Piedmont REIT Spends $150M, Scores Glenridge Highlands Hat Trick
Piedmont Office Realty Trust has quietly made two major Atlanta acquisitions totaling more than $150M, adding the 290k SF Glenridge Highlands One and the 430k SF Galleria 300 to its portfolio.
The Atlanta-based REIT, an offshoot of the former Wells Real Estate REIT, paid $63.6M for the building, which now means it owns both buildings—One and Glenridge Highlands Two—as well as the development parcel for Glenridge Highlands Three, according to info submitted to the SEC.
The building is 90% leased, and at $219 per SF, Piedmont officials state it picked up the 11-story building at an estimated discount to replacement cost of about 32%. While Piedmont did not identify the seller, the last listed owner was Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, according to Databank.
On top of that, Piedmont reports it renewed First Data Corp with a 195k SF lease through 2027 (we should have flying cars by then). It was part of some 800k SF in leasing velocity this past quarter for the REIT across its portfolio, and more than 3M SF of deals for 2015, including Comdata's 135k SF HQ renewal in Brentwood, TN, and MakeOffices 40k SF deal at Piedmont's office tower in Arlington.
Peidmont CEO Don Miller says thanks to strong leasing results, an opportunistic equity market, and a few well-timed, strategic acquisitions, the firm was able to significantly improve its leased percentage and the overall quality of the portfolio without dilution for stockholders.
In November, the REIT paid $88.3M, or $204 per SF, for Galleria 300 in the Galleria office complex in Cobb County anchored by Travelport. The seller was not listed, but Databank reports that the Brookdale Group sold it. Brookdale purchased the tower from Childress Klein Properties in 2013 for $60M, as we previously reported.
Piedmont officials say the building, which is 89% leased, offers earnings growth and value accretion potential and estimates the deal was done with a discount to replacement cost of about 37%.
