Category: Commercial Real Estate

New additions at the Milton, Ga. mixed-use destination will range from barbecue and sushi restaurants to a gourmet market and brewery. 

This is shaping up to be a milestone year for Crabapple Market, the live-work-play destination in Milton Ga., in North Metro Atlanta.

Since its opening, the mixed-use development has been consistently growing its roster of office, retail and restaurant tenants. With construction now complete on a major expansion, Crabapple Market is getting ready for its busiest year of restaurant and retail openings.

More than a typical shopping destination, Crabapple Market is creating a new downtown “Main Street” environment, with a pedestrian-friendly streetscape lined with buildings featuring brick façade detailing and floor-to-ceiling arched windows. There is also The Green – a park-like gathering space for the community – as well as a stage for concerts, movies and theatrical performances.

As construction was buzzing throughout the past year, project leasing representatives Courtney Brumbelow and Haley Hartman of Ackerman Retail were busy completing numerous restaurant and retail leases that filled up all but one of the restaurant spaces in the expanded project.

So, what’s coming in 2022?

The restaurant openings will include:

DUA Vietnamese – An authentic Vietnamese restaurant specializing in Pho and noodle soups, as well as rice and egg-noodle dishes. Crabapple Market will be its fifth metro Atlanta location.

Roll On In Sushi Burritos & Bowls – Opening its second metro Atlanta location at Crabapple, the restaurant serves sushi burritos, tacos, bowls and donuts.

Spiced Right Ribhouse – An “old-school and authentic” Georgia barbecue restaurant offering ribs, pulled pork, chicken, brisket and smoked turkey BBQ meals, as well as BBQ tacos, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant also operates a Roswell location.

Six Bridges Brewing – A second location of the family-owned brewery, with a taproom, games and sports on multiple TVs.

Nest Café – Marking the second location of the eatery, Nest Café offers breakfast, brunch and lunch in a laidback coffeehouse setting.

Buzzed Bull Creamery – Handcrafted ice creams and milkshakes, including alcohol-infused options. Buzzed Bull Creamery is also planning to open several other metro Atlanta locations.

Alumni Cookie Dough – Serving cookie dough by the scoop, with special items including cookie dough sundaes, milkshakes, pretzel bites and snickerdoodle bites. There is also a Marietta location.

“With the new restaurants, along with the growing retail lineup and the community-focused amenities, Crabapple Market is a place where visitors can enjoy everything from breakfast at a café in the morning, to a great lunch or dinner with family or friends, craft beers after work and community events at The Green,” said Courtney.

New additions to the retail lineup include:

Savi Provisions – A market specializing in gourmet and organic foods, wines and spirits.

Evimero Marketplace – Featuring artisan-made gifts and home goods.

Kitchens By Design Firm – Offering a range of kitchen and other installations, including cabinets, bathroom vanities, bookcases, entertainment centers and more.

Loveday Place – Curated by artist Donna Loveday, the artisan market concept features locally crafted artwork.

Dinna Eckstein Designs – The Store (Now Open) – Provides innovative home furnishings and accessories.

Prescott Design – A full-service interior design studio offering services for home remodeling and ground-up construction.

The expansion of Crabapple Market added 11 new buildings ranging from one to three stories. In addition to the diverse mix of restaurants and retailers, Crabapple Market also features Class A offices and luxury residences.

After Initial Pandemic-Induced Challenges, Outlook Is Healthy for Medical Office Sector

During the initial months of the pandemic, the medical sector faced its fair share of challenges.

Job losses were on the rise, as some medical practices were forced to shut down temporarily. In all, there were 1.4 million healthcare services industry jobs cut in the first two months of the pandemic.

Vacancies also rose, peaking at nearly 9% nationwide.

But the sector recovered quickly – and at a much faster rate than traditional office – and long-term trends are on a healthy trajectory.

According to CoStar, nationwide vacancy rates in the medical sector are near decade-long lows, while the construction pipeline is extremely limited (less than 1% of total inventory). Healthcare trends are also favorable. Demand for services is picking up as patients schedule elective office visits and procedures that were postponed during the height of the pandemic. In the long-term, the aging of the U.S. population will drive demand for services that will, in turn, boost the need for medical space.

Kevin Ehringer, Vice President for Ackerman Medical in charge of leasing Ackerman & Co.’s portfolio of medical office properties in metro Atlanta, said he has been seeing robust demand for space, particularly in recent months.

“At the outset, healthcare practices were dealing with various issues caused by the pandemic or had to shut down temporarily – dermatology, ophthalmology, dentistry to name a few,” Kevin said. “Things are pretty much back to normal now. Primary care and specialty practices are going gangbusters.”

The heightened demand for space is reflected in recent statistics. According to CoStar, medical office space leased monthly has surpassed the five-year average for the past six months.

Ackerman is seeing solid demand for its medical office availabilities. The company, which has developed and acquired more 3.5 million square feet of medical office space since its inception, has been consistently completing leases with physicians and healthcare practices.

Recent leases Kevin has completed for Ackerman Medical include a 7,669-square-foot lease with Schilling Cosmetic Surgery & Aesthetics at 1050 Eagles Landing Parkway, a 3,320-square-foot lease with Avail Dermatology/Epiphany Dermatology at Prestige Park and 1,452-square-foot lease with Regenerative Spine & Pain Specialists at Prestige Park. Some of his major lease renewals include a 9,057-square-foot deal with Georgia Urology at Marietta Medical Center.

Although demand is strong, Kevin pointed out that snowball effects brought about by the lingering pandemic have led to one increasingly common criteria among tenants seeking space.

“Medical practices want built-out, turn-key space, rather than shell space that needs to be planned, engineered and constructed,” he said.

The increasing costs of construction materials, access to those materials and labor shortages, along with  delays in permitting, inspections and other municipal approvals are some of the issues tenants can avoid by moving into turn-key space.

The type of build-out space tenants are seeking are currently available at several Ackerman & Co. medical office properties, including the 58,317-square-foot 1050 Eagles Landing, 41,450-square-foot Prestige Park, 98,534-square foot Marietta Medical Center and at Perimeter Town Center, an Ackerman redevelopment.

While the ongoing pandemic and current economic uncertainty are creating challenges for all commercial real estate sectors, the medical sector is proving to be resilient and is expected to benefit from healthy long-term growth prospects.

Braselton Crossroads industrial park provides direct access to I-85, a corridor connecting Atlanta submarkets & Southeast economic hubs.

Some of the highest performing industrial submarkets in metro Atlanta straddle Interstate 85, one of the busiest transportation corridors in the U.S. The ability to conveniently access fast-growing consumer markets in Atlanta and beyond has made the I-85 corridor an increasingly important location for distribution and logistics.

Ackerman & Co. has long recognized the strategic advantages of this corridor and has extensive experience developing and acquiring distribution centers along I-85 in Northeast Atlanta. The company constructed a 1 MSF speculative distribution center leased to and later purchased by Uline Inc., one of the country’s top business supply companies. Located in Braselton, Ga., the facility has become the consolidated hub for the company’s Southeast distribution operations and benefits from convenient access to two nearby I-85 interchanges.

As Ackerman & Co. strives to meet the growing demand for industrial space along the corridor, the company continues to pursue development of new Class A facilities.

Ackerman & Co.’s latest project in this area is Braselton Crossroads, positioned on a 65-acre site providing direct access to I-85. Ackerman plans to begin construction later this year on three facilities totaling nearly 500,000 SF: 161,000-SF Building 200, 150,000 SF Building 300 and 150,000-SF Building 400.

The Class A facilities will feature clear heights up to 32 feet, six-inch ProSlab concrete floors, white TPO roofing, abundant auto parking and truck loading bays.

“The I-85 corridor is a much sought-after location for retailers, distributors and manufacturers thanks to its strong population and economic growth,” said Brett Buckner, Senior Vice President in Ackerman & Co.’s Industrial Services Group. He’s teaming with VP Chris Miller to lease the space. “Braselton Crossroads provides a strategic location and will offer the most modern design features for today’s high-efficiency distribution operations.”

The neighboring Duluth/Suwanee/Buford industrial submarket has a lengthy stretch of I-85 access. Ackerman’s new project is located in the far northwest corner of the South Bartow submarket in the only section offering direct I-85 access, making it a highly desirable distribution location.

Demand for industrial space along I-85 in metro Atlanta is only expected to rise in the future. In fact, the portion of the I-85 corridor stretching from Atlanta to the North Carolina-Virginia border is increasingly recognized as an economic powerhouse.

“With strong demographic growth, locational and infrastructure advantages and pro-growth government entities, the corridor is primed to emerge as a ‘megaregion’ over the next several years,” according to a recent CoStar analysis. This stretch of I-85 already has a nickname – “Charlanta” for its two biggest cities, Atlanta and Charlotte. I-95.

Economic activity in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina is largely concentrated along I-85, with the 33 counties in this corridor accounting for $543.5 billion in gross regional product (GRP), or 43% of the GRP in the three states, according to CoStar.

Along I-85 and across metro Atlanta, demand is booming for well-located distribution, e-commerce and manufacturing space. The 29.1 million square feet of space absorbed in the past year in Atlanta is second- highest in the nation, behind only Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Class A facilities at Braselton Crossroads are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. In addition to leasing space at Braselton Crossroads, Brett Buckner and Chris Miller are also leading leasing efforts at two sites Ackerman & Co. has retained at the Class A Rockdale Technology Center in the I-20 East industrial submarket. Build-to-suit and pre-lease opportunities are now available.

Seeking industrial space? Contact Brett at bbuckner@ackermanco.net or Chris at cmiller@ackermanco.net

Atlanta’s appeal as a destination for corporate relocations is helping to boost its economy and fill office space in locations ranging from Midtown Atlanta to the suburbs. Despite these large corporate move-ins, the office market in metro Atlanta has been showing signs of demand softening – with vacancies up by 2.7% over the past 12 months – as the market continues to grapple with the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What will it take to keep and attract new tenants in today’s evolving office market?

This challenge was a big topic of discussion at Atlanta Bisnow’s “What’s Driving Atlanta CRE?” event held at the new 712 West Peachtree tower in Midtown Atlanta. Representatives from four Atlanta commercial real estate firms offered their perspectives on the latest CRE trends, with an in-depth discussion on the office sector.

Taylor Smith, Southeast Regional Director for Rubenstein Partners, said COVID-19 impacts have accentuated trends that were already taking shape.

“You can look at COVID as an accelerant,” he said. At a time when more space users are experimenting with hybrid in-office and remote working options for their employees, his team has arrived at a clear conclusion.

“I think the one thing that will stick is a concentration on amenities,” he said.

Cousins Properties EVP Kennedy Hicks agreed. “I’m not convinced that the new normal looks much different than where we were heading pre-Covid. This has given everybody time to reflect on the office space needs for their company.”

She added: “You’ve got to make the environment something where people want to come to work. Companies will continue to focus on using their office space to provide the amenities, the lifestyle and the conveniences employees want.”

These conveniences and amenities can increasingly be found at mixed-use developments offering a variety of both indoor and outdoor amenities.

Ackerman & Co. SVP Steve Langford told the audience about two Atlanta projects that are representative of this trend.

Lee + White, a 433,000-square-foot adaptive re-use development in the West End of Atlanta co-owned by Ackerman and MDH Partners, is home to popular breweries, distilleries, food manufacturers and retailers. In the next phase of the redevelopment now underway, the investment partners are adding 150,000 square feet of creative loft office space that has already attracted a new HQ location for an innovative nanotechnology company.

A major draw for office tenants is the project’s diverse mix amenities, including ½ mile of direct Atlanta BeltLine access and an abundance of outdoor patio and green spaces. The current phase of the development will add more amenities, including a food hall and a great lawn for events and community gatherings.

There is also Six West, a planned $1-billion mixed-use project in the shadow of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Steve Langford is the exclusive land broker for the project, designed to be a 24/7 work-live-play destination incorporating Class A office, stores and boutiques, hotels, restaurants, and single-family and multifamily residential.

Langford said the project’s location at the doorstep of the world’s busiest airport combined with the varied amenities – which also include the nearby College Park MARTA rail station and a recreational trail circling the project – should help Six West stand out in its efforts to attract national and international HQ operations.

Taylor Smith pointed to Alpharetta’s Sanctuary Park office complex as another development that has added an array of amenities. A multimillion-dollar capital improvement initiative went into opening the Clubhouse, which offers tenants a food hall, athletic club and training facility. A newly added perk is a micro-mobility program offering tenants e-scooters, e-bikes and traditional bikes to navigate throughout the campus. The property also offers two miles of walking and jogging trails.

‘Firing On All Cylinders’
Since the ‘What’s Driving CRE?” event was held in Midtown in the fast-growing Tech Square corridor, it was only natural that the panelists discussed the emergence of Midtown Atlanta as an increasingly important tech hub benefitting from the resources and talent of Georgia Tech.

High-profile space commitments in Midtown include Google leasing 500,000 square feet at 1105 West Peachtree Street and Microsoft occupying 523,000 square feet at Atlantic Yards, with future plans also calling for the software and technology giant to establish an East Coast headquarters campus at Quarry Yards on the West Side.

While these and other relocations to Midtown including MailChimp’s 300,000 square foot expanded headquarters in the nearby Old Fourth Ward neighborhood are impressive, the Atlanta metro area as a whole is benefitting from high-profile corporate relocations.

“Atlanta is firing on all cylinders,” said Kennedy Hicks. “It’s not just Midtown. Companies will gravitate toward amenities and mixed-use development, and you can find those in Alpharetta at Avalon, in Buckhead [among other submarkets].”

Steve Langford said the influx of corporate relocations is influenced in part by the COVID-19 crisis, which spurred organizations to investigate lower-cost locations for their business operations. “When Covid hit, a number of businesses, particularly in the Northeast, started looking at the Sunbelt markets, especially Atlanta,” Langford said.

He added: “Atlanta really stood out. We’re fortunate that Atlanta has an increasingly diversified economy. This will really bode well for Atlanta going forward.”

While Atlanta’s CRE sector faces similar challenges to other markets across the country, the panel agreed that the metro area’s advantages, including its lower business costs compared to gateway markets, place it in a healthy position to continue thriving.

Investment Sales Experts Sean Patrick and KB Yabuku Produce Impressive Results for Clients  

As high-producing brokers for Ackerman Retail who team up to develop prospects and complete investment sales transactions, Sean Patrick and KB Yabuku share quite a bit in common.

They both have extensive commercial real estate expertise ranging from net-lease sales, project development and asset management to site selection and property leasing.

Traveling is a hobby both enjoy – recent visits for Sean include Athens and Santorini in Greece, while one of KB’s favorite trips was to Barcelona and Ibiza, Spain.

They also both have similar approaches to their work. When KB lists some of the traits that he considers crucial for success as broker – “tenacious, analytical, sociable, driven” – Sean agrees with him.

Oh, and then there’s the way they describe themselves.

“Two of the best bald brokers in the business,” says KB.

“Two of the best AND good-looking bald brokers, I might add,” says Sean, laughing.

So, with these similarities, it’s not surprising that they make an effective Investment Sales team for Ackerman Retail. Sean and KB advise investors on dispositions and acquisitions, with both single-tenant and multi-tenant retail properties and portfolios representing key areas of focus.

Roots in ATL
KB and Sean share another thing in common – Atlanta roots. Sean is an Atlanta native born at Piedmont Hospital, and KB grew up in College Park after his family moved to metro Atlanta when he was three years old.

When he was an undergraduate student at Georgia State University, KB said professor David Haddow was a big reason he became interested in real estate.

“I took David’s Real Estate Market Analysis course as an elective and I was hooked. That semester, I switched my major from marketing to real estate, picked up an internship with Cushman and Wakefield and never looked back,” says KB. He credits Haddow and Ron Whitley (former Chief Diversity Officer at Cushman & Wakefield) for setting him on the path of a successful career in commercial real estate.

Sean, who received a Civil Engineering degree from Auburn University, started his real estate career working in the development side of the business, first at the civil engineering firm Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan in Florida and then as a project manager focusing on power center civil engineering design at Wolverton & Associates. Next, at Bullock Mannelly Partners, he established himself in development and brokerage, focusing on sales of residential, retail and multifamily land. He did so after meeting two successful brokers who would eventually move over to Ackerman & Co. with him – John Speros and Larry Wood.

“They were closing big deals and I thought, ‘I want to do what they do,’” Sean said. Around the Great Recession of 2008, Sean completed his CCIM certification and now focuses on private client retail investment sales with KB.

KB brings an equally wide range of experience. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business and an MBA in Finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

KB gained experience in office leasing as a tenant rep at the Staubach Company and Jones Lang LaSalle. He then became a commercial real estate underwriter at BB&T and later focused on investment sales with a specialty in net-lease retail and industrial properties at the Stan Johnson Company. He also spent two years in commercial real estate development, managing retail and industrial build-to-suit and redevelopment projects at Hart Lyman Companies.

“KB and I are able to combine our strategies and experience to gain new clients. Our experiences and backgrounds complement each other’s,” said Sean.

Between the two of them, Sean and KB have over 42 years of experience.

Thinking Outside The Box

Sean and KB are committed to providing solutions that help buyers and sellers maximize the value of their investments. While they’re proud of their deal-making track records, they view themselves as much more than transaction brokers. With their wide-ranging commercial real estate expertise, they’re able to provide additional services to help clients achieve their long-term business goals.

“We’re not just like every other broker. Our approach is all about thinking outside the box and adding real value for our clients,” said KB.

Added Sean, “Our approach to serving our clients is tied to the Ackerman approach to commercial real estate. A lot of us are investors and own real estate, so we understand what it’s like to be in the client’s shoes and how to bring extra expertise and services to the table to meet their needs.”

Customizing services to match the objectives of their clients is a big part of what they do.

“We try to serve as the back office for our clients. For instance, if our clients need help raising capital or with site selection or other assistance, we can do that ourselves or utilize Ackerman’s full-services platform and the expertise of our Ackerman Retail colleagues,” said KB.

One of their recent deals is representative of the value they bring to their clients.

In marketing and selling the Childtime Learning Center of Kennesaw on behalf of the owner, they attracted six offers and succeeded in selling the property at 100 percent of the listing price at a cap rate of 8.75 percent. This was definitely a great result for a value-add property with a short-term lease.

Sean and KB are also currently in the process of creating strategic business plans for several clients interested in selling portfolio assets across the Southeast.

“We’ve been successful completing deals despite the challenging environment during the pandemic and we expect transactions to pick up steam now that the retail sector is slowly improving,” Sean said. “The Southeast has diversified its economy. This is a great place to do what we do and add value.”

Are you a buyer or seller seeking expertise to maximize your investments? Contact Sean at spatrick@ackermanco.net or KB at kyabuku@ackermanco.net

The project’s development team gives Atlanta’s CRE community an update on the exciting mixed-use project.

For many of the Atlanta commercial real estate professionals who attended the sold out Construction Coffee Club breakfast at the Buckhead Club on Thursday, it was their first large in-person event since virtual Zoom meetings became the norm during the pandemic.

The event provided an opportunity for the Six West development team to update the CRE community on the $1.5-billion mixed-use development in College Park, which will offer a dynamic mix of offices, restaurants, shopping, entertainment venues, hotels and single-family and multifamily residential.

On a beautiful spring-like day coinciding with a sense of optimism that the country just might be turning the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s fitting that the mood was upbeat about the project.

“Things are moving fast. There are a lot of development sites that are already closed, so we need to get going,” said Jesse Frasier, Partner at BDR Partners, serving as project manager for Six West. “We’re starting construction in 2021.”

College Park held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the 320-acre project last October. Like many other real estate developments, Six West has experienced some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the economy.

“The good news is that during this time we still had activity and we still had interest from developers,” said Ackerman & Co. Senior Vice President Steve Langford, the exclusive broker for the project.

Langford noted that construction will begin as early as this summer on several components of the multiphase project, including residential, office and hotel developments. He said he expects there to be announcements soon on development commitments for specific parcels.

About 87 acres has been spoken for, roughly 27% of the 320-acre site.

“Let me put that into perspective for you. The first phase of Avalon encompassed 80 acres. So right now with what we have under contract and are currently in discussions with, we’re pretty much at the size of phase 1 of the Avalon development,” said Langford, referring to the hugely successful mixed-use development in Alpharetta.

The Six West Difference

Six West is designed to be a 24/7 work-live-play destination. The development team discussed key features that will set Six West apart from existing and planned mixed-use projects in metro Atlanta.

“The Six West development has a lot of really nice infrastructure all around it,” said Artie Jones, Director of Economic Development for College Park.

Of course, its strategic location next to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a huge benefit. In addition to creating a built-in customer base for the project’s many attractions, developers also hope the airport will be a draw for national and international HQ operations.

Six West is also walkable from the College Park MARTA rail station and conveniently accessible via I-75, I-85 and I-285.

“The most important things about Six West are affordability, connectivity and accessibility,” said Steve Langford.

The construction of a pedestrian bridge connecting the Georgia International Convention Center and the Gateway Center Arena to Six West will boost accessibility. The pedestrian experience within the development will be enhanced by the walkable streetscape extending from downtown College Park’s street grid, and a pedestrian trail will circle the development.

Investors will be able to purchase and develop sites at a lower cost than in Midtown, Buckhead and many other prominent Atlanta districts.

“Relative to other major projects around the city, this project is hands down more affordable for a business to relocate to,” Langford said.

The project’s Incremental District near the entrance will feature smaller-scale developments designed to attract local businesses.

“This [College Park] is a big area where people were moved out of,” said Bill de St. Aubin, CEO of the Sizemore Group, referring to the residential properties vacated as part of the FAA’s noise abatement program beginning in the 1980s. The Incremental District provides an opportunity for local residents to participate in the project.

The Incremental District is designed to bring the ambiance of downtown College Park into Six West. The district’s walkable streets and alleys will be lined with restaurants, shops and offices. Strategies will be implemented to support local business owners and help them purchase parcels and implement their visions.

“How can local residents benefit? One of the ways they can benefit is by becoming small developers, by owning a piece of it,” said de St. Aubin, whose company created the Six West masterplan with community input. “This district is for small, local owners.”

About the Construction Coffee Club
The Construction Coffee Club, created by Chris Maier of Cooper & Company General Contractors, schedules breakfast meetings and other events for Atlanta’s construction and real estate community.

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 crisis created unexpected challenges for the commercial real estate industry in 2020.

Despite the uncertain environment, there were many bright spots at Ackerman & Co. throughout the year, thanks to the hard work of our experienced and diverse team of brokers and professional advisors.

From industrial and office leases to building and land sales to deals for restaurant and retail space, our brokers completed a steady flow of transactions.

Some of our major transactions during the year included a 710,962-square-foot lease of an e-commerce distribution facility in Florida; a 325,000-square-foot build-to-suit project at Ackerman’s Rockdale Technology Center for a regional distribution center; and a 75,205-square-foot lease with Goodwill of North Georgia for their new distribution and donation center.

Our Ackerman Retail brokers had a successful year completing a number of high-profile restaurant and retail leases. These included lease signings that will bring gourmet food market Savi Provisions and workout studio Twisted Cycle to Crabapple Market in Milton, Ga., this spring; a 17,850-square-foot lease for a new Shoe Gallery store in Cumming, Ga.; lease signings that added Henri’s Bakery & Café, Siete Tacos + Tequila, and The Original Hot Dog Factory to Marietta Square Market; and a lease for a new location of the upscale brunch spot Gocha’s Breakfast Bar in Fayetteville, Ga.

Also, our Investment Sales team was busy in 2020, with transactions that included a 30,000 square foot medical office building in Newnan, Ga., where Ackerman Medical also completed lease extensions to maintain 100 percent occupancy.

These represent just a sampling of our transactions.

And Ackerman & Co. and its partner MDH Partners are moving forward with the $85-million redevelopment and expansion of the Lee + White mixed-use project in Atlanta’s West End. The next phase of development at the popular entertainment destination will include loft offices, a food hall, public spaces, additional retail options and multifamily units.

Congratulations to our brokers of the year
Continuing an annual tradition, Ackerman & Co. also recognized the achievements of our brokers with our Broker of the Year and Young Broker of the Year awards.

The leader of our Land Group John Speros enjoyed another banner year, earning him the Broker of the Year honor – for the second year in a row. The dollar value of his deals exceeded $100 million. John works closely with his colleagues Kyle Gable and JT Speros in the Land Group.

“John really didn’t skip a beat this past year in his deal-making, which is a testament to his experience and the proven process he and his team have developed to complete land sales on behalf of their clients,” said Kris Miller.

In 2020, John’s biggest deal was the sale of 14.8 acres at Sandy Plains Marketplace for $42 million. Another major deal, completed with David Branch of SSG Realty partners, was the sale of a 4.6-acre parcel for $15.8 million that will become Porter on Peachtree, a mixed-use project featuring 291 multifamily units and 17,600 square feet of ground-level retail.

Other significant transactions for John included the sale of 67.9 acres for $5.8 million for a Meritage Homes development of 152 single-family homes and 20.37 acres for $5.6 million for the next phase of the Exchange at Gwinnett mixed-use project.

In addition to recognizing the top producer, Ackerman is also excited to announce that our Young Broker of the Year for 2020 is Will Goff.

Will’s main focus is brokering raw land and redevelopment sites, along with providing site selection services. Since joining Ackerman in 2017, Will has been involved in brokering land transactions for a wide range of uses, including residential, retail, mixed-use and industrial projects. His transactions during that time total nearly $40 million.

“Will is one of our hardest-working brokers. He can often be seen in his office at 7:30 in the morning to get started on his work, and he always has a positive attitude,” said F. Keene Miller. “In addition to his commitment to helping his clients achieve their business goals, Will is always trying to expand his knowledge. These qualities will serve him well as he grows his career in commercial real estate.”

A large portion of Will’s business is currently focused on representing developers to identify sites for multifamily and industrial projects. Will has carved out a niche in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and outside storage space, with current projects spanning across the Sunbelt from Atlanta to Houston and Charlotte to Tampa.

Will is pursuing a Master of Real Estate Development at Georgia Tech and is a CCIM candidate, having completed all course work and portfolio requirements for the designation. He plans to take the final qualifying exam at the next availability.

Read more about our brokerage group here: https://www.ackermanco.com/real-estate-services/overview/

Crabapple Market is a mixed-use development that connects seamlessly with the residential streets of downtown Milton, Ga. Bringing together a variety of restaurants, retailers, businesses and professional services firms, Crabapple Market is building a tenant lineup that increasingly makes it a bustling gathering place for Milton residents and other visitors from morning through night.

Located about 27 miles north of downtown Atlanta, Milton recently received recognition from 24/7 Wall Street Media Network as Georgia’s No. 1 city to live in.

Ackerman Retail’s Courtney Brumbelow and Haley Hartman recently completed leases that will bring gourmet market Savi Provisions and fitness studio Twisted Cycle to the development. The two new tenants expect to open their new locations in spring 2021.

The food market and a gym are important additions that fit in with the overall goal of creating a destination with diverse and well-rounded offerings.

“The walkable layout, strong tenant mix and the connectivity to the surrounding community make this a great location for Savi Provisions,” said Paul Nair, owner of Savi Provisions.

Added Courtney Brumbelow, “This project has broad appeal to retailers that want to be in a mixed-use development offering a dynamic tenant mix and a family-friendly environment. We expect to have new lease signings soon.”

Phase one of the 200,000-square-foot development is complete. The next phase – scheduled to be finished next year – will add retail and restaurant spaces as well as more public spaces for visitors, including a stage for concerts and movies, a recreational path and rooftop patios overlooking downtown.

Savi Provisions will bring additional foot traffic to the development beginning in the morning hours. In addition to gourmet grocery items and made-to-order meals, Savi’s Crabapple location will house a walk-up coffee bar and specialty juice bar. There will also be a revolving schedule of food and wine tastings. Twisted Cycle – an indoor cycling and HIIT workout studio – will provide a state-of-the-art exercise destination for the health-conscious Milton community.

Although a new development, Crabapple’s architectural design – created by Pieper O’Brien Herr – draws on historic Italian design elements, with striking brick detailing and floor-to-ceiling arched windows. The building placement creates plazas for outdoor retail and restaurant dining.

Keep up with new additions to the tenant lineup at Crabapple Market by following Ackerman Retail on Twitter and Instagram!

As photographers captured the moment, City of College Park officials recently turned shovels in dirt that will become part of Six West, a $1.5-billion mixed-use project next to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

It was the official groundbreaking for a project that will bring one of metro Atlanta’s most ambitious and transformative commercial developments to south Atlanta. This is a part of metro Atlanta that has traditionally been underserved when it comes to high-quality retail, office and entertainment offerings.

A key project representative who has been hard at work behind the scenes helping to make this huge project a reality is Steve Langford, one of Ackerman & Co.’s most experienced and accomplished brokers. As the exclusive broker representing College Park, Steve is in the process of meeting with a number of high-profile developers interested in securing land for their projects.

“The commercial real estate community is enthusiastic about the prospects of this project as we continue to field ongoing offers related to available opportunities within the development,” Steve said.

He added that several developers are pursuing parcels for retail, office and hotel development. Announcements are expected soon on purchase commitments.

A new business and entertainment hub
The multi-phase development, which will comprise more than 300 acres, will create a vibrant extension of the historic College Park community. The City foresees the office component of the project – which could ultimately total 2.3 million square feet – attracting corporate HQs seeking to capitalize on the site’s proximity to the world’s busiest airport. Plans also call for an exciting mix of restaurants, shopping, entertainment venues, hotels and single- and multi-family residential developments.

Six West is in walking distance to the College Park MARTA rail station and easily accessible to Atlanta’s extensive Interstate system, key attributes that will help it attract visitors and businesses alike.

Prioritizing interconnectivity and walkability, Six West’s masterplan also includes the construction of a pedestrian bridge connecting Georgia International Convention Center and Gateway Center at College Park to the project’s planned multipurpose park and its streetscape, which will be surrounded by a 5K walking trail.

City officials are excited that the project will revitalize a large swath of land – largely residential properties – vacated as part of the FAA’s noise abatement program starting in the 1980s. The City of College Park paid more than $40 million to buy back the land to make the ambitious project possible.

“This land paves the way for imagining a new chapter for College Park,” said College Park Director of Economic Development Artie Jones, at the recent groundbreaking celebration.

Added Mayor Bianca Motley Broom, “This is yet another step toward building the community we deserve. We’ve come a long way by continuing to work together. We eagerly await the future.”

The master-planned development is part of Aerotropolis Atlanta, a blueprint for spurring development aimed at transforming the Airport vicinity into a dynamic destination with multi-modal transportation options.

A recent example of a project that serves as a model for economic development in College Park is the recently completed Gateway Center, a multipurpose sports and entertainment venue. The $45-million facility is home to the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Hawks’ G-League team, the College Park Skyhawks, and also hosts concerts and conventions.

Six West will be the biggest addition yet to the growing slate of attractions near the Airport, which also include the Porsche Driving Experience and the Delta Flight Museum and Chick-fil-A headquarters tours.

With a history of more than 50 years as one of Atlanta’s leading commercial real estate firms, Ackerman & Co. has built its success on the strength of its full-services platform.

Expanding its staff with experienced brokers who have deep and specialized commercial real estate expertise has been crucial to the firm’s growth over the years. Ackerman & Co. continues to make strategic additions to its staff even during the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The firm has bolstered its Investment Sales services with the recent addition of three experienced brokers – KB Yabuku, Daniel Yi and Jude Sullivan (left to right below). They’ll help strengthen the firm’s services to buyers and sellers of commercial real estate properties, particularly investors in retail and office assets.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to strengthen our Brokerage group,” said F. Keene Miller, President of Brokerage for Ackerman & Co. “Today’s economic environment presents unique challenges and opportunities. These new additions to our Brokerage group will expand our relationships in the investment community. They’ll also provide crucial market and transaction expertise to help our clients make the best investments to achieve their long-term business goals.”

KB Yabuku is a proven high-producing Investment Sales broker who has experience working with programmatic developers, institutional owners and high-net-worth investors. He comes to Ackerman from Hart Lyman Companies, where he was Southeast managing Director with a focus on retail development and site selection for Fortune 500 companies nationwide.

Daniel Yi provides more than 12 years of commercial real estate expertise and deep relationships with a wide range of investors, including international clients. Most recently, Daniel was a Director at Newmark Knight Frank.

“The combination of skills and experience that KB and Daniel provide will be a great asset to our Investment Sales services and the entire Ackerman Retail platform,” said Leo Wiener, President of Ackerman Retail.

Jude Sullivan brings specialized expertise in the office sector and has represented a wide range of investors in the sale and purchase of single and multi-tenant properties. During his time at Bull Realty, Jude was recognized as a Top 10 Broker for annual production.

“Jude brings us outstanding market knowledge and a dedication to helping buyers and sellers implement strategic investments,” said F. Keene Miller. “We’re excited to strengthen our Investment Sales services with these key additions to our Brokerage group.”