This week in the Southeast saw Atlanta dominate commercial real estate headlines. But some Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee deals are also worth noting.

BY THE NUMBERS

Life events such as marriage and children are the biggest drivers of home ownership. In 1960, 44% of all households in the US were married couples with children. Today, it's less than one in five, or 19%. This trend is expected to continue. (Source: National Multifamily Housing Council)

People ages 65-plus will account for a large part of population growth going forward across all states. The research shows older renters are helping to drive future apartment demand, particularly in the northeast, where renters ages 55-plus will account for more than 30% of rental households. (Source: National Multifamily Housing Council)

NEWS & NOTABLES

DORAVILLE, GA—Preston Hollow Capital inked a $53 million tax-exempt bond transaction with the City of Doraville, GA in Metro Atlanta. Proceeds from the bonds will be used to fund infrastructure improvements of a planned $1.8 billion mixed-use development situated on 165 acres formerly occupied primarily by the Doraville General Motors Assembly Plant. Atlanta-based developer Integral Group is leading the project, renamed Assembly. Serta Simmons Bedding, the nation's largest mattress company, recently announced plans to build a headquarters and base 500 employees at a five-acre campus located on the Assembly site. An automotive dealership and a film/television production studio are already completed and operating at Assembly.

ATLANTA—The Atlanta Housing Authority Board of Commissioners elected Robert Rumley as its new chairman following the resignation of Daniel Halpern, who served as board chair for nearly six years.  Rumley, a finance executive at Morgan Stanley, brings a wealth of knowledge and proven leadership ability. Appointed to the AHA board in 2016, Rumley is a graduate of Morehouse College and received a master's degree at Georgia State University. He serves as a member of the board of managers for the Andrew Young YMCA, former Trustee of The Galloway School, a regional board member of Operation Hope, a 2011 graduate of Leadership Buckhead, a 2012 Georgia Trend Magazine 40 under 40 Honoree and is an active community volunteer. He and his wife, MaKara, reside in Atlanta with their three children.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—Atlanta Property Group, an Atlanta-based real estate investment firm, closed on office properties in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The deals are the company's first acquisitions outside metro Atlanta, and add nearly 1.3 million square feet of space to its portfolio. The company acquired six properties spread among the Charlotte, Orlando, Pittsburgh, and Tampa, FL markets. The new properties bring Atlanta Property Group's total portfolio size to 3.5 million square feet. The office buildings were acquired in a single transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed. “We saw this as a great investment because these are all well-located class A assets in markets with good job growth, limited construction and strong fundamentals,” says Shep Dinos, an Atlanta Property Group partner. “Collectively, these properties are 83-% leased, with a great roster of tenants.”

WOODSTOCK, GA—Boulder Group completed the sale of a single tenant Sam's Club Ground Lease located at 9464 Main Street in Woodstock for $6.56 million. The 16.95-acre Sam's Club property is located near the signalized intersection of Highway 92 and Main Street, a primary east-west thoroughfare in the area and experiences traffic volume in excess of 59,000 VPD. The surrounding area is densely populated with over 165,000 people living within five miles of the property. Retailers in the immediate area include Target, Lowe's Home Improvement, The Home Depot, Kohl's, and Big Lots. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of Boulder represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was a Western-based private investment group.                                                                                                                                               

ATLANTA—Lincoln Property Company Southeast renewed the lease of Stonehill Group at 1117 Perimeter Center West, located in the heart of the Perimeter submarket of Atlanta. Matt Davis and Matt Fergus of Lincoln represented the landlord. The lease renewal is for 14,388-square-feet. Carl Mullis of CWM Real Estate Advisors, represented Stonehill Group. “1117 Perimeter Center West is in the process of renovating the elevator lobbies and corridors throughout the building,” says Davis. “This building is located in a prime location with great amenities, convenient parking and easy access to the Sandy Springs MARTA station.”

ATLANTA—Ashford Hospitality Trust completed the sale of the 495-room Crowne Plaza Ravinia for $88.7 million, or $179,000 per key. The sales price represents a trailing 12-month cap rate of 5.6% on net operating income and a trailing 15.3x EBITDA multiple. The hotel had an existing allocated debt balance of approximately $65.6 million that was paid off along with an additional $13.1 million of debt pay down used to release the asset from the loan pool. After debt payoff and transaction costs, the net proceeds were approximately $9 million.

SOUTHAVEN, MS—CAPREIT acquired Legacy Crossing, a 430-unit apartment community in the Mississippi suburbs of Memphis. Less than 30 minutes from Downtown Memphis, the community is close to the city's primary thoroughfares and within a 15-minute drive of Memphis International Airport. CAPREIT will renovate the community and implement upgrades to select apartment homes.

ATLANTA—Carroll Organization acquired properties in Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, and Charleston. These properties will be a part of Carroll's latest investment vehicles, Carroll Multifamily Real Estate Fund IV and Carroll Multifamily Real Estate Fund V. In addition, the firm exited two properties totaling over $135 million producing an average gross return of 38% and 2.4x equity multiple. Carroll has a lot of positive momentum going into the second half of the year with numerous acquisitions and dispositions in the pipeline.

BUILDING BLOCKS

KNOXVILLE, TN—Jerrigan Self-Storage plans to build a $9.1 million multi-story climate-controlled, 758-unit self-storage facility in Knoxville. The self-storage facility will be a ground up development on Kingston Highway/Interstate 40 at the West Hills Interchange. The West Hills section of Knoxville has enjoyed extensive commercial real estate development over the years while still maintaining its residential character and desirability. Construction is expected to begin immediately and be completed in the second quarter of 2018. Pamlico Investments is the developer of the proposed project. This is the fifth development project in which the company and Pamlico have co-invested. Since January 1, 2017, the company has closed 19 investments in new self-storage projects.