News
DECISION LOOMING
February 3, 2011
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| Sonny Morris, a partner with Morris Manning & Martin and a panelist at JLL's Atlanta Real Estate Forecast 2011 event at the Buckhead Club yesterday, told Bisnow his firm is down to three or four options for its new office space, including renewing at Atlanta Financial Center. Sonny says another option would be the Duke Realty/Pope & Land project 3430 Peachtree and—perhaps most surprisingly—the Campanile building. That would require, of course, MM&M to pack up and move out of Buckhead—not an easy decision to make, Sonny tells us. ?We've been in Buckhead for 25 years,? he says. The firm should be reaching its final decision by the end of the month on its 120K SF requirement, he says. | |
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| We snapped a pic of JLL international capital guru Stephen Collins, another panelist at the JLL function, who told the 200-member audience that more international investment firms are allocating money to Atlanta, including the Germans and Latin American investors, who are particularly interested in the Southeast. Atlanta and Chicago are ?immediately to the top? of investor interest after New York and DC, Stephen says. Atlanta has interest due to the success that Regent Partners had in selling 3344 Peachtree at such a premium price (setting a valuation bar), but also because capital is having a hard time finding product. The pent-up demand is having them chase real estate in other major cities, like ours. | |
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| JLL's Chris Marshall says 3344 Peachtree (he brokered the sale) did attract a lot of foreign capital interest, including some German money. And its sale has definitely set the bar in Atlanta for what stabilized assets will be priced. ?People are now more confident at what that will be,? he says. And while Chris says it appears Atlanta's economic recovery is on track, he openly worried that lackluster job growth—or especially a lack of job growth—will really hurt the city in attracting investment capital for commercial real estate: ?If we have abig loss of jobs again, that can set us back.? | |
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| Metlife's Tom Coakley says investors are seeing the potential for better returns in Atlanta because pricing in New York and DC has become aggressive. Particularly with the return of CMBS, Tom says ?It's gotten to be a little 2006-ish in terms of competition.? He told the audience that last year, Metlife (which has a loan on 3344 Peachtree assumed by Parkway Properties) had a goal of more than $6B in loan originations, but ended up making $8.4B in loans. This year's goal is at the $8B-plus level. | |
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| Speaking of JLL, that's its Clark Gore toasting his morning coffee with Faron Thompson, whose firm Primary Capital Advisors was recently acquired by the commercial real estate brokerage giant for an undisclosed sum. Faron now will head up JLL's multifamilylending business. Primary Capital was an Atlanta-based CRE lending and servicing group focused on multifamily lending through itsFreddie Mac conduit. While already a player in the debt/equity origination and placement game, Primary Capital's acquisition now gives it access to the hot multifamily investment market. |
