Banyan Street-Greystar Creating ‘Affordable Housing Out of Thin Air’ in Atlanta
The $125-million project being built atop an existing parking garage will feature 345 apartments, including 70 workforce units.
ATLANTA—Miami-based Banyan Street Capital and Greystar, which is headquartered in Charleston, SC, have acquired the necessary land rights and secured construction financing to begin construction in the coming weeks on a new high-rise multifamily development in Downtown Atlanta called Ascent Peachtree.
The $125-million project being built atop an existing parking garage will feature 345 apartments, including 70 workforce units. Twenty percent of the units within the project will be set aside for residents earning 80% of the area median income or less. The project is set to break ground next month.
“Ascent Peachtree will be one of the most transit-oriented residential projects in Atlanta, offering easy access to the Peachtree Center MARTA station, a MARTA express bus stop and an Atlanta Streetcar stop, as well as direct frontage on the Peachtree Center Avenue bike lane,” says John Roberson, managing director of development for Greystar.
The high-rise project will feature a mix of floor plans that will include studios, one, two and three-bedrooms apartment homes ranging in size from 680 square feet to 2,380 square feet. Featured amenities will include a resort-style swimming pool, outdoor entertainment space and a rooftop lounge.
“We’re thrilled to bring Ascent Peachtree to Downtown Atlanta, adjacent to our premier office and retail assets, 191 Peachtree, Peachtree Center and the Marquis office towers, and we’re excited to be partnering with Greystar, the leading developer and manager of rental housing properties,” says Taylor White, a principal at Banyan Street Capital. “This announcement continues the positive momentum in Downtown Atlanta, arriving on the heels of our completion of the $25-million first phase renovation of Peachtree Center, and as we continue to witness substantial growth, leasing activity and institutional investment downtown.”
Banyan Street Capital and Greystar did not disclose financial details of its air rights purchase and construction financing for the project. The Atlanta Business Chronicle, citing information culled from Atlanta real estate property research firm Databank Inc., reported that a Greystar affiliate purchased the air rights for $6 million and that Santander Bank was the lead lender on $80 million in construction financing for Ascent Peachtree.
In addition, Invest Atlanta has partnered with Banyan Street Capital and Greystar, providing a $9-million loan from Atlanta’s Eastside Tax Allocation District to ensure that 70 units within the project will be allocated for workforce housing. Invest Atlanta is also providing lease-purchase bond financing for the project.
“This project is so exciting because we are able to create affordable housing out of thin air, literally,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “161 Peachtree Center Avenue’s innovative adaptation of an existing parking structure adds density within the city’s Downtown core and provides affordable housing near job centers, amenities and transit nodes.”
She adds that the Ascent Peachtree project is expected to create more than 150 new jobs and make a $165-million economic impact to the City of Atlanta.
Elsewhere, Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC announced yesterday that it was selected by the University of California Hastings College of the Law as the Master Developer for multi-phased campus housing, academic and mixed-use developments for its campus in San Francisco valued at approximately $450 million.