This Week's Atlanta Deal Sheet: Developers Eye Huge Upper Westside Apartment Project
Radco Cos. and Columbia Ventures are seeking to turn a swath of aging industrial properties off Huber Street in the Upper Westside neighborhood into 845 apartment units in two buildings and 20K SF of retail, according to an application filed with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
The project, called Huber West Midtown, would also include 845 parking spots on nearly 9 acres at 1575, 1581, 1590, 1591 and 1593 Huber St. The application projects a two-phased development would be completed by 2031.
Radco Chief Investment Officer Lisa Hurd told Bisnow the firm has been assembling the parcels for the past two years. The property is home to two warehouses with two tenants, one of which is leaving at the end of next year.
But Hurd said the developers don’t have definitive plans yet for what the project will look like.
“It’s really early at this point, so all options are on the table,” she said.
DEVELOPMENT
Insignia LLC is proposing to develop 780 apartment units, a 160-room hotel and 67K SF of retail and restaurant space on a Doraville site once home to a Kmart.
The Atlanta development firm filed plans for Lotus Grove, a $300M mixed-use development along Buford Highway near Interstate 285. Insignia has been planning on the redevelopment of the site since 2019, but its latest plans are a change from its initial vision, forgoing office space and a larger hotel.
The Kmart shuttered in 2010. Developer Macauley + Schmit previously eyed the 13-acre site for a project that failed to start. Insignia expects to finish the project in 2028, according to the application.
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Alliance Industrial Co. is set to build two speculative distribution facilities, one 114K SF and the other 427K SF, at Alliance 985 Business Park on 66 acres in Flowery Branch. With plans to break ground this quarter, Alliance expects to deliver the project early next year.
Avison Young’s Chris Hoag, Jason Holland and Andrew Joyner and Norton Commercial’s Zach Tibbs arranged the land sale to Alliance for the project.
FINANCING
Apollo provided a five-year, fixed-rate loan to Portman Residential and National Real Estate Advisors for the Sora at Spring Quarter apartment tower in Midtown. The 29-story tower, part of Portman’s Spring Quarter mixed-use project off Spring Street, has 370 units and 13K SF of ground-level retail.
The value of the loan wasn't disclosed, although Portman previously secured a $117M construction loan from Bank OZK that was set to mature in 2025, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. CBRE’s Mike Ryan, Blake Cohen and Taylor Crowder arranged the loan.
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Funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group have placed a $28.5M, three-year loan to refinance the Wylie Hotel Atlanta for Driftwood Capital. Located at 551 Ponce De Leon Ave., the 111-room boutique hotel previously had a $26M EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. loan on it, according to the Reonomy property database.
Driftwood purchased the Wylie Hotel in 2021. In 2023, it became part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
SALES
Atlanta-based 26th Street Partners purchased shopping centers Plaza on Ponce, home to the Majestic Diner and Plaza Theatre, and Morningside Village for $67.5M from Asana Partners, the ABC reported.
Asana purchased Plaza on Ponce in 2017 for $18.1M and Morningside Village a year later for $21M.
Ameris Bank sold 6625 The Corners Parkway, a five-story, 103K SF office building, to a buying entity that involves the automotive retailer ALM Cars, Bull Realty founder Michael Bull said.
The buyer paid $6.4M in the all-cash transaction, Bull said. He and Austin Bull brokered the sale for Ameris, which acquired the property after foreclosing on the previous owner.
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Shaked Acquisitions purchased Cobb Place, a 335K SF shopping center in Kennesaw, from Wicker Park Capital Management for $63.5M. Located at 840 Ernest W. Barrett Parkway off of Interstate 75, the center’s tenants include DSW, World Market, Hobby Town, Ashley HomeStore and BrandsMart.
JLL’s Jim Hamilton, Brad Buchanan, Andrew Kahn and Anton Serafini brokered the sale.
