Grubb Properties Buys 2 Atlanta Communities
The development company purchased adjacent properties for $48.2 million with plans to combine them into a single entity.
The George and The Leonard. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield
Grubb Properties has acquired The George and The Leonard, two Atlanta apartment communities totaling 217 units, for $48.2 million. The sellers, Urban Realty Partners and Case Pomeroy Properties, were represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Mike Kemether, Robert Stickel and Alex Brown.
READ ALSO: Atlanta Luxury Project Lands $37M Financing
The George, which is located at 275 Memorial Drive SE, is the larger of the two at 87,965 square feet and offers 132 units. According to Yardi Matrix data, The George is 93.8 percent occupied and offers studios, one- and two-bedroom units that come with an average rent of $1,436. The smaller of the neighboring properties, The Leonard is 56,121 square feet with 85 units. The units are split into one- and two-bedrooms with an average rent of $1,458, according to Yardi Matrix data, and the property is currently 85.1 percent leased.
The two buildings also have more than 11,000 square feet of retail space with current tenants pizza parlor YourPie and burger joint Farm Burger at 275 Memorial Drive SE. Brown said Grubb saw these two properties as an opportunity to upgrade into a higher quality asset while maintaining rents that are lower than new construction.
Brown told Multi-Housing News that the new owners will combine the two properties and operate them as one. The merger would reduce redundancy in the amenities and allow them to build more functional space for residents, Brown added. He also told MHN that Grubb will be renovating the unit interiors, especially at The Leonard, which is three years older than The George.
ACTIVE ATLANTA MARKET
The new combined Atlanta property on Memorial Drive will likely benefit from the wave of strong growth that has hit the metro area. According to Yardi Matrix’s summer report on Atlanta’s multifamily market, Atlanta is seeing consistent job and rent growth, leading to more construction and a shift towards becoming a hub for pharmaceutical and biotech companies looking for space in the South.
Year-over-year through April, rents in Atlanta’s metro area rose 4.8 percent, hitting an average of $1,272, according to the report. Rent growth has remained above 4 percent for nearly a full year and builders have taken notice, with 1,130 units delivered year-over-year through April and 22,604 units underway. The report added that Atlanta rents would likely grow 3.5 percent overall in 2019.
