Community on Atlanta BeltLine Trades for $66M

Ghitis Property Co. (GPC) has purchased Ayla on Krog, a recently completed, 222-unit apartment community along Atlanta’s BeltLine public trail for $66.3 million. PGIM Real Estate, an affiliate of Prudential Financial Inc., sold the low-rise property located in the Inman Park neighborhood.

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JLL secured a $42 million loan from MetLife Inc. on behalf of GPC as part of the deal. Developed by Trammell Crow Residential in 2015, the community is located at 44 Krog St. N.E. and features one- and two-bedroom apartments in a building that rises three, four, five and six stories.

The property is situated east of downtown on a three-acre site neighboring Krog Street Market, a mixed-use residential and food hall development. GPC expects long-term appreciation of the asset, Principal Jonathan Ghitis noted in a prepared statement. The executive cited the scarcity of Class A multifamily properties adjacent to the Eastside Trail, one of the five paved segments of the BeltLine that have already opened.

BeltLine drives new projects

The Atlanta BeltLine project aims to redevelop a former railroad corridor into a network of multi-use trails and parks that will form a 22-mile loop around the city center upon completion. The effort has already driven a 70 percent surge in average office asking rents along the BeltLine over five years, according to a CBRE analysis released in January. Retail rents in the area have increased by nearly 60 percent over the same period.

One block away from Ayla on Krog, a 350-unit apartment and retail project from North American Properties and Vantage Realty Partners called Edge began welcoming residents earlier this year. The $80 million development at 670 DeKalb Ave. N.E. broke ground in 2017. Just across the street from GPC’s purchase, Thrive Homes is developing the Residences at Studioplex, a four-level, 19-townhome community fronting the BeltLine.