Lee + White has become a hip entertainment and nightlife hub in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta, offering breweries, restaurants, food manufacturers and unique retailers.

In purchasing the property with MDH Partners, Ackerman & Co. plans to expand the project’s appeal by diversifying development to include a food hall, loft offices and additional retail.

Initially constructed as industrial buildings in the 1950s and 1960s, the property was recently redeveloped by prior owner Stream Realty Partners. “We’ll be investing significant capital to continue the development of this site,” noted Ackerman & Co. Brokerage President Keene Miller.

Tenants are united by their strong attachment to the West End community and their pride in being a part of a pioneering intown Atlanta development.

Ackerman & Co. is equally committed to becoming a part of the community and plans to hold public hearings to get input on its development plans.

While Lee + White has some similarities to other notable adaptive reuse projects in Atlanta, Ackerman Retail President Leo Wiener pointed out some key differences in an interview with Bisnow.

“This is not Ponce City [Market]. We’re not going after corporate,” he said. “We just think it’s a little more edgy and gritty with the feel. We want to stay true to the neighborhood.” Like Ponce City Market, Lee + White benefits from its location steps away from the Atlanta BeltLine.

Current tenants include Monday Night Brewing, Wild Heaven Beer, Best End Brewing Co., ASW Whiskey Exchange, Hop City Craft Beer & Wine, Plywood People, Honeysuckle Gelato, Cultured South Fermentation Co., Doux South Pickles, Boxcar restaurant, Overlook Boulder + Fitness, MacStadium, and United Way of Greater Atlanta.

“Lee + White is an exciting investment for us,” said Ackerman President Kris Miller. “Stream showed vision in transforming these properties into a popular entertainment and food and beverage destination. There’s an excellent value-add opportunity for us to diversify with additional development.”

Leo Wiener and Retail Senior Vice President Kelly Wilson will lead the restaurant and retail leasing efforts at the property. Porter Henritze and Sonia Winfield, directors at Cushman & Wakefield, will represent ownership in office leasing.

We’ll be providing updates on the development plans, so be sure to visit our blog and the Lee + White Instagram page for the latest!

As summer arrives, so does a new group of interns at Ackerman!

We recently sat down with our interns to discuss how they plan on applying their newly gained experience in the future.

“I’m very excited to be here,” said Emma Lonergan, who is working in the Marketing & Communications department. She is an incoming junior at Georgia College and State University. “I’m learning so much I can apply to my college classes and later in my career.”

Projects she’s working on with Fara Wilson and the marketing team include updating the organization of the promotional items inventory, which she will track and monitor throughout the summer. She’s also working on editorial assignments, including blog writing.

Also joining Ackerman’s Marketing team for the summer is Ellis Snell, who will be assisting in the department’s day-to-day activities and select projects. Ellis is headed to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) as a freshman this fall.

Harrison Bernhardt, an intern with the Brokerage team, tells us he looks forward to applying everything he learns this summer to his future dream job in commercial real estate. An incoming senior at the University of Georgia, he’s learning a lot from the brokers he’s working with, including how to knock on doors to canvas potential clients.

“I realized that real estate was a better fit for me than finance, my original major in college, because I enjoy working in the field and meeting people face-to-face,” he said.

Also spending the summer interning for the Brokerage group are Bart Kauffman (an incoming senior at Furman University) and Connor Barry (an incoming sophomore at the University of Southern California).

All three Brokerage interns are gaining valuable experience learning commercial real estate research programs as they help our brokers in their ongoing lease and sales efforts. That includes using CoStar, LandVision and other research tools to summarize market trends, prepare lease comparables and access various details on individual properties and owners.

Bart, Connor and Harrison are also getting a first-hand look at the types of projects Ackerman develops. They recently attended a BBQ event and tour at Rockdale Technology Center, the firm’s newest Class A industrial park. Connor and Harrison were responsible for transporting our brokerage guests across the park, and they assisted the Marketing team in setting up and closing down the event.

Alex Barnes (not pictured), an incoming junior at Georgia College and State University, is one of the interns supporting the HR department this summer.

He recently attended the company’s open enrollment benefits session, where he learned about the different healthcare and benefit options available to employees.

“This was incredibly eye-opening,” Alex said. “I was unaware of all the complexities involved in selecting healthcare coverage and the wide-ranging costs.” He’ll be able to call on this knowledge when he enters the workforce and goes through the process of selecting his own insurance.

It’s great to have these bright-eyed and bushy-tailed interns on board with us this summer. We have every confidence they’ll succeed in their future careers!

How can we help?

Ackerman & Co. wants to know what you need with regard to managing your properties. The answer helps us build our plan of attack—choosing from our arsenal of experts and services to find the best solution for your real estate investment. Property management can make or break a real estate venture. Good management can increase value and reduce property costs. Bad management can mean money lost and headaches acquired.

Ackerman & Co. is a property partner you can trust to help you—and your investment—find success.

The Property Management division is a key part of Ackerman & Co.’s full-service platform. The team’s seasoned professionals manage a portfolio of properties totaling nearly 8 million square feet, providing tenant relations, asset management, accounting and engineering services.

Property Manager Amanda Wyatt is a 15-year veteran in Ackerman’s Property Management division. We recently caught up with Amanda to get a close-in look at her role in the department. In addition to providing perspective on her approach to her work, she discussed what she enjoys doing in her free time – and even her top “bucket list” item!

Q: Can you tell us a little about what you do in the Property Management group?

A: I manage multiple properties in the metro Atlanta area. My team and I support the owners, assist the tenants at each of the properties, provide financial reporting and oversee daily operations.

Q: For people who aren’t familiar with property management, can you provide a rundown of the core services the Ackerman & Co. property management group provides?

Q: What advice do you have for someone trying to break into your field?

A: The advice I would give is to be patient, breathe and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Q: What are some of the most gratifying aspects of your work?

A: The camaraderie of my team! It makes it easy to come to work every day knowing that I have a great team of professionals around me.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

A: I am seriously funny, always have a smile on my face. I love to laugh and love a good joke. Life is too short, so my outlook is to make the best of it and have a good time.

Q: What are some of your favorite things to do in your free time?

A: I enjoy shooting at the range and roller derby.

Q: What’s one of the top items on your “bucket list”?

A: Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef with great white sharks.

Q: If you could have dinner with anyone famous, past or present, who would it be and why?

A: Amelia Earhart is very inspiring. A favorite quote from her is: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”

Or I would also like to have dinner with 50 Cent so we could freestyle with each other.

Q: Who has been the most important person in your life?

A: My mother. She is a source of inspiration, a breast cancer survivor and my best friend.