DACULA, GA-Fairway Investments of Birmingham, AL has entered the Gwinnett County retail market with the purchase of the newly constructed, 43,520-sf Shops of Hamilton Mill in this suburban city from Atlanta-based Hamilton Mill Shops LLC.
Transaction representatives tell GlobeSt.com the buyer, a privately held real estate company, was adamant in not disclosing the purchase price until it is recorded in Gwinnett County real estate records where it becomes public information. Atlanta retail brokers, however, tell GlobeSt.com new, boutique-styled retail properties have sold for up to $200 per sf in the Greater Atlanta region in the past year.
Sims Garrison, a Fairway Investments principal, tells GlobeSt.com the deal was scheduled to close before year end 2004 "but we had a number of issues to work through which pushed it into 2005." He says the deal took about 3.5 months to complete, from contract signing to closing.
The property was not on the market but was brought to Fairway Investments' attention "through some twists of relationships to one of the principals," Garrison tells Globest.com. Occupancy at closing was about 85%. "We now have a couple of leases pending which could take it to 95%," Garrison says.
The average asking rent range at Shops of Hamilton Mill is in the low $20s. The property is comprised of seven brick buildings sized from 4,800 sf to 8,000 sf. At the rear of the center is the Enclave at Hamilton Mill, a gated community of single-family homes starting at $500,000. The residential project is not associated with the retail transaction.
Fairway Investments also owns the 42-acre Perimeter Place mixed-use development adjacent to the 1.43-million-sf Perimeter Mall. Fairway plans to develop the former BellSouth property with 500,000 sf of retail, 323 apartments and a 230-unit, 27-story condominium community. The retail component is slated to open in the fall with a Super Target store as an anchor.
Steve Massell of Massell Realty negotiated for the seller in the Shops of Hamilton Mill transaction. Ron E. Cameron of Primary Capital Advisors represented the buyer. "Cameron brought the deal to Fairway," Garrison tells GlobeSt.com. Kingston Commercial Real Estate also participated in the transaction.
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