Category: Office

Container village opening this fall provides a unique, affordable brick & mortar option for new and growing businesses.

For businesses seeking brick-and-mortar space to sell their products, conventional storefronts can present challenges. Retail space is becoming increasingly scarce – CoStar reports that Atlanta’s 3.9% vacancy rate in 3Q 2022 is the lowest this century – and leasing costs are on the rise.

Businesses interested in expanding beyond an online presence or opening a new location have an affordable and unique option at the popular Lee + White mixed-use development in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood – shipping containers.

Investment partners Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners are integrating a container village at the property. Five shipping containers – located steps away from the project’s retailers, offices, breweries and restaurants – have attracted a variety of businesses ranging from an electric bike shop to specialty goods and eco-friendly retailers.

Featuring brightly painted exteriors with glass-door storefronts and entries, the containers occupy a prominent position on the property facing White Street next to a paved path providing access to the Atlanta Beltline.

“There’s no better or more affordable way for a business to get a start in a brick-and-mortar location than at a container space like this,” said Ackerman Retail SVP Kelly Wilson, who is leading the retail and food hall leasing efforts at Lee + White on behalf of ownership. “We’re excited about the unique mix of businesses that will be opening in our container village providing an affordable alternative for retailers to grow their businesses, and we’re thrilled that sustainable and eco-friendly products are part of the mix of items offered.”

Instead of a traditional lease, businesses sign a short-term license agreement (often 12 months or less), with costs included for power and other utilities. The lower cost and the short-term length of the agreement provide flexibility for businesses, which typically have the option to extend the license agreement to stay in the container space, or may ultimately choose to move into a larger leased space.

The Lee + White container village is launching this fall with a dynamic and eclectic group of businesses. Kelly has completed agreements with: Atlo, specializing in eco-friendly refills of everyday products; Coastal Green Wellness, a seller of organically produced CBD and hemp products, opening its second Atlanta location; Edison Bicycles, a locally-owned business selling its own brand of electric bikes, launching its third Atlanta location; Erin Smith Art, offering unique greeting cards, gift items and party supplies; and Highfalutin Press, selling a variety of gift products and specialty items.

The container retailers will benefit from heavy foot traffic from visitors to Lee + White’s exciting mix of tenants, which in early 2023 will include a 19-vendor food hall. They’ll also be able to draw customers from the bustling BeltLine trail, which is accessible via four direct entrances at Lee + White, unmatched by any other development in Atlanta.

Acquired by MDH Partners and Ackerman & Co. in September 2019, the ongoing adaptive reuse redevelopment recently welcomed the grand opening of the new headquarters and production facility for nanotechnology innovator Carbice. The lineup of food hall tenants so far includes Lake & Oak BBQ, The Original Hot Dog Factory, Gekko Hibachi & Sushi, Honeysuckle Gelato, Pastaholics, Crème de la Crepe and Cielito Lindo taqueria, with more eateries to be announced soon.

Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners are making exciting progress transforming the former “Warehouse Row” buildings in Atlanta’s historic West End community into a go-to mixed-use destination.

But the investment partners are involved in more than real estate development in the West End. In addition to forging ahead with the adaptive reuse development – which includes the addition of a food hall and Class A offices at the popular entertainment destination – Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners are committed to supporting efforts to improve the community.

An example of this is the decision to include two projects in the West End Community Improvement District: the 442,562-square-foot Lee + White project at the corner of Lee and White streets that Ackerman & Co. co-owns with MDH Partners and the Ackerman-owned 1200 White Street, a 212,500-square-foot facility now included within the CID.

Formed in 2017, the CID funds a variety of infrastructure, public safety and other initiatives. Ackerman & Co. will contribute extra property tax revenues from its properties located within the CID to help fund the CID’s programs.

West End Improvements
“We’re very happy to support the wide variety of initiatives underway in the West End CID that will benefit West End residents and those visiting the community,” said Leo Wiener, President of Ackerman Retail, the division of Ackerman & Co. spearheading retail and restaurant leasing at Lee + White.

Added Evan Ziegler, Senior Vice President of Investments for Ackerman: “As the owner of the recently acquired 1200 White Street Building, in addition to Lee + White, we see great value in becoming a member of the West End CID. It’s exciting to see the expansion of the CID along White Street.”

The West End CID’s initiatives include community programs such as the weekly Fresh MARTA Market and the Soccer in the Streets program at the soccer field next to the West End MARTA station.

The I-20 cleanup and landscaping project at the Lee Street and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard interchanges and a storefront redesign program and pedestrian improvements along the Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard corridor are among the current West End CID priorities.

The CID also has received a dedicated patrol car that will be used for safety patrols in the community.

“Ackerman bringing their properties into the West End CID is a huge win for us,” said Chris Pierre, Project Manager for the West End CID. “The fact that Ackerman sees the benefits of the CID speaks positively to other property owners who might be interested in including their projects in the CID.”

More about Ackerman & Co.’s West End Projects
A reinvention of mid-20^th century warehouse buildings in Atlanta’s historic West End, the trendsetting Lee + White mixed-use development is a melting pot of homegrown entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. Craft breweries, distilleries and food manufacturers are among the pioneers that joined Lee + White in the first phase of the redevelopment. The next phase of the transformation is adding creative loft offices, a 19-vendor food hall, unique retail concepts and a Central Lawn gathering place.

Located just down the road from Lee + White, 1200 White Street is a 212,500-square-foot facility providing convenient access to two nearby MARTA rail stations and MARTA bus service.

The economic news has been a bit gloomy in recent months.

Inflation has reached a 40-year high. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates twice in a two-month span to fight inflation. Consumer confidence is shaky.

At this time of economic uncertainty, it was a perfect opportunity for the NAIOP Georgia May Breakfast panel topic focusing on trends in commercial real estate investment.

Moderator Lance Patterson of Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group, started off the panel by quoting some famous opening lines from literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

Those lines from A Tale of Two Cities, he said, are a reminder that our current circumstances aren’t uniquely challenging. “We always think these times are hard, and no doubt they are, but we also think there are some good opportunities. So we’re going to try to be positive as well as realistic about what’s going on,” Patterson said.

He was joined in a wide-ranging and lively discussion on the current state of CRE investment by Kris Miller, President of Ackerman & Co., Tuba Malinowski, COO of Stockbridge, and Travis Johnson, Investment Director of Principal.

The panelists agreed that it’s important not to get carried away by the doom and gloom of today’s headlines.

“Ultimately, nothing’s as good as we think it is and nothing’s as bad as we think it is,” said Tuba Malinowski.

Kris Miller emphasized that, as a real estate investor, you shouldn’t become too distracted by economic and capital market considerations.

“Run the real estate as real estate. Make real estate decisions and the capital market issues will sort themselves out. Overall, you will be much more profitable in the long run doing what’s right for the real estate and you’ll also have way less angst,” he said.

Office investment opportunities
Buoyed in part by the boom of e-commerce, demand for industrial space has reached historic highs and made the sector a favorite among investors. While the office sector faces significant challenges, including an abundance of sublease availabilities, there is good reason for investors to keep office investment on their radar.

“The positive thing to me about the office market is that many of us decided we like going to work. We like consuming the product of office space and we don’t like working in our basement. We don’t like not seeing other people,” Miller said.

Opinions from some experts that the work-from-home model would become commonplace in a post-COVID world were likely overstated. Strong leasing volumes nationwide over the past three quarters demonstrate that companies are definitely returning to the office.

“They [office users] are looking for office space that is memorable,” Miller said. “You have to offer something that’s better than other office product, and that can be a lot of different things.”

Malinowski said Stockbridge continues to pursue office investment, but added her firm tends to be more selective in its office acquisitions than its industrial investments.

“It’s a matter of looking on an asset-by-asset basis, looking at the historical vacancy, and is it an asset that people want to come to, whether because of the people who are there or the amenities around it or the general surrounding area. I think all of our decisions about office properties are really on an asset-by-asset basis, whereas for industrial we can make more of a broad market decision,” she said.

Travis Johnson of Principal noted his firm is taking precautions by factoring in economic conditions when evaluating assets.

“We do a simulation of a moderate recession where we take each asset and plug it in… and see how that property performs under that type of stress,” he said.

While Kris Miller said his firm is keeping an eye on economic and capital market conditions, he added: “Our view is that inflation and interest rates are going to bump up, but it shouldn’t really change which properties you like and which you don’t.”

In other words, keep your focus on the fundamentals of real estate in the best of times and worst of times.

Developers say they are committed to incorporating affordable options and community-focused services to offset potential gentrification.

Adaptive reuse projects are booming across metro Atlanta.

The projects range from repurposing old warehouse properties into mixed-use developments to converting factory buildings into loft-office space and restoring small retail spaces housed in historic buildings, among other examples.

Although adaptive reuse development was largely concentrated in intown Atlanta when the trend took off in the 1990s – with King Plow Arts Center in West Midtown one of the prominent examples – it is now increasingly common in the suburbs as well.

In a recent Bisnow adaptive reuse event, representatives of several Atlanta commercial real estate companies discussed notable adaptive reuse projects – both completed and under development – and the challenges of bringing these projects to fruition.

Developers are increasingly being called upon to address gentrification. Projects can face opposition over concerns that they will price out residents and businesses who were part of neighborhoods before developers arrived on the scene.

No stranger to those concerns are developers such as Jamestown, credited with energizing the adaptive reuse movement in Atlanta with its hugely successful Ponce City Market redevelopment and Newport RE, whose Hotel Row project is part of its larger vision of revitalizing the once-bustling commercial districts on Mitchell and Broad Streets in South Downtown.

“About 20 percent of the square footage we purchased was occupied, probably half of those to tenants that no one in the neighborhood wanted,” said April Stammel, Senior Vice President at Newport. “I think it’s about telling the right story and letting people know what the real impact is.”

The story Newport is emphasizing to the community is how their development will revitalize a historic but long-neglected part of the city’s urban core.

“This story is about the opportunity. We’re turning the lights back on. We’re bringing life back to these buildings,” she said.

Creating Affordability
Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown, said his company is committed to integrating community-focused features into its projects such as workforce housing and more affordable business rates.

“You can’t whitewash the fact that we’re changing the demographics of neighborhoods,” Phillips said. “We all have to be committed to creating opportunities and economic benefits for everyone. We’re just starting… but we all have to find our ways to do it.”

Tapping into local, state and federal incentives can provide funding that developers can use to pass along savings to prospective residents and businesses. Newport received $8 million in Tax Allocation District (TAD) funding for their South Downtown project.

“What that’s going to give us the ability to do is offer affordability in both the residential and commercial components,” said April Stammel. “When you think about what that means in the diversity of tenancy, not only diversity of residents, it’s incredible. We can now offer certain spaces for tenants like arts groups who can’t pay market rent or new restauranteurs who can’t afford market rent.”

Arun Nijhawan, Managing Principal of Lucror Resources – which renovated and repositioned Downtown Atlanta’s famous Flatiron Building – said there are also plenty of examples of projects receiving community support. Such was the case with the company’s $80-million Waldo’s Old Fourth Ward, a mixed-use development featuring a hotel, office space, retail and townhomes.

“To the surprise of our team, we got zero resistance. The question was, ‘when are you going to start?’” he said, noting that the project’s location several blocks away from the BeltLine in an area where “you had a certain amount of urban blight” contributed to the support from the community.

From the West End to Northlake
Ackerman & Co. is also active in adaptive reuse development. With partner MDH Partners, Ackerman is investing $85 million in its Lee + White project, an adaptive reuse redevelopment of the former “Warehouse Row” buildings in the historic West End neighborhood of Atlanta. Already home to popular breweries, a whiskey tasting room, a rock climbing gym, among other retailers and businesses, the partners are in the process of adding loft office space, a food hall, unique retail and a Great Lawn fronting the BeltLine.

“Our goal in continuing the redevelopment of Lee + White is to diversify this project beyond its popularity as an entertainment destination to serve the practical and daily needs of the community, as well as offer affordable business opportunities. New businesses and services coming to Lee + White include a family dental practice and Beya Salon Studios, which will open its newest flagship location at Lee + White, giving stylists and other salon professionals the opportunity to grow their businesses,” said Evan Ziegler, Senior Vice President of Investments for Ackerman.

“Lee + White’s container pop-up village will also open this year, providing small businesses high-visibility locations to sell their products at shorter-term lease commitments than traditional retail,” he added.

In addition, the project’s Great Lawn will be a gathering spot for the community, hosting a variety of events throughout the year.

Another adaptive reuse project Ackerman & Co. is involved in is Northlake, the transformation of the former mall northeast of Downtown Atlanta into a mixed-use project featuring offices, retail and restaurants. Ackerman Retail’s Kelly Wilson and Suzanne Shank are currently leading leasing efforts for the project’s restaurants and food stall spaces.

“With its 300,000 square feet of new medical office and office space, this redevelopment has attracted new offices for Emory Healthcare and CDC Credit Union that will bring 1,800-plus employees to the property,” said Suzanne. “For the restaurant spaces, we envision a mix of fast-casual restaurants, full-service eateries, chef-driven concepts, coffee shops and brewpubs. In revitalizing this property, this redevelopment is bringing new businesses and new retail and restaurant offerings that will benefit the surrounding community.”

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.

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/

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.”

The transformation of Lee + White is entering an exciting new phase.

Renderings have just been unveiled showing what’s next for the adaptive reuse development just southwest of downtown Atlanta in the West End neighborhood. The next phase of development will add striking design features to existing buildings and produce a new two-story glace-façade building that will become a new centerpiece for the West End.

The renderings are a vivid representation of the diversification of the project Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners envisioned when purchasing the popular entertainment and food & beverage destination last fall. The upcoming redevelopment will add creative loft offices, a food hall, public spaces, additional retail options and multifamily units, all featuring direct and enhanced Atlanta BeltLine access.

“This new phase of development will add a dynamic mix of uses that will heighten much needed daytime activity and strengthen the already popular night and weekend visits, while greatly improving the walkability and overall visitor experience through the 23-acre site,” said Leo Wiener, President of Ackerman Retail.

Amid the current coronavirus pandemic, businesses at Lee + White are re-opening with the health and safety of their customers and community in mind.

“We are in the unique position of being able to adapt the design of Lee + White’s further redevelopment to newly evolving social distancing and operational guidelines. We plan to take advantage of the existing warehouse volumes, high ceilings and wide-open floor spaces along with direct connectivity to many outdoor spaces, including patios, greenspaces and the Atlanta BeltLine,” said Jeff Small, CEO of MDH Partners.

Atlanta-based Smith Dalia Architects is the creator of the new master plans. Further capitalizing on the project’s half mile of frontage along the Westside BeltLine, the master plans propose new and enhanced access to the BeltLine, a variety of public spaces overlooking the trail and a path connecting the project’s numerous outdoor spaces.

Here’s what’s on tap for the next phase of development:

• The new centerpiece of the development – Building 1015, a two-story glass-façade structure opening directly to the Atlanta BeltLine with terraces overlooking the busy pedestrian trail. The building will house a 17,000-square-foot food and retail collective on the first floor and 18,000 square feet of loft offices on the second floor. The second-story loft offices will be notable for the distinctive entry, marquis signage, 12-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall.
• Building 1050, an adaptive re-development of industrial warehouse space into 42,121 square feet of creative loft offices with 18-foot ceilings, abundant natural light and a large terrace overlooking the BeltLine.
• Building 929, an adaptive re-development of industrial warehouse space into 85,000 square feet of creative loft offices offering frontage on Lee Street, dramatic entry features and common areas, and views overlooking the BeltLine along with new access to the trail. Unique design elements will include exposed-beam roofing, floor-to-ceiling windows and skylight-lit double-height interiors.
• Approximately 30,000 square feet of ground-level retail space distributed throughout the property.
• Up to 250 multifamily units with walk-out access to Lawton Street and the BeltLine.
• A terraced outdoor multi-use area – similar to a mini-amphitheater – stepping down directly to the BeltLine.
• A vertical Lee + White sign at the property’s front corner providing distinctive branding that honors the property’s history.

Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2020, with delivery of the first phase of office space in mid-2021. The opening of the new ground-up food and retail collective building is targeted for late 2021.

Ackerman & Co. and MDH Partners acquired the 11-building, 433,204-square-foot Lee + White property in September 2019 from Stream Realty Partners. The initial phase of the redevelopment of the mid-20th century industrial buildings included the addition of tenants such as Monday Night Brewing, Wild Heaven Beer, Best End Brewing, ASW Distillery and Hop City Craft Beer & Wine, each of which has developed a unique following and enjoyed tremendous success.