a 240-home community located in the Peachtree Corners section of Norcross. The property represents the second Atlanta MSA multifamily investment in Admiral's most recent fund, Admiral Capital Real Estate Fund II, and its first joint venture with ESC. “The Fields Peachtree Retreat represents an opportunity to dramatically improve a well-located asset in a very strong submarket of Atlanta,” says David Whitby, Elite Street's chief investment officer. “ESC currently owns over 2,000 units in Georgia, and the Norcross market continues to be a top performer in the state with strong job growth projections and limited multifamily supply. We are very excited to invest in this property with our partners at Admiral.”

MEMPHIS—Inland Real Estate Acquisitions facilitated the acquisition of 49 newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties, totaling 651,216 square feet across 16 states, for a total purchase price of more than $211 million. Joe Cosenza, vice chairman of the firm and president, facilitated the transaction on behalf of an Inland affiliate, with the help of David Neboyskey and Kristin Orlando, in-house counsels. The CVS Pharmacy properties are located in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont.

SELMA, AL—Diversicare Healthcare Services acquired a 103-bed skilled nursing center in Selma for $8.75 million. This acquisition increases the number of centers operated by the company to 77 and is expected to contribute in excess of $8 million in annual revenues. Kelly Gill, CEO, says, “This acquisition was the 47^th we have completed since we began our focused expansion and is the 11^th acquisition that included the purchase of the real estate. As such, we now own the real estate for 18 of our 77 centers. Looking at our current geographical footprint, we have the opportunity for a seamless integration process by our operations team.”

BUILDING BLOCKS

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Hollingsworth Companies broke ground on its sixth industrial building project in SouthPoint Industrial Park, AL. This is the second facility started within the last two months and is a replacement for a building that was leased early this month. The 108,960-square-foot class A steel building, with 32-foot clear height and LED lighting is suitable for warehouse or manufacturing space.