Category
Commercial Property
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06.23.09Clermont Hotel faces foreclosureFrom the Atlanta Business Chronicle: The Clermont Motor Hotel, which houses a strip club famous for its mix of eclectic and ageless performers, is facing foreclosure. But the real estate agent listing the property as a redevelopment opportunity, said the owner is hopeful to stave off a forced sale from the courthouse steps. The 85-year-old hotel on Ponce de Leon Avenue is scheduled to be foreclosed on July 7. Gene Kansas, broker and developer for Gene Kansas Developments, said the “owner is working on a deal with the lender and in hopes it will not be foreclosed on.” The property has been for sale ...
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04.08.09Atlanta’s Equitable building in foreclosureFrom the AJC: Downtown Atlanta’s Equitable building, an iconic 30-plus story office tower that once dominated the city’s skyline, has fallen into foreclosure. A foreclosure notice said the 40-year-old skyscraper is scheduled to be auctioned on the Fulton County courthouse steps on May 5. The building’s owners, Equastone 100 Peachtree LLC, owes $52 million on the mortgage to Capmark Bank, a Utah lender. San Diego-based Equastone bought the building in May 2007 for $56.8 million. Some are saying that there is an impending crash in commercial real estate. This may be the first major property to fall in Atlanta. stone vs steel, originally uploaded by ...
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12.17.08A problem of empty mallsFrom CNN: As the recession leaves more retail casualties in its wake, experts warn that rising store bankruptcies and mall closures could have devastating economic consequences for entire communities. Major cities across America will be impacted to various degrees, said David Birnbrey, Chairman and Co-CEO of Atlanta-based The Shopping Center Group, a retail real estate services firm. “In Las Vegas, the real estate downturn was led by the housing collapse and now the retail downturn is taking over,” Birnbrey said. “We also have too many stores in Atlanta relative to the population,” he added. When an overbuilt retail sector meets failing businesses, bad things are going to happen. Not only is ...
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10.26.08North Georgia business bankruptcy filings surgeFrom the Atlanta Journal and Constitution: The popped housing bubble and crushed credit market have pushed record numbers of North Georgia businesses into bankruptcy court this year. Chapter 11 filings are up between 50 percent and 70 percent over all of last year, depending on how they’re counted. They’re also up significantly from any of the past 20 years — and there are almost 10 weeks left in 2008. As of Friday, 283 companies and their affiliates had filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in Georgia’s Northern District, which has offices in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome. Jeffrey Kelley, head of the bankruptcy practice at ...
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09.19.08Bank of America Plaza may add five-star hotelFrom the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Bank of America Plaza might one day be home to a five-star hotel, according to the commercial real estate company that owns the iconic Midtown skyscraper. At Thursday morning’s Midtown Alliance meeting at Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, BentleyForbes Group Inc. President and CEO David Cobb said he wanted to put all rumors to rest and confirmed the commercial real estate company was exploring the possibility of converting the first 15 floors of Bank of America Plaza into a five-star hotel. Cobb also said BentleyForbes is in discussions with architects and some “high-end flags.” While he didn’t ...
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09.03.08Post Sets Tighter FocusFrom the Wall Street Journal: When Post Properties Inc. put itself on the selling block earlier this year, no buyers emerged. Now the company has unveiled its Plan B: restructure itself for growth. Post, an Atlanta-based residential landlord that owns more than 20,000 mostly upscale apartments, outlined last month a plan designed to downsize and streamline the company. The strategy includes selling an estimated $500 million of property -- eight sites, marking the biggest asset sale since its founding in 1971 -- and using the proceeds to buy back stock, reduce debt and, potentially, issue a special dividend to shareholders. Post has also ...
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08.22.08Post sells Atlanta property, refinances othersFrom Commercial Property News: It’s only Wednesday and already it’s been a big week for upscale multi-family developer Post Properties of Atlanta. The REIT has sold its 250-unit Post Oglethorpe apartment community in Atlanta’s Brookhaven area for $38.5 million and has refinanced two apartment complexes held in joint ventures. In addition, two of the big three credit rating agencies recently had some news for the company. In June, citing difficult market conditions, Post had announced that it was ending its five-month effort to be acquired, having received some inquiries but no definitive proposals. One of the options for enhancing the shareholder value ...
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07.28.08Macon mall in foreclosureFrom the Macon Telegraph: Foreclosure action has begun against Macon Mall because of nonpayment on a $141.2 million loan, and a new management company has been approved by the court to take control of the 1.4 million-square-foot facility. However, mall officials say the mall remains open and ready for customers. "We don't expect any operational interruptions to the mall," said Brooke Houghton, spokeswoman for Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., the court-appointed retail management company now managing Macon Mall. "We don't think there will be any impact on the stores or the customers we serve. We are open and ready for business as ...
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06.16.08Life is solitary in unfinished subdivisionsFrom the Atlanta Journal and Constitution: Every so often, William Saunders snatches up a golf club and steps behind his Smyrna townhouse to whackballs down a line of neighboring lots. He never hits another home and never hears complaints from neighbors. But that's an easy accomplishment. Most of Saunders' neighborhood is a ghost town, another fallout of metro Atlanta's housing market horrors. One of just two residents in what was to be a 105-home development, the 54-year-old information technology manager strolls down lonely streets past silt fences, weedy lots, nearly 20 vacant homes and a sign cheerily announcing that a pool and cabana ...
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06.13.08Carter cuts 11 positions, remains bullish on AtlantaFrom the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Atlanta-based developer Carter recently cut 11 marketing and information technology positions, or about 7 percent of its 150 positions at its corporate offices, in a move related in part to a tough real estate market. While the residential and office slowdown played a role, the job cuts were also part of a reorganization of Carter's internal back-office operations, which included marketing, human resources, information technology and accounting. That reorganization started several months ago, said Carter's president, Scott Taylor. "I don't expect further cuts," Taylor said. Carter, which also provides investment, property management and transaction services, has plenty of cash ...