StoneBridge Investments Expands Atlanta Footprint

River Vista. Image courtesy of StoneBridge Investments

StoneBridge Investments has expanded its Atlanta area holdings with the acquisition of River Vista, a 196-unit upscale garden community in Sandy Springs, Ga., for $33.4 million, from an affiliate of The Milestone Group.

David Gutting and Derrick Bloom of JLL represented the seller of the 17-acre property at 9200 Roberts Drive, about 20 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

The transaction is StoneBridge’s fifth apartment community acquisition in the Atlanta metro market over the past several years. The Washington, D.C.-based company now has total of 1,148 units in the Atlanta area.

The multifamily property has one- to three-bedroom units with an average size of 1,098 square feet. The units have crown molding, built-in shelving, hardwood-style flooring, private patios or balconies and wood-burning fireplaces in select units. Community amenities include an outdoor swimming pool with sundeck, clubhouse, outdoor kitchen and social area with grills and TV, playground, 24-hour fitness center.

The new owners are planning to expand the ongoing interior modernization program including making kitchen and bathroom upgrades, adding new two-inch blinds, installing full-size washers and dryers in the units and creating fenced yards for select ground-floor apartments. Comprehensive exterior improvements to upgrade curb appeal will also be made.

River Vista was built in 1996 near the Chattahoochee River, where residents can walk, bike, or drive across the street to access part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Areas with trails, rafting, fishing and other activities. There are more than 900 acres of parkland nearby and 184 miles of pedestrian trails including the Roswell Riverwalk.

The apartment community is less than six miles from major new office and mixed-use developments including State Farm’s Southeast Regional Headquarters, the $100 million Mercedes Benz North American Headquarters, High Street Atlanta and the billion-dollar Avalon development with 570,000 square feet of retail space and 678,000 square feet of office space with major tenants like Microsoft and BitPay. Being located in the Georgia-400 corridor gives residents access to other employment hubs including North Fulton and Perimeter Center.

Other Stonebridge Deals

StoneBridge and its affiliates have acquired and developed more than $1.7 billion in real estate, primarily in the multifamily sector, for its foreign and domestic investors since it was formed in 1980. Other target markets are the Washington-Baltimore areas, Virginia, the Carolinas, Florida and Texas. In 2017, StoneBridge made two deals in the Atlanta area, including the acquisition of a 272-unit apartment community at 1800 Windridge Drive in Sandy Springs. Veridian Sandy Springs was purchased from a fund managed by Covenant Capital Group LLC. Also that year, StoneBridge bought 550 Abernathy Apartments, a 228-unit apartment community in Sandy Springs from an entity controlled by Harbor Group.

More recently, StoneBridge was active in Durham, N.C., acquiring Southpoint Glen, a 346-unit, garden-style community from TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen.