Cousins-Temco JV Picks Up 6,300 Acres

The partners plan to develop their fourth mixed-use development in Paulding, about 25 miles west of Downtown Atlanta, according to a prepared statement from Bruce Smith, president of Cousins Properties Inc.'s land division. Smith didn't disclose the purchase price of the land.

However, area land brokers familiar with the Paulding County market tell GlobeSt.com the dirt was probably purchased for about $1,000 per acre, or two cents per sf, for an estimated total price of at least $6.3 million. The brokers tell GlobeSt.com they base their price estimate on the partners' land buys in Paulding County over the past three years when they paid an estimated $10.44 million, or $1,044 per acre, for a total 10,000 acres, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

Temco developed the golf-course oriented, 1,700-home, 1,110-acre Bentwater community in 2003. The partners now are developing the 2,800-home, 2,000-acre Seven Hills subdivision in northeast Paulding County and the Georgian, a planned 1,150-acre, 1,386-home golf community in south Paulding, as GlobeSt.com also previously reported.

Smith didn't spell out Temco's specific development plans for the 6,300 acres. "Our long-term business arrangement with Temple-Inland has allowed us to bring extraordinary residential offerings to rapidly expanding suburban communities of Atlanta over the past few years, and this purchase will allow for even greater development and sales opportunities in the future," the Cousins executive says.

Cousins Real Estate Corp. is a subsidiary of Cousins Properties Inc. Temco's land purchase follows Cousins Properties Inc.'s estimated $15-million acquisition of 304 acres in Jefferson, Jackson County, where the REIT plans to develop a spec 3.2-million-sf business park, as GlobeSt.com reported this week.