By Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies LLC
ATLANTA (June 16, 2009) - I went away for a week vacation, and I missed a hell of a lot of commercial real estate news here in Atlanta. (While enjoying the Beaches of South Walton - mainly Rosemary Beach, Fla., it was hard to forget Atlanta's CRE world. I walked past Hotel Saba several times. The hotel stands empty and dark, thanks to the hotel's ties to the failed Silverton Bank of Atlanta, formerly the Bankers Bank.)
The biggest news of the week was the ascension of Larry Gellerstedt to CEO of Cousins Properties, effective July 1. CEO changes at Cousins are monumental - Gellerstedt will become only the third CEO in the company's 51-year history. The announcement gives new meaning to the Roman numerals at the end of his full name (Lawrence L. Gellerstedt III).
Maybe, inside the halls of 191 Peachtree, they'll refer to him simply at "The Third."
Cousins made the right choice in Gellerstedt. His construction pedigree (his late father, Lawrence L. Gellerstedt Jr., was the longtime chairman and owner of the former Beers Construction), his development background (Gellerstedt III sold his multifamily development firm to Cousins in June 2005) and his Atlanta roots make Gellerstedt III the best person for the job.
Outgoing CEO Tom Bell, despite being from Memphis, effectively established himself as a community leader in Atlanta.
The Cousins news announcement was only one of several major commercial real estate stories that broke last week.
Others big CRE stories included Phipps Tower developer Crescent Resources filing bankruptcy, local papers jumping on Sembler Co. for requesting a $52 million project for a foundering development, the state of Georgia competing for a large biotech development and WNS-client The Dawson Co. working to stave off foreclosure of its eon condo at Lindbergh City Center.
If the week of June 8-14 is any indication, the typically slow summer season won't be that way at all.
The busy week in CRE has prompted me to start a Commercial Real Estate Development (CRED) of the Week feature that will appear each Monday here at Skyline Views. Check back next week for the first installment.
If you have any candidates for CRED of the Week, e-mail me.
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