Wells Fargo Forecloses On Westside Portfolio For Half Of 2021 Price
One of the nation's largest banks is now in possession of a portfolio of Atlanta office and retail buildings leased to a brewery, an events space and a Michelin-starred restaurant.
An affiliate of Wells Fargo has acquired the Westside Collective, four adaptive reuse projects in West Midtown and Upper Westside, in a foreclosure sale for a value of $56M, according to a transfer document filed with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority.
The sale, from LLCs attached to previous owner Crestlight Capital, was recorded on March 5, a day after Wells Fargo had scheduled a foreclosure auction for the properties. The buyer was identified as Redus Properties, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo provided Crestlight and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives an $84M loan in 2021 for their $114M purchase of the Westside Collective. This month's sale amounts to a more than 50% loss in value for the properties, showing the impact high interest rates are having on borrowers with maturing debt.
The properties taken over by the lender span 360K SF of creative office and retail spaces: the 79K SF Inland Tract, the 110K SF Complex West Midtown building, the 83K SF brick-and-timber Puritan Mill, and the 91K SF Ellsworth Office Lofts adaptive reuse project.
The Westside Collective portfolio is around 70% leased, according to CoStar information obtained by Bisnow, and includes retail and restaurant tenants like Bold Monk Brewing Co., Michelin-starred restaurant Bacchanalia, Star Provisions Market and event space The Foundry at Puritan Mill.
Spokespeople for Wells Fargo and Crestlight didn't respond to Bisnow's requests for comment. Jones Day partner Richard Rosenblatt, who represented Wells Fargo in the foreclosure proceedings, also didn't return messages seeking comment.
The San Francisco-based banking giant had tapped Cushman & Wakefield to market the Westside Collective for sale before the foreclosure was scheduled, offering seller financing for anyone willing to take on the portfolio.
It is unclear whether the brokerage team — Executive Managing Director Samir Idris, Vice Chair David Meline, Director Molly Millard and senior associate Burch Mixon — is still seeking buyers. Meline declined to comment.
The section of West Midtown where the properties are situated has suffered from an oversupply of office space. More than 50% of the Class-A office in the submarket was available at the end of 2024, according to Lincoln Property Co. A slew of restaurants have also been forced to shutter amid lower-than-expected foot traffic.
