664,000-SF Mall Hits the Market

ATLANTA-The 664,079-sf regional mall and community center Gallery at South DeKalb has been put on the market by owners New York-based Thor Equities LLC. The property could sell for $75 million to $85 million, managing director Chris Turner, of Houston-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler which is marketing the property, tells GlobeSt.com.

The Gallery at South DeKalb is located on a 78-acre site. All but a 170,000-sf Macy's located on a five-acre site will be included in the sale. The center is currently 98% leased with local national tenants, such as Amazing Rooms, Ashley Stewart and Champs Sports. The property also contains a 50,000-sf community center with services provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles, US Social Security, Georgia Power and South DeKalb Dental Center. A new 12-screen movie theater is schedule to open February 2007.

Turner says Thor Equities acquired the property about three years with a plan to renovate the property and improve the tenant mix. "[Thor] has done a very good job of renovating the property. They installed marble flooring and skylights and put a new roof one," Turner says.

While the center has strong financials, the buyer of the property is likely to be an investor seeking to improve the property. Improvement opportunities, such as the development of outparcels and retenanting of portions of the center, exist. "It's got a good cash flow but there are still value-added opportunities," Turner says.

The center is located at 2801 Chandler Rd. directly off Interstate 20 in Decatur, eight miles southeast of Downtown Atlanta, an area that is experiencing revitalization and growth. "The Gallery at DeKalb is a tremendous opportunity given the limited retail competition in the area and increasing net income in the last two years," Turner says. "Demographics surrounding the center support this untapped potential, including the fact that the area consists of the second most affluent concentration of African-Americans in the nation."