This Week's Atlanta Deal Sheet: New Residential Planned For Atlanta University Center
A dean at Morehouse College and two commercial real estate leaders are set to develop new housing surrounding the largest nexus of historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S.
Morehouse Dean of Business and Economics John Williams is partnering with two leaders at Sanctuary Residential, founder Bernard Felder and Director Brian King, to form Urban Renaissance Development, which aims to build more than 200 build-to-rent townhouses, brownstones, flats and single-family houses in the historic Atlanta University Center district, according to a press release.
The firm is aiming to develop market-rate rental homes next to the existing neighborhoods around the HBCU district that is home to Morehouse, Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, a neighborhood that has lost 60% of its legacy residents over the past 20 years and is littered with vacant houses in disrepair, according to URD.
To keep construction costs down, URD plans to use modular and off-site construction methods. The firm is also seeking financial and development partners as a way to reduce overall risks, Felder said in the release. No timeline for development was announced in the release.
PERSONNEL
JLL Senior Managing Director Peter Yorck joined the Southeast multifamily investment sales team in the firm's Atlanta office, with a focus on growing its sales in the metro area and Nashville. Yorck comes from JLL in Los Angeles and San Francisco and will be working along with Senior Managing Director John Weber, Managing Director Bill Shippen, Senior Director Vic Ciancetta and Director Nick Brown.
During the past 30 months, Yorck facilitated some $2B in investment sales in Los Angeles County and more than $6B in investment sales since joining HFF in 2015, before the firm was acquired by JLL.
SALES
Mishawaka, Indiana-based Sterling Group purchased Alta Bridges, a 250-unit apartment complex in McDonough, from an affiliate of Atlanta-based Wood Partners.
The price of the sale wasn't disclosed, but the Henry County Assessor’s Office valued the complex at $43.7M this year. Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairs Robert Stickel and Alex Brown, Director Ashlyn Warren, senior associate Michael Kay and associate Sim Patrick brokered the sale. Sterling is rebranding the project as Icon Bridges.
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West Palm Beach, Florida-based Sterling Organization purchased Marketplace at Buckhead, a 103K SF Kroger-anchored shopping center near Brookhaven, from New Market Cherokee, an LLC tied to Chicago-based Revantage, according to state records. The sale price wasn't disclosed.
Revantage purchased the property in 2016 for $43M, according to Reonomy. JLL Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton, Managing Director Brad Buchanan and Vice President Andrew Kahn brokered the sale.
DEVELOPMENT
Selig Enterprises has delivered Heartwood Powder Springs, a 300-unit apartment complex in Cobb County at 4493 Brownsville Road, off of U.S. Highway 278. The 10-building complex, which opens to its first residents this month, includes 5 acres of green space, a 10K SF clubhouse and coworking facility, an indoor and outdoor bar and game room, a fitness center and a resort-style swimming pool.
Heartwood is the first project for Selig outside of Atlanta’s city borders and is planned to be the launch of the firm’s suburban apartment arm. Selig’s capital partner on the project is SilverCap Partners, and its construction lender is Wells Fargo Bank.
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Stonemont Financial Group and Boston-based The Davis Cos. have delivered two additional distribution centers at the Georgia International Trade Center in Effingham County that are now leased to an existing unidentified home improvement tenant. The firm delivered 1.2M SF and 1.5M SF warehouses, adding to the two that are already part of the campus.
The partnership also is underway with a fourth and final speculative warehouse spanning 733K SF that is expected to deliver in the first quarter.
