ATLANTA: Capital's Spring Awakening
Is Atlanta's largest post-recession construction loan—$180M secured by Jamestown in a recap for the development of Ponce City Market—a sign of greater things to come? CBRE EVP Jeff Ackemann and SVP Jonathan Rice of the firm's Atlanta debt and structured finance group (above) helped advise Jamestown in the financing, which was led by PNC Bank in partnership with SunTrust and JPMorgan.
Jeff says there was incredible interest in the loan, since Ponce City Market has three things construction lenders clamor for: “terrific sponsorship, the right location, and a well-thought out development plan.” (As that saying goes: location, location, location, sponsorship, good plan.) The deal signals the reawakening of Atlanta lending for retail, office, and industrial, following strong multifamily activity. Slated for a fall 2014 rolling opening, the 1.1M SF restoration project will include 330k SF of boutique retail and restaurants, 517k SF of Class-A office, and 259 residential units.
