NEWS & NOTABLES

KENNESAW, GA—New American Funding opened a new Cobb County branch in Kennesaw. The branch is located at 1701 Barrett Lakes Boulevard. Not only did the prime housing market present an ideal opportunity to open this new location, but New American Funding recognized an ability to meet an unfulfilled need in the area. Kim Arrington will oversee the location as a producing branch manager, is a 15-year veteran of the mortgage industry and has been with New American Funding since 2016 as a top-performing Loan Originator. Earlier this year, she was named to the company's President's Council, which is an elite class of high-achieving originators nationwide. She's also an industry expert, who has been featured on Atlanta's Best New Homes TV.

ATLANTA—Industry veteran John Gaskin has joined Robinson Weeks as the director of build-to-suit development. Gaskin will lead Robinson Weeks' development of build-to-suit projects across the US. For nearly three decades, he has been a leader in the commercial real estate industry and possesses deep experience in all facets of development transactions from site selection and zoning to design and construction to government relations and economic incentives. As the former general counsel and senior vice president of development for Duke Realty Investments, he led the acquisition and development of logistics parks at major US seaports and also created and implemented expansion plans into national and global markets.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—Ansley at Princeton Lakes has traded hands. The sale price: $43.5 million. Cushman & Wakefield's Southeast Multifamily Advisory Group arranged the sale of the multifamily community in Atlanta. Alex Brown and Mike Kemether of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, PRP Real Estate Investment, in the transaction. Steadfast Apartment REIT III acquired the multifamily property. “This was an attractive opportunity for Steadfast, who was looking to geographically diversify their Atlanta holdings while taking advantage of the high-powered airport-driven employment base,” Brown tells GlobeSt.com. “Steadfast, whose Atlanta holdings are concentrated in the Northern Suburbs, saw value in the opportunity to capitalize on one of the top-performing industrial markets in the country and Hartsfield-Jackson's dynamic growth trajectory.”

COLLEGE PARK, GA—GCP secured a five-year renewal and 40% expansion of Zodiac Services Americas' lease at the Air Commerce property in College Park. The subsidiary of Paris-based Zodiac Aerospace Group now occupies 100% of the 144,960 square-foot building. Bradley Dunn with Stream Realty represented GCP and Chip Watson with Avison Young represented Zodiac in the deal. GCP acquired the Air Commerce property in 2016 as part of a larger portfolio acquisition in the Atlanta market. GCP now owns approximately 1.6 million square feet of industrial real estate in Atlanta with plans for continued expansion in the coming months.

ATLANTA—Landmark at Creekside Grand, a multifamily property in East Point, GA, has traded hands. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Led by principals Shawn Collins and Neil Herceg, Blackmount Real Estate Partners acquired the townhome asset. The deal marks Blackmount's first purchase in metro Atlanta. CBRE's Shea Campbell represented the seller. “Atlanta remains a desirable multifamily market, with almost 6 million residents and a projected growth of over 7% through 2020,” Campbell tells GlobeSt.com. “The tremendous job growth of more than 300,000 new jobs in the last five years, coupled with a sharp reduction in multifamily construction after 2017, has investors recognizing the potential in the existing projects throughout metro Atlanta.”

DOUGLASVILE, GA—HFF $5.95 million refinancing of Douglasville Day Centre, a 25,300-square-foot, fully occupied retail strip center in the Atlanta-area community of Douglasville. The HFF team worked on behalf of the borrower, a California-based private investor, to secure the 4.75-percent, 10-year, fixed-rate loan through one of its national lending partners. Completed in 2002, Douglasville Day Centre is home to a mix of national, regional and local tenants, including Verizon Wireless, Starbucks and Subway. Situated on 4.32 acres at 2750 Chapel Hill Road, the center is at the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Timber Ridge Drive 22 miles west of downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Arbor Place Mall. Additionally, the center is just off Interstate 20 and is exposed to approximately 96,000 vehicles per day. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower included senior director Zack Holderman and analyst Mandeep Pabla.

BUILDING BLOCKS

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Watkins Real Estate Group, an Atlanta-based retail and multifamily development company, kicked off construction of a grocery-anchored neighborhood center in one of Huntsville's most popular neighborhoods. The Pinnacle at Providence is set to bring more national retail to north Alabama's hottest market where tenants are clamoring to find prime space. Watkins acquired the 9.2-acre site at the intersection of Old Monrovia and Johns Roads in 2016 and recently secured construction financing from BB&T Corporation. When completed, the neighborhood retail center will expand the amenity base for residents of Providence, a master-planned, mixed-use community.

Early this week in the Southeast saw banks expanding, musical chairs and new retail rising in the Southeast. Get all the details.

BY THE NUMBERS

Why do applicants get rejected? Income and credit score aren't the prime reasons for rejection: 33% of prospective renters are denied because of accounts in default or collection, while criminal history is a cause for rejection in only 12% of the applications. Credit score and insufficient income come last, below 8%. (Source: Rentcafe.com)

What markets are renter-friendly? With approval rates above the national level (83%), Miami along with Seattle, Austin and San Francisco are among the most attractive cities for prospective renters in the US. (Source: Rentcafe.com)

NEWS & NOTABLES

KENNESAW, GA—New American Funding opened a new Cobb County branch in Kennesaw. The branch is located at 1701 Barrett Lakes Boulevard. Not only did the prime housing market present an ideal opportunity to open this new location, but New American Funding recognized an ability to meet an unfulfilled need in the area. Kim Arrington will oversee the location as a producing branch manager, is a 15-year veteran of the mortgage industry and has been with New American Funding since 2016 as a top-performing Loan Originator. Earlier this year, she was named to the company's President's Council, which is an elite class of high-achieving originators nationwide. She's also an industry expert, who has been featured on Atlanta's Best New Homes TV.

ATLANTA—Industry veteran John Gaskin has joined Robinson Weeks as the director of build-to-suit development. Gaskin will lead Robinson Weeks' development of build-to-suit projects across the US. For nearly three decades, he has been a leader in the commercial real estate industry and possesses deep experience in all facets of development transactions from site selection and zoning to design and construction to government relations and economic incentives. As the former general counsel and senior vice president of development for Duke Realty Investments, he led the acquisition and development of logistics parks at major US seaports and also created and implemented expansion plans into national and global markets.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—Ansley at Princeton Lakes has traded hands. The sale price: $43.5 million. Cushman & Wakefield's Southeast Multifamily Advisory Group arranged the sale of the multifamily community in Atlanta. Alex Brown and Mike Kemether of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, PRP Real Estate Investment, in the transaction. Steadfast Apartment REIT III acquired the multifamily property. “This was an attractive opportunity for Steadfast, who was looking to geographically diversify their Atlanta holdings while taking advantage of the high-powered airport-driven employment base,” Brown tells GlobeSt.com. “Steadfast, whose Atlanta holdings are concentrated in the Northern Suburbs, saw value in the opportunity to capitalize on one of the top-performing industrial markets in the country and Hartsfield-Jackson's dynamic growth trajectory.”

COLLEGE PARK, GA—GCP secured a five-year renewal and 40% expansion of Zodiac Services Americas' lease at the Air Commerce property in College Park. The subsidiary of Paris-based Zodiac Aerospace Group now occupies 100% of the 144,960 square-foot building. Bradley Dunn with Stream Realty represented GCP and Chip Watson with Avison Young represented Zodiac in the deal. GCP acquired the Air Commerce property in 2016 as part of a larger portfolio acquisition in the Atlanta market. GCP now owns approximately 1.6 million square feet of industrial real estate in Atlanta with plans for continued expansion in the coming months.

ATLANTA—Landmark at Creekside Grand, a multifamily property in East Point, GA, has traded hands. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Led by principals Shawn Collins and Neil Herceg, Blackmount Real Estate Partners acquired the townhome asset. The deal marks Blackmount's first purchase in metro Atlanta. CBRE's Shea Campbell represented the seller. “Atlanta remains a desirable multifamily market, with almost 6 million residents and a projected growth of over 7% through 2020,” Campbell tells GlobeSt.com. “The tremendous job growth of more than 300,000 new jobs in the last five years, coupled with a sharp reduction in multifamily construction after 2017, has investors recognizing the potential in the existing projects throughout metro Atlanta.”

DOUGLASVILE, GA—HFF $5.95 million refinancing of Douglasville Day Centre, a 25,300-square-foot, fully occupied retail strip center in the Atlanta-area community of Douglasville. The HFF team worked on behalf of the borrower, a California-based private investor, to secure the 4.75-percent, 10-year, fixed-rate loan through one of its national lending partners. Completed in 2002, Douglasville Day Centre is home to a mix of national, regional and local tenants, including Verizon Wireless, Starbucks and Subway. Situated on 4.32 acres at 2750 Chapel Hill Road, the center is at the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Timber Ridge Drive 22 miles west of downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Arbor Place Mall. Additionally, the center is just off Interstate 20 and is exposed to approximately 96,000 vehicles per day. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower included senior director Zack Holderman and analyst Mandeep Pabla.

BUILDING BLOCKS

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Watkins Real Estate Group, an Atlanta-based retail and multifamily development company, kicked off construction of a grocery-anchored neighborhood center in one of Huntsville's most popular neighborhoods. The Pinnacle at Providence is set to bring more national retail to north Alabama's hottest market where tenants are clamoring to find prime space. Watkins acquired the 9.2-acre site at the intersection of Old Monrovia and Johns Roads in 2016 and recently secured construction financing from BB&T Corporation. When completed, the neighborhood retail center will expand the amenity base for residents of Providence, a master-planned, mixed-use community.