Atlanta photo by Shutterstock

ATLANTA—An affiliate of global private equity firm Lone Star Funds has paid a reported $79 million to buy 55 Allen Plaza, a 14-story office building in downtown Atlanta.

It is situated at 55 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., less than a mile from the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium and Centennial Olympic Park. It is one of the city's newer top-tier office towers.

NXT Capital in Chicago announced April 21 it closed a $67.5 million loan to finance the acquisition.

The seller was the Teachers Retirement System of the State of Illinois. The building, completed in 2007, was then hailed as a symbol of a new 24/7 downtown. But then the 2008 economic crisis hit, and the building struggled to fill offices and eventually was repossessed.

The Teachers Retirement System purchased the structure in a foreclosure auction in 2011 for $57 million, about a 31% decline in its market value.

Last year the 342,853 square foot, Class A office building underwent a renovation. Upgrades included new floors and fixtures, a coffee bar, remote meeting space, lounge zones and a breakroom-style kitchen area, which can also function as an event space, with a mini catering kitchen and pop up bar.

The building also offers full-time security, a renovated fitness center, a 5,000 square foot conference center and three dual-car charging stations. It is Leed Gold Certified with an Energy Star score of 93.

The property has direct access to Interstate 75/85, and is a five-minute walk to the Civic Center MARTA transit station and close to the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Anchored by Ernst & Young's regional headquarters, the office building also houses several law firms. Among them are the Atlanta office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani; Stewart Trial Attorneys, a law practice focused on personal injury and civil rights litigation; and the Fogle Law Firm, which focuses on immigration and civil rights.

Atlanta ranked eighth in the nation for overall real estate prospects and investor demand in 2020, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute, "Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2020." Of course that report was written in late 2019, before the coronavirus brought the US economy to its knees.

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Sue Reisinger

Senior reporter at ALM since 2004; based in Florida; covers general counsel and white collar crime; contact: [email protected]