GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Hogan Requests Zoning Change for Third Tower

ATLANTA-Hogan Group of Tampa, FL, one of the Southeast’s most successful merchant office developers, is aiming for a third high-rise tower at the 13-acre Glenridge Highlands park in suburban Dunwoody, GA.

But he first needs a rezoning clearance from both the Fulton County community zoning board and the full commission which meets Oct. 3.

Hogan couldn’t be reached at GlobeSt.com’s publication deadline to learn what the developer would do if the rezoning request is rejected.

But area brokers tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity that Hogan’s argument for the rezoning will be that it would be easier and simpler to build the 11-story, 285,000-sf structure for an estimated hard construction cost of $43 million near his two other high-rise properties than to accommodate Cingular Wireless’ expansion needs in several nearby buildings.

Doing that would create new traffic congestion in the area. A new tower, however, would contain the existing traffic flow, Hogan will argue.

Cingular is the lead tenant at Hogan’s Glenridge Highlands Two, a 19-story, 98% leased, 436,000-sf tower completed in 2000 at an estimated hard construction cost of $65 million.

That building is now on the selling block at an estimated asking price of $200 per sf or about $87 million, local brokers familiar with the suburban office market tell GlobeSt.com.

Cingular is also leasing 376,000 sf at the Nortel Networks campus in suburban Alpharetta, GA, 30 miles north of Downtown Atlanta.

Hogan’s Glenridge Highlands One, a 12-story, 330,000-sf, 100%-leased structure was built in 1998 at an estimated hard construction cost of $50 million or $152 per sf. The building was sold in 2000 for $63.7 million or $193 per sf.

If Hogan builds his third tower, he will have completed 951,000 sf of class A product at a single site. But the new tower would face immediate competition from two other planned products.

Pope & Land Development Co. plans to erect a 350,000-sf building at an estimated hard construction cost of $53 million at the 18-acre One Glenlake site at GA 400 and Abernathy Road.

Another developer group, Jones Lang LaSalle and Transwestern are marketing an 11-story, 275,000-sf spec tower at Glenridge Point. The three towers, if completed, would add 910,000 sf of new class A product to the 21.9 million-sf Interstate 285-GA 400 submarket, according to the latest research from Atlanta-based Richard Bowers & Co.

The class A space in this submarket totals 13.4 million sf with an occupancy rate of 91.06% and an average asking rent of $24.62 per sf.