Brand Streamlines Brand As Development Pipeline Fills
Fresh from a big apartment sale, Brand Morgan has streamlined his real estate machine.
The CEO of Brand Properties has finally digested all of his Wheeler/Brand real estate services arm into the mothership moniker, naming Scott Meadows (on the left, along with Brand's Jason Whitworth and Michael Walker) as head of third party services.
Mike Hoath will head Brand's development arm. At the moment, Brand leases and manages 5M SF in 80 properties throughout the Southeast.
This has been a gradual transition ever since Brand was brought in as a co-investor when Tom Kolb retired from his storied services firm, Wheeler/Kolb, some years ago. Tom Wheeler at the time continued to operate the company. The name then became Wheeler/Brand, and remained so even though Tom Wheeler retired in 2013.
On the development side, Brand (on right) says the firm continues to push forward. It recently sold The Views at Coolray Field, a 206-unit luxury apartment mid-rise that was delivered in 2014 and is connected to the Gwinnett Braves stadium.
A fund from Starlight US Multifamily purchased the property for $35M, or $170k/unit, Brand says. That could open the door for further development around Coolray Field.
“We're working with the county on how to move forward,” Brand says. “I'd love to do another apartment deal with a hotel and then some retail.”
The firm also is working toward obtaining construction financing to develop its boutique Buckhead office building at the former Garden Hills shopping center site.
Brand tells us he's already pre-leased 75k SF of the 135k SF building with unnamed local tenants. Other projects in the Brand pipeline include Stadium Walk—a mixed-use project at the doorstep of the new SunTrust Park in Cobb County, developing in a JV with Ackerman & Co that will include a 309-unit apartment complex and 400k SF of upscale retail and restaurants—and 1130 West Peachtree, the 10-story MOB that will be home to Northside Hospital.
