David Stockert, who replaced John Williams as CEO of Post Properties, could have held a grudge against Williams for trying to oust Stockert shortly after he took the reins of the multifamily REIT. But Stockert did not, and he continues to acknowledge the transformational role Williams played in the national apartment market. Williams, was was CEO of Preferred Apartment Communities, died suddenly on April 16, 2018.
Read the story here; from +CoStar Group.
By Tony Wilbert, CoStar News - Click here to read full story.
The first-quarter numbers are in, and Decatur's dominance of multifamily sales continues in 2018.
By Tony Wilbert, CoStar News, Click here for the full scoop.
409 Whitehall St., Atlanta, is a contaminated site near the Garnett MARTA Station.
San Francisco-based Eagle Environmental Construction (EEC) plans to develop a mixed-use project with 512 apartments, 25,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and a 520-car garage plus additional retail parking.
Dateline BUCKHEAD ATLANTA (The community, not the MXD by OliverMcMillan)
By Tony Wilbert
April 3, 2015 - Having covered and/or followed Atlanta commercial real estate since former Mayor Sam Massell carried the Centennial Olympic torch past the old Buckhead bar district, I'm used to seeing buildings scraped to make way for new development.
The more I see, the more I like because it means new jobs, new workplaces, new residents. That said, when I drove past this pile of rubble across from Frankie Allen Park, it struck a chord with the nostalgic side of me. It hit me that my first Atlanta apartment was in there somewhere.
Having just moved from Savannah to Atlanta to start work at Atlanta Business Chronicle in May 1996, I needed to find a place to live fast, because the pending Summer Olympics Games resulted in constricted supply. (Recall that Muhammad Ali and others rented out Gables Over Peachtree near the North Avenue MARTA station.)
I found a too-big, too expensive two-bedroom apartment at Gables' property at 475 Buckhead Ave., adjacent to the old Oxford Books location. (I did hate to see that structure torn down.) It was a primo location. I walked to the bar district and local restaurants to watch Redskins games.
I lived there two years and loved it. Now, it's gone. But that's OK.
Hanover of Houston soon will start construction on Hanover Park Place, a 335,062-square-foot apartment community with 375 luxury units. (Check out Buckhead View's story for a rendering.) Hanover made a splash in Atlanta when it confirmed plans in December 2001 that it would erect a 39-story apartment tower with the city's highest monthly rents. "The Hanover" at Alliance Center was built and now is The Paramount condo tower.
So, my old apartment is gone, but good things will rise in its place (though I no longer can point out my former balcony to our kids and say, "I used to live there" without getting weird stares.
ATLANTA (Dec. 1, 2014) - ARA, the Atlanta-based monster of the multifamily investment advisory (brokerage) business, is about to be absorbed by the ever-growing BGC Partners.
BGC, owner of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brokerage, has agreed to acquire Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) for $110 million, according to this breaking alert from Ralph Bivins of RealtyNewsReport.com. Official word came from James "Jimmy" Kuhn, the cool-looking guy pictured to the left.
ARA, which touts itself as "the largest privately held, fullservice investment advisory firm in the nation that focuses exclusively on the brokerage, financing and capital sourcing of multihousing properties," has called Atlanta home for a long time, or at least since I covered commercial real estate in the city. Atlanta is home to ARA's National Office and C-level executives including COO Lisa Robinson.
The Wilbert Group represents MHA, the Southeast's premier multifamily investment brokerage and a competitor to ARA. MHA ranked No. 10 on Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2014 Top 25 Commercial Real Rstate Brokerages List. ARA placed 17th.
Here's the official word from ARA: “We are delighted to announce this agreement with BGC and to join with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as we work together across the capital markets spectrum. The combined resources will prove of great benefit to our business, our employees and, most importantly, to our clients,” said Blake Okland, Chairman of the Executive Committee of ARA and Principal of ARA’s Carolinas member.
Okland's counterpart in Atlanta is John Weber, a great guy who is a dominant player in multifamily sales here. He's pictured to the right.
Of special interest on the national level is the growing influence of Jimmy Kuhn in the Southeast. I met Jimmy when Newmark worked hard to lure away some key Julien J. Studley execs to open Newmark's first Atlanta commercial brokerage business.
Kuhn's presence grew big time with the recent DTZ acquisition of Cassidy Turley and now is even bigger. Erika Morphy of GlobeSt.com tells it this way:
ARA's acquisition is another sign that the commercial real estate brokerage community views consolidation as a key growth strategy. In this case, bringing ARA under BGC's corporate umbrella will give Newmark Grubb Knight Frank a sizeable leg up in the market. BGC acquired NGKF in 2011.
It's cool to see Kuhn emerge as a national figure. He's a real estate reporter's dream - he tells you what you want to know, and he uses colorful language. See for yourself in this snippet from an interview I had with him in 2002 while at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
BYLINE: TONY WILBERT; Staff
DATE: April 2, 2002
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
Newmark & Co. came to town Monday and opened an office with 20 workers from competitor Julien J. Studley.
Newmark Southern Region, part of the New York-based commercial real estate firm, will be led by Bert Sanders and Patrick Duffy, both of whom resigned last week from Studley's Atlanta office. They were joined at Newmark by several other former Studley brokers -- James Cate, Kay Davis, Marty Pinover, Ed Kercher, David Todd and Monty Harris.
However, Newmark had to open the office without the former Studley executive it wanted most: Neal Golden. It was his resignation that prompted the others to quit Studley's Atlanta office last week.
Newmark President Jimmy Kuhn said he still is pursuing Golden and hopes he will lead Newmark's national expansion.
"We're going after him with as much gusto as [New York Yankees owner] George Steinbrenner pursues free agents," Kuhn said in at interview.
ATLANTA (Sept. 23, 2014) It took way longer than a New York Minute, but Atlanta's Post Properties finally has left Manhattan with the sale of Post Luminaria and Post Toscana for a combined sales price of $270 million.
The buyer, according to scooptress Lois Weiss of the New York Post, is condo developer Ben Shaoul, who will convert the rental towers to condos.
According to Seeking Alpha, "Post (NYSE:PPS) should pocket about $141M in cash from the sales."(Photo of Post Toscana courtesy of Emporis.)
Post's entry into New York City was big news when it occurred more than a decade again. Making Manhattan a new market marked on of founder John Williams' final major moves at the helm of the high-flying (based on shareprice) multifamily REIT.
But by August 2008, Post's new CEO Dave Stockert determined it was too diffucult to operate only two apartment communities in the hyper-competitive New York rental market -especially with the Great Recession about to start. Post began marketing the Luminaria and Toscana for sale.
"We are taking the steps necessary to adjust our business plan to the realities of difficult current economic and financial market conditions," Stockert said. "We have reduced the size and risk of our development pipeline and assessed the carrying value of our assets in order to maintain the strength of our balance sheet."
Here's the full press release:
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS) announced today that it has closed the sale of its Post Luminaria" and Post Toscana" apartment communities, located in New York, NY, for a total gross sales price of $270 million.
Post Luminaria" was completed in 2002, and contains 138 apartment units and approximately 9,400 square feet of retail space. Post Luminaria" was owned in a consolidated joint venture in which the Company held a 68% interest. Post Toscana" was completed in 2003 and contains 199 apartment units and approximately 11,700 square feet of retail space. The buyer was not disclosed.Eastdil Secured acted as broker on the transaction.
A portion of the net proceeds from the sales were used to prepay approximately $82.6 million of secured mortgage indebtedness encumbering the assets and related prepayment premiums totaling approximately $13.0 million. After closing costs and expenses, debt prepayments and distributions of the Companys share of the net proceeds received from the sale of Post Luminaria", Post expects to retain approximately $141 million of net cash proceeds from the sales of the two communities.
In the third quarter of 2014, the Company expects to report a net gain on the sale of these assets of approximately $127 million, or approximately $2.33 per diluted share, and a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of approximately $12.3 million, or approximately $0.23 per diluted share, relating to debt prepayment premiums paid and the write off of unamortized deferred financing costs, each net of non-controlling interests in the Post Luminaria" joint venture.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Sept. 17, 2014) - The buzz about shopping, living and working at Alpharetta's premier mixed-use community continues to build now that Avalon is a mere 42 days away.
And the buzz got even louder this week when its developer, North American Properties announced a contest whose winner gets "The Perfect Year" at Avalon, which includes a free year's rent at Haven at Avalon. At more than $2.20 a square foot, Haven is comanding the highest rents in metro Atlanta, on par with 77 12th Street and SkyHouse Midtown.
But there's more than free rent. The contest winner also receives $12,000 from West Elm to create an ideal living space, a year-long membership to Exhale, a monthly grocery allowance at Whole Foods Market and dinners at the latest restaurant concepts from the region’s top chefs.
The winner's only duty is to show off their lifestyle at Avalon, along with their own flair and wit, via social media. In addition to perks worth more than $60,000, the winner of Avalon’s “The Perfect Year” will become the tastemaker known as “The Lucky One.”
As the official PR agency of NAP Atlanta and Avalon, employees of The Wilbert Group cannot win. But a team can dream, can't it?
Here's the full release, which includes the full list of cool things the winner receives as part of the package worth more than $60,000.
Avalon’s “The Perfect Year” Competition Launches Today
Atlanta’s next social media influencer and tastemaker gets over $60,000 in perks,
including rent-free year in a luxury rental home
ATLANTA (Sept. 16, 2014) – Everyone knows the best things in life are free.Imagine living rent-free in a one-bedroom unit in the heart of Avalon, the newest and most exciting community in the Southeast – with $12,000 from West Elm to create your ideal living space. Plus, a year-long membership to Exhale, a monthly grocery allowance at Whole Foods Market and dinners at the latest restaurant concepts from the region’s top chefs.
Your job? Show off your lifestyle at Avalon, along with your own flair and wit, via social media. In addition to perks worth more than $60,000, the winner of Avalon’s “The Perfect Year” will become the tastemaker known as “The Lucky One.”
Opening Oct. 30 in Alpharetta, Georgia, Avalon is a $600 million mixed-use development featuring specialty retailers ranging from Free People to C. Wonder and Vineyard Vines, restaurants from well-known local restaurateurs like Ford Fry, Giovanni Di Palma and Steve Palmer, full-service concierge, entertainment, residences and high-tech offices.
Starting Jan. 5, “The Lucky One” will be immersed in the timeless art of living well…dining, mingling with other VIPs, sipping cocktails, shopping, hosting friends, getting free blowouts before attending Avalon’s signature events, and staying fit with memberships to popular fitness classes.
“’The Perfect Year’ goes well beyond the typical promotion,” said Mark Toro, managing partner at North American Properties (NAP). “We’re offering a lifestyle…a unique opportunity to live The Avalon Experience…sharing energy and style 18 hours a day. It is truly unique in the Southeast.”
The competition launches today. To enter, visit Avalon’s Facebook page at facebook.com/AvalonInsider and click on “The Perfect Year” tab. Fill out the form and upload a one-minute video describing why you should be “The Lucky One.” Strong photography and writing skills will boost your chances, and applicants must be 21 or older. Entries will be accepted from Sept. 16 – Oct. 19. The top 10 finalists will be announced during the grand opening celebration on Nov. 2. The Avalon team will select “The Lucky One,” considering a number of factors, including public input provided via Facebook. The voting period is open from Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. until Nov. 21 at 4:59 p.m. More fun challenges will ensue for the finalists before “The Lucky One” is announced at Avalon’s tree lighting on Nov. 23.
“If you’re the kind of person who knows how to make the most of life’s experiences and loves being ‘in the know,’ we want to hear from you!” said Liz Gillespie, partner and vice president of marketing at NAP. “We are offering an amazing year, and I can’t wait to toast ‘The Lucky One.’”
The prize package includes:
Apparel
Residential Offerings
Restaurant
Services
Specialty Offerings
For more information about “The Perfect Year,” please visit ExperienceAvalon.com Follow “The Perfect Year” on social media with #AvalonPerfectYear.
Retailers and restaurants at Avalon include American Threads, Anthropologie, Antico Pizza Napoletana, Arhaus, Athleta, Banana Republic, Bantam + Biddy, Bantu, BCBG, Bocado Burger Bar, C. Wonder, Caffé Gio, Calypso St. Barth, Crate & Barrel, Columbia Sportswear, Cru Food & Wine Bar, Destination Maternity, Drybar, Everything But Water, Exhale Spa, Fab'rik, Flywheel Sports, The El Felix, Francesca's, Free People, Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory, Gap, Goldberg's Deli, Gymboree, J. Crew, J. Jill, Janie & Jack, J. McLaughlin, Kendra Scott, Kinnucan's, Kona Grill, LensCrafters, L'Occitane, Lou & Grey, lululemon, Marlow’s Tavern, Marmi, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Oak Steakhouse, Orvis, Paper Source, Pinkberry, PNC Bank, Pottery Barn Kids, Regal Cinemas, Road Runner Sports, Sage Clothing, Soft Surroundings, Sunglass Hut, Ted’s Montana Grill, The Cosmetic Market, Tommy Bahama, Tumi, Van Michael Salon, Vineyard Vines, West Elm and Whole Foods Market.
About Avalon
Avalon is a new experience in the timeless art of living well. In the heart of Alpharetta, this sustainably designed, 86-acre development with more than 500,000 square feet of retail, a 12-screen all premium theater, planned conference center and full-service hotel, Class A office, single-family residences and luxury rental homes infuses resort-level hospitality throughout a walkable, seamlessly connected community of shopping, dining, entertainment, living and working. It’s more than just another place to go, it’s a place to be — a hub of local art and activity that delivers the luxury of the modern South. At 2.4 million square feet and more than $600 million, Avalon is one of the largest projects currently underway in the United States. You can find more updates on Avalon at its website, Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter profile.
About North American Properties
Founded in 1954, North American Properties is a privately held, multi-regional real estate operating company that has acquired, developed and managed more than $5 billion of mixed-use, retail, multifamily and office properties across the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, with offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Fort Myers, Fla., the company has developed 19 million square feet of retail and 17,000 apartment units in 12 states. In the past three years, North American Properties has launched 36 projects totaling $1.1 billion in total capitalization. In metro Atlanta, North American Properties owns Atlantic Station, Avalon and BOHO4W. For more information, please visit naproperties.com.
For more information, contact:
Suong Nguyen
The Wilbert Group
404-343-0637 (O) 678-642-4301 (C)
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ATLANTA (Sept. 16, 2014) - Atlanta's King and Queen buildings are about to get some royal company.
Buckhead-based Regent Partners has filed plans to add 300 apartments at the landmark Concourse Office Park at 5900 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in the Central Perimeter submarket. Regent plans to throw in a new restaurant for good measure, according to the DRI filing.
The move by Regent represents two commercial real estate trends. The first is the move toward making everythin mixed-use. In fact, we're almost to the point where every commercial development is mixed-use, or it's obsolete.
The second is the trend of developers who specialize in other property types building apartments. The white-hot multifamily market makes it too tempting for most to stand on the sidelines.
If demand fo the limited apartment offerings outpaces supply, potential renters will be asked to identify whether Concourse V is the King or the Queen building.
SNELLVILLE, Ga. (Sept, 11, 2014) - A leading Southeast homebuilder plans to develop a new residential community in Snellville that would comprise new single-family detached homes, townhomes and luxury apartments.
FrontDoor Communities, in partnership with Lynwood Development, has filed plans for a master-planned residential community on 45 acres adjacemt to Eastside Medical Center.
Eastside Village will feature 60 high-end homes and 68 brownstones, as well as 233 garden units designed to attract single professionals, hospital employees and active seniors.
FrontDoor and Lynwood have launched a new blog to keep those ineterested up to date.
Here's the official word, in a press release issued by The Wilbert Group.
FrontDoor Communities and Lynwood Development Announce Residential Community for Snellville
Plans Call for Walkable Neighborhood of High-End Homes, Brownstones and Garden Units
ATLANTA (September 10, 2014) – FrontDoor Communities and Lynwood Development Group are expanding their presence in Georgia with plans to build a master planned residential community in the thriving Gwinnett County city of Snellville.
The new community, to be developed on 45 acres adjacent to Eastside Medical Center, will be named Eastside Village and feature 60 high-end homes and 68 brownstones, as well as 233 garden units designed to attract single professionals, hospital employees and active seniors.
“We are excited about the prospect of building a master planned neighborhood in a Snellville community desperately in need of new housing options,” said Terry Russell, CEO of FrontDoor Communities and former CEO of John Wieland Homes. “We’re also proud that Eastside Village will offer great walkability with more than 11 acres of park and open space.”
FrontDoor is partnering with Lynwood Development Group, which has developed several residential communities in Gwinnett County. Eastside Village, located off of Tree Lane in Snellville, will be its 10th.
“We are pleased to partner with FrontDoor Communities to bring much-needed single-family homes and high-end apartments to Snellville,” said Woody Snell, president of Lynwood Development Group. “What we appreciate most is FrontDoor’s commitment to building neighborhoods that bring quality designs to a community that embraces an active lifestyle.”
Homes in Eastside Village will offer floor plans ranging in size from 2,100 to more than 3,500 square feet and prices from the mid $300,000’s to the $500,000’s. Additionally, the community will feature 68 brownstone townhomes with two-car garages and priced from the $200,000’s. Rents for garden apartments will range from about $950 for a 1-bedroom unit to about $1,400 for a 3-bedroom. The community will reflect FrontDoor’s signature architectural style of highly detailed homes that feature brick, stone, stacked stone and wood. Additional amenities will include a pool, clubhouse and cabana.
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About FrontDoor Communities
Launched by veterans of the home building industry with 45+ years’ combined experience, FrontDoor Communities is a full-service real estate firm that is grounded in the reality of the marketplace with an eye toward the current economy’s consumer needs and wants. FrontDoor executives are a core team of proven leaders with a clear vision of current and future opportunities in the marketplace. FrontDoor is strategically structured to be opportunistic of and responsive to the real estate cycle. FrontDoor is focused on urban and suburban infill, community development and homebuilding.
ATLANTA (Sept. 2, 2014) A well-known Atlanta commercial real estate executive has been selected to lead the redevelopment of the Jacksonville Landing, where football fans love to congregate each fall before the World's Largest Cocktail Party.
Tom Senkbeil of Atlanta was wooed by Toney Sleiman and other Sleiman Enterprises executives to shift his focus from Buckhead (where Senkbeil played a key role in the redevelopment of the former Paces Apartments site) to Jackonsville's landing.
Senkbeil's selection is big news in Jax, and the story got big play in a Daily Record article by Karen Brune Mathis. In her story, Karen quotes me because I covered Tom for several years before forming The Wilbert Group.
As former national chairman of NAIOP, Senkbeil is known on the national CRE scene. In the REIT world, Senkbeil has served as CIO of Weeks/Duke-Weeks, now Duke and at Post Properties. And in Atlanta, he served a stint as president of Carter.
Let's see what he can do in Jacksonville to make the annual Georgia-Florida game even more of an event.
Here's Karen's full story.
By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor
Developer Toney Sleiman says a bunch of mullet and some playful porpoises helped to persuade Tom Senkbeil to agree to redevelop the Jacksonville Landing.
Sleiman has long sought to redevelop the aging marketplace on the Northbank of the St. Johns River. He said he and other Sleiman Enterprises executives talked to their accountant in Atlanta, who recommended Senkbeil, a 41-year development veteran based there with experience throughout the Southeast.
Senkbeil said he wanted to see the Landing. They had dinner at Benny’s Steak & Seafood.
“There is the river, a beautiful day, clear, boats going by, a bunch of mullet fish and 10-12 porpoises started jumping up in front us in front of the bulkhead,” an excited Sleiman recalled.
“He looked over at me and said, ‘I’m going to do this because of these dolphin and porpoises,’” Sleiman said.
Senkbeil remembered the dinner a little differently.
“That’s probably Toney’s version,” he said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “I don’t think the dolphins actually sold it.”
What sold it was the potential of the Landing.
“It’s a fabulous location on a great river with a tremendous environment to have a project like this,” Senkbeil said.
Sleiman wants to tear down and rebuild the 27-year-old marketplace with 300 apartments, parking, restaurant and retail space and possibly a boutique hotel.
Senkbeil said another factor was the nationwide trend in millennials’ desire to live in a more urban setting. Apartments at the Landing would be an opportunity to bring more young people Downtown.
An obvious third factor is Senkbeil’s experience in redeveloping Downtown properties into mixed-use and residential projects.
“I’ve done it, yes,” he said.
41 years of project experience
Senkbeil, 65, said he preferred any discussion to be about the Landing and not him.
“This project is not about it me. It’s about the project and not everything else,” he said.
But a lot of “everything else” can accumulate over 41 years of experience. Online summaries say his “real estate career includes wide-ranging experience in acquisitions, dispositions, development, asset management and joint ventures.”
He earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from Auburn University in 1971 and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1973.
After working for others in the industry, he formed his own company in 1984.
It’s been a busy 30 years.
He bought out a partner and then merged with another company to form Weeks Corp., where he served as chief investment officer, executive vice president and vice chairman of the board.
He was instrumental in its initial public offering and its merger with Duke Realty to become Duke-Weeks Corp.
Senkbeil then served as president and chief operating officer of Carter & Associates before joining Post Properties in 2003 in Atlanta, where he was CIO and executive vice president.
Senkbeil was responsible for its assets and the asset management of projects from Washington, D.C., through North Carolina, Atlanta, Florida and Texas.
While Senkbeil was with Post, the company developed the Four Seasons Residences in downtown Austin and The Ritz-Carlton Residences at 3630 Peachtree in Atlanta’s Buckhead area.
It was at Post Properties that Senkbeil really developed his focus on multifamily projects. “It was my introduction to the multifamily business,” he said.
Today, PostProperties.com lists almost 60 “Post” branded communities in Atlanta; Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; New York City; the Washington, D.C., area; Orlando and Tampa.
During Senkbeil’s tenure, all the Post developments were high-density, mixed-use urban properties. Post also sold some older suburban apartment properties, he said.
He said one of the properties Sleiman viewed was Post Alexander in Atlanta’s Buckhead area. Post developed the 307 luxury apartment home community in Buckhead and is now adding a 340-unit second phase.
Senkbeil left Post Properties at the end of 2008 and formed Senkbeil & Associates, which invests in multifamily properties and provides consulting and advisory services to investment firms, developers and lenders.
He also continued to develop in-town multifamily projects.
In 2011, he was part of a group of real estate executives who teamed with Camden Property Trust to purchase and redevelop the Camden Paces in Buckhead. Camden Property Trust owns the project.
The apartments, Townhomes, Terraces and Towers include saltwater swimming pools, a social gaming lounge and a cross-training fitness center. It should be completed by the end of this year.
Early last year, Senkbeil joined Iron Tree Capital LLC, a real estate investment and advisory firm, as a principal while continuing with his own firm.
Senkbeil said one of his more recent projects is the 401 Oberlin luxury apartments in Raleigh, N.C., in which he is a partner.
The 401 Oberlin, in the heart of Raleigh, comprises 244 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units that will be fully opened by the end of September. Its website describes amenities that include “Rooftop Terrace With Captivating City Views.”
He also knows residents like retail. He said 401 Oberlin’s retail space includes the Tupelo Honey Café, a Southern restaurant that operates in North and South Carolina, Tennessee and, next year, Atlanta.
Perhaps the Jacksonville Landing? “I’ll certainly call them.”
Senkbeil said the Landing holds similarities to 401 Oberlin, saying both are high-density projects with “high-quality multifamily properties” and structured parking.
The point man now
Sleiman wants the city to spend $11.8 million to improve the public space surrounding the two redeveloped Landing buildings, estimated at $55 million to $75 million.
As Sleiman handles the political side, lobbying City Council and working with a supportive Mayor Alvin Brown, Senkbeil will take over the project development.
“He’s my point man now. I assigned everything to him,” Sleiman said.
That includes bids, development, project construction, “everything,” Sleiman said.
“He’s going to do it. I’ve never done it,” Sleiman said.
Sleiman said he did his homework. “He is very, very, very good. He has a great reputation. We checked him out.”
Senkbeil said he met Sleiman a few months ago. “He is a very impressive person. We all work together very well,” Senkbeil said.
Steve Crosby, president of Jacksonville-based CSX Real Property Inc., met Senkbeil on the NAIOP national board in the 1990s and said they served together in one capacity or another for 10 years or so. Both are governors of the NAIOP Research Foundation.
Crosby said he hasn’t done a deal with Senkbeil, but describes him as a “good businessman, straight shooter, nice guy.”
Former newspaper reporter Tony Wilbert covered Senkbeil.
Now owner of the Wilbert Group, an Atlanta-based communications firm, Wilbert spent much of his journalism career covering real estate, including at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle and as editor of the National Real Estate Investor.
Wilbert said Senkbeil is a very well-established developer, quickly listing the experience with Duke, Duke-Weeks, Carter and Post Properties. ”He does what he says he is going to do.”
Wilbert said he covered Senkbeil from 1996, the year Senkbeil served as the national president of what is now known as the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, through 2004.
“Tom is a great investment guy and is a developer and he’s worked at the premier companies in Atlanta,” Wilbert said.
“He definitely is well regarded and has been hired by the best real estate firms in the Southeast.”
Wilbert describes Senkbeil as “very intellectual with great vision.”
“He puts together a great team,” he said, noting Senkbeil’s connections from his companies. And as a CIO, “he knows how to access capital.”
“I think with Senkbeil coming in, whatever he says he’ll do, it’ll get done.”
The next steps
Senkbeil’s position is to coordinate the project, including assembling designers, contractors and the other professionals needed on what he expects will be a big team.
Last week, the Jacksonville Civic Council raised issues with Sleiman’s initial design, saying “our community should capitalize on the expertise of local and national leading architects and real estate developers by engaging in an open design process and community dialogue that brings the best and the brightest ideas to bear on this public venue.”
It called for the Downtown Investment Authority to convene a public review process. “Public investment in the Landing can only occur when a community engagement process is conducted and an iconic design is completed and presented.”
Sleiman said he and Brown had already planned to have a public meeting.
“I welcome any of our citizens or organizations to take their time and skills to offer designs and or renderings for this redevelopment plan,” Sleiman said. “We would gladly look at those submittals and consider them.”
Michael Stuebben, an architect and regional office manager with Bergmann Associates, is the principal-in-charge and leader of the design team assembled by Bergmann for the Landing concepts that were presented.
He said the concepts were a direct result of the recommendations made in the Downtown Feasibility Study prepared this year for the DIA.
“The design is conceptual at this time and the architecture will be undergoing much further development. We anticipate this process to commence soon working toward a public presentation for community engagement,” he said.
Senkbeil also will be working with the Sleiman organization on the financing, once Sleiman Enterprises receives city support and decides to proceed.
“The first thing we are doing is making sure it makes financial sense,” Senkbeil said. That decision comes simultaneously with the design phase, he said.
There are several financing possibilities he said, including using strictly Sleiman resources; forming a partnership with another entity; or seeking institutional backing, for example.
“All those possibilities are on the table at the present,” he said.
If the city approves the $11.8 million for the Landing and the deal takes off, Senkbeil will be spending more time in town.
He said he’s been here a few times, including in the past several weeks. “This will take a lot of my time,” he said.
Asked about challenges at the Landing, Senkbeil noted that it’s in an urban area, that working near a river creates its own physical challenges for construction and planning, and “we all deal with the unknown of the economy.”
Senkbeil said his hometown of Atlanta has evolved its Downtown over time with housing, retail and restaurants.
“I think there is no reason the same thing can’t happen in Jacksonville in a much smaller way,” he said.
The Landing project, he said, “will be a game-changer for the Downtown area.”
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The Thomas D. Senkbeil file
Age: 65
Real estate career includes wide-ranging experience in acquisitions, dispositions, development, asset management and joint ventures.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Auburn University, 1971. Master of Business Administration, Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1973.
1973-1984: Worked for several real estate development companies.
1984-1992: Co-Founded Anderson & Senkbeil Inc., developed $3.5 million of office and industrial space in six offices parks throughout Atlanta. Merged with A.R. Weeks & Associates in 1992 to form Weeks Corp.
1992-2000: Chief investment officer and executive vice president of Weeks Corp. and vice chairman of the board. Instrumental in Weeks’ initial public offering in 1994. Expanded from two cities to nine in five years and grew total capitalization from $350 million to $2 billion. Merged with Duke Realty to become Duke-Weeks Corp. in 1999.
1996: Volunteer national chairman of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (now the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association). Previously was president of NAIOP Georgia.
2000-2002: President and chief operating officer of Carter & Associates, an Atlanta real estate firm.
2003-2008: Chief investment officer and executive vice president of Post G.P. Holdings Inc. and Post Properties Inc.; general partner of Post Apartment Homes L.P. Plays key role in Post Properties’ development of eight mixed-use communities in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Washington, D.C.
January 2009-current: Formed Senkbeil & Associates to invest in and develop primarily multifamily and some commercial properties and provide consulting services.
January 2013-current: Principal, Iron Tree Capital LLC.
@MathisKb
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