Zeller Realty Does Triple Play In Atlanta Office Investment

A Chicago-based investor has made its third Atlanta buy in less than a year, this time in the tony Buckhead office market.

Zeller Realty, in a joint venture with Switzerland-based Partners Global, purchased Resurgens Plaza, a 403K SF trophy tower off East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead. The 26-story tower is one of the few office buildings in Atlanta that is connected directly to MARTA; in this case, the Lenox MARTA station.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed as of press time, but the previous owner, Dallas-based Lone Star Funds, purchased the tower from CWCapital Investments for between $70M and $75M, the Atlanta Business Chronicle previously reported. CWCapital foreclosed on the tower in 2011 for $53M from Behringer Harvard.

Resurgens Plaza is the third Atlanta office property Zeller Realty bought in less than a year. In February, the firm bought Premier Plaza, a two-building office complex in Central Perimeter. Then in May, Zeller, along with Partners Global, bought the iconic Downtown Atlanta 100 Peachtree building, formerly known as The Equitable Building, from Five Mile Capital.

“We have been reviewing opportunities to invest in the Buckhead submarket for several years,” Zeller Investment Corp. President Bill Rogalla wrote in an email. "Resurgens Plaza presented the ideal opportunity due to its location, direct access to MARTA, architecture and proximity to new residential development."

For Zeller, the strategy now will be to invest in upgrading the common spaces, lobby and amenities, and fill up the remaining 30% vacancy.

“We feel strongly about our ability to push rates” once the upgrades are in place, Rogalla said.