Skyline Views

National Spotlight Shines on Sea Island

ATLANTA (Aug. 11, 2010) - The pending sale of Sea Island and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing are making national news this morning.

The Wall Street Journal prominently played a story about the "glittering resort" on the front of its Money & Investing section. WSJ reporters Carrick Mollenkamp and Lingling Wei are on the tony island, based on the article's Sea Island, Ga., dateline.

Several outlets reported news that Sea Island Co. had called a member meeting for 11 a.m. this morning to announce the sale. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Sea Island Chairman Bill Jones sent an e-mail to members last last night after the Journal reported Oaktree Capital and Avenue Capital had agreed to buy the 84-year-old resort for $197.5 million in cash.

The AJC played its story by Scott Trubey, who followed the Sea Island saga closely while at Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Dan Chapman on Page One. And this morning, Atlanta Business Chronicle posted a story saying Sea Island owes at least 1,000 creditors up to $1 billion, citing the bankruptcy filing.

Real Estate Rooster, the online news organization founded by Hardman Knox and Phillip Hight, determined the story warranted a special edition. Rooster crowed with the news at 6:03 a.m. today.

Now the big question is how will operations of The Lodge and The Cloister be affected? Early reports say they won't be. But the big funds buying Sea Island likely will have an eye toward making their investment pay off, and that could lead to some changes.

Either way, it's nice to see commercial real estate news in the limelight (even if it's not great news for Sea Island Co.).

Bottom Hit, What's Next for ATL Office Market?

ATLANTA (Aug. 9, 2010) - It's official: Atlanta's office market has "hit bottom," according to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the article, the AJC cited reports from Jones Lang LaSalle, CoStar and Grubb & Ellis saying Atlanta's office vacancy rate peaked (at 17 percent to 22 percent, depending on the source).

So what's next? Will the market begin an upward climb or bounce along the bottom for a while? We have seen some good signs such as the large leases signed recently in Buckhead. 

News of several of the six-figure office leases including Greenberg Traurig at Terminus 200 (left) and GE Energy at Parkwood Point in Cobb County has buoyed the spirits of brokers, especially landlord and tenant reps involved in the deals. Other recent big office deals actually will have a negative impact on net absorption as companies move to more-efficient spaces. And as last week's unemployment report shows, the job growth needed to create true net absorption probably won't materialize this year.

We should get some insight this week when local business columnist Maria Saporta interviews Cousins Properties CEO Larry Gellerstedt at the Databank Symposium on Thursday. In June, Gellerstedt said Atlanta's recovery remains "fragile and muted." It'll be interesting to hear what he thinks two months later. (2010 generally has been a pretty good year for REITs.)

It also will be interesting to hear from Georgia State University economist Rajeev Dhawan has to say at the Databank Symposium. In early 2009, Dhawan procrastinated that the national recession would not end until this year. The Databank crowd, of course, will want Dhawan to tell them when the commercial real estate market will turn.

Dewberry Runs Ultimate Quarterback Sneak

By Tony Wilbert, WNS PR

ATLANTA (July 26, 2010) - As we predicted about two weeks ago, the Chase for Campanile blossomed into the commercial real estate story, for this month anyway. The news also prompted reporters to break out their best gridiron/real estate analogies.

Early last week, word on the street said John Dewberry came out of nowhere and emerged as the leading contender to acquire the 440,000-square-foot former headquarters of BellSouth at Peachtree & 14th streets in Midtown. Because Dewberry, a former Georgia Tech and Georgia quarterback loves football analogies, we'll offer one here. John Dewberry ran the ultimate quarterback sneak on this one.

(Disclosure: WNS handled media relations for Dewberry Capital's March announcement of its joint venture with Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate.)

The real estate press jumped on the story Thursday, with Real Estate Rooster, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta Business Chronicle posting stories. Real Estate Rooster blasted an e-mail with the headline: Dewberry Closes in on Campanile. Rooster writer Bailey Webb quoted an unnamed source saying Dewberry has coveted the former Bell tower for years. "If Dewberry Capital can cross the goal line" and complete the transaction, the firm will add to its impressive Midtown holdings, Webb writes.

Rachel Ramos' story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution included detailed information about the transaction, including a price tag of about $36 million. She quotes Cushman & Wakefield tenant rep Ken Ashley, who authors a blog, describing the Campanile as an "iconic asset."

In his story, the ABC's Doug Sams broke out a football analogy of his own: "The former Georgia Tech quarterback might pull it off, but he faces a challenge if he's going to lead Campanile on a comeback," Sams writes.

Knowing Dewberry, he's up for the challenge and will be happy to tell the world about Campanile when the time is right.

Nation's Top Commercial Real Estate Reporters Say It's Best Beat in Business

ATLANTA (June 21, 2010) - So you want to be a commercial real estate reporter? Then listen now to what the experts say.

The beat is dynamic, interesting, ever changing and even fun, three of the country's top commercial real estate reporters said on a panel at the NAREE convention this month in Austin, Texas. More than that, because of the predicted commercial mortgage meltdown and resulting flood of foreclosures, it's the business beat of 2010.

"There's always stories in commercial real estate," said Dan Taub, who covers commercial real estate out of Los Angeles for Bloomberg. "There's always buildings being built, buildings going under. Commercial real estate people love to talk."

Steve Brown, who's covered real estate at the Dallas Morning News "since like the Hoover administration, fell into the beat. He agreed that CRE people love to talk "and they usually know what they're talking about."

Commercial real estate's swashbucklers and characters make the beat anything but boring, the panelists said. "The players usually want to talk," Brown said. "They're full of bulls--t, don't think they're not. But at least they'll talk."

Kris Hudson, who focuses on retail and hotel coverage at The Wall Street Journal, says commercial real estate affects anyone who shops, works and stays at hotels - in other words, everyone.

"It's important to think of commercial real estate as part of the mix," he says. "It's all interconnected."

At regional dailies across the country reporters who traditionally covered residential real estate are being asked to cover commercial as well - partly because of cutbacks designed to save money. This is what prompted NAREE to put together its "So You're New to the Beat" panel that attracted scores of conference attendees.

Shannon Behnken, who covers residential real estate at the Tampa Tribune, moderated the panel. She also has started to cover more commercial real estate. She's likely to enjoy doing it, according to Hudson's comments.

"It's actually kind of fun once you figure it out," Hudson says. "Real estate is of interest and of great influence in any community."

One key to success, Hudson says, is to cultivate sources at real estate brokerage firms and banks. "They love to talk about other brokers' deals." As someone who covered the beat for several years, I concur. That advice is spot on.

NAREE Panel: No Quick Turnaround for CRE

By Tony Wilbert

 AUSTIN, Texas (June 2, 2010) - Despite encouraging signs, effects of the commercial real estate recession will reverberate for the next couple years. That's the key takeaway from a panel of CRE experts who spoke today at the National Association of Real Estate Editors' 44th Annual Journalism Conference.

NAREE board member and National Real Estate Investor Editor Matt Valley, left, moderated the panel. He opened it with a few encouraging stats about increased investment sales activity and bidding wars for well-located, solidly performing assets. He also noted that Steve Pumper of Transwestern had to miss the panel because he was working on a deal. "That's a good sign," Valley said.

The panel pretty much stayed away from the question raised in the panel's title: "Commercial Realty Trends: The Next Meltdown or Not?" That is until Jeff Collins, real estate reporter at the Orange County Register, asked if CRE is headed for a meltdown.

Probably not, panelists said, but the small signs of an upturn might be fleeting. Expect to commercial real estate to be flat at best for a while, they added.

"I don't see us going into a double-dip recession, but we won't be enjoying an uptick for a couple years at least," said David Steinwedell, managing partner of Austin-based Stoneforge Advisors LLC. A former Wells Real Estate Funds executive, Steinwedell said the current "pricing bubble" for well-performing, quality assets soon would flatten.

Panelist Jeff Friedman, co-CEO of Mesa West Capital of Los Angeles, told the audience a double-dip real estate recession is a possibility. "What we're doing is not taking the medicine we should be taking," he said. "We're prolonging and amortizing the pain."

For his part, panelist Mitch Siegler, senior managing director of Pathfinder Partners, said commercial real estate will be in "a digestive mode" for the next three or four years because supply is well ahead of demand.

Multifamily Sales Leader Evan Jennings Loses Courageous Battle with Brain Cancer

By Tony Wilbert

ATLANTA (May 31, 2010) - Very sad news to report out of Atlanta's commercial real estate industry this holiday weekend. Evan Jennings, who closed more than $3 billion of multifamily transactions in his career, lost his battle with brain cancer. Jennings, 65, died Thursday.

A native of Pittsburgh, Jennings founded The Apartment Group in the early 1990s with partner Chris Spain, and they built the multifamily brokerage into a regional powerhouse. In 1999, The Apartment Group expanded to Orlando with the addition of Cole Whitaker as partner. In 2000, The Apartment Group handled the sale of 72 multifamily communities with an aggregate transaction volume of $900 million.

The firm's success caught the eye of Cushman & Wakefield, which acquired The Apartment Group in 2001. Jennings, Spain and about 15 Apartment Group employees joined Cushman & Wakefield and helped lead a super-regional expansion of Cushman & Wakefield The Apartment Group.

Today, Chris Spain, Larry Orr and others from The Apartment Group continue to lead Cushman & Wakefield's Atlanta apartment brokerage team. 

After retiring from Cushman & Wakefield The Apartment Group, Jennings remained very active in Atlanta's real estate industry. He founded and served as president of Jennings Partners Inc., Condo Group LLC and JPI Holdings. He also served as chairman of RentBureau, a consumer reporting industry that aggregates and provides payment histories to the apartment industry.

A Florida State University graduate, Jennings started his career in real estate in 1974 at Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate, specializing in marketing and selling multifamily communities. He then launched Merrill Lynch's first multifamily division and later worked at Johnstown American Commercial Real Estate Services before co-founding The Apartment Group.

Jennings was a loving husband and father who loved to fly-fish. "Before he died, Evan told one of his close friends that he was looking forward to finding the greatest fishing hole in heaven," his death notice says. "Evan truly loved nature and felt totally at home in the outdoors" 

Here's the complete death notice, which appears in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Family-Placed Death Notice

JENNINGS, Evan D. III EVAN JENNINGS, III Evan Jennings, III, aged 65, died May 27th, 2010, after fighting a courageous bout with brain cancer. Mr. Jennings leaves behind a long trail of successes, friendships and stories that will continue to touch the lives of many people for years to come. Evan was a man who lived life to the fullest. His intellectual curiosity and business acumen were defining attributes that contributed to his success as a person and a businessman. Always a self-made man, Evan rose from an entry-level real estate agent to a position of national prominence within the multi-family housing industry. Born on May 30, 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Evan moved to Orlando, Florida in 1959, where he graduated from Edgewater High School in 1962. He then attended Florida State University graduating in 1966 from the School of Business with a degree in marketing. After graduation Evan served in the Army Reserve for six years. During his time in the Reserves, Evan was recognized for his great sharp-shooting abilities. This skill served him well through the years as he was a great wing-shooter and hunter. Evan was the rare person who was able to harness and use his unique skills to make a difference as a husband, father, friend and member of our community. Evan's defining characteristics included honesty, integrity, a wonderful sense of humor and a great desire for learning and discovery. Evan was the type of person that was much more likely to spend his time watching the History and Discovery Channels than sports or other forms of television entertainment. He and his beloved wife, Pam, shared a love for travel and especially cherished their trip to Africa in August 2008. They created many memories with their friends in Cabo San Lucas Mexico where they traveled often. In Cabo Evan was able to enjoy his life long love of fishing, often having huge catches of marlin, dorado and tuna. Despite Evan's love of travel, the two places he loved best were right here in Georgia. Evan and Pam raised their three children at their home in Vinings. Evan was very content to live and entertain in their home in Atlanta, but he never turned down the chance to make the short drive up to Lake Burton whenever the opportunity presented itself. Evan felt a special kinship with the North Georgia Mountains. He repeatedly stated that some of his warmest memories relate to sunset cruises on Lake Burton with Pam and their loving and supportive set of Lake Burton friends. One of Evan's favorite past times was fly-fishing for huge rainbow trout in the Soque River in North Georgia. He was a skilled angler who always released his trophy catch unharmed. Before he died, Evan told one of his close friends that he was looking forward to finding the greatest fishing hole in heaven. Evan truly loved nature and felt totally at home in the outdoors. Always charming and easy to be around - Evan will be missed by all who knew him. Evan's first sales position was in Atlanta with Shell Oil Company. Subsequently he worked with Xerox and Baxter Travenol. In 1974, Evan obtained his real estate license and began working with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate. He specialized in the marketing and sales of multi-family properties. Evan continued his real estate career with Merrill Lynch where he launched their first multi-family division. From there, he moved to the Johnstown American Commercial Real Estate Services Company before co-founding his first company, The Apartment Group, Inc. in 1996. At The Apartment Group, Evan's entrepreneurial skills were honed and the company was the first to specialize exclusively in the sale of multi-family housing opportunities on the East Coast of the United States. Evan's leadership in the multi-family industry has been recognized for over thirty years. He was a member of the Atlanta Apartment Association, the National Apartment Association, the Urban Land Institute, the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and the National Multi-Housing Counsel. Evan served as Board Member of the FSU Business School of Real Estate, endowing the Evan Jennings Speakers Series in Real Estate. In Atlanta Evan served as a Director of the Link Counseling Center and St. Anne's School. Evan's honesty, easy smile, sense of humor and keen mind will forever remain an impermeable memory etched on the minds of his many friends and family members. Evan never lost his willingness to help others. Whether he was dressing up as a bunny on Easter to visit children at Egleston Hospital, serving at a soup kitchen or hand delivering presents to the homeless at Christmas, Evan was not a braggart. He was a man who truly appreciated the good fortune that he enjoyed for his 65 years here on earth. Evan's departure from this earth is a loss for all - most notably, it is a loss for his best friend, Pam Jennings, married since 1983. They were devoted to each other throughout their marriage and Pam's unending support of Evan during his bout with cancer was a great source of comfort and support to him. Evan loved his three children very much and provided love, support and unwavering devotion to Trevor, Lauren and Evan. His life will remain with them as an example of a life well-lived. Evan always maintained that he felt like of one the luckiest men in the world. He lived in a time and era when a person could achieve success for himself and his family through a combination of hard work, guts and vision. Evan personified that formula for success and he created a good life for his family. Evan found peace during the difficult last stages of his life through support from friends, family and prayer. Darby and Riley, Evan's faithful dogs provided constant comfort in his last days. In addition to his wife and children, Evan is survived by three brothers and a sister. The family would like to express their appreciation to assistants Richard Manus and John Wallace who provided Evan with gentle care and patience. Also appreciation is expressed to Dr. Gil Watson who befriended Evan in the last few months and who provided spiritual support and loving kindness. A Memorial Service and celebration of Evan's life will be held Tuesday, June 1st at 1:00 p.m. at Northside United Methodist Church with visitation following the service in the Faith and Arts Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Evan's name to Hospice Atlanta, 1244 Park Vista Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319 or the Orr Brain Tumor Navigator Fund, c/o Piedmont Hospital, 1968 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30309. 

Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 31, 2010

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WNS Celebrates Action-Packed First Year

 ATLANTA (May 18, 2010) - Happy birthday to me. Well, actually to my company. A year ago today, I opened Wilbert News Strategies LLC for business inside Carter's offices at Atlantic Station.

I started WNS, a PR/communications/social media company with several commercial real estate clients, during the worst commercial real estate market any of us can recall. This backdrop made the past 365 days challenging but satisfying. I realized my goal of firmly establishing WNS in time for the next upswing in real estate.

We also expanded WNS' client roster, anchored by Carter, to include a technology, wealth management and valet parking company and a four-star hotel in tony Buckhead. It pleased me to see my fascination/obsession with social media and social networking translate into new business opportunities. I knew all that blogging and tweeting the past couple years wouldn't be time wasted.

The year's been filled with several new business wins, a few losses and exhilarating and perplexing moments. The highlights include:

1) Working as the local communications rep for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during his May 9-10 visit to Atlanta. It was cool to meet him at a Buckhead party and ask him about the L.A. office market. He showed true class in helping raise awareness of and money for After-School All-Stars.

2) Being in Kasim Reed's room at the Hilton Atlanta when he got the call letting him know he would beat Mary Norwood to win the 2009 Atlanta mayor's race. Serving as mock moderator in the Kasim Reed for Mayor debate prep sessions was pretty cool, too.

3) Landing Carter Chairman and CEO a spot on Bloomberg TV when the national networking broadcast live Dec. 1 from Invesco headquarters at Two Peachtree Pointe.

4) Helping Georgia-Pacific get a story with color art and an info box in The Wall Street Journal's March 31 edition. G-P's $500 million investment in new equipment and technologies in conjunction with the success of Quilted Northern Ultra Plush was big news, especially during the end of the recession.

5) Winning competitive pitches to secure Transwestern Atlanta and The Mansion on Peachtree as new clients. Those calls always are nice to receive. We also received a couple that went the other way.

6) Kicking off Year 2 with great clients, a couple prospects and an improving economy.

As Thornton Kennedy and I embark on WNS' second year, the firm hopes to expand further and is seeking an intern. Come see us.

Cousins' Terminus Needs New Signage

ATLANTA (March 2, 2010) - It's been a rough year for Cousins Properties' Terminus mixed-used development in Atlanta's tony Buckhead development.

The REIT took s $38.9 million impairment charge on its investment in Terminus 200 office tower and another multi-million charge against the condo tower at 10 Terminus Place. And now this: the letters are disappearing from Terminus 100, the most-successful of Cousins' properties at Terminus.

On Tuesday, as movie crews invaded Cantina Taqueria at Terminus to film seens for "Hall Pass" starring Christina Applegate and Alyssa Milano, the Terminus sign at Buckhead's highest-profile intersection (Peachtree and Piedmont) read "Minus 100."

Now we know that "Minus 100" is not the overall return on investment for CUZ at Terminus, but we hope they replace the missing letters soon. With a major Hollywood feature being filmed on the property, it's time for Terminus to shine (despite today's snow storm).

And for the record, Skyline Views loves Terminus and hopes it's successful. Hell, I eat at BrickTop's and the Flying Biscuit 10 times a week. I'm also a fan of Cousins Properties, a well-respected development firm, and a former and future shareholder of Cousins' stock.

Video News Service Seeks to Fill "Void" in Commercial Real Estate Coverage

ATLANTA (Feb. 26, 2010) - Two former CNN producers are staring a video news service that will focus on the commercial real estate industry. The news service, REAL CRE TV, will launch in Atlanta this spring.

With commercial real estate suddenly the hottest business story around, established media have ramped up their coverage of the industry, and several Web-based newcomers including Real Estate Rooster and Bisnow have jumped into the fray. Now comes the  new wave: a video news service aimed directly at the commercial real estate industry.

"There is a void in commercial real estate reporting," said Matt Gove, who himself covered the industry at Atlanta Business Chronicle and at CoStar's defunct Atlanta Property News. "This can be a transforming vehicle for providing meaningful coverage and a super-powerful direct marketing tool for those whose business depends on reaching and motivating everybody in commercial real estate."

REAL CRE TV picked an interesting day to announce itself. The press release was issued about an hour before Real Estate Rooster held its hyper-successful kick-off event, a happy hour at Tavern 99 in Atlanta's tony Buckhead community. The Rooster has gained nice traction since launching its e-blasts and Web site last summer. REAL CRE TV's crew saw the Rooster's event as fertile business development ground.

As a former commercial real estate journalist, I look forward to seeing REAL CRE TV when it's up and running. Skyline Views has been increasing its amount of video coverage, and page views have jumped as a result.

Kennesaw Lures HQ, 400 Jobs from Rome, Ga.

ATLANTA (Feb. 24, 2010) - CCH Small Firm Services, a Wolters Kluwer company, has signed a 130,000-square-foot lease at Chastain Meadows and will move its headquarters to the Kennesaw business park starting this summer.

This is great news for Cobb County but a blow for Rome, Ga., current home of CCH Small Firms Services, which provides tax and accounting software, research and training. Some 400 people will be moved from Rome, and in all, 600 employees will relocate to Kennesaw from Rome and other locations from Florida to Maine.  Best part about this is that no one will lose their jobs, and those who relocate will look for new homes and provide a little boost to the local housing market.

Check out Hometown Headlines' story about the impact to Rome.

Here's the official announcement, which the company just released.

(KENNESAW, Ga., Feb. 24, 2010) – CCH Small Firm Services (SFS), a Wolters Kluwer business, is pleased to announce that it will open a new headquarters facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, in the third quarter of 2010. SFS provides tax and accounting software, research and training to more than 45,000 small firms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico (www.cchsfs.com).

The first employees will move to the new facility in the summer of 2010, with complete transition of the company’s currently dispersed operations to be completed in 2012.  SFS now has more than 600 full-time employees working in Kennesaw and Rome, Georgia; Ft. Pierce, Florida; and Caribou, Maine.

All positions at these sites are transitioning to the new location. No positions are being eliminated as a result of the move to the new headquarters.

“The creation of our new headquarters will provide a world-class environment for our employees and will enable us to operate as a more integrated organization, bringing us together as one team to serve customers better than ever,” said SFS President Jeff Gramlich. 

 The facility, being built out to SFS specifications, will include state-of-the-art information technology and will house the primary SFS Electronic Filing Center, which last year transmitted nearly 20 million federal and state tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service and state revenue agencies. There will also be a new television studio equipped with high-definition equipment, the company’s shipping and fulfillment operations and employee food, recreation and fitness facilities.

The new headquarters and centralized operations will be located in 130,000 square feet of existing space in the Chastain Meadows office park located off Chastain Road just east of Interstate 575. The facility is located about 35 minutes from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and about 25 minutes from downtown Atlanta.

“Our goal is to be both the professional’s first choice for tax and accounting software, and the employer of choice for talented people who want to be part of a dynamic and cohesive team and work for an exciting and growing company,” said Gramlich. “The creation of our new, centralized headquarters is an important step to ensure SFS delivers on both commitments.”