Morgan Stanley Moves To Foreclose On Sprawling Piedmont Center In Buckhead
The Ardent Cos. may be on the verge of losing Piedmont Center in Buckhead.
Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings has scheduled a foreclosure auction for the 2.2M SF office park near the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont roads, alleging that Ardent is in default on more than $330M in debt secured by the 14 office buildings that make up the complex.
The floating-rate note, originated by Morgan Stanley in 2021, is set to be auctioned off on the Fulton County Courthouse steps Feb. 4. Ardent Managing Director Scott Werbel declined to comment, and an attorney for Morgan Stanley didn't return calls seeking comment.
Ardent bought up Piedmont Center over a five-year period that was capped by its purchase of Buildings 5 through 8 in 2021. In November 2023, BlackRock, a minority stakeholder in Ardent’s debt at Piedmont Center, threatened to seize the complex, Green Street reported at the time.
Morgan Stanley twice in the past two months advertised its intent to foreclose on the 45-acre wooded campus before canceling those plans.
Ardent had planned to convert 32K SF of ground-level office space in Buildings 1 through 4 into a retail and food hub. Werbel previously told Bisnow that Ardent was exploring the possibility of developing portions of the campus for residential use.
JLL has been marketing all of Piedmont Center for sale in recent months, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The firm's marketing materials say Piedmont Center is 63% leased.
When Ardent obtained the Morgan Stanley loan, Piedmont Center was valued at $657M, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, citing Real Estate Alert data.
