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Johnson: Break Up Mega-Site for Mitsubishi

ATLANTA (Aug. 18, 2009) - Georgia gubernatorial candidate Eric Johnson says he supports breaking up the 1,500-acre Chatham County mega-site that former Gov. Roy Barnes once touted as the future home of a Daimler-Chrysler plant.

The time is right to break up the mega-site at Interstates 95 and 16 in Pooler, especially with a company prepared to build a plant that would create a lot of high-paying jobs, Johnson said this week. Johnson is a state senator whose district includes Chatham County.

"Mitsubishi - if that is in fact the prospect - is just the type of company to break up the site for," Johnson said during a Q-and-A at Atlanta commercial real estate firm Carter (a Wilbert News Strategies client). "It's sitting empty. We've had some good companies look at that site, a lot of people don't know that."

Barnes announced that Daimler-Chrysler would build a $750 million plant on the site weeks before he lost his re-election bid to Sonny Perdue in November 2002. In 2003, Daimler canceled plans for the plan, and today the mega-site's prime property lay fallow. That could change soon, though, if Georgia agrees to bust up the site to attract Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric. Mitsubishi and the Georgia Department of Economic Development are "in final negotiations" that would result in a new Mitsubishi manufacturing plant on part of the mega-site, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The state has been reluctant to break up the site, in hopes of attracting another auto company to it. But automakers such as Volkswagen, which selected a site near Chattanooga, picked other places to set up shot instead.

Enter Mitsubishi, which initially eyed another site in Pooler, for a plant to build power generators. Mitsubishi apparently now would like a slice of the mega-site for the $350 million plant, where the average worker will be paid more than $60,000 a year.

If the state agrees to subdivide the mega-site, Mitsubishi builds a plant and Barnes wins back the governor's mansion in 2010, we will have come full circle - sort of.

AJC to Move to Central Perimeter

This news just broke. The AJC will leave the city for the Central Perimeter submarket. Here's the memo.

August 17, 2009 
  
TO:               All AJC Employees 
FROM:         Michael Joseph, Publisher 
SUBJECT:   Update from the Publisher 
  
In my last memo to you I told you we were exploring the possibility of relocating to a new, smaller site in the greater Atlanta area. 
  
After looking at several locations including our current facility, we have determined we can save considerable money by moving to a new location. We have decided to relocate to 223 Perimeter Center Parkway in the Perimeter area of metro Atlanta. We are targeting the move to be complete by the end of the second quarter in 2010. We will maintain our bureaus in the State Capital and in Gwinnett, and have an in-town bureau for use by our reporters and photographers who need to be close to downtown. 
  
This move will not impact our customers – either our readers or our advertisers and offers many benefits. A few facts about the new location: 
  
Ø  The site provides ample free parking to employees and visitors 
Ø  The new location is close to interstate exchanges at GA 400 and I-285 
Ø  The new facility is conveniently located across from the Dunwoody Marta station and discounted Marta passes will continue         to be offered to employees 
Ø  Perimeter Mall and a wide variety of other retail, service and dining options are within walking distance 
Ø  The site is close to our parent company Cox Enterprises, Inc. and other Cox companies. That means we will be able to more         effectively collaborate and leverage the resources and amenities available to us. 
Ø  The new facility has large windows, provides more natural light and is better suited to meet our needs 
Ø  The new location will incorporate green initiatives and will allow us to design the space based on our current and future                 needs 
  
A significant factor in the decision to relocate is our customers and how we continue meeting their needs today and in the future. We must rebuild and emerge as a financially sound company. Paramount to our future is rebuilding a sustainable and profitable business model. This move will make us a financially stronger company. 
  
Since 1972, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been in the 72 Marietta St. building. We reach and serve all of metro Atlanta through various print and digital platforms so our headquarters location does not affect our coverage. The AJC’s journalistic history and powerful brand means we remain the leader in the marketplace. Our commitment to our readers, advertisers and to the metro Atlanta community is unchanged. 
  
As we make this journey to our new facility, let’s remember to stay focused on our customers and uphold our commitment to be the best news source for metro Atlanta. 
  
I will keep you informed on our progress as we begin to make plans and throughout the transition to our new home. I invite you to share your questions and comments with me athttp://www.surveymonkey.com/ajcrelocation. I will share your feedback with the project team once they are assembled. 
  
Thank you again for your continued hard work and dedication to the AJC. 
  
 
Michael Joseph 
Publisher 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
  
  
Julia Wallace
Editor
Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ajc.com

ABC Report: AJC Considers Leaving Downtown

ATLANTA (Aug. 12, 2009) - Maria Saporta, the long-time business columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who took a buyout, has to be smiling today. She just broke the story that her former employer is considering a move from its venerable headquarters at 72 Marietta St. in downtown Atlanta.

The AJC is looking to cut all costs, and vacating the building is an option, according to Saporta. Her story appears today in Atlanta Business Chronicle's online edition. Several people on Twitter have re-Tweeted ABC Executive Editor Mark Meltzer's Tweet about the breaking new. The ABC currently leads it home page with a big breaking news banner headline about the news.

Saporta, who has said her decision to leave the AJC wasn't easy, quotes a memo from new AJC Publisher Michael Joseph that was e-mailed to staff, one or several sent it to Saporta. 

“The cost of operating the downtown building is very high. Since moving production out to Gwinnett, we occupy less than 30 percent of the facility. As a result, the expense to operate the building is exorbitant," Joseph writes in the memo. "No decision has been made at this time, but we are looking at options including maintaining our current downtown location or relocating to a new, smaller site in the greater Atlanta area. I will keep you informed and share any updates on this issue.”

Word that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was considering leaving its Marietta Street building has been out in commercial real estate circles for weeks. In a July 22 e-mail to WNS, CB Richard Ellis Vice Chairman John Shlesinger said CBRE was not marketing 72 Marietta for sale and referred calls to Cox Enterprises. CBRE represents Cox.

Vacating the building for a smaller alternative would make sense because the paper has shed about one-third of its editorial staff positions in several other departments was well. 

Cousins Reports $2 Million Charge for Bell's Exit

By Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies LLC

ATLANTA (Aug. 11, 2009) - Cousins Properties Inc. took a $2 million charge for the retirement package to Tom Bell, who quit as CEO on July 1. The package includes a lump sum retirement payment of $650,000, according to documents the REIT filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

Larry Gellerstedt, whose condo development company Cousins bought four years ago, replaced Bell as CEO.

As part of Bell's long-term compensation, all outstanding stock options and restricted stock he received became fully vested on his retirement date. It's likely that some of stock options will be under water, given CUZ's share price of $8.64 the day he left Cousins headquarters at 191 Peachtree St. in downtown Atlanta.

Cousins also agreed to reimburse Bell for the costs of continuing health insurance coverage for himself, his wife and dependent children for 12 months or until he gets a job with another company that offers health insurance.

Bell left Cousins during the current real estate recession that's crushing the local and national office and condo markets. It'll be hard to determine his legacy until the situation shakes out. If Bell's tenure is to be judged by stock price, it was a tough run for Cousins under Bell. Cousins recently has benefited somewhat from the recent run-up in REIT stock pricing, though CUZ shares have not jumped as much as others. Bell's signature project with Cousins was Terminus, a mixed-use development on the old City Center at Peachtree and Piedmont in Atlanta's tony Buckhead community.

The retirement charges Cousins reported were part of $88.3 million the company took in the second quarter. The largest was a staggering $34.9 million impairment charge Cousins took against 10 Terminus Place, the condo portion of its Terminus project. "The impairment of 10 Terminus Place reflects the overall general condition of the condominium market and the relatively high discount rates associates with this product type," Cousins said in its press release announcing second-quarter earnings.

Sanctuary Park Files Plans for High-Rise Offices

By Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies 

ATLANTA (Aug. 10, 2009) - Sanctuary Park in Alpharetta could become home to the first office high-rises in the North Fulton submarket.

Sanctuary Park Realty Holding Co. has filed plans to build two 12-story office buildings on 14 acres in the gated office park, according to the state of Georgia's Development of Regional Impact Web site. The office buildings would have a combined 620,000 square feet of space.

The filing lists the developer as Clint Howell of Jones Lang LaSalle, which leases and manages Sanctuary Park and served as developer of the existing office buildings at the office park.

Duke Realty Corp. and Pope & Land, its predecessor at NorthWinds, had marketed a high-rise office building at NorthWinds, but the market never was right for such a building. Today's DRI filing by the JLL affiliate does not mean, of course, that a high-rise is imminent at Sanctuary Park. However, it would position Sanctuary Park to be first out when the office market rebounds.

The two buildings would represent 25 percent of the build-out of Sanctuary Park, according to the DRI. The developer did not give an estimated date for completion of the high-rise phase of the overall project.

Madison Falls Short in Bid for Sizable Stake in One Times Square

By Tony Wilbert, Wilbert News Strategies

AVALON, N.J. (Aug. 5, 2009) - Madison International Realty's attempt to grab a decent-sized chunk of One Times Square in Midtown Manhattan has fallen well short of its goal.

Madison International persuaded only about one-half of 1 percent of limited partners in Jamestown 18 to sell their shares, according to Matt Bronfman, the Atlanta-based managing director and COO of Jamestown. Madison would have liked to buy at a 25 percent to 33 percent stake in the 22-story, 112,000-square-foot building, and that would cost it between $35 million and $50 million, according to Real Estate Alert. The newsletter attributed its information to unnamed "market players."

The Madison International Real Estate Liquidity Fund 3 contacted members of Jamestown 18 about selling their shares in July, according to the newsletter. But the offering has expired, and the Madison fund will be unable to buy any additional shares.

Bronfman said shareholders in Jamestown 18 probably weren't too interested in selling because they are pleased with the 16 percent return in investment they're tracking this year. He also took issue with Real Estate Alert classifying shareholders' investment in the Jamestown fund as "illiquid." 

"There's a strong secondary market," Bronfman said. In fact, shares of the fund are trading for 190 percent of - or nearly twice - the original purchase price.