Cousins Disposes of Galleria 75 in Atlanta Submarket

ATLANTA—Cousins Properties has sold Galleria 75, an office complex in the Cumberland-Galleria submarket of Atlanta. Baker Bennard & Goetz, along with a private family investor, purchased the asset.

The dollar amount of the transaction, a tax-deferred exchange under U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, was not disclosed. Cousins acquired the asset in 2004 for $11.4 million from Koll Bren Schreiber Realty Advisors.

Colliers International Atlanta vice president Huston Green and senior vice president Hayes Swann represented Cousins Properties. A team led by Deming Fish, senior vice president and director of Colliers’ Atlanta Landlord Services Group, will handle leasing at Galleria 75. Baker Dennard & Goetz will manage the property.

“Galleria 75 occupies a unique niche in the Cumberland-Galleria office market that made it very attractive to the investment community,” Swann said in a statement. “Located in close proximity to a multitude of retail, restaurants, hotels and banks, and enjoying direct access to I-75 and I-285 via Cumberland Boulevard, Highway 41 and Akers Mill Road, it is a low-cost alternative for tenants seeking office space in the true heart of the Cumberland-Galleria market.”

Completed in 1988, Galleria 75 is a two-building, 111,008-square-foot office development located on a seven-acre tract adjacent to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.  The property is about 95% occupied.

“The year 2012 for Atlanta is proving to be one of increased demand for commercial office properties, as many of our so-called ‘trophy towers’ have gone to market,” says Scott Taylor, president at Carter. “We're seeing an increased volume of high-quality office buildings on the market, and investors are building up their portfolios while they can still do so at prices that are a fraction of the cost compared to other markets.”